Elina jutelyte - 25 february 2026
Know your place
Did you watch Olympics? I was hugely inspired by one young lady, Chinese-American (or American-Chinese) athlete Eileen Gu, who competed in freestyle skiing, ending up as the most decorated ski athlete in her category at the age of 22.
And not only is she a successful sportswoman, but also a highly sought-after model, earning millions in brand endorsements.
When we see this kind of instant success, we think: wow, she must have a lucky star, being so beautiful, strong, and smart.
What we don’t see are the years of training, dedication and strategy.
But the most remarkable thing for me was that at a certain age she had to make a decision about which country she wanted to compete for: the US or China.
Being born in the US to a Chinese mother, she could have stayed and competed for the US (let’s put politics aside).
But she strategically decided to compete for China because the chances to get in the team, gain visibility, raise sponsorship support and training opportunities were much higher.
Choosing the right PLACE was the strategy.
Now, how often do we think about our place?
I bet, not at all. We’re just stuck wherever the wind of change has brought us, right?
However, place is one of the critical elements in your business strategy.
I see lots of freelancers struggle because their place is not defined. They are all over the place (pun intended) and not focused enough to yield results.
It took me some years to actually realise what I did wrong: both in my solo business and in the way I was running the Freelance Business Community.
I don’t want anyone to wait that long to discover what’s holding them back.
It is the way you combine all of it.
In fact, rarely does anyone look at business coherently.
For several reasons.
We don’t have a team to take care of the “system” (and to be frank, not even organisations with teams do that, which is totally crazy).
We don’t even know what the system is.
Until we understand how the business machine actually functions, we are not able to direct it to the right place.
When we look at successful entrepreneurs / solopreneurs, we see that:
It is not a coincidence.
It is that system in action and I have explained it all in my 8Ps framework.
But I really don't want to narrow myself...I got it.
Join FBC Monthly Cafe with Matt Cici 26 February, 16:00 CET, who is a multipotentialite creative who wears many hats: website designer, filmmaker, educator, and community leader.
If you’re someone who struggles to choose just one focus, or feels pulled in many creative directions, join us to hear directly from Matt about how he navigates it all and turns diverse interests into aligned, meaningful work.
I was genuinely impressed by how Matt sources and nurtures his clients for one of his service lines: website reviews and design (I experienced this firsthand).
That’s exactly why I invited him to the Café: so we can unpack his process, mindset, and approach together.
RSVP here.
Join us live if you’re a free member (recordings are reserved for Academy members.)
Regards,
Elina
And not only is she a successful sportswoman, but also a highly sought-after model, earning millions in brand endorsements.
When we see this kind of instant success, we think: wow, she must have a lucky star, being so beautiful, strong, and smart.
What we don’t see are the years of training, dedication and strategy.
But the most remarkable thing for me was that at a certain age she had to make a decision about which country she wanted to compete for: the US or China.
Being born in the US to a Chinese mother, she could have stayed and competed for the US (let’s put politics aside).
But she strategically decided to compete for China because the chances to get in the team, gain visibility, raise sponsorship support and training opportunities were much higher.
Choosing the right PLACE was the strategy.
Now, how often do we think about our place?
I bet, not at all. We’re just stuck wherever the wind of change has brought us, right?
However, place is one of the critical elements in your business strategy.
- Place is where (and how) we position ourselves.
- Place is where our customers are in abundance.
- Place is where your network will support you.
- Place is where you are connected.
- Place is where your talents come to the surface
I see lots of freelancers struggle because their place is not defined. They are all over the place (pun intended) and not focused enough to yield results.
It took me some years to actually realise what I did wrong: both in my solo business and in the way I was running the Freelance Business Community.
I don’t want anyone to wait that long to discover what’s holding them back.
- Is it your client — who is not… ideal?
- Is it your service value proposition that doesn’t resonate?
- Is it your marketing efforts and channels that are not effective?
- Is it the way you communicate about your business?
- Or is it your price? (Spoiler: mostly it is not.)
It is the way you combine all of it.
In fact, rarely does anyone look at business coherently.
For several reasons.
We don’t have a team to take care of the “system” (and to be frank, not even organisations with teams do that, which is totally crazy).
We don’t even know what the system is.
Until we understand how the business machine actually functions, we are not able to direct it to the right place.
When we look at successful entrepreneurs / solopreneurs, we see that:
- they are visible
- they build a supporting network around themselves
- they clearly express what they do and their messages are coherent
- they are recognised as experts in a specific field (also because they talk about it and others talk about them too)
- since others talk about them, they have social proof of their work
- their social proof is strong because they are so good at what they do
- they are good at what they do, so they get huge personal satisfaction from it
- as their energy is up, their creativity is up too — to come up with new ideas and solutions
It is not a coincidence.
It is that system in action and I have explained it all in my 8Ps framework.
But I really don't want to narrow myself...I got it.
Join FBC Monthly Cafe with Matt Cici 26 February, 16:00 CET, who is a multipotentialite creative who wears many hats: website designer, filmmaker, educator, and community leader.
If you’re someone who struggles to choose just one focus, or feels pulled in many creative directions, join us to hear directly from Matt about how he navigates it all and turns diverse interests into aligned, meaningful work.
I was genuinely impressed by how Matt sources and nurtures his clients for one of his service lines: website reviews and design (I experienced this firsthand).
That’s exactly why I invited him to the Café: so we can unpack his process, mindset, and approach together.
RSVP here.
Join us live if you’re a free member (recordings are reserved for Academy members.)
Regards,
Elina