๐๏ธ My Business Pays for My Life. Does Yours?
Hey Reader,
Season 3 of School of Moxie dropped this week and it comes with one rule: everyone on the mic this season can legitimately say their business pays for their life.
They do not pay for life with their vibes... or half their life while a spouse's salary quietly covers the other half. They pay for their rent, mortgage, health insurance, the whole thing. All of it covered by the business. No cushion underneath.
I want to be honest with you about why I built this season the way I did, because I think it matters for how you listen to it.
I have been asked more times than I can count this past year how I have the nerve to keep making moves in an economy that feels like a dumpster on fire floating down a flooded raging river. And every time someone asks me that I want to shake them gently by the shoulders and say: what do you mean how? What exactly is the alternative?
Here is what I have observed, and I want to be clear this is my own pattern recognition and not a scientific study: some of the most frozen people I know right now are also the most cushioned. And some of the most decisive, most creative, most genuinely courageous people I know are operating without a net. Not because they are braver than you. Because the absence of a cushion has a way of converting options into decisions very, very fast.
This season is not designed to make you feel less serious or less legitimate if your business is not yet fully self-supporting. It is designed to show you what decision making looks like when there is no other option. Because when you learn from people who genuinely cannot afford to freeze, you learn what is actually possible when you choose not to.
Fear is the greatest tool that fascism capitalizes on. I refuse to be a pawn in that game. Neither do any of this season's guests. And my hope is that after ten episodes you decide you are not one either.
A few things to know before you press play:
This season might trigger you if you have a safety net you have never fully acknowledged to yourself. It might trigger you if you have been making no decisions and quietly calling it strategy. It might trigger you if you have been waiting for perfect conditions before going all in on something you actually want. And it might trigger you if you have been telling yourself your business is not successful enough when actually you just have not done the honest math yet.
Stay with those feelings when they come up. Do not drift away from them. Ask yourself what is happening there... because that is where the good stuff is.
Here is a taste of who you are going to hear from:
"Talk is cheap. You learn that real fast as a business owner. People will sell you the sun, the moon, and the stars verbally, but when it comes to putting your money where your mouth is, suddenly they're gone." โ Mary Williams, your host on episode 1
"Bitch, I'm investing in my health insurance right now." โ Arianna Smith, on people who moralize business spending
"My business pays for my life, and that means I get to do whatever the fuck I want." โ Ashlan Glazier-Anderson
"We can't out-strategize under-earning." โ Cris Caruso, financial advisor
"That is my sole motivation, and being an entrepreneur gave me the most flexibility to be able to do that." โ Eunice Brownlee, solo parent who built a fully nomadic business
"Just because you can doesn't mean you should." โ Jeanne Grabowski, on the lease that almost boxed her in
"The email that arrives is better than the email that is perfect." โ Jessica Lackey
"You can't be half a gangster." โ Rachel Allen, on conditional commitment
"My business pays for my life, and that means I get to wake up every morning and go do the thing that I love the most." โ Rebecca Prowse, potter and founder of Gravesco
"My joy and fulfillment no longer depends on another person's permission." โ Veronica Yanhs
Ten conversations. Ten women who said yes to the hardest question in entrepreneurship and meant it. Health insurance premiums, 50% revenue loss scenarios, the bills they are weirdly proud to pay, and what nobody warned them about. All of it.
And for the next ten weeks, I will be pulling a hot take from this season into the inspo corner at the bottom of this newsletter. Consider it your weekly reminder that the people doing the thing are not doing it because conditions are perfect. They are doing it because they decided to.
All ten episodes are live right now, Netflix style, drop everything and listen.
๐ Listen to Season 3 on your favorite podcast appโ
๐ Watch on YouTubeโ
๐๏ธ Your Show Needs a Foundation Before It Needs a Camera
The Sound Before Spotlight live cohort just wrapped and the participants walked away with something most creators never have: a show concept that actually makes sense, a format that fits their real life, and a plan they can execute without burning their budget on the wrong things first.
One participant's biggest aha moment said it better than I ever could:
"I could make things really easy on myself for the first season by doing an interview series recorded solely via Google Meet and a good microphone and put them on YouTube. Then I could make things more official for season two."
โThat could be you.โ
โThe self study version is now open for $297 and it includes everything the live cohort received plus a guest management starter pack they built together that is now yours too.
Here is what else you should know: I am no longer bundling full pre-production into production packages at SMG. That means Sound Before Spotlight is not optional prep anymore. It is the first step. It brings your production costs down significantly and it means you show up ready instead of figuring it out on my clock.
It also means something else. Everyone who invests in this program goes on my insider list. Private Q&As, special rooms, early access opportunities, some free and some paid. If I do not know you are working on an idea I cannot invite you in. This is how you raise your hand. โคต๏ธ
๐๏ธ Gossip from the creator trenches...
๐พ Even the Inventor Knows It Could Be Better
The person who invented the USB was asked to rate his own creation and had the audacity and the self-awareness to admit its limitations out loud. When asked how he would improve it his answer was both hilarious and obvious: use a USB-C. This is what intellectual honesty looks like and honestly it is refreshing every single time someone with credentials admits the thing could be better.
โI love a humble founder โโ
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๐คณ๐ฝ Your Competitors Have a Full Time Staff
The next time you feel like you are failing at promoting your own podcast or YouTube channel, I want you to watch this clip from inside Bravo's social media operation. They have entire rooms of people whose only job is the memes. You have yourself and maybe a VA on a good day. Stop comparing your output to theirs and start respecting how much you are actually pulling off.
โIt's actually work, y'all โโ
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๐ Your Experience Is the Differentiator
Adding another year to my age count last week has me fully committed to this thesis: deep expertise is having a moment and you should be getting significantly louder about yours. The cycle is turning back toward credibility, lived experience, and the kind of knowledge that only comes from actually doing the thing for a long time. More thoughts on this coming soon because I have a lot to say.
โI'll be back with so much more to say on this โโ
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Let's Hang Out
In case you missed last week: I released a 90-minute Astrology and Tarot forecast covering July through December 2026 for $47. The second half of this year has a lot going on energetically and I had an absolute blast recording this. Several of you grabbed it immediately which tells me we are onto something here. This is my first experiment in bringing readings back in a sustainable way and it will not be available forever. GRAB YOUR FORECAST!โ
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Participate + Join In
Get ready to see a lot more of this as we inch our way toward September 25th! Last week I announced the Sasquatch Summit in Vancouver, WA. You can get the full details on the information page or grab your ticket below.
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$197.00
Sasquatch Media Grounds LIVE!
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