I lost it because I followed advice in the wrong order.
When I started my business in 2008, I did what I thought I was supposed to do. I hired professionals. A web agency. A branding expert. A trademark attorney. A designer. Everyone I worked with was good at what they did. That wasn’t the problem.
The problem was timing.
I spent money before I understood my message. I built things before I knew who they were really for. And by the time I realized what was actually missing, the money was already gone.
That $23,000 mistake didn’t happen all at once. It stacked. Quietly. Logically. And it started with what felt like the smartest decision of all.
The $13,000 Lesson I Had to Learn the Hard Way
Back in 2008, when I launched my speaking business, the industry standard was clear. If you wanted to land keynotes and training opportunities, you needed a professional video and a strong website.
So I did what everyone around me said made sense. I hired a reputable web design agency. We did a full two-camera video shoot and built a beautiful, custom site. There was even a walk-on video where I literally greeted you when you landed on the homepage.
On the surface, it was impressive.
The problem wasn’t the production value. The problem was that I didn’t yet understand how to position myself for the people who were actually hiring speakers.
Speaking messaging is its own animal. I had no clue what event planners or associations needed to see in those first few seconds to stay on the page. I didn’t know which parts of my story mattered. I didn’t know how to translate my offline credibility into online messaging that made me the obvious choice.
So here’s what happened.
The website looked fantastic, but people clicked away almost as fast as they arrived. Usually in under 30 seconds. Not because the design was bad, but because the words weren’t doing any work.
If I’d started with clarity first, I could’ve launched with a much simpler, far less expensive site and still attracted the right decision-makers. Instead, I learned the hard way that a polished website doesn’t fix unclear positioning.
That wasn’t the only money I spent.
I also paid $5,000 to create a brand name instead of building my personal brand. Then I spent thousands more trying to trademark that name, only to find out later it never needed to exist in the first place.
By the time I stepped back and added it all up, the total landed around $23,000.
The business looked legitimate. It just didn’t work the way it should have.
Years later, I started seeing the same mistake show up in my own clients’ stories.
Like the wellness coach who came to me after spending $3,000 on a website template. It looked fine. It sounded fine. But it wasn’t built on anything solid. That same money could’ve given her real guidance, a clear message, a site that actually made sense, and support while she built momentum. But we hadn’t met yet, so she spent the money where it felt safest.
That’s the pattern.
People spend money trying to fix the most visible problem, not the real one underneath it.
The Real Problem Isn’t “Which Coach Do I Need?”
It’s “What am I actually trying to solve, and who am I trying to solve it for?”
Most service-based business owners don’t wake up thinking they need a coach. They’re trying to get unstuck. They’re trying to make progress. They’re trying to feel like things are finally clicking.
So they piece things together. A course here. A designer there. A template. A new strategy someone swore by. And they hope it all snaps into place.
Eventually, they realize the issue isn’t the website, or the branding, or the content.
It’s clarity.
Before you hire anyone, it helps to slow down and ask a few honest questions. These are the same ones I’d ask if we were sitting across from each other on a call.
✔️ Question 1: Who is your business actually for right now?
Not the broad category. The actual person you want to serve next, and how you help them.
If this feels fuzzy, everything else turns into guesswork. This is where money starts getting spent in six different directions. Your ideal client influences what you say, where you show up, and what you offer. When that’s unclear, the whole foundation wobbles.
✔️ Question 2: What words do your clients actually use?
Most business owners write messaging from their own perspective. Meanwhile, their clients are Googling something entirely different.
If your website or content is built around what you want to say instead of what they’re actually thinking, things will always feel harder than they need to be. Sometimes it’s not that you need better copy. You need someone who can help you hear what your clients are already saying and build from there.
✔️ Question 3: Are you hiring help before you understand your message?
This is where a lot of people get tripped up.
When you hire a designer, brand pro, social media VA, or marketing support before you have clarity, you’re building without a blueprint. It can look fine on the outside, but it won’t hold up once you try to use it.
Your message shapes your brand, your website, your content, and your offers. Clarity comes first. Creation comes second.
✔️ Question 4: Did someone tell you “you need a website” before you knew who it was for?
This is how people end up with $3,000, $8,000, or $13,000 websites that don’t convert.
Developers build what you hand them. If the message isn’t clear, the site won’t work, no matter how pretty it is. Until you know who you’re talking to, what they’re trying to solve, and what you want them to do next, it’s too early to pour money into a site or a new offer.
✔️ Question 5: Where does social media actually fit into your strategy?
A lot of business owners assume social media is Step One. So they hire a VA to post consistently before anything else is nailed down.
Social isn’t the strategy. It’s a distribution channel for a strategy. Without clarity, posting just makes everything feel scattered.
You don’t need to be everywhere. You need social to support the business you’re building, not lead it.
✔️ Question 6: How do you bring clients into your world consistently?
Posting on social isn’t lead generation. If there’s no clear path for people to move off social and into your world, you’re creating noise, not momentum.
Lead generation is about creating a predictable way for people to find you, trust you, and take the next step. That takes clarity and intention, not more content for the sake of content.
✔️ Question 7: Do you need a life coach, or someone who understands how your brain affects your business?
When people feel stuck, they often assume it’s a motivation issue. Sometimes it is. More often, it’s a mix of strategy gaps and mental loops that quietly stall progress.
This isn’t about talking through feelings for the sake of it. It’s about understanding why your brain hits the brakes and how to reset things so you can move forward in ways that actually lead to clients.
This Is Why I Want to Be Your First Call
About 75% of my private clients find me after they’ve already spent the money.
They’ve hired the designer. Bought the course. Invested in something that didn’t land. By the time we talk, they’re frustrated and trying to untangle what went wrong.
I can help clean that up. But my favorite work is when someone finds me before the spending spree.
That’s when we can slow things down, think clearly, and decide where your time, energy, and money will actually make a difference.
That’s why I want to be your first call.
Why My Offers Look the Way They Do
I didn’t build my offers because I wanted a fancy product ladder.
I built them because I don’t want anyone repeating my $23,000 mistake—or the $3,000 version of it—by spending money in the wrong order.
Over the years, I’ve learned that most people don’t need more options. They need clearer ones. They need someone to help them see what actually matters right now, without pressure or upsells or guessing.
That’s why my work is structured around a few very specific ways to get support.
If you want experienced eyes on your business and a clear read on what’s not working, the Visibility Breakthrough is designed to do exactly that. Think of it as popping the hood and finally understanding what needs attention—and what doesn’t.
If you’re feeling stuck and need focused 1:1 support to sort through ideas, decisions, or next steps, a Business Clarity Session gives you space to work things through quickly and move forward with confidence.
And if you’re done duct-taping strategies together and want hands-on, done-with-you support, that’s my private coaching. We work side by side, with clear outcomes and no unnecessary detours.
You don’t need all of this at once. You just need the right next step.
If you’re not sure what that is, book a no-pressure chat and we’ll talk it through. My goal is to help you make a smart, grounded decision—and avoid the kind of expensive lessons I learned the hard way.
Book a no-pressure chat, and we’ll talk it through. My goal is to help you make a smart, grounded decision and avoid the kind of expensive detours I learned the hard way.
That’s the work I’m here to do. And if you want your next step to feel clear, doable, and aligned, I’d love to be your first call this time.
