The Hidden Cost of Unshared Ideas
You’re sitting on a library of value.
Every unshared idea is a missed opportunity. Every hidden visual represents credibility unclaimed.
Consider what this costs you:
◆ Missed recognition
Others publish similar ideas and get the credit. (Aargh!)
◆ Lost connections
Your ideal audience never discovers you. (Sad.)
◆ Stalled growth
Ideas grow stronger through public testing. (Stuck.)
So what keeps these valuable ideas hidden away?
Here’s what I often hear from solopreneurs who hesitate:
💬 “It’s not finished yet.” (Hint: It never will be. That’s the point.)
💬 “I need to explain it better first.” (The explanation comes through sharing.)
💬 “I already shared something similar last year.” (Trust me, no one is keeping track.)
The irony? The perfectionists obsessing over getting their visuals “just right” are the ones whose work most deserves to be seen.
Your reluctance to share isn't protecting your reputation. It’s preventing its growth.
Visibility = Circulation, Not Creation
You don’t need new ideas. You need to circulate the good ones you already have.
The harsh reality of content today: posting something once is nearly invisible. People scroll past. Algorithms bury it. Life gets in the way.
Most of your audience misses 80% of what you share. And those who do see it? They need repeated exposure for it to stick.
This is why the most visible creators aren’t necessarily the most creative.
They’re the most consistent at resharing their best work in new contexts.
Think of it this way:
- A new idea shared once = minimal impact
- A solid idea shared ten different ways = actual visibility
Every visual can be:
- Explained from different angles
- Applied to different industries
- Broken into components
- Combined with other ideas
- Updated with new insights
Your diagrams, frameworks, and visuals deserve this kind of circulation. Not because they need improvement, but because they need exposure.
(And yes, AI tools can help you reshape ideas faster — but first, you need to pull them out of hiding.)
This Week’s Build: The One-Idea Visibility Challenge
This week, I’m challenging you to break the cycle of hiding your work with one small, powerful action.
1️⃣ Find one visual idea you’ve already created.
2️⃣ Write two sentences explaining its value.
3️⃣ Share it somewhere this week.
Pro Tip: If writing those two sentences feels hard, that’s a sign you're overthinking it. Clarity beats cleverness every time.
This week’s SOLO Insight:
You don’t need more ideas.
You need smarter ways to share the ones you already have.
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This week, start circulating what you’ve created. One step at a time, your visibility grows not from making more, but from sharing what already exists.
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News about programs and resources at the Solo Business School
Content Velocity Dates Set!
Join us online May 16, 17, 18
It’s official! Content Velocity, my 3-day online sprint to help solopreneurs create high-quality content faster — with AI as your creative sidekick — is happening May 16–18.
If you’re ready to save hours every week, stay visible, and keep your content sounding like you, this is your chance to learn the system that makes it happen.
🔵 Early access opens this Friday (May 2) with special pricing and bonuses — exclusively for waitlisters.
This is the last invite to become a waitlist VIP before those perks close.
Want in? Just a single click (here ->) adds you to the waitlist (with no commitment). It’s the best way to lock in your option for early access and special offers.
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Fresh Finds for Creative Minds
Here are three gems this week from around the Web for visual thinkers and solopreneurs:
📊 The 1% Rule: Your Hidden Advantage
Want to know why sharing your work online is such a powerful strategy? The 1% rule reveals that only 1% of internet users create content. The rest consume.
You can break it down further (the 90-9-1 principle): 90% lurk silently, 9% comment occasionally, and just 1% consistently create. This is not a barrier — it’s your opportunity! By simply sharing your ideas regularly, you automatically join an exclusive club that shapes conversations and attracts attention.
🤖 Custom Codey: Your 24/7 Squarespace Expert
Meet your new Squarespace on-demand sidekick. Custom Codey is a custom AI model trained on over 8,000 lines of verified Squarespace code and expert insights from Becca Harpain, who runs Inside the Square.
I’ve been using it while building the new Content Velocity site, and it’s impressive — especially for custom CSS help and those “why isn’t this working?” moments that always seem to hit at midnight. Only $30 gets you lifetime access (bring your own ChatGPT account) for your personal Squarespace expert. Thanks, Becca, for saving my sanity!
🧠 The Brain Science Behind Visual Storytelling
If you've ever wondered why your sketches and frameworks land better than plain text, check out this fascinating deep-dive from Scriberia on why visual storytelling hits differently.
It turns out that visuals trigger four key neurochemicals: dopamine sparks engagement, oxytocin builds connection, norepinephrine boosts focus, and serotonin lends the feel-good factor. When you combine this multidimensional brain processing with storytelling? Visual alchemy that beats words every time.
⭐️ Have an item I should share in this section?
Don’t keep it a secret. Email me with your find!
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Want to check out past issues?
Visit the SOLO Newsletter archive.
Know someone who wants to know more about using visuals to communicate and stand out? Share this newsletter with another solopreneur!
And if you received this issue from a friend, I invite you to subscribe.
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That’s a wrap for SOLO issue #60 and Visual Assembly #16.
Thanks again for being a SOLO reader and coming along on this adventure!
Until next week,
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Terri Lonier, PhD
Founder, Solo Business School
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