Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart…

Life doesn’t have a playbook. Neither does business. And honest business recaps don’t come very often. Because when we strive to Keep Up with the Kardashians, we can quickly feel defeated when things don’t go our way, in our time. But perspective is key. Minor things, brush your shoulders off. Major things, learn from it. And most importantly—

Stop trying to “keep up”.

Instead, focus on 2022 being your year of not giving an ish what other people think. The year where you give yourself so much grace for the massive progress in personal growth + development you’ve had as a solopreneur, personal brand, and CEO.

You’re not on ANYONE else’s timeline but your own. And as the Chief Executive Officer of your business (and life), you can control + shift that timeline however (and whenever) you see fit.

2021 isn’t over yet. But with ¾ of the year gone, it’s enough to get you feeling some type of way about where you stand vs. everyone else around you.

I want to pull back the curtain on the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2021 for myself as an entrepreneur and for The Brand Vibe’s messy middle. Because people should talk more about the up’s AND down’s of this crazy ride.

I’m getting raw and honest here, ready to lead by example. But like I shared with my email tribe, if you’re already reading this with judgment eyes, you’re not my people. And this recap isn’t for you.

Otherwise, buckle up! This year has been a bumpy ride…

 

JANUARY 2021

INSIDE THE BIZ

✌🏽Kicked off MY high-level mastermind, Visionary Vibes Mastermind (VVM), with 9 of my faves

🍾 Help our clients launch a collective of $374k+ this month (note: $254k was ONE client alone!)

CEO GROWTH

• Joined a high-level mastermind myself #alwaysbelearning
• Also hired a 1:1 high-performance coach who helped me focus on unpacking generational trauma, mindset growth, and establishing 7-figure CEO habits, baby!

CHALLENGES

• I was just coming off of a really hard season of burnout. My business had catapulted in 2020 and I wasn’t prepared for it. I’ve been addicted to the hustle my whole life. And I felt this strongly in Jan.

 

FEBRUARY 2021

INSIDE THE BIZ

✌🏽 Our Brand Vibe Creative Agency team kicked off work for our first rebrand! This was a BIG deal to show how I’ve moved from solopreneur into CEO this year.

🍾 Helped our clients launch a collective $168k+ this month

CEO GROWTH

• Due to the burnout I felt, I decided to reduce my 1:1 coaching/consulting spots + instead leverage my team more with expanded CMO agency services, pour into my VVM tribe, and only take a small, select number of private clients moving forward. Best. Decision. Ever.

CHALLENGES

• Implementing new habits is hard. Focused on getting to bed at 11pm, taking time to rest, journaling in the AM, and separating my worthiness from my performance. C-H-A-L-L-E-N-G-I-N-G.

 

MARCH 2021

INSIDE THE BIZ

✌🏽 Hired our very first full-time employee!

🍾 Helped our clients launch a collective of $225k+ this month (note: one client alone was $135k+!)

CEO GROWTH

• Went on my first IN-PERSON mastermind retreat to Nashville. Met Amy Porterfield. It was fabulous.
• Aaaaand had a spontaneous road trip to Florida for Spring Break with my mom, brothers, and kiddos. Why? Because I don’t have to ask for PTO #winning

CHALLENGES

• Hiring a full-time employee is all about mindset. Lots of mental hurdles I had to overcome to feel confident in this decision (and lots of my fears came true in the next months… keep reading)

 

APRIL 2021

INSIDE THE BIZ

✌🏽 We launched our re-brand! New color palette, new services, new site… honestly felt like I birthed a new baby.

✌🏽Hired a FB ad agency for the upcoming live launch of Launch Vibes Lab

🍾 No new launches this month but a few evergreen funnel set-ups kicked off. Ahh the beauty of live launch + evergreen passive income.

CEO GROWTH

• Implemented a new CEO schedule after working with one of my clients, Chelsea Wessman (THE go-to productivity coach in the industry). I wanted to lead my team by example + avoid continuing to fall into fire drills + late night edits. This was a game-changer for us.

CHALLENGES

• Starting to realize that

1) Hiring someone full-time was the right thing #win

2) But the person I hired *may* not have been the right choice … (the saga continues)

 

MAY 2021

INSIDE THE BIZ

✌🏽 We launched our course, The Launch Vibes Lab!

🍾 Helped our clients (including TBV!) launch a collective of $125k+ this month!

CEO GROWTH

• Working on my feminine energy + learning to trust my gut more and more as a leader. Coming from 15 years in corporate, I’ve been conditioned to be much more  masculine-driven, i.e. focused on strategy, results, achievements. Embracing my internal, motherly + leadership instincts has been one of my best wins of the year!

CHALLENGES

My own launch of LVL didn’t go well. Yes, I had a “failed” launch (even though I regularly help bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in launch strategy, planning, and execution MONTHLY for clients). Here’s the truth—

• I was so busy in the BTS that I missed the most important part I preach on launching—showing up for my people.
• I didn’t take advantage of the FB ads the way I needed to because my backend funnels weren’t in place yet. I lost THOUSANDS.
• I had been dealing with difficult team dynamics which led to this being my full-timer’s LAST month with TBV. He was incredibly talented—but not a good culture fit #LessonLearned

PS. I don’t regret a thing about this month. Failed launch. Failed hire. Failed ads. That all shaped what happened next. Without it, none of what’s to come would have been possible…

 

JUNE 2021

INSIDE THE BIZ

✌🏽 Looking back, I could have crumbled after May’s losses. Truth be told, I almost did. Instead, I brushed my shoulders off and went on to secure our largest consulting client to date with a $72k contract making this MY FIRST $100K+ SALES* MONTH 😱Funny how that works. LESSON: NEVER GIVE UP.

🍾 Summer months are lighter for launches but we still celebrated over $50k in client launches!

*NOTE: Sales are contracts signed, not cash in the bank. It’s important to properly plan for both revenue + cash months. If you need help, download my FREE 2022 annual projections template here.

CEO GROWTH

• It was time to re-evaluate our team, our systems, and our products. And this was the month we decided we would flip things upside down—

• Really build out our DIY education suite + funnels
• Refine our project management systems + SOPs
• Optimize our existing team + skill sets

CHALLENGES

• We were also in knee-deep retreat planning mode for July which had its own set of up’s and down’s (keep reading … you’ll see…)

 

JULY 2021

INSIDE THE BIZ

✌🏽 Celebrated our very first TEAM + VVM INTERNATIONAL LUXE RETREAT in my motherland, Puerto Rico! This was such a huge moment in the biz for me, my family, my team, and my VVM clients.

🍾 …another $45k+ of collective client launches!

CEO GROWTH

• For the first time, I realized just how much my business has changed my LIFE. I paid 100% of this trip in cash, through the business. 2 weeks. TBV team. VVM clients. My family. Despite the challenges of 2021 thus far, this trip solidified that The Brand Vibe really has become a part of creating opportunity, choice, and legacy for my family. That’s what it’s all about.

CHALLENGES

• That said, retreat planning is NO JOKE. And we had so many unexpected things come up that brought out everyone’s true colors, including my own #ImNotProud. But you guys, our bomb-a$$ house was on a remote island with no windows 😳 So yeah…when you mix island spiders with hangry folk cuz restaurants spontaneously shut down, you’ll reallllllly get to know everyone LMAO.

• Don’t worry, we’re all still friends, co-workers, and Vibers for life. And we’re planning an all-inclusive resort WITH windows for next year’s trip LMAO.

 

AUGUST 2021

INSIDE THE BIZ

✌🏽 Decided to continue an alumni program with my VVM mastermind girls since our 6 months was up

🍾 Helped our clients swing back into fall with a collective of $185k+ launches!

CEO GROWTH

• Bringing our business dreams to life post-Puerto Rico—
• Our vision for TBV education suite took front and center priority and I hired one of our former clients, Emily of E&M Co., to help with the course design!
• Also hired the amazing Ellie from ___  to do a systems audit based on June’s identified gaps so we have the foundation for what’s ahead with our new product rollout

CHALLENGES

• I originally had planned on launching VVM’s second cohort this month, but anticipating our internal priorities AND the additional support the current girls desired, I paused the second cohort launch and instead created a VVM Alumni special. The girls were thrilled with the new framework + I personally felt so much more aligned to the path ahead. Remember that feminine energy work I’ve been doing? Pays off!
• BACK TO SCHOOL! Getting into new routines as CEO with a new kids schedule is no joke. Every working mom everywhere knows what I mean.

 

SEPTEMBER 2021

INSIDE THE BIZ

✌🏽 Ladies + Gents, we’ve got a name, curriculum, and THE most epic ongoing GO-TO for your continuing education in business. Let’s gooooo!

🍾 Helped our clients launch a collective of $148k+

CEO GROWTH

• Vegas and Bungalows and Rollouts, oh my!
• Hired the one and only Shannon Lutz of The Social Bungalow to work her marketing mad scientist genius on the upcoming rollout of the aforementioned teaser. Should I name drop yet?? **STAY TUUUUUUUUNED**

CHALLENGES

• Saying YES to Vegas All-In Week was so incredibly hard for me as a wife and mom. It felt suuuuuper selfish. An entire week, in Las Vegas, working ON my business (not just in it for clients), without my kids or husband. Selfish much???
• Damn straight I am. Because you know what, sometimes SELFISH IS OK. That’s it. That’s the thread.

 

AS FOR OCTOBER-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER?

• Brand new ways to serve you with the education suite rollout of “that which shall not be names (yet)” Enrollment opens November 2021.
• A renewed focus on creativity. Catch me creating more and more blog posts, reels, TikToks in Q4 PLUS a Podcast AND my BOOK in 2022.
• A re-defined community! The Brand Vibe Society for Entrepreneurs is our new(ly upgraded) free Facebook group with MASSIVE VALUE-BOMBS being dropped in the next few weeks. Come find your new business blueprint + virtual BFFs inside!

2021…it’s been real ✌🏽

Your CVO *Chief Vibes Officer*,

Nicole