61: The Minimum Necessary to Be Found

February 05, 2026

The Minimum Necessary to Be Found

If you’re a fabric creative who loves making… but feels completely drained by the idea of “having an online presence,” this episode is for you.

So many makers want their work to matter beyond the sewing room—but the internet can feel like a noisy stage you never asked to step onto. The pressure to post constantly, keep up with trends, or turn into a content machine can make visibility feel exhausting, inauthentic, and overwhelming.

In this episode, Virginia offers a calmer, more sustainable way to think about being online: not as performance, not as hustle—but simply as being findable. You’ll learn what it really means to give your work a small “front door,” why you don’t need to be everywhere, and how the minimum necessary presence can still create real connection and trust.

If you’ve been treating visibility like a burden… this conversation might feel like an exhale—and a practical way forward.

The VirginiaLeighStudio Home page:

https://www.virginialeighstudio.com

Chapters

00:00 — Online Presence Anxiety for Fabric Creatives

01:08 — You Don’t Need to Be an Influencer to Share Your Work

03:34 — What “Online Presence” Really Means (Not Marketing Pressure)

04:14 — Visibility for Makers: Being Findable Without Ego

05:33 — Simple Creative Business Visibility (Porch Light Approach)

05:50 — Why You Don’t Need Instagram, Pinterest, and Everything Else

06:29 — Content Creation Burnout and the Myth of Posting Daily

07:39 — Consistent Sharing for Small Creative Businesses

09:21 — Minimum Online Presence Framework: Home Base + Window + Rhythm

10:04 — Home Base Ideas: Website, Etsy, Kajabi, Portfolio

10:29 — Choose One Platform to Start (Instagram, Pinterest, Newsletter)

12:12 — What to Post as a Maker: Work, Process, or Personal Note

Join “The Maker’s Path” Membership:

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Website = https://www.virginialeighstudio.com

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Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/virginialeighstudio

Episode Transcript

E61 Transcript
At some point, almost every fabric creative runs into the same strange tension.
You love what you make.
You care about your work.
You might even want to sell it… or share it… or simply feel like it matters outside the walls of your sewing room.
And yet…
The idea of having an “online presence” can feel… exhausting.
That isn’t because you’re lazy and it’s not because you don’t understand the importance.
It’s because it feels heavy, complicated, like a ton of work and honestly – how do you even start!
It feels like one more thing.
One more place you’re supposed to show up.
One more invisible job added to the already-full life you’re living.
Most makers don’t avoid having an online presence because they don’t care.
They avoid it because it feels intimidating and a little bit intrusive. Maybe even a bit inauthentic.
It feels like it’s a performance.
It feels like you must become a constant content creator… when all you really wanted was to make something beautiful with fabric.
So today, I want to offer a different way to think about this.
This isn’t about becoming an influencer. Heck, I steer away from that too!
This isn’t about posting every day. Nobody has time for that.
This is about something much smaller.
It’s about giving your work a front door.
Just enough presence… to be found.
Just enough visibility… to let the work land somewhere.
That’s what we’re talking about today.
So join me as we walk through the MINIMUM necessary to be found.
Let’s start by looking at WHY PRESENCE MATTERS, why you need to be ‘Findable’
When people hear “online presence,” they immediately think marketing.
They think selling. They think strategy.
They think… ugh, do I have to start doing reels?
And I just want to say, very clearly:
That’s not necessarily what I mean.
Presence is not performance.
Presence is not necessarily promotion.
Presence is simply… being findable.
Because here’s the reality:
If you make something meaningful — something beautiful, something useful, something comforting…
The people who would love it…
Cannot find it if you’re invisible.
That’s just reality.
And I know that word “visibility” can feel a little loaded.
It can feel kinda egocentric.
But visibility isn’t about ego. It’s not about “Hey everyone, look at me!”
Visibility is access.
It’s stewardship.
It’s saying, quietly:
“This work exists.
And if it’s meant for you, you can find it.”
That’s it.
And for fabric creatives especially… this matters.
Because so many of us make in private.
We sew in corners of our homes.
We create in stolen hours.
We don’t always feel like we have permission to take up space.
So being findable isn’t our natural habitat.
But being findable isn’t about shouting.
It’s simply about opening the door Just a crack, so those who are interested can peek inside.
Let me say it another way.
Your online presence doesn’t have to be a stage. It can be a porch light.
Just enough to say:
“Yes, I’m here.”
I’ve seen this play out in my own business.
There were seasons where I thought I needed to do everything.
A website.
Instagram.
Facebook
Pinterest.
Blog
YouTube.
The only thing I didn’t try was billboards!
And what I learned — the hard way — is that being everywhere is not a good goal.
Being clear is a great goal.
Being findable is a great goal.
So if you’ve been feeling that pressure…
Like you’re falling behind, you’re failing because you’re not “showing up enough”…
I want you to exhale.
We’re not talking about doing more.
We’re talking about doing the minimum necessary.
So, let’s talk about the myth of everywhere for a minute.
Somewhere along the way, the internet convinced makers that visibility requires constant output.
Post every day.
Be consistent.
Stay on top of trends.
Use the right audio.
Engage in the first 30 second s.
I don’t know about you…
But that makes me want to go lay down.
Now I am not saying there’s anything wrong with those – but perhaps it’s not the best place to START.
Here’s what I know about me, and probably you - Fabric people are not usually drawn to this work because we want to perform.
We’re drawn to it because we want to make.
We want texture. We want color. We want something real.
So the hustle framing doesn’t fit us very well.
And it’s not sustainable.
Most makers don’t shrink away because they don’t care about that stuff.
They shrink back because they think it has to be big.
They think:
“If I can’t go all out, If I can’t do it like they do it, I shouldn’t do it at all.”
And that’s the trap.
Because the truth is:
A small consistent presence beats those sudden out bursts.
Consistency is better than intensity. And consistency is whatever you say it is.
If once a day works for you – go for it. If only twice a week is manageable for you – that’s it. If Saturdays only is what you can manage, so be it.
The goal is not perfection or some random number made up by someone else.
The goal is contact-contact with the people who like what you do and want to hear from you. Contact builds trust. It builds that likability factor.
Let me give you an example.
If you post ten things in one week…
And then vanish for three months…That doesn’t build trust.
It builds pressure.
But if you share one small thing…
Once a week…
A detail.
A moment.
A piece of fabric on your table…
That builds a thread. That’s contact. That’s presence.
And if you’re the listener who really feels the need to be present out there, you’re probably thinking:
“Yes, but I don’t want to be online all the time.”
Good.
You don’t need to be.
You just need one place.
One place is the minimum, whatever consistency you choose.
That’s THE MINIMUM FRAMEWORK
So let’s get practical here
The minimum necessary to be found is this:
One home base.
One public window.
One simple rhythm.
That’s it.
One place to land. (That’s your home base)
One place to be seen. (That’s the one public window)
One way to return. (That’s the simple rhythm that works for you)
Let’s break that down.
The One Home Base
is the place your work lives.
Not everywhere. Just somewhere.
It could be
A website.
An Etsy shop.
A Kajabi page.
A simple link.
A Google drive folder
Something you can point to.
So that if someone says,
“Oh my gosh, where can I see your work?”
You don’t have to scramble.
You have a front door.
One Public Window
This is how people notice you.
Instagram OR Pinterest OR a newsletter.
Pick one.
Not all of them.
Just one window where the light is on.
And I know people overcomplicate this.
They think they have to “build a platform.”
No. No, not in the beginning.
You just need a window for starters.
A place where your work occasionally appears, out in public, out there, so people can notice you.
That’s it.
One Simple Rhythm
And this is where the pressure drops.
Once a week counts.
Truly.
Once a week is steady.
Once a week is human.
Once a week is sustainable.
And if you miss a week?
You’re not failing. You’re living.
Just get back to the rhythm as soon as you can.
The rhythm is not a contract.
It’s a return.
Let me tell you what this looks like in real life.
Sometimes my “online presence” is simply a photo of fabric on my cutting table or a short story about today.
No fancy setup.
No perfect lighting.
Just:
“This is what I’m doing today.”
That’s enough. That’s contact.
And for some of you, the most important thing you’ll hear today is:
You do not need to earn visibility by exhausting yourself.
All you need is the minimum necessary to be found.
Now let’s address the question everyone asks:
What counts as sharing?
“What do I post?”
Great question.
And the answer is simpler than the internet would have you believe.
There are three things you can share.
Number 1 - The Work
What’s on your table.
A finished piece.
A stack of cut fabric.
A quilt block.
A sleeve you’re proud of.
Very simply. Just pictures of your work.
Number 2 - The Process
A detail.
A texture.
A tool.
The way linen wrinkles.
The way velvet catches light.
Your favorite needle.
This is where fabric people shine.
Because the process is the point.
And people love to see your process. Behind the scenes.
And number 3 - The Person (that would be you)
One sentence or interesting thought.
Not a life story.
Just a little human presence.
“I’m making this because I needed something calming this week.”
Or:
“This fabric made me ridiculously happy.”
That’s it.
That’s enough.
No trends.
No dancing.
No pressure.
No Performance Required
Just work.
Process.
and Person.
And if you do that once a week…
You are present. You are findable.
And I want you to recognize something here.
The internet tells you to perform.
Fabric teaches you to practice.
Your presence can feel like fabric.
Quiet.
Textural.
Steady.
So here’s what I’d invite you to do for a moment.
Keep this simple. There’s nothing here to perfect — just something to recognize.
Where could your work have a small front door?
Not a stage. Not a billboard.
Just a door.
What would “once a week” look like for you?
Would it be a photo?
A sentence?
A fabric detail?
What kind of sharing feels natural…
and what kind feels like pretending?
And here’s a big one:
Have you been treating visibility like performance…
when it could simply be presence?
Just enough to be found.
Juuuuuust enough to be found.
Online presence does not have to be noisy and overwhelming.
It does not have to be constant.
It does not have to turn you into someone you’re not.
The minimum necessary is enough.
One place to land.
One place to be seen.
One way to rinse and repeat.
Being findable is not about ego.
It’s about access.
It’s about stewardship.
It’s giving your work a front door.
And most of all…
Presence is a practice.
Not a performance.
Now next week, we’re going to talk about the other side of this:
Making time.
Not by adding more pressure…
but by clearing a small space where making can actually happen.
Because you don’t need more on your plate.
You need a way back to the cloth.
Until next time…
Keep your hands on the cloth…
and your heart in the work.

61: The Minimum Necessary to Be Found

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