Hi Reader,

Today is my 3-year business anniversary*!

And last week I was about to blow the whole thing up. 👀

Not entirely! But closer than I'd like to admit, and am still working through that as I type this. But let me rewind:

(*technically it's 3 years since I signed my first client, launched my biz 3 months AFTER. See todays post for more info on that!)

WHERE I'VE BEEN

3 years of building the plane while flying it.

It started with 1:1 clients and B2B teams. Then about a year ago I launched a cohort/community - people kept asking about groups just as I was needing to figure out how to scale. So despite the terrified introvert starting something so outside my comfort zone - I did it.

Six cohorts later and around 65 women in the community, makes it a total of 300+ business owners and leaders I’ve worked with in these last few years.

(And my clients results are DOPE. They’ve landed clients, board advisory positions, 6-figure contracts, 5-figure speaking deals. They’ve become friends, collaborators, clients and partners with each other! (which is so freaking cool).

All this? By showing up on LinkedIn, building relationships, and having a lot of good conversations.

WHERE I AM

But then last week I was considering blowing it all up! My nervous system is wrecked.

I've been launching a cohort every other month because the demand has been there and I kept saying yes. Which means I'm never not in launch mode.

And the ridiculous part? The pattern is identical each launch. A few people sign up right when doors open. Then nothing in the middle. Then everyone at the end.

Every time. And every single time, the middle freaks me out like it's new information (where I am right now).

Add postpartum brain fog that still hasn't fully lifted and a toddler with more energy than I knew was possible (in the cutest freaking way), my brain ain’t firing like it used to.

And to be clear, the client work isn't the problem. That's the part I love and the part I'd never cut. It's the launching. Doing it every other month means I'm always in one AND recovering from one.😱

Anywhos, last week I started asking whether I should even be doing this. Not the business. The way I'm running it.

(Side note for anyone currently thinking about joining my next cohort: don't wait until the last minute. My nervous system is begging you. 😅)​
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WHERE I'M GOING

Genuinely TBD.

I'm taking the rest of the year to figure it out, which feels strange to admit publicly when the expected move is to announce a bold new direction.

What I know is that I'm slowing down on how often I open doors, so I can have the mental capacity to work on this. My next final cohort of the year kicks off at the end of the month, and next year's will be spread out (looking like quarterly).

WITH ALL THAT

Regardless of all this crazy, I want to say thank you.

Despite having a minor existential crisis last week, these last 3 years have been truly incredible. Literally. I never in my wildest dreams could I have believed I’d get to where I am right now (probably means I ought to be dreaming bigger at this point!!)

And I couldn’t have done it without y’all.

I know I share more than most people are comfortable sharing, and I want you to know it makes me just as uncomfortable (if not more!). But I keep doing it because of what comes back from you. The replies, the support, the clients! And the messages telling me it helped!

But that's the reason any of this works. What actually got me here isn't complicated:

I show up as myself (sharing the good and the hard), consistently, and built a relationship-driven business development flywheel that fills my pipeline and fits my life. And above all, I put relationships before everything else.

No clever system or fancy marketing or tech.

Which, not coincidentally, is exactly what I teach my clients to do.

Toodles,
Natasha

P.S. If you want that for your business/life before I mix things up, my final cohort of the year closes soon and there are a few spots left. And I’ll be taking on only a handful of 1:1 before I (potentially) no longer offer that! Reply "LFG" and let's talk about what 2027 could look like for you.

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New here? Hi - I'm Natasha! I go on lots of LinkedIn tangents (and a few motherhood/entrepreneurial ones, too). My goal is to help make your experience on LinkedIn empowering AND profitable. Seriously. It's totally possible. Subscribe below! See you in your inbox! Subscribe! ​