Darlingheart!

It’s been a wee while since I shared with you a biz & life monthly review. And I got a wee bit of inspiration to share it with you because it’s been such a big one!

I’m going giving you a really in-depth look at ALLLLL the things:

• what I got up to
• exactly how much I earned in terms of both revenue and profit
• lessons learned along the way
• family adventures
• the best TV I’ve binged lately
• my favourite books lately!

You can also listen to this as a podcast episode… or just read along for words & pics!

The Launch: Flying By The Seat Of My Pants (As Per Usual)

March was a launch month for me.

And I know a lot of people run launches with pre-planning and pre-writing sales pages and pre-creating all the emails and social media content. I am in awe of those people. I am also not that girly.

I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girly. I lean into the fact that I am ADHD AF. And if I waited until I had everything pre-written and pre-created to launch, I would actually NEVER launch. I know this about myself again… I’ve just perfected the art over the years of doing it my own kind of unicorn way.

So what that looked like was: OK, I’m going to do a launch in March. Oh, what do I want to launch? Oh, you know what, first and foremost, let’s do another Backstage Pass!

I ran Backstage Pass last year and it was so much freaking FUN. The whole concept is that I let people behind the scenes to see exactly what I do in the launch: weekly debriefs, sharing all the experiments, what sales emails I sent, what marketing tactics I used, what worked and what didn’t. This time people could buy it on its own for $111 or get it free with their Take Action Club tier.

People in there kept saying they were so glad I was sharing this because they were burnt out on launches. They’d tried the Product Launch Formula way and those hyper-structured approaches and it burned them out so badly they couldn’t even think about launching again. Whereas I tend to look at launches like a menu of possibilities, and you can cater to whatever your energy levels are at the time.

I wanted to model what it looks like to fly by the seat of your pants, make it up on the fly, go with whatever energy levels you have that day and still love the absolute bejesus out of it and still get really amazing results.

Deciding What The Feck To Actually Launch

Around the 10th of March I was like, come on now, let’s decide WHAT WE’RE ACTUALLY GOING TO LAUNCH THIS MONTH. (Type A girlies could neverrrrrrr bahahahaha)

The way I usually decide is either I get a full divine download from my guides or I create in response to people saying they’d love to see something and it sets off this ding in my chest. In March I had partial dings. So I went to the people. I polled my audience, especially my Academy members.

What was absolutely hilarious was the top three choices were so close the data was completely inconclusive. I couldn’t work out what I was supposed to be creating.

One of the things people had been asking for years was about memberships. And even though I’ve run a membership for a really long time, I felt stuck around teaching it. Like, but you just make it and then it makes money and it’s so fun. So much of it was unconscious competence.

Then I talked it out with Tam (my go-to decision person) and she asked me what I’d even teach in a memberships program. The minute I started thinking out loud… I got so excited. I realised I had SO much to share on doing memberships differently, profitably, sustainably. How so much I’d learned running memberships since 2010 often flew in the face of conventional industry wisdom… but that I’d run memberships for longer and made more money and done it in less working hours than any entrepreneur I know.

So I decided on a Wednesday that Million Dollar Memberships was happening, and I was not going to go to bed until it was launched. That night I wrote the entire sales page for Million Dollar Memberships, hand-illustrated it, and hit publish at midnight. That is how I fucking make it work.

The Affiliate Competition

I decided to go all out with an affiliate competition as well. People could share about the Unicorn Biz & Life Academy and Million Dollar Memberships. If you sold three memberships, you’d get a Leonie-designed t-shirt on top of your 50% commissions. The top three affiliates got big prizes: first place was a VIP coaching day with me in Canberra plus a $1,000 travel voucher, second was five hours of my VA’s time and two weeks of private accountability coaching with Tam, and third was $250 cash plus a crystal dildo because I always think that’s fegging hilarious.

What blew my mind was that the top three affiliates were an English illustrator, an English Substack writer who’s a leading voice on the platform, and an Australian yoga and business coach. Two of the three were from the same small English town and they know each other! How wild is that???

I HEART EYES ADORE my affiliate program. We’re about to hit $900,000 in commissions sent to women’s small business owners. $900,000 to women’s small business owners instead of paid advertising with billion dollar social media companies. That blooming THRILLS ME.

And I always find that the people who are my affiliates bring in exactly my kind of people. When I’ve done Facebook ads in the past, I’d get really weird conservative people who were like:

Oh my God, you swear! And don’t you bring politics into this!

And meanwhile… I’ve always been the loudest left-leaning pagan witchy woo woo wanker who wandered out of the bush in Australia!

Adding Live Chat (Chatra)

As part of my launch experiments, I added Chatra to my website and Kajabi platform. It gives a little live chat button where people can click and ask questions, and if me or my staff are online, we answer instantly. Otherwise we email you back as soon as we can.

I want to be very clear: if you use my Chatra button you’re not going to be talking to AI bots because they are the bane of my freaking existence. AI chat bots on websites are as useless as tits on a bull. It’s either me, Nina, or Mia messaging you back.

From adding live chat I feel like it was really useful for sales & also just supporting people to get onboarded and find things. About 45% came with sales questions and 10% honestly just wanted to have a chat. And I freaking loved that. I had some lovely conversations with people all over the globe.

The Grow Mastermind Retreat Day

I also ran my first small in-person retreat day in Canberra for my Grow Mastermind tier (the highest level in the Academy). Attendees flew in from all around Australia, plus we had people watching via livestream.

Choosing the venue was its own adventure. I looked at bougie options: a gorgeous coworking space 11 stories up in the city, a five-star historic hotel where celebrities and politicians stay. They were interesting but not the right energy. What I was looking for was the energy of the place, nice views, somewhere we could go outside and connect with nature.

I landed on a spot near where I live that looks out over one of Canberra’s lakes. The moment I saw the view I was like, this is the place. I’ve already booked in for future retreats there. One of the things we did during the day was a ritual to let go of things, and we walked out onto one of the pagodas over the lake and released what we wanted to let go of into the water. It felt really beautiful and potent.

What was really interesting was that I was nervous beforehand, which really surprised me. I’ve run my own conferences with over a hundred attendees and spoken to hundreds of people without batting an eyelid. I’d rather be on stage than in a crowd any day. So why was I nervous?

I sat with it and realized: I’d never run a small intimate retreat day with people flying in before. So of course it’s normal to feel a bit nervous – I haven’t developed confidence and competence yet purely because it’s a brand new format! And just because I didn’t feel it yet is no reason NOT to do it.

This is such a BIG freaking lesson I reckon. So often we WANT the confidence and competence before we do the thing… but the only way to build it is by actually doing the fucking thing.

The ADHD Corker

I hired an assistant for the day to help with setup, pack down, and social media. Her presence made such a difference. If you’re ever doing events, even just getting a volunteer makes everything flow better.

But having an assistant did not stop me from pulling an absolute ADHD corker!!!! I‘d spent the day before cooking and hand-making food for the retreat because several people had food allergies… I had it all organized the night before.

And the morning off, I was flitting about, still naked and blow drying my hair 20 minutes before I was due to leave. And my husband said to me:

“Hey, you’re in a flighty kind of mood and I think you’re going to forget things.”

And immediately I said “I WILL NOT!” because I’m a Scorpio and he’s a Scorpio and if there’s anything Scorpios love it’s to give advice AND ignore advice. That is the source of all our sexual chemistry. Our 25 year anniversary is next month bwahahahahahahahahaha!

So I turn up to the venue, get set up, and then realised… I’d forgotten ALLLLL the food. The dairy-free stuff, the fruit platters, the snacks. I left every single piece of food at home. I of course panic-called my husband, and he saved the day by bringing it all before the event began.

I should tell you: My husband does not love attention. He’s a quiet, private, lovely man with an excellent set of shoulders on him. He’s an energetic chameleon. He circled around so quietly that he walked straight past people sitting outside and nobody even saw him despite his height and excellent set of shoulders. I love that we are typical opposites attract. I am a loudmouth who loves being the centre of attention, and he wants none of it.

Each Other’s People

What was wild too was how everyone there was brand new to each other and yet they all connected soooo deeply. I was trying to think of why –  I didn’t do applications, I didn’t screen anyone… I just trusted whoever would come would be the right fit.

And I realised – of COURSE they were. It’s because I’ve turned up as all of myself to begin with. And so OF COURSE that draws in people who are not only the right person for ME… but for each other too! It was so profound and beautiful.

Big love to Andrea, Shalini, Lyndal, Liz and Bec for being there on the day!!!

Anyways, I’m now officially feeling Confident & Competent on running these retreat days because of course the nervousness wasn’t going to last more than an hour. Next one is happening in Canberra in June. If you wanna be there, ya need to be in Grow Mastermind!

How Much I Earned

Righto, let’s talk the juicy juicy money. How much did I earn? How much did I spend? What were my expenses? What were my profit margins like?

I like normalising these conversations around money, especially for women, so we can all develop our financial literacy even more and get soooo comfy with numbers.

My cash sales for the month’s launch: $151,121.

That income included a $20,000 Export Market Development Grant.

We also got approval for another $80,000 to come in from the EMDG over time. That grant is for companies with a fair chunk of revenue from international markets, helping them sell to those markets more. I’d been waiting for it for a couple of years and it felt like such a thrill for it to finally come through.

A lot of people when they share sales numbers are telling you what will come in over the next year because of payment plans and recurring revenue. I only talk about the cash for that month because that’s all I give a fuck about.

But in terms of recurring revenue, there’s approximately another $15,000 in monthly recurring over the next 12 months. And memberships up for renewal next March will bring another $90,000 or so at current retention rates. So that on top of the rest of the EMDG over the next 12 months (EMDG takes a bit longer than 12 months tho) = over $336,000.

Expenses

I got that amount with zero paid ads. I tried it last minute to see if anything would go but honestly, I might have brought in nearly $16 million in revenue over my career and the Facebook ad platform still gives me the absolute freaking heebie-jeebie shits. I still can’t work the confusing motherfucker out. Maybe another day.

I also love being a girlie with low expenses attached to my sales. So much of what I do is organic content, email marketing, and affiliate marketing.

Expenses details:

• Customer service VA: ~$1,300
• General VA (admin, community management): ~$3,700
• Software: ~$1,800
• Coaching (kinesiologist): $750
• Accounting fees: $2,340
• Payment processing fees: $2,800
• Retreat costs: ~$370
• Affiliate commissions: $7,500 (affiliates brought in ~$15K at 50% commission)
• Affiliate competition bonuses: ~$2,500 (two people tied for first, each getting $1,000 + VIP day, plus third place got $250 + crystal bonus)

Total expenses: ~$23,200

Profit margin: around 85% (EBITDA)

From there I still pay taxes, mandatory super, and pay myself.

Of course, every month doesn’t look like this – not every month is a launch month. But always amazing to get a sales month that’s more than what my husband and I used to earn in a year!

Mental Health + Body Update

When I look back at my old monthly reviews, I’d regularly give a mental health update about burnout and autistic symptoms in overdrive. And it’s interesting because this time I don’t even have any mental health updates. I’ve had such a massive shift in this area and I feel really grateful.

About a year ago I went through a journey of healing my unresolved primitive reflexes and talked about it in depth on this podcast. These are reflexes you have as a baby that don’t resolve and keep firing in your system as an adult. A lot of neurodivergent people have them. You can resolve them with an occupational therapist (exercises to retrain the brain) or with chiropractors and osteopaths (manual manipulations).

I went through a chiropractor in Canberra who’s also a kinesiologist with a bunch of woo woo modalities, Dr Sharon Williams. For me it was genuinely life-changing. My nervous system has so much more capacity than it used to, and I’m not affected by a bunch of challenging autistic symptoms I used to experience. If you’re a neurodivergent hottie, I highly recommend looking into resolving your primitive reflexes!!!

Bodywork

During the launch, the big lesson was: get bodywork as needed. My bones tend to displace during launches because of hypermobility, I get pain flare-ups, and I try to power through. I REALLY need to keep reminding myself not to power through, and just go to the freaking osteopath already.

I drove to my osteopath appointment during the launch, my tailbone displaced and in pain, voicemailing Tam on the way there, crying and whinging about how hard everything was. Thirty minutes later I got back in the car, voicemailed again, and my voice was completely different. “You know what? It’s actually okay. Everything’s fine. I’ve got this. I just need to get my bones in place.”

Ha! The magic of osteopaths!

Going to get this tattoed on my ass: If your tailbone is displaced, go get it back in place. Your body and spirit aren’t going to feel fine until you do.

Mama Month

March is Mama Month in our house because both my kids have their birthdays. They turned 12 and 16, which feels like a really big age.

There have been such distinct eras to mothering. The thick of little children, then homeschooling, then upper primary, and now I’m firmly in the tween-and-teen era. We’re talking to a 16-year-old about her driver’s license and college next year (we’re in the ACT which does a college system for Year 11 & 12 instead of highschool).

I feel like I really my stride in parenting once the kids got older. I love that we just enjoy each other’s company and chat. One thing I need to do as a mum now is at least once a week, I go on a side quest with my 16 year old. A side quest means shopping at charity stores, constantly on the lookout for My Little Pony figurines from the generation she had as a child.

We chat the whole way there and I get to listen, empathize, and say things like “that’s horseshit that that’s happening” and “babes, when I was a teenager this happened and I also made this terrible mistake.” Totally normalizing things for her. I feel really grateful for the relationship we have. It feels like the hard work of building secure connection in the early years is paying off now.

Holiday: Jervis Bay

After the launch wrapped, we headed off on a break to Jervis Bay on the New South Wales South Coast. We didn’t know where we were going until the day before (because of course).

I’m so glad we did. It healed something in me I didn’t realize needed healing. I’ve been a little bit homesick for the Sunshine Coast since we moved to Canberra. As much  Driving through parts of Jervis Bay, it looked so much like the Sunshine Coast. One pocket had this Kuranda feel to it. Part of Huskisson reminded me of Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays where I grew up. All of these places I’ve known and loved were percolating there and it felt like a healing balm to my heart.

We stayed at a lake house on one of the inland lakes. It came with kayaks (essential booking criteria). We had beautiful sunset paddles with pelicans and fish flopping about. One of my daughters who doesn’t usually love boats gave it a go and immediately fell in love. Chris and I sat by the side of the lake, watching them and watching all the beauty… and it was just divine.

I’m excited to keep exploring the South Coast. Next on the list is Narooma because apparently it’s got seals and I’ve never seen a seal in the wild before.

What I’ve Been Reading

That Will Never Work by Marc Randolph — the story of building Netflix. What struck me was how close Netflix came to not surviving at all and how much it had to pivot. They came out in 1997 when people were afraid to buy things online, most people didn’t have internet, and DVDs weren’t the common technology (VCRs were). Movie companies didn’t want to produce DVDs because they’d already been burned by Betamax. Then just as Netflix got traction, the dot-com bust happened, nobody wanted to invest in websites, they had to lay off 40% of their workforce and become self-sustainable ASAP.

It helped me really see that technology disruption and industry change is the pattern, not the exception.

The right question in times like this is always: what do I need to do to shift into the next era?

Our Members Be Unlimited by Sam Wallman — a graphic nonfiction about the union movement. Took the artist seven years to illustrate. If you don’t know graphic nonfiction, it’s a comic book about a true story. You can learn so much about history in a format that’s really easy to consume and deeply evocative. This one made me realize I’d been overly optimistic about how politically forward Australia is. We don’t have a Trump equivalent (hooray!) but we do have a long history of union busting worth examining.

Still Bobbi by Bobbi Brown — another beauty brand business memoir. Similar trajectory to Jo Malone’s My Story (which I adored): both built beauty brands around their own names, both got bought by Estée Lauder, both worked there post-acquisition, both exited, both couldn’t use their own names because of non-competes, and both went on to build something new because they just couldn’t not make something. Bobbi’s book was a faster one-day read, whereas Jo’s goes twice the depth. Both fantastic.

What I’ve Been Watching

The Other Bennet Sister — a take on Pride and Prejudice from Mary Bennet’s perspective. She’s the nerdy oddity in the original and this show gives you a whole new perspective on the most judged characters: Mary Bennet AND Mr. Collins. I’ve been laughing at Mr. Collins for 30 years, and then you develop this whole other compassion for him. It’s visually beautiful, very tender, and very autistic-coded.

I got my love to watch it with me even though it wasn’t his usual fare. A few days later he started talking about how we should go away somewhere with a lake and wooden rowboats, and I was SOOOOOOO invested and ready to book that shit stat. And then he said he’d row me out into the middle of the lake, and he would read me poetry in the middle of the lake while my eyes are closed. And then there was this moment while it dawned on me and I said: “Oh you FUCKER! You’re just TELLING ME THE PLOT OF THE OTHER BENNET SISTER AREN’T YOU.”

Bwahahahahahahhahah!

Last One Laughing UK — comedians locked in a room for six hours trying to make each other laugh. If you laugh, you’re out. Originally from Japan (2015), now in 25 countries. The newest series has David Mitchell and Sam Campbell (an Australian). I feel like I want to combust with laughter. Atrociously funny.

Mum — BBC show from around 2018. I watched all three seasons in a very short period. It’s about a woman whose husband has just passed away, her grief journey becoming a love story. Incredibly funny and incredibly tender. She’s surrounded by characters that are so fucking ridiculous, and some are batshit insane, and you think my god you’re an absolute moron, and then you see more of their story and feel tenderness for them too. Some of the best TV I think I’ve ever watched.

Celebrity Traitors UK  — just started, but am IMMEDIATELY obsessed. Pls do NOT tell me any spoilers.

Also, YES, I do watch a lot of British TV despite being Australian. When I talk to British people, I find I’m MORE passionate about their TV shows than they are. HA!

Hope this has given you some delicious viewing & reading!!!

One last thing!

Also… I’m feeling powered up about something. I’m frustrated with thought leaders and coaches and experts who have really big audiences say fecking nothing about social justice and political issues. They’re so happy to stay in a quiet little corner and not say a word because they don’t want to ostracize any of their audience.

I think that is horseshit.

What I really want is for women entrepreneurs who’ve built businesses and audiences to go big and be heard by many, and to hold their full ethics and political views in full view so we can lead the world in a positive direction. Not just stay quiet when shit is hitting the fan.

So I guess I’m throwing my hat in the ring. If that’s what the world needs… I’m stepping up and out. I won’t do it perfectly, but I’ll do what I can.

Thank you, as always for sharing the journey with me.

Big love,