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Today’s talking points:

Sometimes we need to check in with ourselves and listen to our gut, rather than following what we think we should be doing.

I’m sharing exactly why I pulled a fully planned, high-income launch last year and why it was the best decision for me and my business.

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Get ready for a REAL look behind the curtain.

I am breaking down exactly why I decided to pull a huge launch in September 2022.

This episode is going to be a really good listen for you if you are a natural hustler, if you are someone who loves being busy, loves the high of launching something and putting it out into the world…

OR if you're someone who feels this constant pressure to keep up in a world that is consistently telling you to do more, create more, and sell more every day.

We are inundated with online competitors, friends and peers who are “crushing” it, and hitting their goals left, right and centre.

And honestly? It feels like if we don't hustle our little selves off to keep up then we are left behind in the dust.

This is me intentionally saying NO to the hustle this year. It is me intentionally choosing rest over striving.

So, if that intrigues you and makes you wonder, wait, why? I want to know more about this. I want to hop off the bus of continually striving and chasing…

Then Boss - don't go anywhere and let's dive into this conversation.

the launch

For context, I had a very big launch scheduled for September 2022. I had it all planned out, I had a whole marketing plan, I'd mapped out dates, I'd got the challenge ready, and it was full on go, go go.

Now, I'd been feeling things for a while... then all of a sudden, I went from divide and conquer, to making the decision to pause that launch and shut down the entire thing.

It was a launch for the Busy to Boss Academy, my 12-month group coaching programme. I was projecting big numbers for the launch and I had a big revenue goal from last year that I was excited to hit. Instead, I shut it down.

So, I want to dive deeper with you and share exactly why I did that.

why I hit the breaks

First and foremost, it most likely boiled down to the time frame. I had the plan and my to-dos, but I was working on a shorter time crunch.

The Busy to Boss Academy is a really great offer that sells well and my clients see a great transformation, but it probably needed a longer launch runway.

I also felt like I needed more peace and clarity as something just wasn't right; it felt heavy and no longer aligned. This has nothing to do with the fact it was going to be a lot of work and effort, I’m not afraid of that. It was just a feeling that something didn’t feel right.

For me, this looked like this:

I felt the launch was going to push me to operate out of stress and striving. The feeling I had to launch this programme at this time made me feel the pressure and the urgency of it, especially as I had just hosted a workshop and was gearing up for a mastermind. I didn’t feel good about it.
I also wanted the capacity to focus on other things in my life and business. The Busy to Boss Academy was performing really well, but it felt like the launch would’ve forced me to work more hours. Of course, this would’ve resulted in more money and profit, but I didn’t want to sacrifice time with my family to make that happen. It felt like I’d no longer have the time to focus on what I wanted to.
The next thing is that I knew if I pushed for another live launch (which is high energy, high stakes and high stress), I’d have less time to focus on growing the evergreen side of my business, which is something I am prioritising. So I was looking at this launch and this offer and I decided that I needed to break the cycle of repeated hectic live launches and really focus on the passive back-end strategy. Basically, I had to give up a more immediate cash flow in order to see the more passive and long-term cash flow.
I also had to decide whether to run a Busy to Boss Academy launch or go all in for the second round of the mastermind. In my heart, I knew I needed to focus on the mastermind as it’s what felt most expansive.

Throughout all of this, I talked to my family, I talked to my coach, and I journaled a lot.

I even remember my mum saying to me: “Don't think you're doing too much, Holly?”. It was only when I really looked at it and realised it no longer felt aligned that was I able to decide what I was going to do about it.

Deciding to cancel the launch was a really difficult decision and it took a huge leap of faith. I had to really trust that this was the right decision.

your reminders

I wanted to share with you the key things I’ve taken away from this experience that have been on my heart since I made the decision in September 2022.

You don’t need to do something just because every other “girl boss” is out there doing that. You need to follow yourself and what’s in alignment with you. There is so much abundance when you lean into what you actually want your business to look like instead of keeping your eyes on every other business out there.
The journey of life doesn't always have to be a chase for more. Let's focus on contentment over chasing because yes goals are great, but why behind your goals is what is truly important. If you are making and setting goals based on comparison, arbitrary numbers, or to stroke your own ego then you need to stop and ask yourself why? Why do you want to hit that goal? What am I working towards? Why do I want to hit it? Why do I want to hit six figures?
There are two different kinds of businesses: a lifestyle business vs. growth business. You can choose to build either. So you have to ask yourself when you're growing or starting a business what the goal or mission behind it is. Is it to grow and to be as big and as profitable as humanly possible? If so then every decision you need to make needs to have that in mind at the expense of everything else. If your mission or goal is to grow a business that affords you a specific kind of lifestyle then you'll have to make growth sacrifices for the sake of your lifestyle.
I've always viewed A Branch of Holly as a lifestyle business which comes back to making the decision to pause the launch. Yes, the business took a financial hit, but the people thrived. The business took a temporary financial hit in order to allow me to work on other things that will ideally, get me to make more money doing way less work.
Remember to trust your gut, always. Even if all the numbers and strategy look great on paper, even if the momentum is already moving in the right direction, if you don't feel at peace with it, please listen to that feeling. Ask why, spend time with yourself, dig deeper, and get external input. Do not be afraid to follow your gut in business, even if it doesn't make sense immediately.