5 Levels of Soulpreneur Growth

This framework guides soulpreneurs through a gradual, authentic journey to build a sustainable business using the 7 Practices and the 111 Formula. 

Each level builds on the previous one, allowing you to develop skills and confidence at a natural pace. The focus is on consistent and light work that leads to joyful sustainability and deep alignment.

The framework is built on 7 core practices that serve as ongoing rhythms.

The 111 Formula provides specific target actions across these practices, which are completed in Level 4.

The 7 Practices:

1. Joyful Productivity: Managing your energy for sustainable, energizing work.
2. Authentic Content Creation: Creating and sharing content that expresses your authentic voice and perspective, improving via stages.
3. Netcaring → Collabs: Building genuine relationships through stepwise collaboration.
4. Market Discovery → Aligned Offers: Listening deeply to understand your audience’s needs, then creating aligned solutions.
5. Gentle Launches: Making light, authentic invitations of your offers.
6. Mastery of Craft: Refining and deepening the quality of your client work.
7. Healthy Money: Building sustainable financial practices and mindsets.

Read more: The 7 Practices: A Living-Garden Approach to a Profitable, Authentic Business

The 111 Formula (Actions Complete by Level 4) –

It’s called the 111 Formula because the number of actions added together form 111:

• 40 Stage 1 Content Experiments (Authentic Content Creation): Test topics and formats to identify what resonates
• 20 Collaborations (Netcaring → Collabs): It can be simple exchanges like interviews, co-posts, or guest content
• 20 Market Discovery Conversations (Market Discovery → Aligned Offers): Listen deeply to potential clients’ needs and desires
• 10 Stage 2 Content Pieces: Refine and redistribute your best Stage 1 content
• 10 Gentle Launches: Light, authentic invitations of your offers
• 6 Joyful Productivity Practices: Build personal energy management systems
• 5 Client Case Studies (Mastery of Craft) — Document client transformations and results

Levels at a Glance:

Level 1: Foundation

Core Focus: Begin showing up consistently with content and conversations in a gentle and sustainable way. Build basic creative and relational muscles through consistent and light work, without pressure to have clarity of audience, message or offers yet.

Primary Question: Can I create and share regularly while maintaining my energy and joy?

Relationship to 111: The lightest possible touch of the practices — just enough to plant seeds:

• 5 Stage 1 content experiments
• 2 market discovery conversations
• 1 Joyful Productivity practice begun

Suggested Actions & Targets:

1. Five Stage 1 Content Experiments (practicing Authentic Content Creation)

• Publish 5 simple pieces (posts, emails, short videos) on topics that interest you
• Focus on authentic expression, not perfection nor even strategy
• Notice what feels natural to create

2. Two(Light) Market Discovery Conversations

• Have 2 informal, approx. 30-minute chats with people who might be in your potential audience
• Simply listen and learn about their challenges, desires, and what they’ve tried
• Don’t worry if you aren’t familiar with the Market Discovery method yet; just practicing conversations with potential clients or referral sources–focus on curiosity and connection–no pitching.

3. One Joyful Productivity Practice

• Choose one practice to begin (e.g., daily Energy Reboot, one HAT manual, or basic CCC routine)
• Practice it gently for a few weeks

Skills to Develop: Basic content creation, active listening, energy awareness

Mindset Shift: From “I need to know exactly what I’m doing” to “I can start small and discover as I go”

Move to Level 2 when:

• You’ve created and shared 5 pieces of content
• You’ve had 2 informal and light market discovery type of conversations
• You’ve practiced 1 Joyful Productivity skill for at least 3 weeks
• Creating and sharing feels more natural than it did at the start

Recommended Courses:

• BizPlan (for understanding the bigger picture)
• Joyful Productivity (foundation for sustainable rhythms)
• Soulful Content (for authentic expression)
• Optional: AI Mastery (for content creation support)
  
  
  

Level 2: Experimentation

Core Focus: Build on your foundation by beginning to sincerely look at the 111 Formula, and engaging with it at very light pace. Also, develop working hypotheses about who you help, what you help with, and your initial (experimental) offers.

Primary Question: What patterns are emerging about who resonates with my work and what I might offer?

Relationship to 111: Gently explore all major elements of the formula at a light volume, to build experience and gather data:

• 15 Stage 1 pieces (cumulative from Level 1)
• 5 market discovery conversations (cumulative)
• 3 Joyful Productivity practices ongoing
• 1 collaboration (from Netcaring)
• 1 Stage 2 piece
• 1 Gentle Launch experiment
• Case study mindset begun with a few clients (volunteer or paying)

Suggested Actions & Targets:

1. Add 10 More Stage 1 Content Experiments (15 total, practicing Authentic Content Creation)

• Continue creating and sharing, focusing on themes that feel energizing and get engagement
• Notice patterns in what people respond to and what you enjoy creating

2. Complete 3 More Discovery Conversations (5 total)

• Have deeper conversations with people who engage with your content
• Listen for recurring needs, desires, and begin seeking to understand what they have bought in your industry or wish to buy.
• For more: What is Market Discovery?

3. Add 2 More Joyful Productivity Practices (3 total)

• Integrate additional practices to support your creative energy and well-being
• Build these into your weekly rhythm

4. Try 1 Collaboration (practicing Netcaring)

• Do one simple collaboration with a colleague (e.g., interview swap)
• Learn from what it’s like to work with a colleague

5. Create 1 Stage 2 Content Piece

• Take your best-performing Stage 1 content and refine or repurpose it for wider distribution
• This could be expanding a short post into a full article, or turning an article into a video
• What are the 3 stages of content?

6. Run 1 Gentle Launch Experiment

• Make one light, authentic invitation to a simple offer (could be a free or paid offering)
• Frame it as a test to learn, not a must-succeed event
• Practice a light touch: detachment from outcome, focused on the learning experience

7. Begin Case Study Mindset

• Start working with at least one volunteer client (or paid, if one emerges naturally)
• Begin documenting their starting point, process, and shifts
• Practice capturing transformation, even if informally

8. Form Working Hypotheses

• Based on your content, conversations, and early experiments, draft initial answers to:
• Who am I most energized to help?
• What of their core problems or desires am I addressing?
• What might I offer or how might I refine my offer?

Outcomes:

• Working hypothesis for a primary audience, 2–3 of their core problems/desires, and 1–2 simple offers
• Initial (light) experience with all major elements of the 111 Formula
• Growing confidence in showing up and inviting people to work with you

Mindset Shift: From scattered exploration to pattern recognition — clarity emerges through consistent and light work

Move to Level 3 when:

• You’ve completed 15 Stage 1 pieces, at least 5 market discovery conversations, and 1 collaboration
• You’ve created 1 Stage 2 piece and run 1 gentle launch
• You’re practicing 3 Joyful Productivity skills regularly
• You’ve begun working with at least one client (volunteer or paid) with a case study mindset
• You can articulate: “Right now, I think I help [type of person] with [problem/desire] so they can [outcome]”
• You have 1–2 simple offers you’re ready to test more seriously in Level 3

Recommended Courses:

• Market Discovery (for deeper conversation skills)
• Netcaring (for collaboration foundation)
• Authentic Outreach (for inviting conversations)
• Case Studies (for documenting impact)
• One platform course: YouTube, Instagram, Substack, LinkedIn, or Meta Ads (choose based on where you most want to show up)
  
  
  

Level 3: Validation

Core Focus: Get evidence that your work really helps people who pay you. This level is about turning theory into tangible proof by serving your first paying clients. You’ll also run approximately 60% of the full 111 Formula to further reach and nurture your audience, and to gain confidence.

Primary Question: Does my work reliably create transformation for paying clients?

Relationship to 111: Run approximately 60% of the full 111 Formula. While this ideally happens over 6 months, you may take more time if a gentler pace suits your life better. The goal is learning, not speed.

Suggested Actions & Targets:

The following are all cumulative numbers, building on the work you’ve already done:

• 25 Stage 1 pieces
• 12 market discovery conversations
• 12 collaborations
• 6 Stage 2 pieces
• 6 Gentle Launches
• 4 Joyful Productivity practices ongoing
• 3 light client case studies documented (or in process)
• Begin practicing Healthy Money mindsets around pricing, receiving, investing

Outcomes:

• 3–5 paying clients who have experienced clear transformation
• 3 light case studies documenting real results
• Validated message-market fit: you know which content topics tend to get traction, and which offers tend to lead to client enrollment
• Clear patterns about what work energizes you versus what drains you
• Growing confidence in your ability to help people and receive payment for your valuable work
• Initial comfort with Healthy Money practices (pricing, receiving, investing)

Mindset Shift: From hypothesis testing to evidence gathering — you now have proof your work matters and that people will pay for it

Recommended Courses:

• Energy Signature (for authentic positioning)
• Describe Your Work (“What do you do?”)
• Create Aligned Offers (for offer refinement)
• Conscious Money Flow (for beginning Healthy Money practices)
• Optionally choose 1: Authentic Speaking, Interview Mastery, Launch Your 20-Person Group, Course Creator’s Journey, Blog-to-Book
  
  

Level 4: Integration

Core Focus: Run the complete 111 Formula for the first time, integrating all 7 Practices you’ve been building. The goal is to create reliable client flow and income through the consistent, compounding effect of all 111 actions.

Primary Question: What happens when I show up fully and consistently with all elements of the 111 Formula?

Relationship to 111: Run the full 111 Formula comprehensively. Someone moving quickly might complete this in 6 months or less, while someone preferring a more gradual, sustainable pace might take up to 24 months. Both approaches work — choose the pace that aligns with your energy and joy.

Full 111 Targets (cumulative from all previous levels):

• 40 Stage 1 Content Experiments
• 20 Market Discovery Conversations
• 20 Collaborations
• 10 Stage 2 Content Pieces
• 10 Gentle Launches
• 6 Joyful Productivity Practices
• 5 Solid Client Case Studies
• Established Healthy Money practices and reserves

Suggested Actions:

1. Complete the Full 111 Targets

• Add the remaining actions to reach each cumulative total
• Track your progress and notice the patterns that emerge from consistent and light work

2. Refine Case Studies into Compelling Assets

• Take your light case studies from Level 3 and polish them into compelling narratives
• Start working on case studies with your new clients

3. Solidify Your 2–3 Main Offers

• Based on what’s working, refine your core offer suite
• Document your delivery process (the first step toward your refined “Hat Manuals” in Level 5)

4. Strengthen Healthy Money Practices

• Establish consistent pricing
• Build financial tracking and planning systems
• Begin creating financial reserves (aim for at least 3 months of expenses)

5. Track and Analyze Patterns

• Use your tracking system to identify what’s working best — which content themes, collaborations, and gentle launches lead to clients
• Notice what practices bring you the most energy and which drain you

Mindset Shift: From experimenting and validating to integrating and refining — you now have a complete, repeatable practice that works

Move to Level 5 when:

• You’ve completed the full 111 Formula (or are within 10–20% of completion)
• You have 2–3 core offers that reliably generate income
• You have 5 solid case studies
• You can see clear, repeatable patterns in what leads to client flow
• You’re ready to systematize what you’ve learned
• You have several months of income that covers your basic business and personal expenses
• You have at least 3 months of financial reserves building

Recommended Courses:

• Your Signature Framework (for consolidating your approach)
• Choose 3: Authentic Speaking, Interview Mastery, Launch Your 20-Person Group, Course Creator’s Journey, Blog-to-Book, Effortless Yes
• Working with George 1–1 (for personalized guidance)
  
  

Level 5: Kaizen Forever

Core Focus: Make your 111 Formula sustainable and efficient by creating documented systems (“Hat Manuals”) for all 7 Practices. This turns your consistent and light work into a durable, resilient system that allows you to evolve through automation, delegation, and mentorship while protecting your energy for the long term.

Primary Question: How do I make this practice easy, sustainable, and continuously evolving while contributing to others and living well?

Relationship to 111: The 111 Formula runs smoothly with established systems. You continue with the regular practice while focusing on efficiency, evolution, and contribution. Your business “garden” is planted and producing; now you focus on tending it wisely.

Key Actions in Level 5:

1. Create Hat Manuals for Your 7 Practices

Document clear “how to” processes for each practice:

• Joyful Productivity: Your energy management, planning, and rest routines
• Authentic Content Creation: Your process for generating and publishing Stage 1 content as well as Stage 2 content
• Netcaring → Collabs: Your approach to building relationships and conducting collaborations
• Market Discovery → Aligned Offers: Your outreach, conversation, and offer development process
• Gentle Launches: Your step-by-step process for invitations and enrollment
• Mastery of Craft: Your client case study workflow
• Healthy Money: Your pricing, financial tracking, reserve-building systems, and investing

2. Automate and Simplify Where Aligned

• With clear hat manuals, identify steps for automation (e.g., email sequences, content scheduling)
• Create evergreen offerings that work while you rest

3. Delegate and Build Support

• Your Hat Manuals make it possible to outsource tasks that drain your energy
• Keep the work that brings you joy and delegate or automate the rest

4. Quarterly Reflection Practice

• Every 3–6 months, review your 7 practices
• Ask: What’s working? What’s draining? How can I improve or simplify?
• This is the heart of continuous evolution (Kaizen)

5. Mentor and Contribute

• Share your frameworks and journey to help others on earlier levels
• Your documented systems make it easier to teach what you’ve learned

6. Healthy Boundaries for Your Energy

• Set clear boundaries, plan for rest, and build financial buffers (aim now for at least 6 months of expenses)
• Ensure your business supports your life, not consumes it

Outcomes:

• A business that runs on efficient, documented systems (Hat Manuals for all 7 Practices)
• The ability to step away for extended breaks without everything collapsing
• Regular, predictable income from 2–3 core offers that feel aligned and sustainable
• Ample financial reserves (6+ months) for peace of mind
• Time and energy for mentorship, contribution, and personal evolution

Mindset Shift: From building to sustaining and evolving — your consistent and light work has compounded into a business that is a long-term vehicle for contribution and a flourishing life!

Recommended Courses:

• Authentic SEO (for long-term organic growth)
• Any other George Kao Courses that interest you
• Working with George 1–1 (for ongoing evolution and quarterly reflection support)

Note on Level 5: This is an ongoing state rather than a level to “complete.” You’ll continue refining, simplifying, and evolving through your quarterly reflection practice. Review annually: Is my schedule feeling aligned and joyful? Am I protecting my energy? Am I contributing in ways that matter to me? 🙏🏼🧡

You’ve Got This:

Take a few deep breaths… You’ve just absorbed a lot of information, and that’s exactly the kind of thorough, thoughtful approach that makes you the soulpreneur you are.

Remember: this 5-level template is meant to help you see that it’s not usually a good idea to try to do everything at once. It’s about giving yourself permission to build a business that honors your energy, respects your nervous system, and creates sustainable momentum.

Start small. Lightly design a 30 day experiment. (Or even 5 days if that feels better.) And then trust that you don’t have to have all the answers right now. The beauty of this approach is that it grows with you, adjusting as you learn more about what works for your unique business.

Your sensitivity isn’t a bug in the system… it is what allows you to serve your people at such a deep level. Remember: You’re not behind. You’re not doing it wrong. You’re exactly where you need to be.

I truly wish you joyful productivity as you move forward. 🌟

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