Making Our First Million $$
Episode 300: Show Notes
Can you believe we have made it to Episode 300 of the podcast? How is this possible? We are so grateful to have had all of you along for the ride and cannot wait to do the next 300! As we go into our third full year here at TCC, we wanted to celebrate another milestone besides that one. Some time during the last six months or so, without us even really being aware, we made our first million! We know, this sounds crazy but it’s true!
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So what does that number mean when we say we have made a million? From the start, we have said that we want to grow into a million dollar company and we have not actually reached that landmark yet. This just means that since going full-time with our educational courses that we have brought in a million dollars in revenue. Pretty impressive? Quite surprising? We think so too! To be completely honest though, as the years have passed we feel a little less concerned with the numbers and more with what they represent and for us the money shows the level of impact that we are making and this just feels so good! We feel so happy and lucky to have come this far and touched this many lives and businesses and now we have students who are even making as much as we are! Wow! So tune in, and come celebrate with us on today’s episode.
The Conversation That Happened at the End of 2016
When we were still doing one-on-one client work at the end of 2016, Emylee called Abagail and said that if things did not change soon she would need to quit. She just felt she could not carry on in the same way that the work had been set up. We were then hoping to lean more on courses and the digital side of the business and this was not as easy as we thought it might be. We kind of had to reinvent everything, figuring out a digital product that we could rely on and keep up to date with things in the online world. Even though his was just over two years ago, it was a different market and things were not what they are today! We see this so clearly with the way our business looks now, it is so different! Looking back makes us laugh, the journey was so unknown and we did not know that we would experience the success that we have. We also feel that reaching these milestones has, in some ways, not set in. We have come so far from the weird odd-jobs we used to do! We needed to be a little naive and crazy and we are also very grateful for the platform that the internet has provided for us to grow!
Learning, Constant Growth and Facing Challenges
When we look at our business and methods now, we can see that we were much more rigid in the beginning. These days we set goals that are not certain successes. Our paths are not so set in stone. This also translates to how we relate to the work, Emylee admits that her self worth is not inextricably tied to the success of parts of the business, as it used to be. One of the funniest parts of our history as a business is the period just after we stopped officially accepting client work and Abagail was seeing clients behind Emylee’s back! We can laugh about it now but it was the fear of failure that caused her to lean on the old model and this needed to change in order for us to grow. In the beginning it was hard to go all in but it was completely necessary. At that point, and others, when we were reaching a ceiling they were mostly caused by blocks in our mindset and we can honestly say that we are now at a place and have been for a little while where we have enough. We like the idea of continuing to grow but we know that we do not need to. When faced with a question of expanding we know that we do not have to push further.
Giving Yourself Some Runway for Surprises
If you had asked us what it would feel like to make a million dollars when we started, we probably would have been wrong about the answer. It is really not quite what we expected. Achieving your goals often does not feel like you imagine it would and the most surprising thing for us is that our lives feel like they are not dramatically different. Sure, there are some small adjustments and positives changes that have occurred due to our success but we definitely feel like the same people. We have upgraded certain things, Abagail has a new car, Emylee lives in a home she loves and so on. We both feel there is more time and space for creativity and doing the things that are important to us and we are eternally grateful for this. It is so worth celebrating these kinds of wins no matter their size. We want you to be mindful of your milestones! We know that we are really proud of the work we have done and quantifying it can give you so much inspiration going forward. So remember your goals and congratulate yourself when you achieve them! We do want to send a big shout out to all of you and your contributions. We hope we have helped you in whatever ways you have needed and we are so glad to have you all as a part of everything. Here is to the next million!
Quote This
In the beginning it was hard to go all in but it was completely necessary.
Highlights
The Conversation That Happened at the End of 2016. [0:05:32.6]
Learning, Constant Growth and Facing Challenges. [0:14:12.4]
Fears and Deciding on How to Go Forward. [0:22:02.8]
Giving Yourself Some Runway for Surprises. [0:29:19.2]
Upgrades, New Cars and New Houses! [0:34:52.8]
Thinking forward to A Great Future with More Success. [0:39:40.3]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Online Education, Development, Challenges, Profit, Retrospection
