Wanna know what happens when you stop launching for a year…?
I’m going to tell you… I’m revealing my revenue figures from last year, but there is a bit of a story first.
Early in 2023, I decided that I needed a break. After a handful of years of creating and launching nonstop, I needed to…. just STOP.
I didn’t have a masterplan for what to do instead, or when to get back into it or anything. All I knew was that whatever has been happening is no longer sustainable to continue, and that I must simply STOP, let the chips fall where they may, and figure out what’s next one day at a time.
If that sounds terrifying, it kind of was…
That said, it’s not like I completely stopped work. I did keep up the baseline of existing commitments. However, I scrapped plans, shooed away all new opportunity and completely stopped launching for most of the year (until Slumber Party, which took place in December, was my only launch in all of 2023).
Every time my brain offered me a new business idea, I said to myself: “Nope. Not now.”
So, what was I doing instead? I “cleaned house”. I cleared some shit out that clearly no longer belonged in my world anymore, I broke some shit and sat with the broken pieces, and sat and sat and sat and sat…. until I felt completely done sitting.
Sounds dramatic? Yep, it was… it was actually so painful at times. But that’s a story for another day. I promise I’ll tell you some other time.
Now, thanks to how well my business did in previous years, I fortunately had the cushion to basically “coast” for a while — an immense privilege I am endlessly grateful for.
Even so, it was going to be a big change. Going from “always selling something” mode to “selling nothing” mode, I was expecting a big drop in income. But I wasn’t sure how much.
Well, I found out. And I get to tell you, too.
Here we go.
My total 2023 revenue: $1.57 million (by the way, this is less than 1/3 of the previous year)
My flagship program: $1.2 million (Joyful Marketing, which became HOME):
Slumber Party: $257K (the only new thing I live-launched at the end of the year)
My pre-recorded classes (mostly pre-recorded classes costing $25) brought in nearly $170K.
Looking back at these numbers, a few things struck me.
First thought: well DAMN. Honestly, I kind of can’t believe we pulled THAT while not launching at all 11 months out of the year.
How was I able to make that much? I believe the answer is: the quality of products, reputation and community I had built around my business in previous years. For that, I am proud of myself, and so grateful for the miraculous ecosystem of people and ideas I get to play in. THANK YOU.
Second thing: notice… I no longer have high-ticket programs. I retired my mastermind with a 5-figure price tag a couple years ago. The most expensive thing you can buy from me right now is $1,500 or $3,500 (tiered options, depending on your financial circumstance).
And significant chunk of my revenue came from $25 and $100 classes. This is something I am celebrating big, because I love that I got to prove to myself and my community that you can have a healthy 7-figure business without relying on high ticket items.
I might bring back high ticket items one day, but I know I love what my business looks like without them.
Third, let me share a few observations about intentionally making less money.
Of course, this is all soooooo much easier to do when you have a cushion. And making “less” money for me is still a crazy huge amount for most people.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking that objectively having “enough” in the bank means it’s easier to take the foot off the gas.
You probably know many stressed out workaholics who have enough money but just can’t stop worrying and hustling for the next milestone. Many can’t slow down even when they do have a cushion, because the fear of “I’m just gonna bleed money from here on and everything’s going to fall apart and I’m going to eventually end up on the streets” is emotional, not purely rational.
This shit is conditioned in the nervous system, not logic… and it’s often passed down from generation to generation.
For many years, I did very intentionally work on recalibrating my nervous system to feel safe independent of the number in the bank account. A lot of intentional work on money and safety.
And in 2023, I found that I was able to access more unconditional trust in myself than I was ever capable of before. I didn’t need to see money constantly coming in to feel safe. I didn’t need to be achieving more and more to like myself.
I even had a convo with my husband, where we talked about how we would both go out and find jobs again if my business just completely stopped being profitable, and we’d depleted all our savings. We talked about the steps we’d take. It would be a change… but we’d make it work. That was a scenario we were 100% willing to face.
Having said that, I’d be lying if I said I felt 100% chill throughout 2023. I most definitely did NOT. There were moments of big meltdowns. But the journey was made a LOT easier thanks to the work I’d already done in previous years.
Now I feel emotionally and spiritually more resilient than ever. More in love with who I am outside of all the business-related identities.
And I’m proud of myself for that, and grateful for the space in which I could do this work.
Why am I sharing these things?
Every year, I share my revenue numbers even though I don’t owe anyone this info (except the IRS, I guess) because this kind of information is so unnecessarily shrouded by secrecy in the online business world. And I hate that.
Without transparency, what spreads is all kinds of illusions and distortions that have little to do with reality, and nothing good grows from that environment. If I can do a small part to change that, I will.
Moreover, it would have meant the world to me when I was starting out to see this kind of honest sharing from someone that I looked up to, who is a little bit ahead of me in the journey.
It would have helped me to contextualize my own journey, move “money stuff” from out of the shadows into the light in my own mind, and give me a more concrete sense of what’s possible for me down the line.
Please know that that is why I share.
Now, I have a lot more thoughts to share with you about money, work, rest, sabbatical, and creativity.
All of that is coming up.
I am so grateful to be alive today.
Thank you for walking alongside me.
Onward with the year of the dragon.