How I overcame a meltdown from a failed launch!

Hey, new listener, thanks so much for checking us out and there's a good chance you have adhd, so I quickly wanted to ask you to please follow this podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whichever app you're listening to this on. Don't leave it until later because you will forget. Thank you. Hey, new listener, thanks so much for checking us out and there's a good chance you have adhd, so I quickly wanted to ask you to please, please follow this podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whichever app you're listening to this on, don't leave it until later because you will forget. Thank you. Squirrel Squirrel in this episode, I'll be sharing how ADHD derailed me, the ADHD coach, and what I've learned from it. Squirrel Squirrel Hi, I'm Katie McManus, business strategist and money mindset coach, and welcome to the weeniecast. Squirrel. This is a really interesting episode to be recording because I am literally right smack dab in the middle of my own little ADHD meltdown around something big in my business. And there's this part of my brain that, you know is fighting me on sharing this because I'm the weeniecast person. I'm the person who talks about ADHD and talks about strategies to use all the superpowers to your advantage, and I'm supposed to have it all figured out, and I don't. And this is the perfect example of how I still struggle with my ADHD and how it gets in the way of me growing my business and expanding and really having massive impact with my business. Let me give you some insight as to what's actually happening right now. So I'm relaunching a whole program that I have. Okay. It's called the build your own business group program. I've been running it for about a year and a half now, and I've realized that the program, as I've designed it, was meant to be a more affordable option than from working with me one on one. And what I've rolled out is still out of the price range for a lot of people. So I'm splitting the program into two different parts. There's BYOB Beginner, build your own business Beginner, which is for absolute beginners who are just starting their business and need to figure out how to get their first five high paying clients. And then there's BYOB Advanced, which is a year long incubator for those who have been running their business for a year or two already, who need to figure out better strategies to Market themselves, create offers, get their word out there, and really establish their brand in the world. Now, there are some big things that are going wrong with this launch. Some of them are me, some of them are situational. But what's ultimately happening is I am failing at this launch big time. And I hate saying that. I hate saying that because I'm supposed to be perfect, right? So I've talked about Ideal Katie before and how I constantly hold myself up to her, comparing real Katie with her and feeling less than. And I know we all do this, and if you want to listen to that episode about how I use Ideal Katie against myself, then go and listen to episode 11. Never compare yourself to others. This is not just an ADHD thing. It is exacerbated by having adhd. But unless you're a sociopath, you do this to yourself. Ideal Katie would have had all these emails written, would have had all the social media posts already set up. She would have every single link dialed in before she even started this launch, but no adhd. Katie is sticking to the pattern she set early on in her business, where she's literally laying track as the train is coming. And that is a term I got from Shonda Rhimes in Year of Yes. If you haven't read that book, I highly recommend it. It's phenomenal. Little ADHD moment there. She used it to describe how they would literally write the script for the show, Grey's Anatomy. Like, literally. Like, they'd be writing the next episode, like, as the current episode was airing, and they'd have to figure out how to get it filmed and all this shit. Squirrel. Squirrel. Dr. Grey's oldest daughter is one of your patients, correct? You've treated her through the years, which means you most likely had to sign off on the adoption. It wasn't because Dr. Grey was briefly fired from Grace Loan. Squirrel. Squirrel. Anyway, that system no longer works for my business, apparently. And it's so funny to be describing this because I'm literally turning red talking about it, because it's something that is so present for me, and I. I always want to be honest and show beneath the surface of what's going on in my business and how ADHD is either helping me or hindering me in this podcast, because I know this is happening for you, and I know that it can feel so shameful and so alone and so isolating when it does. So I am inviting you behind the scenes right now to kind of experience through me what is happening when you have an ADHD meltdown in your business, especially when you're launching something new, so what's going wrong? So like I said, my old way of rolling out new things was literally laying the track as the train was coming. Now, this worked when I was the only person in my business, right? This worked when I was only enrolling clients into my one on one offer or into a small group program that had a finite amount of time that it was running. So it had a beginning and it had an end. All right? This stops working when you have team members who you have to delegate work to and get the work back and create edits and then get the work back to them and have back and forth. This starts breaking when you have multiple programs you're enrolling into. This breaks when the technology that you're using is beyond your capability to use it. You're dependent on other people inputting what you're creating into the technology so that it actually works well or works at all. Not even well, like works at all. I previously hired a contractor who I thought was doing a lot of stuff and they weren't. And unfortunately, like, she didn't keep track any of like half the videos that are in the program. So I have to refilm most of them. So like that adds a whole other amount of work to do. So that's number one. The way I do work in my business no longer works. Okay? And I want to own this to you because I want you to know this is going to happen for you too. And there's nothing wrong with that. The only thing that's wrong with it is if you continue trying to make it work when it's not going to work. This also shows me that I have a major leadership edge that I have to work on. Here is a growth opportunity for me and if I don't dive into it in this moment, I'm not going to be as successful as I can be. I'm also not going to be able to help as many people as I possibly could. And that sucks. I'm now catching myself in old bad habits in writing when I know there's a better way. I'm not a pro at it yet. I know being a pro at it is coming because I'm working at it. The way we think about how we work and the impact we have, we often get sucked into the things that aren't actually that interesting. But anyway, that has been one of the things that has been slowing down my launch. I want you to think about. I'm going to use. I'm going to use a sportsy metaphor. Right. So, like, there is a time when Tiger Woods, a golf person, had to relearn a swing. I don't know the terminology. Like, he had to relearn his approach to a certain kind of swing that he was doing. Think that's the terminology. My. So my cousin Ryan is actually. He was on TV yesterday. He is on his way to becoming a pro golfer. I should be absolutely ashamed that I don't understand anything about golf except that you're supposed to get the ball in the hole, because this kid is going to be great. Ryan Burnett. I'm calling out a lot of people on this podcast. Ryan Burnett. Go check him out. He's going to be massive. He's in his final year at University of North Carolina, and he was on TV yesterday for this championship that he's in, and he was absolutely killing it. He is phenomenal. So Tiger woods had to readjust his swing, and then he was going and competing in tournaments, and he wasn't doing as well because he was literally redoing his technique as he was competing. It was slowing him down, but it eventually helped him in the long run. Right. I don't want to discourage anyone from sharpening their skills in their business because you're worried it's going to slow you down for a bit. Don't do that. Always be learning. Always be sharpening your skills. And also plan ahead. Like, I did not plan ahead. Maybe delay the launch for after you've sharpened the skill for after you've adjusted your golf swing. Life lessons from Katie McManus and Tiger Woods. And no, I do not want to have Tiger woods on the podcast. Deal. Man cheated on his wife. Not here for that. Oh, okay. Well, I'll just quickly delete that email then. Now, another piece of this puzzle that I was not anticipating. Is that. Ooh, what am I going to say next? Well, you'll have to keep listening to find out. But first, Squirrel. Squirrel. Squirrel. Squirrel. Join the weeniecast hyperfocus community and unlock a whole world of support. Get direct access to me in exclusive calls. Turbocharge your network with unlimited referrals, and boost your productivity with Sprint calls and accountability sessions. But that's not all. We're talking expert talks, masterclasses, and more. Register now to get in front of the line for this at the introductory price of. Of just $77 per month. It's time to elevate your entrepreneurial game. Let's do this together. Go to weeniecast.com hyperfocus all one word. That's weeniecast.com hyperFocus another piece of this puzzle that I was not anticipating is that as I'm relaunching this program, I am having my team go through and transfer all of the videos from from my previous platform into my new platform. Because I have been on Mighty Networks for a while and it just hasn't been what I needed it to be. And so we're moving over to Heartbeat Chat, which will hopefully be a better fit for our my needs and what I want to provide for my clients. And I'm realizing that the contractor who had previously set up Mighty Networks for me did not save half of the videos anywhere. And so while they are on that platform, we can't get them off. So it means that not only am I working on building all of the emails, the social media content and webinars and all the things for this launch, I now also have to go and re record the videos for the training itself, which I don't know if you've ever created. An online course or a program is a massive amount of work. And here's what happens for the ADHD preneur. When you're confronted with several massive projects that all have time urgency, your brain loses the ability to prioritize. Sorry I didn't apologize to you for hitting my elbow on my own desk. That hurt. Okay, so when we have massive projects that are all time urgent and they feed into each other, they're relying on each other, we absolutely lose the ability to prioritize which one we need to focus on first. It becomes absolutely overwhelming to us. Okay, so let's summarize all the ways in which I am having an ADHD meltdown right now. I am not writing all the emails that need to be going out like several days ago, which means that people have not gotten emails about my launch when I had already started sending emails about the launch, setting dates for the launch that now are obsolete because I've missed my own dates. I started posting and then I stopped posting about it because I stopped getting any dopamine from sharing about this launch because I was screwing it up. I started reworking my golf swing in the middle of the tournament. Now that's making my writing sound way cooler than it is. It's really not. I mean, you can sign up for my newsletter and you can see or you can go and follow me on LinkedIn or Instagram and see my writing. But let me tell you, when you learn how to do something better in the middle of actively needing to do it, it really slows you down. And then of course, that situational big hiccup in the whole plan is that now I not only need to work on everything that is launch related, I also have to rerecord the entire product that I am selling through this launch, which I don't have, I don't think I have to tell you, creates a lot of resistance in creating the launch material itself. So it kind of compounds the problem. I have this theory. So there's this approach to creating courses and group programs in the coaching and personal development world for a few years now, where you just go and you sell the program and then you build the program on the back end. I think this is especially hard for people with adhd because, yes, we thrive when we have urgency. We thrive when we have a deadline. And also when the pressure is on too high to deliver. We know that we kind of melt down. We know that we kind of shrink back because it becomes too big, it becomes too intimidating, it becomes too much work for us to tackle all at once. And so what ultimately happens for ADHD entrepreneurs who try that method of selling the thing and then building the thing is that they sabotage themselves from actually selling it because they can see the meltdown coming, even if they're not conscious of it. And I'm speaking of they. This is me too. And I know this is you too, because we all experience this. You know, this is normally the point in that podcast where I tell you how to fix this. I dropped some wisdom and here's how I've overcome this. And the only thing that I can offer in this moment is how I've kind of coached myself through this, is that I'm the one making the rules here. I'm the one that is setting the deadlines. I'm the one that is creating the schedule for the launch. And it was funny, in talking through with my producer Neil, about how I was going to be talking about this episode, I really realized that one of the things that I can do in the middle of this launch that I'm massively failing and falling behind on on my own launch is email my list and own it. Just come out of the ADHD closet and be like, oh my God, I'm ha. I'm mid ADHD meltdown right now. So record scratch. I'm going to restart this. Disregard all the emails you've gotten from me so far. We're starting the launch again and I look forward to having those of you who will be served in this program, in the program if you think it'll be the right fit for You. And even as I say that, I'm like, oh, my God. But I wish I didn't have to send that email. Like, I'm shrinking back from it. I'm turning red. I'm. I'm getting massively uncomfortable in my body because I should be more perfect. I should have figured this out. And I just want to own this in this moment because I coach on this. I have a whole podcast on this, and I still get it wrong sometimes. If I get it wrong sometimes. You are allowed to get it wrong sometimes. You've ever been under the impression that I'm perfect and I have it all figured out now. You know, this podcast is literally someone who actively struggles with a lot of her. A lot of elements of her adhd. Why. Why am I talking about myself in the third person? This podcast is done by me. I still struggle with a lot of the aspects of my own ADHD, and I want to be 100 honest with you on every front about how it still pops up for me even after starting a podcast about how to deal with ADHD in your business. Ryan's a professional golfer now. Oh, my God. By virtue of Ryan's individual performance and his final round 69, he moved up to seventh on PGA Tour U. This means he will be playing on the Korn Ferry Tour and not Canada, which is huge. He will make his pro debut next week in Greer, South Carolina, at the BMW Charity Classic. I just texted. I literally just bragged about him in my podcast. He may also be picking an agent this week. Hell, whoa, dude. He's been working at this since he was, like, 4 years old. He's 22 now. I don't know. I'm crying like I knew this was gonna happen for him. He's just so talented. I don't even know golf, and I know he's talented. Squirrel. Squirrel. Squirrel. Squirrel. Are you an entrepreneur? Are you struggling to stay focused and organized while juggling a million tasks? Are you looking for ways to improve your productivity but finding it hard to stay motivated? Then you need to get access to my Weeniecast for Winners show. That's exclusively on Apple Podcasts. I know you might be thinking, I've tried everything to stay on task and nothing works. But I'm enjoying the advice I'm getting here on the weeniecast. And let me tell you, I'm delighted to be able to help you and thousands of listeners just like you, my friend. But the Weeniecast for Winners podcast is next level, and I'd hate for you to miss out on it for just $1.99 a month, Weeniecast for winners delivers in depth and actionable advice that's specifically designed for entrepreneurs, including those with adhd, whether diagnosed or suspected. I'll talk you through how to increase your sales conversions, keep your mindfulness on point, and even offer practical tips that can help you be more productive and successful in your business, all while catering to your unique needs of being an entrepreneur who might be struggling with adhd. With weeniecast for Winners, you'll get practical tips and strategies that you can use to drive your business forward without the frustrations and setbacks that often come with adhd. So if you're ready to start seeing real Results, subscribe to Winniecast for winners today@winniecast.com winners for just 1.99amonth, you'll gain access to the valuable insights and strategies that can take your business to the next level. Winniecast for Winners is a show that's worth every penny for entrepreneurs who want to succeed. Subscribe now and start enjoying the benefits for yourself. Join the weenacast hyper focused community and unlock a whole world of support. Get direct access to me in exclusive calls, turbocharge your network with unlimited referrals, and boost your productivity with Sprint calls and accountability sessions. But that's not all. We're talking expert talks, masterclasses, and more. Register now to get in front of the line for this at the introductory price of just $77 per month, it's time to elevate your entrepreneurial game. Let's do this together. Go to weeniecast.com com hyperfocus all one word. That's weeniecast. Com hyperfocus.