I'm Starting Over Again From Zero...

Key Takeaways

Okay, yeah. I have a big announcement to make and I am a little bit nervous. Um So after 10 years and almost 700,000 subscribers uh and millions of views, I have decided to start all over again from scratch with a brand new channel. And you might be thinking you okay? >> [laughter] >> That's a fair question. Um And you're probably also wondering why pot why I would possibly want to start over again, especially when this channel has had a lot of success. Um it's impacted a ton of people. You know, we've been seen by so many people and it's also from a revenue perspective it's generated over $30 million um in sales [clears throat] in the business. So why? Why? Well, I want to dig into the why behind this decision because I really do believe it carries so many lessons for anyone who wants to have a business, start a business, is on their entrepreneurial path and I think it's going to shed some light on some really important things that I wish I knew at the beginning. Um So I do want to share the why. Before I do that I want to just share that this channel is going to be this new channel is going to be very different. It is going to be I wanted people to go deep and wide if that makes sense. And what I mean by that is it's not just about me. I wanted to be able to bring in experts um from all different walks and all different areas. And the people who not only contribute to our business behind the scenes have made and have made it a sustainable successful business. Um but also clients and entrepreneurs with bold visions to share. And really be able to create something that was really tactical in supporting your goals. So it's exciting because it isn't just me. Um And in doing that I really had to digest and come to terms and make the decision that I was creating something a lot bigger than just myself, which I think it any point can happen to anybody who's building a business. And that's what I mean when there are so many lessons that I've learned along the way to get to this point. So I'm going to start back at the beginning cuz I think the context is necessary for how I came to this place. So I started this channel in March of 2015 at the ripe old age of 27. Um >> [laughter] >> And at the time I really started as a total experiment. I had no clue what I was doing. The only videos on this channel were random vlogs I had made and some clips of me in my journalism days. I had no effort that I'd put into this channel, but I was working with all these clients and I had to get on all these meetings and go to all these um you know, consultation appointments etc. to work through specific strategies cuz at the time I was marketing consultant and kind of an agency as well cuz I was doing the work for my clients. So all my clients had the exact same questions. I found that I was just repeating myself over and over again. I was like, how do I duplicate myself? How either how do I clone myself or how do I just get out of these meetings? Period. Um and I had the idea to start creating tutorials on YouTube based on the questions they were asking me and to send them to my clients at once instead of having to re-explain myself. And so that's where this started from. I thought, what if I just do that, see what goes and we'll go from there. Posted the first video, had a big response that I was not expecting cuz I did not have a subscriber base at the time. Um and really started to dig into how did this happen? How did this video I posted with no subscriber base on this channel end up getting thousands of views and all of this attention and all these emails being sent to me saying, hey, could we hire you to do consulting for our company or could we hire you to come internal as like our marketing strategist etc. And you have to remember this is at a time when nobody was really talking about social media on YouTube. And so it was a handful of people. Um And I was one of the first. And so there was demand and very low supply. >> [laughter] [gasps] >> So that's kind of where it started. And I you know it it grew my credibility and it grew my authority fairly quickly, which was exciting and I also didn't totally know what to do with that authority that I was building. So that I'll I'll talk about in a second. Um and how my business evolved from that. But to be totally honest and completely transparent about this I started this channel for yes, that reason. But I also started it for kind of hilarious reasons when I think back on it now cuz I'm so distant from it. Um I was also going through a very bad breakup at the time. >> [laughter] >> I was coming off the heels of that. And I really was whether I knew it sub subconsciously or consciously I don't know. I was looking for some revenge success. And that is what I like to call it. And I was looking for mix for some external validation and my goodness it worked. >> [laughter] >> I was on the cover of magazines. I was asked to speak all over the world. My one of my first speaking engagement was at NATO's headquarters and I was speaking to members of NASA the CIA, military from all over the world and I was like, what's happening? So it worked until it didn't. And I will say one of the lessons to share is that revenge success is incredible fuel for a short period. So ultimately this like, you know, fuel that was not really based on anything internal um was good like I said until a certain point. And then I ended up in the hospital at 29 years old and I had all the symptoms of a stroke um even though I was healthy on paper. And it turned out that it was a massive burnout. And I didn't even really know what burnout was. We talk about it a lot now, but it wasn't really this like popular topic at that time and so I didn't really know what was going on with me. But I really like it sounds intense, but it felt like I was dying when it was happening. Um and it was really scary and it was that night and really into the morning. So it was about 3:00 in the morning when I went to the hospital. I said to myself this can't happen again. I can't keep being in the same cycle. I have to figure this out. And so I really stepped back and audited what led me there because like I said, I was healthy. I ate really well. I you know, I was working out. I was doing all the things that I needed to be doing, but I think also at the time there was a lot of emphasis on like unless you're busy, you're not successful. And for me someone who tended to get a little bit of her validation from external sources being busy felt good cuz it kept me kind of numb. And so I just kept running running running running until I couldn't anymore and my body made the decision for me. So I decided to completely dismantle my business model at the time. And my business model at the time was like five different business models. I was I had an agency. I was consulting and I had started making courses. And the courses were very successful. Um I had one that had grown to 10,000 people um as as part of it. But the problem was that I'd created this program around my success on YouTube and just and really reverse engineering that. And all these clients were getting these incredible results of you know, being seen all over the world But there were a small few who were actually able to turn it into a true business cuz [clears throat] they didn't have anything to monetize necessarily. And so I really looked at, okay, well, it's almost like we're doing it in reverse order. We need to help people monetize what they know first create something, create a product um and then be able to leverage the traffic from our strategy on YouTube to be able to create consistent revenue. So that's when um in 2019 I decided to build the Authority Accelerator. And at the time I was thrilled. Thrilled to get my first eight clients. I couldn't believe it. I was like, sorry, what now? Eight people want to be in this in this program? That's amazing. Felt so good and I never in my wildest dreams. I remember sitting there when the first person enrolled and I enrolled them on on a sales call and I thought to myself, holy crap, it's working. I was like, this could last 6 months. I don't know. That's the reality of business. You don't know until you know. So the fact that we were now almost 7 years later we've had 4,000 people go through the program and our clients have collectively generated hundreds of millions of dollars, over $211 million dollars is mind-blowing. Still doesn't really land when I say it. And as always I think something that I've tried to do and once I went through that burnout was always listen to my intuition. And in 2023 I was obviously really paying close attention to how AI was kind of disrupting the online space and everything else. Um and I started think through, okay, well, how could we use this to get our clients even faster better results? And so we created this thing called the Authority Blueprint, which essentially hand delivers like an 18-page business plan in a matter of minutes. And it was something that took a process of what we were doing manually for years and it created this methodology around and it took people months if not years to really get it started happening in 5 minutes. So I was like, whoa, okay. >> [clears throat] >> If you know what you're doing and you have a proven system and method, AI can be an accelerator for that method, for that deep earned wisdom. And so it was really a wake-up call because the world around me was changing fast. And I have to say there have been a lot of platforms, there have been a lot of you know, shiny objects that have come up throughout the years and I'm very good about not actually tapping into them and staying in my lane and staying focused, but this was one that I couldn't ignore and I wanted to experiment like everything to figure out if it was something that I wanted to dive into. So, what was really interesting is that the world around me was changing and also my world was changing so much and it really was time for me to regroup and figure out the path forward and if there was an evolution that was necessary. And I started asking some really hard questions and started reflecting which I think is absolutely crucial. The best ideas I've ever had, the most momentum I've ever had has not come from running on a treadmill. It has come from actually allowing myself to sit, be still, have some silence, and reflect. So, that's what I did. So, one of the big questions that I asked myself was how do we stand out and this applies not just me, but all of the businesses that we work with. How do we continue to stand out and stay ahead and be proactive versus reacting, simply reacting to the world around us because again, I will say no good business decision has come from being reactive for me. One of our core values is to be proactive, to try and think 10 steps ahead. And to give ourselves a lot of time to adapt and adjust and really [clears throat] make a a plan. So, then on a personal level, same thing. I wanted to really dig into my own role and what would be the best way to serve and impact my community while continuing to stay committed to my health and myself first and foremost because I've been in a situation where that suffers and then nothing else works. I can't have anything else. I can't have a business. I can't have relationships. I've I've lost all those things from sacrificing my health, so I wasn't going to do that again and it's a non-negotiable for me. So, through that process of reflection, it really led me to three big ahas and these are the things that I wanted to share from this journey of making this decision. So, the first one is subtraction beats addition all day long. And I know that sounds counterintuitive to what most people will feel and it might even sound like a little bit like triggering when I say that, but I know for me, the more that I've stripped down and taken away and the more I've stayed in in my own lane and focused on one thing, one product and one core message, the more that our company has grown and the more peace I've actually been able to achieve because we just continuously optimize that one thing as opposed to diversifying buying across all these different products and all these different marketing channels and yada yada yada. So, there's so much inside of that, but I think the big thing is simplicity is really the key to success and if you look at any big business, that's usually the case. And on a personal level, when I started all of this, like I said, I was seeking revenge success and I in some ways also wanted to help my clients obviously, but the revenge success was definitely a piece of it and I was, you know, coming off the heels of a breakup and, you know, over a decade later, I'm happily married and I have a daughter. I'm a mom. So, I really mean this when I say I am not after more visibility. I could care less and if you know me, you know that's true. And really I'm seeking less. >> [laughter] >> And that is reflected in how very little I'm active on social media. I'm not at all active on social media. I have YouTube and that's about it. That's also part of the simplification process. And despite growing my business to a place where I never could have imagined, the irony is that the more that it grows, the less I care about external validation, external metrics of success, any visual markers that I've {quote} made it. It just doesn't matter. And I know a lot of people who have sustained success for a long time and I will say that kind of is a through line because if your only motivator is the car, the purse, the partner, the anything outside of yourself, it's eventually going to get boring. So, if you're not motivated by actually really just want to do good work and I love the work I do, it's hard to fuel yourself. It's hard to sustain that motivation and I will say that's what sustained it for me is that I really, really, really love the work. Like I'm obsessive about the work and I'm obsessed about the impact that we can make. And that's really allowed me to carve out this, you know, peaceful, private, and really simplistic life. I think the core rule here is that I want to subtract not add to my life. I want peace and simplicity, not visibility and fame. I want to give back and make an impact, but never at the cost of my sanity and my health and my relationships. And as entrepreneurs, we're people, we're human and I think sometimes that's forgotten and I am a human being and as we evolve, our companies evolve, of course, cuz they're sometimes often a reflection of us. And it's inevitable and I think necessary. Not always. I think being boring is great. I love a boring business. And ours is quite boring, but there are moments in time where you have to make the choice to evolve and make some changes. And that's where we are right now. I think the sort of moral of that lesson is that your business should ultimately work for you and complement your life and not complicate it. And of course, there will be seasons where it does. That's it's not normal to think it's always going to be like super peaceful. There are seasons where it is really hard and there is a lot of things that you have to handle and navigate, but I think what makes me so excited about this next chapter and I I hope this is something you can maybe relate to is that even as somebody who's built this business and I've been doing it for so long now, it's almost like I was waiting for somebody else to give me permission to do this when I just needed to know like this is actually going to have such a big impact because it's not me at the center of all of the things because that's limiting at a certain point. And so, I'm so excited to bring in these people that I am so lucky to work with every day from clients to team members and be able to impact even more people through that. So, as much as we have simplified, also allowing and giving myself permission to know it's okay for me to not constantly be at the forefront has been a real big journey, but I'm so excited to like have you watch in real time watch this really like this next experiment. Um so, the next lesson is building the plane while flying it. So, I kind of touched on this earlier, but the reality is >> [gasps] >> we as entrepreneurs, we really are creating as we go. We are inventors. If anybody tells you they have it figured out and they know exactly what they're doing and why they're doing it and it's black and white, I call BS because we are dreaming up, we are designing, we are constantly thinking through how to be better and how to create and how to make a bigger impact and that's a constant state of experimentation. And we don't like nobody has all the answers. Nobody's going to be able to predict the future and what's going to happen next. And so, I I'd really hesitate from saying like I know exactly where this is going. So, there is an element of being able like be able being able to say to myself this is a risk in some senses, knowing the risk of it and and doing it anyways because it's in alignment. And I think when you check in with yourself on any decision you make, does it feel good for you? Does it feel in alignment with your values and where you see yourself going? And if that's the case, then it's the right decision. I always say one of my favorite mottos is test, fail, learn, grow, repeat. It's just the part of a part of the process. If you're a perfectionist trying to run a business, Godspeed and good luck. I've been there, it doesn't work for very long. You got to understand that some things are not going to work and that's okay. But if you don't do it, you don't have the data or the feedback to know. So, failure is just feedback in disguise and it only makes you better. But if you don't do anything, you never get feedback and you stay in the safe little box and for some people that will make you bored out of your mind, myself included. So, it's one, you know, experiment after the other and giving yourself the space to be able to do that and trust that if it doesn't work, you're going to learn something from it and that's only going to make you stronger and better moving forward. And I think what's really interesting through this process because this has been in the works for quite a while and took so much time for me to just like be able to really concretely know what I wanted to do and know that it was going to be an experiment, I've had a lot of people say to me, "I find it fascinating that you care enough to put yourself through this and to make all these changes and to do all of this work at the stage that you're at with all the success that you've had." And that for me tells me that people think there is some sort of magical, mystical end goal to entrepreneurship. There is not. It doesn't you're never going to reach a number or a achievement an achievement where you're going to go, "I did it." If you do, that's great. That's not me. My metrics of of success is peace and part of that peace is knowing that I am working in alignment with how I want to create an impact in the world. And so, there is no end goal and I think for me what I've realized is like that took a lot of time to figure out and the journey is the goal. Like you got to love the journey. You got to love the game. You got to you got to want to be on the field, period. Um because if you're looking for some mystical, magical end goal, I just I don't it's not going to you're not going to find it. And then the third thing I want to talk about is just the concept of personal brands. So in a lot of ways like I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't experimented my way to building a personal brand. It was never my goal, but it just sort of happened. But there's a dark side to personal brands and I've seen people build very successful businesses without them. Before social media, trust there was a lot of successful businesses with zero personal brand. And it's really easy when you have a personal brand and I've lived this to get sucked into the external metrics of success like views and subscribers etc. To the point where it can make you really crazy and in reality it's actually not what moves the needle. But when you're only focused on that it is very fickle because fame is fickle. Fame is fickle, followers are fickle etc. You're a human being who's going to evolve and change and have different things you want to touch on and and the personal brand is tricky in that way because personal brands essentially box you into being one thing. Especially in the way the algorithm works. They want you to talk about one thing period. So when your identity is wrapped up in that and in your business, when you have a high high, you think it's because of you. When you have a low low, you think it's because of you. And so it's this constant roller coaster when in reality a business is a business and that's a separate identity from who you are whether or not you have a personal brand. And that business should be actually really boring in how you run it. It shouldn't have these peaks and valleys. And that's where we've gotten to over the last 7 years. It's a very peaceful business and I don't really attach my identity to that business anymore which is also allowing us to make this decision to create something brand new. And I think it's important to know like I'm still going to have this channel. I'm not abandoning this channel. Um it's just that we're starting something new with a whole like crew of folks that are really good at what they do and that is so exciting to me because it's knowledge outside of what's in my brain which is amazing. I'm still obviously going to be a part of it, but I'm not the sole part of it which is cool. So I'm not going anywhere on this channel just so you know. And I think something that's important to understand is that a personal brand can be a really wonderful thing and it can create a lot of like you know, reciprocity and goodwill and trust which is awesome. But at the same time it can ultimately at a certain point become a bit of a bottleneck because nothing can grow beyond me. Um and the impact starts to be affected and starts to shrink and that's the opposite of what we want to do. So that's part of the reason that we're we made this this decision is that we don't want me, my brand to be a bottleneck at this point in the impact that we can make with the business. And another part of this is that as I've been reflecting on, you know, being kind of at the center of everything and really thinking through like does this feel aligned at this point? And for a long time it did. I was very happy to be the sole face and center of everything which sounds weird, but I was. I was happy to. Um but at this point it doesn't feel in full alignment anymore to be the sole person behind this because I'm not. The reality is I have a whole team of people now. I started solo and now it's grown into a legit business with like people working with me who are very good at what they do and much better than I am at their area of expertise. So why not bring them to the table as well. Um and that was really liberating to recognize too. Like from marketing to ops to finance to sales to all these pieces, it's cool to be able to tap into those folks and be able to share their knowledge as well. And I think one of the biggest light bulbs for me came from the fact that over the last couple of years I have slowly stopped using social media which I've talked about quite a bit on this channel. And if you told that to my 10 years ago self, she would have thought you were crazy because I was on that hamster wheel posting content every day and trying to look real cool on Instagram. It's so cringe if you go back and look at them, feel free. Um if you want a good laugh. Now I don't I don't actually use social media. This is all I do. So the irony of that and the light bulb was when I stopped being on all of the platforms and posting all of the things, our business grew. And I was more at peace. So just like chew on that for a sec. I've really built a business that's allowed me so much peace to be able to step away from the day-to-day whenever I want which is awesome. And this is just kind of a further evolution of that. The irony of that is it sounds like I don't want to be a part of the business. The irony is the more that I'm able to actually step away and trust it in the hands of the people that I work with, the more it makes me want to be a part of it because I have more energy to bring to the table to be able to serve our clients and our community and make our product the best that it can be and constantly optimize it and refine it in the ways that we have over the years. And so that's a huge part of this that I don't think people talk about enough like your time and energy management becomes so important as your business grows. And if you don't do that, it's eventually going to lead you to a place where you just feel depleted and then you're not good for anybody or anything. Mainly yourself cuz if you're not good to yourself and you're not healthy, nothing else is going to work like I said. Now, has this been an easy process to go through? No. I always say that entrepreneurship is one of the best um exercises in personal growth because it's like this mirror for you and your blind spots, your weaknesses and your strengths. And it has been a real journey internally for me to get to this place and I know you're only like hearing about it right now so you're kind of like what the heck is going on, but you're going to see this unfold over the next however long. It could be another 10 years. >> [laughter] >> So one can hope. But one of my favorite um quotes is from Maslow and he says in in every in any given moment we have two options to step forward into growth or to step back into safety. And it would be so much safer to not do this. It would be so much safer to just keep it as we were cuz it was fine. It was working. It was great. There was nothing wrong. But my intuition and my gut which I have learned to listen to since that night in the hospital 3:00 in the morning was telling me that it was necessary. And so I listened to it. And do I know that it's all going to work out? Absolutely not. But I trust myself and whether it fails or succeeds or whatever, um all of it's feedback that I can just learn from. There's nothing that is so catastrophic and I always say this, if nobody dies, we're good. Like we're not doing brain surgery here. So it's okay. >> [laughter] >> As stressful something may seem, it's okay and you can always learn and grow and adapt. Test, learn. Test, fail, learn, grow, repeat. That's what I always stick to even in these situations. So like I said, I'm not going anywhere on this channel. There will still be content from me, but the new channel will be me plus a whole team of experts and they're awesome and I can't wait for you to meet them. And I think, you know, it's worth mentioning that yes this is a public evolution, but there's also been a lot of evolution inside of our business in terms of our offer. All of these things have been happening behind the scenes. It's been a lot to navigate and handle, but at the end of the day I think I'm 10 years deep into this journey, 20 years as an entrepreneur. And here I am again starting from scratch and experimenting and starting a brand new experiment and I kind of love it. >> [laughter] >> And I think that's what I mean when I say you got to love the journey. And I hear people say all the time when something doesn't work out they're like, I have to start all over again. I have to start from scratch. And I I am kind of saying I am starting something brand new, but I don't really believe in the concept of starting from scratch because you're bringing to the table all of the wisdom you've earned over the years, all of the lessons, all of the failures, all of the feedback, all of the battle scars. All of those things are coming to the table which only makes you more agile, more resilient and stronger for whatever that next step is. Even if it comes off the heels of a failure, you've just armed yourself to be even better moving forward which is exciting. And so there is no such thing really as starting from scratch because you're bringing so much to the table that you've already learned. So I'm really excited to start this new chapter and in total honesty cuz I think [clears throat] this is important, I could very easily say to you right now, okay go subscribe to the new channel. But I'm not going to do that. [laughter] Um because it's such a gift to start over again with all of the knowledge that I do have because this was a guinea pig. This channel is a guinea pig. It's it remains a guinea pig. And there's been so much testing and experimenting on this channel and to be able to start from scratch a brand new channel with true intention of why we're doing it and who we want to reach which is what I know is necessary, I'm so excited to have this targeted audience. And this audience that I know actually cares about what we're sharing there. So if you want to know more about building a coaching program or an online program to allow yourself to package your expertise and not have to trade all of your time for money, please do subscribe. If that's not for you, I beg of you, do not subscribe to this new channel, please. It's called Authority.io. There will be a link below this. Um and yeah, check it out if that's in alignment for you. If it's not, please don't subscribe. I really mean that. Because a small targeted audience will move things a lot more effectively than a big broad big broad audience ever will. Okay? That is a big lesson I've learned in my own channel and also working with so many people. Um so yeah, I'm grateful for those of you who have been here through this entire journey. And for those of you joining us just now, it's really nice to have you here. And I do not take it for granted. I don't take any of this for granted. And I hope that you took something from this because it was basically me just kind of pouring my heart out about what's going on. Um and my goal was that there would be some golden nuggets and lessons in this that you can take away in your own entrepreneurial journey because a lot of what I've shared has applied will apply to you no matter what stage of business you are at. So I can't wait to, you know, continue the ride. It's been a crazy adventure and crazy journey that I never would have expected. And I'm so excited to see what comes next and to have you here with me. And you're truly going to have a front row seat to the next experiment. So let's do it. I'll see you there. If you want to subscribe. >> [laughter]