I quit social media 2 years ago - has it ruined my small business?

Nearly 2 years ago, at the end of March 2024, I logged out of social media, and never logged back in again. Enough was enough. 

You can read more about why I initially decided to quit social media here: Why I Quit Instagram in 2024. But in summary, social media just wasn’t making me feel good. I was spending too much time on it, and it wasn’t aligned with the life I wanted to create for myself.

Quitting social media felt like a big risk, as I run a small greeting card business in Cheltenham called Jess A Little Creative, and I was worried about the impact that leaving social media would have on my small business. But I knew deep down that in order to run the business sustainably long term, I needed to step away from social media. Else I would fall out of love with a business I am so passionate about.

So two years on from my decision to quit social media, I thought it was a good time to reflect, to look at the pros and cons of quitting social media, and the impact it’s had on my small business, and my life generally.

If you’re considering quitting social media, but are perhaps worried about the impact it will have on your connections and friendships, or indeed your own small business, I hope sharing my experience will help you make an informed decision, and feel less alone. 

So let’s get stuck into exactly what 2 years away from social media has meant for my small business…

*And as a quick note of context before we get into this, at the time of writing this I still have a Facebook and Instagram account, I just don’t log into them or use them. I haven’t completely deleted social media (yet…).

The cons of quitting social media

1. I can sometimes feel a little out of the loop…

I’m not here to tell you to instantly quit social media, or criticise those who do still use and enjoy it (I’m actually envious of those who manage to have a healthy relationship with it!). It’s a very personal decision. And sometimes, I do question if I made the right decision. 

I was worried I would lose friends or be ‘forgotten’ when I quit social media, but I’m happy to say that hasn’t happened, and if anything I feel closer to my friends. But I do sometimes still feel out of the loop. 

Many people assume I have seen what they’ve been up to on social media, so I do find myself having to gently remind friends that I haven’t seen anything, and would love to hear all their news, and see their gorgeous photos.

And the same goes for fellow small business owners. Many share a lot of their news on social media, but I miss out on all of that. I have tried to find and cultivate my own sense of community though, away from social media, by growing my email list, and taking a more active part in my local community, joining various local groups and clubs. 

It can be hard when you can’t join in a conversation about a certain social media trend or viral video, but ultimately that’s when I remind myself of the big picture. I am building a meaningful, aligned life for myself, and social media just doesn’t fit into that. It sometimes feels hard to go against the grain of what it feels like everybody else is doing though.

2. It can be hard to reach a large audience without a social media presence

I won’t lie, and pretend it’s not hard to reach a big audience without social media. I don’t have the budget to heavily invest in advertising, and my mailing list is small, so social media was a great way to reach new people. But I don’t think it brought enough new customers to justify the time I spent on it. 

I now invest that time differently, working hard on SEO, and I’m starting to see an increase in orders coming through my own website from people finding me directly, which is fantastic. I’m quite lucky that I find the more ‘boring’ parts of running a small business, like SEO, quite interesting and so have been able to be quite disciplined with committing time to that. There’s still a long way to go, and even with the best SEO in the world, I will never be able to compete with the big household names that are able to spend thousands on advertising. 

It’s not easy. But trying to go viral on social media isn’t easy either. You have to think about which ‘not easy’ thing is the best use of your time long-term for your business, and what brings you the most enjoyment.

3. I still spend more time on my phone than I’d like to

I’m far from perfect. I still spend more time on my phone than I would like to. I sometimes have to go on Facebook to find contact details for people. I find myself checking my phone during every ad break. 

I hoped that quitting social media would hugely reduce my screen time, and although it has, I do find social media time has been replaced by other things. For example, I was never much of a YouTube user, but now I’m always looking at things on there. 

Quitting social media has shown me that while it is addictive, the actual phones themselves are also addictive, and just deleting social media isn’t always the solution. There will always be some other thing to grab your attention and keep you scrolling (it’s actually quite scary how phones do that). 

I’m still working on other ways to reduce my phone time, but being aware of your phone use and how it’s making you feel is a good start.

The pros of quitting social media

1. Quitting social media has made me more focused and productive

One of the biggest differences I’ve noticed from 2 years away from social media is my productivity. I was finding it so hard to get anything done in my small business when I had social media, as the notifications were endless and I was forever checking my phone (particularly if I’d posted on social media that day). 

By the time I’d done a social media post, posted on Instagram Stories, and scrolled through to see what everyone else was doing, the amount of actual work I was getting done on my own small business was minimal. I felt like I was working hard, and posting on social media can form part of an effective marketing strategy, but I was stuck in a hamster wheel that wasn’t moving anywhere fast…

I now find that I get so much more done, and I also focus on things that really help develop and grow my greeting card business, like working on new designs (a task that I love but never managed to carve out enough time for), and building the wholesale side of the business. 

2. I definitely compare myself less to other small businesses

Improved focus and productivity goes hand in hand with comparison. Less comparison = more productivity. I used to constantly compare myself to other small businesses before quitting social media. It made me freeze, doubt my own ideas and plans, and again, ultimately, not get much done. 

But now, I can stay focused on what I need to do, without those comparisons and doubts in my head. Of course, it’s important to not completely bury your head in the sand, but I am definitely running my small business with more confidence, and making decisions because they’re right for me, not just because it’s what everyone else is doing. 

If you’re like me, and you’re running a small business with no formal business qualifications, it’s natural (and helpful) to look to others for guidance. But it’s important to have confidence and trust in your own decisions. You are the person who knows your business best.

The only comparison I make now is with myself, looking at the business data and seeing what’s working, and what isn’t, and if everything still aligns with my goals, and my values. 

And that is such a nicer place to run a small business from.

3. I am focusing on building a life I want to live, which is aligned with my values

I recently sent an email to my mailing list about feeling aligned with your values and beliefs, and creating a life you want to live, as I think it is so crucial. 

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had wobbles over the last couple of years about whether I’d done the right thing quitting social media. But when I return to the big picture, my vision of what I want my life to look like, I always feel like I made the right decision. I didn’t want a life that involved lots of scrolling on social media, and I had to take action to make that happen.

Every decision we make every day goes towards creating the life we live. And spending hours scrolling on a phone is not how I want to live my life. 

I want more time in nature, more hugs with friends, more creativity. And I won’t get that from scrolling on my phone. Sometimes you have to take some scary jumps to create the life you want to live. It takes courage, but is so worth it.

4. Since quitting social media in 2024, my small business has seen a huge amount of growth

I quit social media to improve my wellbeing, and help me live a fulfilling and happy life, but as a small business owner, it was scary to do this. I had lovely, loyal customers on social media, and I was worried that orders would just disappear.

I did experience a big drop in repeat customers after leaving social media in the first year (about 50%), and I struggled to get existing customers to sign up to my email list, so I did have to accept an initial drop in revenue and orders. But, due to having more time, and less distraction, I was able to grow other areas of the business, such as wholesale. 

So in actual fact, these two years since quitting social media, have been my two best years in business to date. And I don’t see that as a coincidence. Social media was making me feel busy and productive, but it wasn’t doing anything to help me grow! I now know I am focusing on the right things that actually make a difference.

Will I end up deleting my social media accounts permanently?

Now that it’s been 2 years since quitting social media, I think I can quietly say I won’t be going back. Never say never, but I think it’s highly unlikely. I don’t miss it at all! 

I haven’t yet deleted my social media accounts, but I think that will end up happening one day too. 

Quitting social media wasn’t an easy decision, and it won’t be the right decision for everyone, but I can happily say it has improved my wellbeing, and hasn’t negatively impacted my small business. 

……….........

And that’s what 2 years away from social media has looked like for me. As you can see, I’m not perfect. Despite quitting social media, I still spend too much time on my phone. But overall, I know I made the right decision. When I look at the big picture of my life, and how I want to spend my time, social media just does not feature. And I’m proud I have gone against the grain, and left it behind. While the rest of the world spends so much time online, it feels a bit scary to break away from that and do something different.

But I know there are other people out there who feel the same way as me (probably you, if you’ve read this far!). I would absolutely love to hear from you, if you have thoughts on anything I’ve written about today. I’d love to connect with those of you who have quit social media, are considering quitting social media, or maybe you’ve got a really healthy relationship with social media and can share some tips about that. Please get in touch, it would be so nice to hear from you.

And if anything I’ve shared today has resonated with you, and you want to feel connected and part of a community without social media, please join my mailing list. I send one email a week that I hope feels much like this blog, a cosy chat with a friend (and it’s also the best way to stay up-to-date with my greeting card business). 

Thank you so much for reading,

Love, Jess x