How I Did A $150,000 Launch With Zero Ads and Zero Plan

Gorgeous humans,

Alright, I’m back in your ears — recording this one from bed because minimal viable podcast is still a podcast, thank you very much.

And oh my god, the last six weeks? A lot. We’re talking a, an intimate retreat that cracked my heart open in the best way, forgetting to eat (again, hello ADHD), a deeply healing holiday, and enough book + TV recommendations to cancel your weekend plans.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing business “wrong” because your brain doesn’t fit the mould… or you’re side-eyeing the internet wondering if courses and memberships still even work anymore… this episode is basically your loving, slightly sweary permission slip.

✨ I chat about:

• 💸 Running a $151K launch month with zero paid ads and absolutely no pre-written content
• 🎟️ The return of Backstage Pass — and why launching in public keeps me accountable
• 🏆 Hosting an affiliate competition that paid out $7,500+ (plus, yes, a crystal dildo!)
• 🫶 Running my first small, intimate in-person retreat for Grow Mastermind members
• 🧠 The confidence-before-competence trap (spoiler: you don’t wait, you go)
• 🌿 Healing primitive reflexes + the massive nervous system expansion that followed
• 🌊 Life updates — kids turning 12 & 16, and a soul-soothing holiday to Jervis Bay
• 📚 Book recs, TV gems, and a spicy rant about thought leaders staying silent on politics

💡 The juicy insights:

• 🚀 You do not need everything pre-written to launch. I decided on a Wednesday and had a sales page live by midnight. Waiting until you’re “ready” is just fear in a fancy hat.
• 💬 Adding live chat during launch? Game changer. 45% of chats were sales questions — real humans, real conversions.
• 🔥 Confidence and competence are byproducts, not prerequisites. You build them by doing the damn thing.
• 💰 An 85% profit margin came from keeping things radically simple — low costs, high intention.
• 🧠 Unresolved primitive reflexes can seriously impact neurodivergent adults — healing them gave me more capacity and less burnout.
• 🌀 When your body is out of alignment, everything feels harder. Bodywork isn’t optional — it’s part of the strategy.
• 📺 Technology always evolves. Things aren’t dying — they’re adapting. (Hi, Netflix going from DVDs to world domination.)

💬 A couple things I said that might give you a nudge:

“I will not abandon myself in this process. I will still be my own cheerleader. I will alchemize all of this into gold and I will do this in a way that is loving and kind to myself.”

“The only way to build confidence and competence is by actually doing the fucking thing.”

“I love that I’ve been able to send $900,000 to women’s small business owners instead of doing paid advertising with billion dollar social media companies.”

⭐ Listen here on:

• Spotify
• Pocketcast
• Apple Podcasts

🔗 Links & Resources 

• Unicorn Biz & Life Academy: ⁠leoniedawson.com/academy⁠
• Got ai questions? Email us: support@leoniedawson.com

If this episode lit something up in you — send it to a friend who needs to hear that there is no one “right” way to build a business.

And if you’ve got a spare 30 seconds? Leave a five-star review. It helps more beautifully neurodivergent, creative humans find their way here.

Big love,