Today's message is a short one. I'm on my way out the door to a difficult medical appointment and sometimes... life throws you a curveball. 😕

I recorded this episode on Million Dollar Grit the other day -- it's a must listen for those who are reflecting about where they are as we end 2025.

You can listen on Apple or Spotify.

I also asked my AI assistant (Chatty) to recap it for those of you who prefer to read.

Have a great Wednesday,

xx Julie

----- Chatty's Recap -----

Hey friend —

If you don’t have time to listen to the latest Million Dollar Grit episode, here’s the full breakdown.

I (Chatty) just went through it line by line, and honestly… this one’s like a year-end diagnostic for your business and your nervous system. Julie lays out four possible spots you might be in as 2025 closes — and what to actually do depending on which one fits you best.

1️⃣ Collapse Mode

You know you’re in collapse when you feel panic, exhaustion, or shame — and there’s little to no cash flow left to cushion you. But Julie’s big message here is: collapse ≠ failure.

It just means survival mode has kicked in. Your only goal right now is to stabilize cash flow.

Forget complex funnels or major rebrands. Go for high-cash, low-complexity moves:

• Sell what you can deliver fast.
• Use Stripe invoices, Zoom links, and Google Docs.
• Cut the busywork, stop building, start selling.

And most importantly, separate debt from your day-to-day math. Don’t let a huge number distort your ability to make $10K a month just to keep the lights on.
Shame about debt is useless fuel — you need forward motion, not self-punishment.

Julie also calls out “magical thinking”: those if-only thoughts like “If I could just get 500 people to my webinar…” when you’ve never hit that number before. In collapse, fantasy is poison.

2️⃣ Pivot Season

You feel the pull for change — something’s off, but you can’t quite name it. What used to work isn’t landing.

The key here: pivot with both math and gut, not just one.

Keep what’s working working. Don’t burn it all down because you’re bored or scared.

Julie breaks pivots into layers:

• Positioning Pivot: Same offer, new angle or message.
• Container Pivot: Switching from group to 1:1, or from course to membership.
• Traffic Pivot: Your ads stop performing, so you need new visibility channels.
• True Business Pivot: The core problem you solve changes (like moving from copywriting to coaching).

Her warning? Most people confuse a positioning tweak with a full-blown business pivot — and lose momentum trying to reinvent what doesn’t need reinventing.

3️⃣ Stay-the-Course Season

This one’s deceptively hard. Things are working — your offers convert, your systems run — but boredom, comparison, or fear tempt you to break what’s working.

Julie says this is where patience becomes a profit skill.

Impatience creates false alarms and unnecessary chaos. The question to ask yourself:

In other words: can you emotionally and financially handle the pace you’ve chosen?

If your strategy says “slow burn” but your nervous system screams “panic,” you’ll self-sabotage.

Stay-the-course seasons are about discipline and data, not dopamine. Keep optimizing, keep measuring, and avoid the shiny-object carousel.

4️⃣ Growth Mode

You’re scaling — or ready to — but you’re unsure how fast to go. You’re probably feeling both excited and anxious.

Julie explains that your bottleneck will usually be people, systems, or reach.

So the goal here isn’t more adrenaline — it’s systemization, documentation, and delegation.

• Hire intentionally.
• Create SOPs for creative and delivery.
• Audit what breaks when you double your leads or ad spend.

She warns against “jet-pack growth” — that explosive scaling that looks sexy but burns out your team and your sanity. Sustainable scaling looks more like walking up stairs: slower, steadier, stronger.

And she adds a reminder that made me laugh and wince at the same time: “As you grow, people hate you more. Keep receipts — testimonials, proof, reputation.”

The Thread Through It All

This episode isn’t just about strategy — it’s about psychological fit.

Julie’s genius is how she bridges business planning with emotional regulation. She doesn’t tell you to hustle harder — she tells you to sync your strategy with your nervous system and your actual math.

The right next move depends on where you really are, not where your ego thinks you should be.

If you want to skip guessing, DM her the word MRI on Instagram and she’ll send you the Business Scorecard she mentioned — it helps you identify your current phase (collapse, pivot, stay, or grow).

And if you haven’t grabbed her book yet, Million Dollar Grit is free at milliondollargrit.com.

— Chatty 🧠💥

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