The Business Magic Trick

March 1, 2025

Welcome to the Sunday Brief where each week, I share insights and experiences from my entrepreneurial journey, along with a short article designed to resonate with fellow small business owners.

A Note From @Tos.Boss

Good Morning! ??

Welcome to March—the last month of the first quarter of 2025 (and, dare I say, tax season). Today, I’ll be wrapping up some final reconciliations and reviewing our personal bookkeeping for the CPA. (Yes, even I procrastinate sometimes.) Hopefully, you’re ahead of me, but if not—you know who to call or email.

How was your week? Mine was a whirlwind—traveling, being Grandma, CEO, student, and Mom—all at once. Somewhere in the chaos, I totally forgot to write the Brief. Oh well, ?? happens! But you know what else happens? Magic.

This week’s Brief is all about the magic of business. A while back, while asking for referrals, I got a response that truly surprised me. It reminded me of an old phrase: Fake it till you make it. These days, if you’re into meditation and visualization, they say to see yourself as the person you want to become. Turns out, the business world has been using this trick long before it was trendy. Let’s talk about the magic behind the curtain. ????

The Business Magic Trick:?

Fake it 'til You Make it. ?

Small business owners often need to project a bigger, more established presence to gain trust and credibility. Just like a magician’s illusion, the right mix of professional support—whether it’s a polished phone answering service, a virtual assistant, or a well-branded location—can make a one-person operation look like a full-scale enterprise. And that’s not a bad thing! Even the great and powerful Wizard of Oz used a grand display to command attention, but behind the curtain, it was strategy and resourcefulness that truly made the magic happen.

I once asked a client for a referral after he shared how much he loved TheOfficeSquad’s phone answering service. His response? “Oh, I don’t know. I use you guys so that people think I have a full office. If I tell them how much I like The Squad, they’ll know I don’t.” He saw our service as part of the illusion, helping him look more established, and he feared pulling back the curtain would expose the trick. But here’s the thing—the magic wasn’t in the illusion, it was in the reality that we were delivering professional, reliable support that made his business run smoothly. Faking it only works when there’s real substance backing it up. You can have a sleek office address, a team that makes you look bigger, and services that give the appearance of a full operation—but at the end of the day, the goal is to build something that actually functions like one.

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So yes, use the business magic trick. Let your team, your technology, and your operational support be the “smoke and mirrors” that elevate your presence. But don’t keep it a secret—because great businesses aren’t built on illusions, they’re built on trust, delegation, and smart systems. The real magic isn’t in pretending to be bigger; it’s in having the right squad behind you, making sure everything runs smoothly while you focus on growing.