Who Eats Lunch First? Prioritize Marketing That Grows

Status shows up in places we pretend it doesn’t.

I see it every time a solopreneur says, “I’ll post when I’m caught up,” or “I need a better logo before I pitch myself,” or “I’ll start outreach after I finish client work.” That’s not laziness. It’s a quiet status decision about what gets to go first.

Seth Godin’s idea of “who eats lunch first” is really about the invisible negotiations we’re having all day long—about who matters in this moment. In a one-person business, that negotiation gets weird, because you’re both the boss and the staff. And if “busy work” keeps eating lunch first, your marketing never does.

This matters for the Small Business Social Media USA series because social media isn’t mainly a creativity problem. It’s a prioritization problem. You don’t need more hacks. You need a clearer internal rule for what goes first—especially in January, when the “new year, new plan” energy is high and attention resets across platforms.

“Lunch first” is a prioritization policy, not a schedule

If your marketing is inconsistent, you’re not missing motivation. You’re missing a policy.

A policy is the default decision you make when your day gets tight. It’s the rule that decides whether you publish the post you planned, or “just handle email quickly” and lose an hour.

In social groups, “who eats first” signals status. In business, what you do first signals what you believe creates value—even if you’d never say it out loud.

Here’s the uncomfortable version: if you always do client delivery first, admin second, and marketing “when there’s time,” you’re operating like marketing is low status.

That’s a problem because marketing is the part that protects Future You.

The solopreneur status trap: urgent work feels higher status

Urgent tasks give instant feedback:

• An inbox hits zero.
• A client responds “thanks!”
• An invoice gets paid.

Marketing usually doesn’t.

A TikTok might pay off in 48 hours, or in 6 months. A LinkedIn post might lead to a conversation that leads to a referral in April. Because the reward is delayed, your brain (and your calendar) quietly demote it.

Most solopreneurs aren’t avoiding marketing. They’re awarding status to urgency.

A simple stance: marketing eats lunch first

If you want predictable leads, marketing can’t be a leftover activity.

Your job is to set a rule like:

“Before I check email, I publish or distribute one piece of content.”

Or:

“Before I start client work, I do 20 minutes of outreach.”

Not because it’s romantic. Because it’s a priority decision that compounds.

Status is something you’re awarding all day—especially on social media

Every interaction on social media is a small negotiation about what’s important.

That sounds abstract until you translate it into your actual week:

• Do you respond to comments from ideal customers faster than you respond to random DMs?
• Do you spend time polishing Canva graphics while ignoring the uncomfortable work of following up with warm leads?
• Do you treat your own point of view like it matters, or do you post “safe” content that could’ve been written by anyone?

Godin’s point is that we award status without thinking, and that has consequences. For solopreneurs, the consequence is usually this: you end up reinforcing a system where other people’s priorities run your business.

The “breadwinner” status story shows up in your calendar

A lot of solopreneurs carry an old status model: the responsible one is the one who ships the work, answers quickly, and stays available.

That’s admirable.

It’s also a recipe for feast-or-famine marketing.

Because the responsible thing in a one-person business is also to keep demand steady. That requires a different status story:

• Creating content is production.
• Distribution is production.
• Relationship-building is production.

If it creates future revenue, it’s not optional.

A practical framework: protect “high-status hours” for growth

If you want social media marketing that actually produces leads, pick a time slot when you’re mentally sharp and protect it for growth work.

Call it high-status hours—the part of the day where your best energy goes first.

For most people, that’s the first 60–120 minutes of the morning (or the first block after a workout/school drop-off/coffee ritual). The point isn’t the exact time. The point is that marketing gets your best brain, not your leftovers.

Step 1: Choose one growth input and make it non-negotiable

Pick one:

1. Publish (write/post one thing)
2. Distribute (turn one idea into multiple posts)
3. Engage (comment thoughtfully on 10 posts from your niche)
4. Outreach (DM/email 5 warm contacts)

Then set a floor you can hit even on a chaotic day:

• 15 minutes of engagement
• or one short post
• or one follow-up message

Floors beat goals. Floors survive real life.

Step 2: Tie the task to a lead outcome

Solopreneurs burn out on “content for content’s sake.” Make the connection explicit.

Example: If your offer is a $2,000 service and you need 2 new clients/month, you might aim for:

• 8 sales conversations/month
• 20 warm leads/month
• consistent weekly content that feeds those conversations

A useful rule of thumb in small business social media marketing: content is for attention, but conversations are for conversion.

So your weekly system should include both.

Step 3: Build a “status ladder” for tasks

When everything feels important, nothing is.

Here’s a simple ladder you can adopt:

• Level 1 (Highest status): Activities that create demand (content, outreach, partnerships, referral asks)
• Level 2: Activities that fulfill demand (sales calls, proposals, onboarding)
• Level 3: Activities that maintain operations (invoicing, scheduling, admin)
• Level 4 (Lowest status): Activities that feel productive but don’t move revenue (excessive formatting, tool tinkering, doom-scrolling “research”)

Most solopreneurs operate with Level 2 and 3 at the top because they’re immediate.

Flip it. Protect Level 1 first.

What this looks like on real platforms (USA small business edition)

Consistency is easier when your social media plan matches your offer and your personality.

Below are practical “who eats lunch first” choices by platform—meant for American small businesses where time is tight and leads matter.

LinkedIn: treat comments like the main product

LinkedIn still rewards thoughtful engagement, especially for service providers.

If you can only do one thing on LinkedIn each weekday:

• Write 3–5 meaningful comments on posts from people your customers follow (founders, local business owners, industry voices).

Then publish 2–3 times/week:

• One opinion post (“Most companies get this wrong…”) tied to your service
• One short story from client work (without breaking confidentiality)
• One practical checklist

Lunch-first decision: engagement before posting. Comments create visibility and relationships fast.

Instagram: prioritize proof and process over aesthetics

Instagram is still strong for local services, creators, and consumer brands—but “pretty” doesn’t win by itself.

Your lunch-first content types:

• Before/after
• Quick process videos
• Client FAQs
• “What I’d do if I were starting over” reels

Batch one 45-minute shoot weekly. Post from that library.

Lunch-first decision: record messy-but-real footage first; edit second.

TikTok: pick one repeatable series and stick to it for 30 days

TikTok punishes random.

Create one series where viewers know what they’ll get:

• “Fixing common [industry] mistakes in 60 seconds”
• “Pricing breakdowns for [service]”
• “What I’d ask before hiring a [role]”

Lunch-first decision: repeat the format; don’t chase trends.

Local service businesses: use social to trigger referrals

If you’re a solo operator in a local market (photographer, accountant, home services, coach), social media should support referral behavior.

Lunch-first weekly habit:

• Post one “referral-friendly” update that makes it easy to remember you.

Example formulas:

• “This month, I’m taking 3 new clients for [specific problem]. If you know someone dealing with that, send them my way.”
• “Here’s the difference between a cheap fix and the fix that lasts (photos included).”

Lunch-first decision: clarity beats cleverness.

People also ask: “What if I really don’t have time for marketing?”

You do, but it’s currently being spent on low-status tasks.

A realistic minimum for solopreneurs is 30 minutes/day, 4 days/week for marketing, split like this:

• 10 minutes engagement
• 10 minutes publishing (or drafting)
• 10 minutes outreach or follow-up

That’s 2 hours/week.

If that feels impossible, your business isn’t “too busy.” It’s under-systemized. Tighten delivery processes, raise prices, or reduce customization so you can buy back time. Marketing starvation isn’t a badge of honor.

Build a business where Future You gets fed first

Status is always present, even when it’s invisible. And in a one-person business, your default status decisions show up as results: consistent leads or constant scrambling.

If you want your social media marketing to work, decide that marketing eats lunch first. Not forever. Just first.

Protect a small daily block for growth work. Publish or engage before you get swallowed by other people’s priorities. Over a month, you’ll see the difference. Over a year, it changes what kind of business you’re running.

What would happen if, for the next 10 business days, you treated content and relationship-building as the highest-status work on your calendar—before email, before admin, before “just one more quick task”?