The Honest Feed is hours of writing like this – essays that connect what’s happening in the world to what’s happening in our businesses and our lives, because I refuse to compartmentalize. If this resonates, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Here’s what I wish I had known before starting my own revenue-generating Substack I’ve learned […]

Welcome to the 6th issue of Notes from the Middle: We’re Kar & Maxim – a former Googler and a self-made marketer, building a business from CDMX while raising kids and hiding nothing. My Head: I’ll be honest with you…I may have doubted this. I had moments where I doubted if we could actually get to the […]

The cart closes tonight and I want to give you the full picture one more time before it does. Here is everything you get when you join The Revenue Studio. But before I list it all out, here’s the honest truth I keep hearing on calls: You don’t need to “grow first.” → You need […]

There is a version of being stuck that strategy doesn’t fix. You know what you need to do, you have the next step written out clearly in front of you and you still find yourself opening Instagram instead of writing the email, reorganising your Notion instead of finishing the sales page, doing everything except the […]

Everything inside The Revenue Studio up to module seven is organic.  You build the system, prove the offer, and generate consistent revenue before you spend a single dollar on advertising. This is intentional, and it matters. Ads don’t fix an unclear offer or a messaging problem – they amplify whatever is already there.  If what’s […]

Most coaches get better at everything in their business except selling, because selling is the one thing you can’t practice alone. You can read about how to run a discovery call.  You can study objection handling frameworks, write out your pitch and rehearse it in your head, but none of that prepares you for the […]

There is a specific category of business task that lives permanently on your to-do list and never gets done. You know the one… The welcome sequence you’ve been meaning to write for three months.  The sales page that needs a full rewrite.  The offer suite you’ve been meaning to map out properly since the beginning […]

Dustin is an academic and success coach for college students and a dad of three kids under eight, including a son with Down Syndrome. When he joined The Revenue Studio he was working 60+ hours a week across two jobs – one of which was actively destroying his mental health, his marriage, and his family […]

In my experience there are really only three things people wait for before joining a program like this, and none of them change the outcome the way people expect them to. The first is more followers. The idea that once the audience gets bigger the sales will follow, and it makes more sense to invest in […]

The reason you may feel like you’re constantly starting over with your revenue every month is that you’re running two channels that aren’t talking to each other, which means neither one is doing the job it was actually designed to do. Here’s what the dual-engine system inside The Revenue Studio changes. When Instagram and email […]

Welcome to the 5th issue of Notes from the Middle. I’m just free-writing, so please excuse any typos, grammar mistakes or terrible sentence structure. My Head: May looked quieter on paper than it felt in my body. I spent most of it with my head down, building toward the biggest Revenue Studio open cart I’ve […]

Natalie came into The Revenue Studio stuck on a plateau she couldn’t push through, and the thing that was keeping her stuck wasn’t effort or consistency or even skill. It was that her offers felt scattered and not packaged correctly, so she wasn’t promoting them.  She didn’t feel clear on how to talk to her […]

She’s doing 1:1 work now, and a waitlist is already forming for a course she hasn’t finished building yet.  Other professionals in her field are reaching out because the demand signals are that clear. She is not waiting for proof that her work is valuable. The market already told her. What she said on the […]

The most useful business model work is the least sexy to market I ran the first group coaching call of the new Revenue Studio cohort today. We’re still in open cart – doors close June 23rd – and I want to tell you a little about what happened on that call, because it’s the clearest […]

I had a sales call on Saturday and she joined on Sunday. She’s a wellness and embodiment coach and somatic practitioner with a book coming out, a product company she co-leads, and an engaged Instagram audience.  But here’s what she said when I asked her what was actually going on: “I have three different contractors […]

Joana is a brand strategist. She was good at her craft before she ever found The Revenue Studio. She had clients, years of experience, a real skill set – and she was undercharging for all of it because she had no system underneath any of it. No offer people could find and buy without her […]

I want to take a step back from the curriculum today and tell you a bit about who built this and why I think it matters before you make a decision about joining. In December 2020 I was laid off from my role as Head of Social and Partnerships at a vitamin subscription startup, I […]

Two people came to my workshop this week. They have different businesses and are at different stages, but when I asked them both what finally made them decide to join The Revenue Studio, they said almost exactly the same thing. They were tired of carrying the whole strategy alone. The first one has been in […]

For the past few years I ran a program called The Social Department, and the results our clients were getting inside it were honestly so good that at a certain point I had to stop and ask myself a real question: am I building the right thing, or am I sitting on something that could […]

You’re wondering if there’s a catch. I know because I would be too. Free workshop, real curriculum, no pitch waiting at the end? It sounds like the setup for something.  So let me just tell you exactly what’s going on. There isn’t a catch. But here’s why it’s free. The curriculum I’m teaching on June […]

You’re doing both things: You’re posting on Instagram, TikTok and maybe even Substack and you’re sending emails sometimes. It should be working by now, and yet every month still feels unpredictable like you’re starting from scratch.  A little like the effort you’re putting in and the revenue coming out don’t quite match. Here’s what I […]

“Instagram doesn’t work for my niche.” I’ve heard it in every variation you can imagine like. It doesn’t work for high-ticket offers.  It doesn’t work for B2B.  It doesn’t work for service providers.  It doesn’t work for introverts.  It doesn’t work for people who hate being on camera.  It doesn’t work for industries that aren’t […]

You’ve been told the goal is to grow. More followers, a bigger list, more reach and THEN the sales will follow.  THEN the inconsistency will sort itself out.  THEN you’ll finally feel like you’re ahead instead of behind. I want to challenge that because I’ve been looking at the data inside my program for over […]

Something I’ve noticed after years of reviewing content for coaches and service providers inside my programs is that the people who struggle most with converting on Instagram and email are almost never the ones who aren’t showing up.  They’re the ones who ARE posting, creating good content, emailing, and still not making the sales they […]

Every few weeks there’s a new piece of advice making the rounds about what’s working on Instagram right now. You’ve seen it: Try this hook format with this trend before it peaks. These hooks are blowing up. I tripled my email list with this hook. I get why people follow it too! When your content […]

Most people I talk to are waiting for something. More followers, the content polished and perfect, more time, a bigger list, a better funnel, a website that’s perfectly branded and live.  They’re convinced the sales will start coming consistently once they have more of whatever they think they’re missing. I want to tell you about […]

I had a migraine every day since Sunday night. It’s Wednesday. If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I haven’t had one in months. That’s a genuinely big deal for chronic migraine girl who used to lose days to them. Yes, I’ve tried everything… Massage, beta blockers, caffeine (with and without), diet, […]

March Notes From The Middle: Last month’s revenue + business moves, what’s going on in my head, and what’s happening IRL.

The night before New York City shut down, I gave birth to my daughter.

I taught a beginner’s Substack workshop to over 300 people twice this week.Most of them didn’t have a Substack yet, and many haven’t published their first post yet. That’s exactly who this workshop was for: people who want to start a Substack but don’t want to waste months figuring out the setup, the strategy, or […]

Instagram has been moving more and more toward an interest-based algorithm – pushing content to people who don’t follow you yet. Most people saw this as pressure to post more, create dozens of Trial Reels, chase more trends, but I saw it differently. I saw an opportunity to optimize the one thing people see after […]

I just had another moment where I realized, again, that most people are not failing because they are lazy or unmotivated, they are failing because they are trying to build revenue on top of vague planning. Vague is a terrible foundation when you have a nervous system, a schedule, and a life that does not […]

My little boy is napping next to me. He’s got a cast on his right arm from falling off the kitchen island two weeks ago, and he’s been running fevers on and off since Monday night. It’s so easy to comfort him. It’s so easy to make him feel cosy and safe, and it fills […]

We are just shy of 100 people signed up for Your First 100 Subscribers, which honestly feels really good, not because of the number, but because of who is in the room. There’s a quiet myth I’m hearing around Substack that I want to dismantle gently. That you need to have Instagram “figured out” first or […]

Late last night, just before midnight, a reporter reached out asking for my take on the 2016 trend. I was still easing back into work after three weeks away, half in reflection mode, half catching up, and something about the question stuck with me. The more I thought about it, the more I realized this […]

Ch ch ch changes… turn and face the strange 🎶 This has basically become my theme song this month as I start to accept just how much has changed, and how much I can control.  I know we’ve all been struggling to keep our businesses moving while watching the world reorganize itself in real time (to […]

Everything moves so fast now. You spend time forming a thought, shaping it and hitting publish and then it’s basically gone the next day. For a long time (12 years), Instagram was where everything started and ended for me. I was reluctant to try other platforms (including TikTok) and if I had a thought, if […]

You may have noticed that I’ve completely changed how I show up on Instagram. Not only have I been going viral for the past month on several posts, but I’m growing at a rate I haven’t seen since 2021 – and it’s not because I’m sharing Instagram strategy or tips. You might think that’s a […]

I am loving hearing the various reasons why you’re signing up for this workshop! I got a sweet voice note from someone this morning who signed up: “I’ve got the call so freaking much to sign up for Substack. I’m a longform writer, writing was my skillset when I was younger. I love it, it […]

I just got back from three glorious weeks away from my business, spent in my hometown in British Columbia, and I don’t know how else to describe it except that the contrast between the stillness of that time away and the reality I returned to was jarring. I went from not checking Instagram, Substack, email, […]

For My Skimmers 👀 ✨ You’re invited to a curated stratetgy day in Vancouver BC to plan your entire 2026 in one morning with me! 📆 Edit26: Thursday January 8th 9:30am–12:30pm at Werklab, Vancouver BC. You’ll walk out knowing: ✔ Your offer suite for 2026✔ Your revenue targets (+ how you’ll hit them)✔ Your launch windows […]

I personally get slightly panicked when January rolls around and suddenly everyone is announcing their “new year, new me” and posting goal-setting lists like they’re being graded on them.  I’m more of a September brings a fresh start, back to school, change of seasons from warm to cold, comfy cozy kinda gal. But even with […]

For My Skimmers 👀  ✨MONTHLY FREE COACHING ✨ On Friday I am hosting Unmuted, my monthly free coaching call where you come, ask questions around what you’re currently working on or the next phase that you’re looking to get to and I give you unfiltered coaching with clear next steps. This group is small enough that everyone […]

For My Skimmers 👀 ✨ LIFE LATELY ✨ On Friday I hosted Unmuted, my monthly free coaching call where you come, ask questions around what you’re currently working on or the next phase that you’re looking to get to and I give you unfiltered coaching with clear next steps. The group was small enough that everyone […]

Running a Black Friday campaign sounds exhausting, right? I definitely used to think that.  Posting every day. Writing emails. Updating links. Tracking sales. Replying to DMs. I used to be in that camp. But here’s the thing: it’s only exhausting when you don’t have a plan. When you have a system, it’s actually fun. (And profitable.) […]

For My Skimmers 👀 The Spritz 🍹 Let me guess what happened last Black Friday: You posted discount, and you mentioned it in your stories. Maybe you sent an email or two, and then… nada. Meanwhile, you watched other people in your industry have their biggest revenue days of the year and you literally thought WTF….. […]

For My Skimmers  The Spritz I woke up to news that it snowed on Whistler mountain where I’ll be snowboarding this January and teaching my 3 year old son to ski for the first time! I can’t waittttt! This weekend I was recovering from a surgery to remove an infection from a complication I had […]

I took a mental health day today.  I didn’t quite understand why I started to feel extremely low after coming off of a very successful open cart that exceeded my expectations and showed me that I really do know what I’m talking about. I’m telling you, I have my moments of doubt too. But this […]

Two years ago, taking a 6-week break in Canada and heading to Europe just a week later would’ve felt completely out of reach. It isn’t happening because I posted more. It happened because I finally understood how to sell through my content, I know how to create posts that connect with the right people, at […]

I really get in the feels when you tell me that my emails resonate with you and that you’re reading them. Thank you for your thoughtful replies from yesterdays. Day 4 back at the desk looked like this for me: After three 1:1s over the course of the last 24 hours I remembered that the […]

I gave myself permission to take the longest vacation of my life this summer. Six weeks in Canada. Monday was my first day back at my desk. I managed to only work 1 day to meet with my team in Vancouver, and another day to host a Mastermind dinner (I’ll send another email about that […]

I’m spilling the beans on who my business coach is….. It’s Kirsten Roldan and about two years ago I learned Email from her and it changed my business QUICKLY and added tons of profit to it.  She’s the best in the biz and her program Million Dollar Email is open for the last time this year. Plus […]

I just wrapped a private call with Y, a beautiful soul in the healing space who sells 1:1s and beautiful retreats. She came to me feeling stuck and said this in her onboarding form: “I know where I want to go… but I’m struggling to actually get there.” Before getting on our call, I went in […]

Someone asked this on Threads the other day and I know it’s going to be very relevant to you:  “Can we talk about personal brand accounts with 100k–300k followers and 30 comments on each post?” I knew I had to answer because this is something I personally have grappled with but also something I KNOW […]

On July 11th I’m shifting to my no-call policy and going on a 3 to 4 week vacation!!!! BUT before I go I wanted to let you know that I opened up 4 last one-to-one spots at 40% off. When those hours are booked the calendar closes until I’m back (don’t see your spot just […]

A MOMENT FOR CLARITY: “I think I’m explaining it wrong…”  That’s what a client said to me 10 minutes into our call. She had an offer she’d sold before, her clients had loved it , but lately it felt harder to talk about. The results were still there. But her confidence wasn’t. She went off […]

One of the first things a client said to me on our call was: “I feel like I’ve gone quiet. I haven’t posted in weeks.” She wasn’t lazy or procrastinating though. She was burnt out from showing up with no clear plan and no increase in her sales.  She’d built a solid business with an […]

If you’ve been feeling like you’re “doing all the things” on Instagram but still not seeing results, let me offer a gentle reframe: You might not be the problem, and Instagram might not be either. What’s probably actually going on is this: your content isn’t connecting to your offer in the right way. Not emotionally. […]

You know what I find underrated in our space?  Investing in a conversation with someone who has not only been where you are now, but who helps people every single day on the same problems. Problems like: But can I tell you a story? I once invested almost $300 for a 30 minute call that […]

My recent Instagram post really resonated with a lot of people and resulted in 1 sale and 3 discovery calls booked.  If you missed it check it out here.  I know why it resonated and I knew it would perform as I planned it out and before I posted it. I called out a very real […]

There’s something I’ve been noticing again and again with the women I work with – especially those of you who’ve built a lot already: It’s not that you don’t know what to do. It’s that you don’t know which next step is still aligned. You’re smart. You’ve followed the formulas, taken the courses, maybe even […]

We’ve been talking a lot lately about launching, selling, and how different it feels right now. There’s a trust deficit happening in the online coaching space.  People are more skeptical, more cautious, and less likely to jump at every sales page or countdown timer. That means the old way of launching (hello 2021) and rushing […]

Whenever I open cart I hit a wall at some point (sometimes it’s earlier than I’d like to admit) where I honestly wonder WTF should I post now…. It gets more intense when it’s been quiet for a few days and I still have days left to go. But here’s the thing: I don’t panic […]

Here’s one reason your last launch didn’t convert the way you wanted: You created content that was obvious… not content that sells. Let me explain. Most people know how to teach or explain so they just post carousels with everything that’s included, a quote card from a happy customer and maybe a last chance post.  […]

Big News = Big Changes!! SD is now open evergreen!  That means you can enroll at any time. I will still have special campaigns once a quarter with special bonuses but I wanted to give you the option to join anytime.  I love sharing what’s working for me so here’s a little summary if you’re […]

You don’t need more ideas to sell your offer. You need a better launch system. My most recent open cart brought in 5 figures in 14 days. But what’s more interesting is how it happened: This isn’t luck or hustle. It’s strategy. I follow my 4+1 Launch™—the same one you’ll find inside The Social Department […]

When it comes to growing your business with Instagram, most people assume that getting results requires more content, more posting, more showing up. But in reality, pushing harder or trying to be everywhere often leads to overwhelm and zero sales. The real secret? Take your foot off the content creation gas. Not all the way […]

Let’s do a little visualization:  You’re sitting there, your tea is steeping and you’re about to sit down to write your goals for the month. This month, you tell yourself, I’m going to attract  50… no, 100 aligned followers. You have the intention and you feel motivated you can do it because you saw an […]

I want to leave you with something simple you can start thinking about right now. Here’s one thing I see over and over again in coaching calls (including one I had this morning): Most people don’t have a content problem. They have a messaging and positioning problem. They’re posting but they’re not selling. The words […]

New people finding you daily.Leads messaging you in your DMs daily.Sales finally coming in.  …without posting every day, chasing trends, or burning out on the algorithm treadmill. Wouldn’t that feel so much better than throwing together content at 10pm hoping someone might click “buy”? That’s not just possible, it’s happening for the people who know how to […]

Two years ago it wouldn’t have been possible to take three vacations in less than 2 months, but that’s my reality now thanks to my tiny business. This didn’t happen because I posted more. It happened because I figured out how to sell through my content so that I could always have leads coming in […]

Something I told a client this month: “You have a unicorn brain. You just don’t have a system that matches it.” Most of the entrepreneurs I work with aren’t lost. They’re high capacity, idea rich, big thinkers. But their biggest challenge is figuring out how to package what’s in their head into something that actually […]

I just wrapped our quarterly $2.5K Club call with Social Department clients who’ve already made back their investment in the program and honestly, it was such a good one. Every quarter, we meet for 90 minutes to reflect, recalibrate, and plan out the next 90 days. And the wins this time? WILD. ✨ Every person who submitted a […]

I want to say something that might sting a little: If you’re charging less than what your offer is worth, the problem isn’t just your income. It’s your positioning. A few weeks ago, I told a client, “If you’re charging $497 for something premium, people are going to wonder if you actually know what you’re […]

One thing I remind clients of constantly: You do not need to be reinventing the wheel every time you go to create a piece of content or launch an offer. You need a repeatable framework that reflects how your brain works, and makes space for you to show up without burning out. That’s exactly what […]

One of the themes I have seen on nearly every client call: You don’t have a content problem. You have a decision-making problem. You’re not unclear. You’re overloaded. Your brain is running fast, nonlinear, full of ideas. But when everything’s swirling, you need structure. You need someone who knows what to do with all of […]

Content shouldn’t take hours of scrolling, second-guessing, or wondering what to post. But that’s exactly what happens when you don’t have a plan. Too many of you are still stuck posting what worked in 2020 but no longer works today. Too many of you are working with expensive designers who do not take strategy into […]

I’m back from Maui where Max and I spent 6 glorious days (sans kids) celebrating the wedding of some friends. It was GREAT to get away and not open my laptop knowing that my business runs itself (literally) while I’m away with very little preparation beforehand on my side. I do this with very clear […]

I’ve been watching something shift for a little while now… and now Ad Age just confirmed it: Brands are officially moving away from low-effort, chaotic content and back toward polished, thoughtful, and creative storytelling on social. And it’s working. → Tower 28’s sketch series? Blew past their engagement averages. → Milani Cosmetics? Ditched the influencer […]

If you felt like your Reels or posts didn’t get enough reach last week or even this week you’re not alone. As you know, I have almost 80 clients that I work with on a weekly basis and many of them complained about low reach. People who normally have no problem with reach. Myself included! […]

…but I actually have a ton of free resources available for you. Building an income-generating brand with Instagram is what my business is all about, but I genuinely want to see you and your business thrive on the platform. That’s why I’m always looking for ways to help, even outside of The Social Department. Whether […]

I’ve been thinking about posting frequency on Instagram, both because I was posting up to twice a day during my open cart for my program and because I have only posted twice this week and it has got me standing strong in what I’ve been saying for the past nearly three years. I don’t believe […]

Let’s talk Reels – because that’s what everyone’s asking about right now. Here are 5 updates that could change your Instagram game: But here’s what really caught my attention… Instagram now ranks content in two ways: • Connected Reach (your followers)• Unconnected Reach (potential followers) The secret to growing? Nail both types of reach by […]

Instagram will open doors for you. I’ve seen how it has done this for me and I want you to experience it too.  Here’s what my Instagram account has opened up for me since I went out on my own in late 2020:  → 2021: I was featured in Business Insider in a piece all […]

I’m an organic Instagram growth expert. Not because I wanted to be. But because I HAD to be. My first job working in social media was at the United Nations and we were just a small team of mainly volunteers to start.  We were building ShareTheMeal, an app to feed children all over the world […]

I have some bad news. If you’re taking advice from influencers and guru accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers let me be honest with you: what works for them hardly ever works for regular people.  They have the advantage of a massive audience and they are sharing tips and tricks about how to grow […]

Tech and politics just got a little too cozy. Don’t be fooled by the political theater that’s happening right now around TikTok and Meta. It’s designed to distract us while bigger moves are made behind the scenes. Let’s break down what’s happening at the intersection of tech, politics, and influence in just the last week: […]

Back in December 2020, I found myself in a really awkward situation.  I was living in Brooklyn, I had just been laid off from my role as Head of Social & Partnerships at a vitamin subscription startup and I was 9 months pregnant – OH, and the entire world was shutting down.  Not great right? […]

Building a thriving Instagram community isn’t just about growing your follower count; it’s about cultivating meaningful connections with the people who already show interest in your content and offerings. The personal touch matters more than ever. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting to build your Instagram presence, nurturing your audience is the key […]

With short attention spans on social media (less than 9 seconds!), getting your audience to stop scrolling is only half the battle. While written hooks are essential, combining them with powerful visual elements can transform your Reels from good to absolutely incredible. If you’re looking to boost your watch time and engagement, try these six […]

Let’s be real: pricing your services can feel incredibly complicated.  For most of us, it’s a never-ending cycle of wanting to avoid getting “no’s” and undercharging, only to find ourselves overwhelmed, burnt out, and wondering if our businesses will ever see those sweet monthly recurring income months! I know this struggle all too well, and I’m excited […]

When I first started my business back in January 2021 there were two myths I was telling myself that want you to know now: I thought it was a flex to do everything myself and keep all of the money I was making.  I thought that hiring people to do what I already knew how […]

Let’s talk about how to reach more non-followers! AND this excited me and I’ll definitely be trying more 90 second Reels soon!! (stay tuned)⬇️⬇️⬇️ Instagram will be showing 90 second reels to non followers soon! 

Instagram feels like it changes a lot more than it does.  But it does change, and I’m not about to go into algorithm changes but changes that you need to make to your content because I don’t want you getting stuck in the past and getting frustrated wondering why it’s just not working for you.  […]

I’m subscribed to Archrival’s newsletter, and their latest study in collaboration with Tumblr provides invaluable insights into the next era of cultural influence, especially as it’s being shaped by Gen Z. If your goal is to connect with young consumers, this study is relevant. But even if you’re targeting other audiences, it’s important to pay […]

Here are some things you may have forgotten about you could do on Instagram that are little hacks that I think go a long way. 1. Get your message seen wider: If an audio or sound shows up as “unavailable” or “original” you can rename it and add a Call To Action (CTA) or any message […]

I wanted to share what I think the number one tip I learned at Instagram unfiltered in NYC last week with you because I’ve been testing it out on my own account and it’s been WORKING. We’ve been constantly told that Reels are the way to grow since 2020 but as you know, I’ve always […]

In my last post, I told you about some of the key learnings I took away from  Instagram unfiltered in NYC and so today I’m bringing you part 2! This is part two of two posts so make sure you read part 1 if you missed it! Best Practices hub in the app Instagram just […]

I just got back from Instagram unfiltered in NYC, and wow—there’s a lot of exciting stuff happening on the platform that you need to know about!  This is part one of two posts so make sure you look out for the next one on this site.  Instagram invited me to get up to speed on […]