Welcome to episode 100. This is such a fun milestone to celebrate, And that got me thinking about all of the milestones that aren't so fun to celebrate, you know, all the things that happen in business that no one talks about but everyone deals with. My clients come to me all the time with situations that they use as evidence that they won't be successful, that they think no one else is dealing with. But then they let out this huge sigh of relief as soon as I tell them, this is all normal. It doesn't mean anything about what's possible for you, and I've dealt with all of it too. In reality, these situations are far more common than they realize, and they're a necessary part of learning how to run and scale a business. So For this episode, I decided to share 100 milestones from my own entrepreneurial journey so far. These aren't the typical milestones that we celebrate.

In fact, a lot of them are things that no one wants to talk about. They're the kinds of things that most people hide. In fact, there's a lot of things that I've never talked about or shared before, but I believe that these are just as much a sign of progress and they deserve to be celebrated. Now, fair warning, many of these are mortifying. I can't believe that I'm gonna share some of them. But when similar things happen to you, I don't want you to believe that you're the only one or that it's the end of the world. Instead, maybe you'll do what I do when these things happen now. I feel all the feelings, But then, I get to the point where I'm able to laugh a little, and I just tell myself, well, I guess I've made it.

If this is happening, then I've made it to the big leagues. And then the 2nd 3rd time these Types of things happen. I'm able to laugh them off right away. I build up my resilience. I've proven that I can handle just about anything. And let me tell you, that couldn't be more true. Now things happen that early in my business may have taken me days, weeks to get over, sometimes months. And now, I just laugh it off and move on.

So here we go. These are some of my most mortifying milestones that I can remember over all of the years of growing my business so far. Some of them, I may go through quickly, And some of them, I'm sure I won't be able to stop myself from explaining and telling a little story. So Let's dive right in, because there are 100 of these, 100. Okay. Number 1, I booked 17 sales calls and only got one yes. This was very early in my business. I was so excited about booking in all 17 sales calls, but then I only got one yes.

There was a lot that I learned from that. Trust me. Number 2, sales call no shows. I remember my very first no show and everything that I made that mean about me. None of it was true. Now if someone doesn't show up, I just move on and actually look at how I can spend that time doing something else. Number 3, hosting a sales call and not even making an offer. Y'all, I used to hop on a sales call with someone and talk to them and get so nervous that I wouldn't even give them the opportunity to work with me.

I would let them know if they had any questions. Feel free to reach out anytime, but I wouldn't even talk about my offer. Obviously, I had to get over that. 4th, I got my first yes to a 5 k coaching package. Now, I remember when this happened. I got up out of my desk chair, Ran out of my office into the living room, screaming at the top of my lungs in celebration. And then, they ghosted me. They never paid, even though they said yes, and that they were ready to get started.

They never paid. They never responded, and it turned into a no. I was so excited. And then immediately, All of that excitement was shattered, when over the next several days and even weeks, I never heard back. 5th, I promoted a webinar and had 0 registrations. Not a single person sign up. I want you to know that things like this are normal. 6, one of my very first coaches Copied my content.

I sent her my strategic plan, the way that I think about mapping out a plan to grow and scale a business, and then she turned that into a template inside of the program that I had access to. Are you kidding me? That is not okay. Now at the time, I didn't just let it go completely, but I also didn't handle it as well as I would today. I did ask her to give me credit, but I didn't ask her to remove it. That's sketchy. That's not what coaches are supposed to do, speak up when things like that happen, you'd be surprised how often they happen. Number 7, I received a cease and desist. The very first time that I received something, I was on an airplane.

I was doing a little work, because it was for a business trip, and I had Internet on the flight. I received an email letting me know and Couldn't do anything about it, because I was 30,000 feet up in the air. It was leading into a weekend. So I literally couldn't do anything until Monday. And that weekend, I had the hardest time sleeping and Didn't know what it meant, if I was gonna have to completely rebrand. And what's crazy is, I had no idea that was only the first of many to come. And now I know how to handle that, I'm more educated on what it means when I see receive some kind of a cease and desist around, let's say, a trademark, for example. I even recorded an entire episode with my trademark attorney.

So go look for that, we'll link that up in the show notes for you, and then know this is a normal part of business. Now, I receive things like this and I just forward it to my attorney, and it's handled without any drama. 8, the 1st time I had to let a team member go. 9, the 1st time a team member quit. Man, I those sent me back for days. 10, an email sent out with name instead of their actual name. I know I'm not the only one. 11, an email sent out with the wrong link, 12, an email sent out with a subject line from the last email because we just duplicated the prior one before reformatting and forgot to change the subject line.

All of those very simple mistakes, but, man, I made them mean so many things about what people would think about me, whether they'd wanna work with me, when in fact, I bet most people didn't even notice. 13, my spouse doubting that my business was even working. Let me tell you, he changed his tune now. Fourteen, the 1st DM that I got from a man telling me how beautiful I was. And I get so many of those, not because of my actual looks. I think they're all spam, but, no, I just think to myself, okay, great, thanks, and then Move on. 15, on Instagram, someone pretending to be me by recreating a profile using my content, my photos, and then sending DMs to my followers. That very first time, I was super frustrated.

I didn't know how to get them removed. I had to figure that out. It's happened since then, and now it's just a simple process. Now I know exactly what to do. 16, the 1st time a client canceled. 17, a client asking for a refund on a $67 offer. Eighteen, the client not renewing, even when they had amazing results, even when they were one of my favorites. 19, social posts going out with typos.

20, a guest not showing up on time for a podcast interview. And after waiting several minutes. I sent a message, offering to reschedule. They were so upset that I rescheduled, but they were late. Anyway, things like this are gonna happen. 21, a client sharing my content with their clients without permission, literally copying and pasting and sharing a resource. 22 clients enrolling and not taking action or using the support they paid for. I used to make this mean so much about me before I realized that this is just normal.

So many people are going to pay you and think that just that payment is enough to transform them and to get results, but then they don't show up and do the work. Now we've built in things into our process to provide some accountability to touch base, but I just remember when those clients just really didn't use the support that they had, I thought something was wrong. It's actually normal. 23, a team member ghosting. I had a podcast editor a long time ago, not my current one. My podcast editing team now is amazing, but I had 1 in the past who just disappeared, just never replied to a message again, Didn't do their work, disappeared. It's unfortunate, but it happens. 24 client scope creep, clients just asking for more above and beyond what's in the contract, which sometimes we do choose to over deliver, but sometimes it gets out of hand and it's something that you have to learn to deal with because you're not obligated to do things beyond the contract.

25, a team member deciding to help with social engagement by going and commenting on other people's posts and commenting on a bunch of my competitors' content. Now I don't have a lot of thoughts about competition, and I think that there's more than enough clients to go around for all of us, but I certainly don't want to go comment on all of their posts, and make it look like I'm trying to get their clients. Right? So that was a quick fix, deleting a few things, but, man, an embarrassing moment, team members are gonna do things like that, and it was all out of a good intention of trying to help. 26, boxing a client accidentally with a toilet flush, an audible toilet flush in the background. It was an accident. I wasn't talking to them. Just accidentally hit the button and caught the toilet flush in the background. There are gonna be some embarrassing things that happen y'all.

27, I booked in a guest coach for a group program on a specific topic that they said that they were an expert in. But then, when it came time for them to actually show up and do the training, She'd completely pivoted her business, and now she was an expert in something else, something else entirely. That was interesting. 28, the 1st time I ever had to have a performance correction meeting with a team member, It's not fun. The awkwardness of trying to give that feedback and firmly tell them the consequences if performance doesn't improve. That's not an easy moment, but it's definitely a necessary one. 29, sharing ideas with a peer multiple times, and then they just would decide to do the exact same thing. 30, My 1st email unsubscribes, I remember going in to look at all of the unsubscribes before, like, really evaluating who is unsubscribing.

Again, so many of these have just made them mean things about me that weren't even true. Now I get unsubscribes and I'm like, yes. I'm filtering people out who don't wanna be here. 31, the 1st time someone ever reported my email as spam, even though they had signed up. 32, my Facebook ad campaign bombed. Not all of them, just one particular, the first time Something bombed, and I felt like I just completely wasted money. 33, Facebook ads rejected. I spent all of this time creating all the perfect ads, and then they were all just rejected.

34, I owed the IRS $25,000 for a tax payment. Luckily, I had been saving up and I had that cash flow in my business, but I certainly, I don't think I ever thought that I'd have a tax payment that large. Now I gladly pay my taxes. That time, it was a little difficult to write that check. 35, the coding error on my website that took down the entire site. I was messing around where I shouldn't have been, crashed the entire thing. Good thing that I had a backup. And was able to restore it all.

36, just looking back at some of my old content and cringing. The things that I said before, that I wouldn't say now, The graphics, the videos, how uncomfortable I was, so much has changed in a good way. 37, I was accused of copying someone else's program. She later apologized, but I had a lot of drama around that because I didn't copy her program, by the way. 38, no engagement on content. Posting things and getting no response. I used to think that that meant something. It doesn't.

It means nothing. People are still watching. 39, saying yes on a sales call when I really wanted to say no, and then having to follow through on that payment afterwards. Because one thing I do is if I say yes, then I follow through, I commit. But, man, I think I really wanted to say no. She was a great salesperson, but I didn't feel great about it afterwards. But I like I said, I honored my commitment because I did say yes. But that was a great lesson to learn and to know to really only say yes when I really mean yes, forty when I've had my trademark rights infringed on.

And I had to send an email to a very well known coach who is using my trademark unknowingly. She didn't do it on purpose. But man, that was a tough moment to send an email to someone that you really respect, but it was a good one to protect my rights on my trademark. 41, the first time I had a client payment bill. 42, how embarrassed I was when my payment failed for a coach a long time ago. 43 DMs from people representing a PR firm, wanting you to pay to be included in an article. Have you gotten those? Just a milestone. It's a milestone showing that you're getting visible, you're making progress, you're gonna start receiving things like this.

44, social content copied almost exactly, same words, same graphic, different colors, 45, being asked a very controversial question on a podcast. I think I rocked it though, but it was uncomfortable. 46, not paying myself. There were definitely months where I didn't pay myself early in my business. 47, maxing out a credit card. Yep. Totally invested in things on a credit card, maxed it out to invest in my business, and I wouldn't change a thing about it. I don't think it was bad at the moment.

I remember all of the thoughts that I had about having a debt, but I'm so glad that I did. I wouldn't be where I am now without doing that. 48, enrolling clients who are not a great fit. 49, my husband's sitting across the room during a client call and letting out a fart. Y'all, if you haven't had a family member doing something like that during a call, Have you really made it in business yet? Trust me, it hasn't happened, it will. So embarrassing. And at the same time, it happens between kids, a husband, spouse, partner, things will happen. Fifty, pushing a launch back, not feeling confident, not feeling like things were working and just pushing the whole thing back.

51, hiring family members and it not working out. 52, hiring too quickly out of desperation. 53, over investing and over consuming, investing in all the programs and courses and everything, and just spending so much time consuming and learning versus actually taking action. 54, browsing job listings. There are days when I look back over the course of my business where my mind let me wander to that place of, Maybe I should just go get a job, that would be easier. So I've totally browsed job listings. 55, letting go of my entire team and clients to go in a different direction, and then changing my mind a few months later and starting over. 56, when clients make more money than you.

I used to think something What's strange about that? I used to feel a certain way about it. Now I'm so freaking excited for my clients. I love that they make more money than me because I have many that do. They are further along in their journey and I gained my knowledge and experience in what I do before starting my business when working in other people's businesses on the back end. And so I have the experience, even though I haven't gotten the same result in my own business yet. I say yet because it's in progress, I am doing it, it just takes some time. You don't cross the $1,000,000 mark overnight. And so I used to make that mean something, but now, Again, I love celebrating with my clients, costs $1,000,000 mark.

57, thinking that I don't have a good enough personality. I used to make this the reason that I wasn't achieving my goals. I used to take it personally. I used to think, like, something inherently wrong with me, but it's not. And some of my clients tell me they love my personality and that that's why they wanna work with me, so keep that in mind. 58, setting unrealistic goals or goals that are way too small, I've done both. 59, quitting mid launch. I learned the hard way what that's like and why you gotta keep going, but I've done all the things, all the mistakes that I tell you all about, I've made them.

I've learned through experience. 60, spending 30 minutes to get the courage up just to go live, and then running out of time and postponing to the next day. 61, getting so busy serving my clients that I stopped marketing, 62, ignoring financials and catching up on all of my financials for the whole year at one time when it was time to do my taxes. I don't do that anymore, by the way. But if that's still you, because it's many of you. You gotta switch that. It's so stressful when you do that, and there's so much that you don't know throughout the year to help you make decisions, so don't do that anymore. And definitely keep things updated.

Now we actually update our books every single week, which I'm not saying you have to do that, at least monthly would be ideal, but we do them every single week. 63, investing in things I just didn't need yet, like investing in things that I knew I would need in the future at some point, but then, like, out of FOMO, almost going ahead to invest, even though I wasn't ready for it yet. Focus on right time investments. 64, over planning. To avoid actual action. I love to plan, and I can plan my way right out of having to take action. 65, pivoting, I've done that over and over and over again. 66, undercharging. I have definitely way undercharged. Now I don't think it's a problem to, like, undercharge in a way that makes your offer irresistible, but there's a difference. There's a difference in way undercharging, and then just making the offer irresistible. I was way undercharging. My first clients, If they were to look at my pricing now, we'd probably have a lot of thoughts, but I know that What I charge now is definitely worth it. It was then as well. I just didn't see that yet. Now I see the return on investment that's there and I'm confident.

67, accidentally booking an event on days that the kids were out of school and having to try to manage all of that. 68, kids interrupting client calls and Voxer messages, it happens a lot. I'm not even going to pretend like this one because in the past, this one still happens. I'll be talking to a client on a Voxer message, and the kids just walk right in and start talking to me. So it happens. It's okay. My clients don't mind. 69, breaking my arm across the country on a work trip.

I had an accident. It's a long story, but having to fly back with a broken arm by myself Was not fun. Much less all the time after for recovery. 70 buying business cards that I rarely even use. Y'all have 3 different boxes of business cards. You think I would have learned the first time, But remember all those pivots I mentioned? When I would pivot, I would just order a new box of cards with the updated title or logo or whatever. I've got at least 3 boxes of cards that I never needed. 71, promoting a program and selling no spots.

72, selling a program and selling only 1 spot. I'll tell you if you think that selling no spots Is the worst that can happen? I think selling 1 spot was harder for me, because then you still have to follow through for that 1 person. Now, they think it's amazing. They get all the attention in the world when that happens, but it happens. It's a real thing. 73, the 1st troll comment on a post. 74, my mom commenting on my post. It's okay to block your mom, y'all.

It's totally okay. 75, bartering services. Early in my business, I traded out some services for coaching. And at the time, Maybe it made sense for the stage of business that I was at, but, also, I think it caused some challenges as well. And so I wouldn't recommend it, but it's something that I did. 76, joining a program based on who else joined to have access to them to be in that community, and then they didn't even show up to the program. Don't join because someone else joins. 77, getting locked out of social media because of too much activity.

78, having a post removed due to breaking group rules. Have you ever done that? 79, not charging friends or family the same rates and then regretting it later because they're actually more work. Eighty has been walking behind the camera in his boxers on a team call. He didn't realize it. He thought that they couldn't see him, but they could. 81, building out an entire course before validating the offer. 82, not being able to find files due to being disorganized, just having things all over the place. This was before I had a team.

As soon as I created a team, I cleaned that up, 83 creating content, but not money. I remember spending hours upon hours blogging and just creating content, but not actually focused on selling. 84, fumbling over introducing myself, whether that's fumbling over introducing myself someone in the industry or, like, online who understands online but just not being confident or trying to explain what I do to people who Don't understand at all. 85 being pitched, unsolicited weight loss help. Y'all, that happens all the time. I don't think you should pitch anything unsolicited in direct messages if people haven't asked for it, but seriously, weight loss help? Okay. Eighty six, a coach telling me to use my weight loss journey as content, when I wasn't on a weight loss journey. Let's not assume that everyone is trying to lose weight.

87. My dog destroyed a room while I was on a 1 hour call. I was literally on a coaching call for a single hour, And the guest bedroom was a mess. Like, ripped the curtains off of the wall. The bed completely shifted diagonally, like moved the furniture, ripped the bedding, decorations, just torn up, destroyed, it was a mess. 88, trying to explain what I do to family and friends. 89, crying on a group coaching call or a 1 on 1 call. I cry all the time.

I tell my clients, it's totally fine. It's normal. It's okay to cry, and I do it too. Ninety multiple, multiple takes on a video, 91 messing up my words over and over again during a podcast recording. But I have an amazing editing team. They have to be just so patient because I make mistakes. And I'm like, hey, guys, will you please fix that? And they do. 92, getting brand photos back and hating them.

93, a photographer losing half of my brand photos. 94, the doorbell ringing during a live event. 95, bubblegum stuck in my daughter's hair 5 minutes before a call. 96, work mullet. You know what that means. Right? A nice top and then either pajama pants or no pants on the bottom. 97, not wearing a bra on Zoom because no one can tell, so why would I? 98, facing an audit from the IRS. Everything went well, but that was stressful.

99. Okay. This one's embarrassing. Explosive diarrhea during my 1st ever virtual event, right in the middle of a training session. Y'all, This was one of the most embarrassing things ever, literally right in the middle of teaching. I felt my stomach starting to rumble, if you will. And so I quickly gave them an exercise that they could work on individually for a few minutes, muted, turned off video, hopped up, and needless to say, it was a mess. I'll just leave it at that.

It was a mess, such a mess that it required a shower before I got back on video. They had no idea. They were just busy doing the assignment that I'd given them. It was crazy. Anyway, thank goodness it was virtual. Thank goodness I could mute and turn off my camera and then get right back to it. So if something crazy like that happens to you, you're not the only one. And number 100, vulnerability hangover.

I've had many, many, many vulnerability hangovers over the course of business. When this episode releases will probably be another one with all the things that I've shared. But, again, I just want you to see that these things happen. These are 100 things that I consider to be milestones in my journey to growing my business. Not the kinds of milestones that people typically share, but milestones, nevertheless, they are normal things that I believe business owners have to experience on their way to scaling a business. These are the kinds of things that you have to learn how to handle. And maybe it's not all of the exact same things, but when similar things happen to you. I want you to remember that it's normal.

I want you to remember that it's part of business and that there are lessons that you need to learn from all of these things that are going to help you to scale past a1000000. You'll survive them, and maybe even one day, be able to laugh about them and say that you've made it too. If you have some mortifying milestones of your own, I'd love to hear them. I'd love to hear that I'm not alone. I'd love to hear some of your stories of things that have happened to you that weren't on my list. So find me over on Instagram and send me a DM. And then remember to celebrate all of the milestones, not just the fun ones, not just the great ones, but all the ones where you're learning lessons, they're gonna help you create success long term. This is part of the journey.

You've heard me talk about the fact that life is fiftyfifty, good and bad. So celebrate all the amazing things. Celebrate all of the lessons learned too. Thanks for joining me and listening in and helping me celebrate my 100th podcast episode and 100 mortifying milestones. See you next