Profit in my personal business came in at -$6889 this month and it's been a bit since I did a money talk, so that's on tap this morning in the email!

(I will leave a list of updates & announcements at the bottom of this message so make sure you check that out)

I've always been pretty transparent about numbers because I think many people fundamentally misunderstand how money works in business. Some of this is not even their fault- it's a combination of lack of education PLUS influencers who lie or distort the truth to make themselves look better.

So what's behind my negative profit month for Digital Insiders?

First, I want to normalize that successful businesses don't spend every month in the green. It's just not real life. Think about the human body. There are 365 days in a year and you probably get a cold or flu maybe 8-10 of those days.

Would you consider your entire body a failure because you're laid out in bed or over the toilet for 10 days out of 365? NO. So why do we look at a negative profit month and spin out?

My negative profit in Digital Insiders comes from a combination of factors:

1. I hosted my event in May so LARGE transactions went out and that's what ate my profit.
2. I had two members not renew and two new members, essentially breaking even on churn.
3. I have been paying my team as if we're "full" when in fact, we're not full. The margins on the mastermind go up once we're past the 75 person mark and right now we're sitting at about 68-70 people.

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I could easily internalize this negative number and tell a story about myself or my business, but honestly? It didn't even phase me.

I knew why the profit was negative. I also know that I haven't been actively pushing for new members (something I could easily do), but I tend to approach DI with a "wait and see who comes to me". I might have to rethink that a bit now since I'm taking the mastermind to Disney in November and I'm gonna be WAY more negative in November 🤣, so that's important data for me to know.

Another reason I don't freak out? My business pays me a salary and that salary is counted as an expense (as it should when you're an S-Corp). This is a good idea because it means your business is paying the CEO, and if you ever had to step out, you could pay your salary to a replacement.

So I still got my paychecks like normal, I just didn't have any money extra (and drew out of my savings a bit). Another thing I do is keep surplus cash in my checking account. So when I have months like this, it pulls from that.

There are companies (we all buy from) that have NEVER shown a profit ever. If you have profit at the end of the month, you should celebrate. You should also expect that is not an "every month" thing. And that's perfectly normal.

Remember...

Your business can (and is) still successful even when it runs in the negative sometimes.

• Success is --- customers helped.
• Success is --- community built.
• Success is --- events that were amazing.
• Success is --- paying your employees.
• Success is --- building out infrastructure.
• Success is --- riding a hard season knowing it's temporary.
• Success is --- not recklessly pivoting.
• Success is --- knowing what caused the negative profit.
• Success is --- being aware of seasonal patterns.
• Success is --- continuing your path even on the hard months.

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If you are someone who struggles with money, I am going to HIGHLY recommend Future Fund. This is how I manage money, from both the business side and the investment side. It's worth diving into!

Have a great Wednesday!

xx Julie

P.S. Some updates that I wanted to share...

1. I did a podcast episode yesterday called "Why Outsourcing Your Marketing May Be A Bad Idea"
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2. I'm hosting a "tech meets mindset" webinar next Monday that you might want to check out?
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3. ​The Second Brain Workshop is going up in price this summer so make sure to snag it!
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4. The next Launch Gorgeous Accelerator is June 26th-27th! Don't miss it as seats are super limited!