The Real BTS of $100k Months, 1 Million Downloads, and my Sex Life?!

What's up guys? Welcome back to the podcast and happy September. Can you even believe it? Summer is coming to an end and the best time of the year is right around the corner. I'm a summer forever girly, but now that I live in Florida, I'm extra excited for fall. So if you are a fall girly, I know you are also getting pumped. I was actually just looking at fall foliage trips recently and thinking about going up to New England for like a long weekend. And kind of road tripping with Jaime through some of the best areas to see the fall leaves, since we don't really get that down here in the tropics of South Florida. So I don't know if I've talked about this much on the show, but some of you might know that I was born in New Hampshire and I lived there for a little while until I was like 6 or 7. And fall in that area of the US is honestly just miraculous. Like, just Google fall foliage New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, in that kind of New England area. And it's— you'll see just like the most incredible colors on the trees, like it's insane. And there's these little fall foliage trips that you can go on to drive through the mountains and see the best colors, stop at an orchard and do some apple picking, visit these cute little churches and town markets, go for scenic hikes, stay in a cozy cabin. And it just kind of seems like the ultimate fall vibe. So I really wanted to do that, but I don't think honestly that we're going to have time this year just with our work schedules. I have several launches coming up, some business events, uh, VIP day with a client in person. I'm also hosting the Top Tier Immersion here in Florida, so there's a little retreat happening. And then we're also going to Spain. But anyway, all that to say, it is Virgo season, okay? And I know I mentioned this every year on the podcast, but it's because, you know, I love it. And lots of people actually mistake me as being a Virgo when they meet me because it's my rising sign, and I definitely definitely have a lot of Virgo characteristics. If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you might remember a couple years ago at this point, I think I interviewed Deborah Silverman, who's an author and a celebrity astrologer. And in that episode, we talked a lot about Virgo energy, and she said that Virgo season is really asking you to make the mundane sacred. And I loved this concept when it comes to Virgo season because it's all about romanticizing your routines that don't always feel fun but that ultimately really allow you to be the person that you dream of becoming, right? So romanticizing things like your workouts, waking up for a morning walk outside, your skincare steps even when you're tired, making a healthy meal, time blocking your day and sticking to it, showing up for the meditation, etc. So I love this time of year because it's really like the epitome of back-to-school energy, right? In the States, this is the time of year when all the kids go back to school, and it's all about setting intentions, organizing your life and getting your hustle on. And there's really just something in the air that makes you want to buy a new agenda, color code your calendar, commit to a workout routine, and just like get your shit together overall. It's just the perfect time to double down on your business goals and get to work, or implement some better habits and routines for your physical health and your mental well-being. So this is really like our hot, rich, successful, and healthy era. So to celebrate, because I love Virgo season, I literally just now decided that I think it would be really fun for me to do a giveaway of like a 60-minute private intensive session with me on anything life or business related where you can get my advice and personalized feedback. So we'll basically just jump on a Zoom call and you can ask me anything and we'll just go deep for an hour. So for all of my entrepreneurs, whether you are well-established or aspiring, this would be a highly valuable thing to get your hands on because you'll be able to get my eyes over your product suite, prices, marketing strategy, podcast, etc. So this is going to be fun. Okay, let's do this. Um, so all you have to do to enter is we'll do 3 simple steps. Number 1, make sure that you're following both of my accounts on Instagram, @makeshifthappenpodcast and @samanthadaily. Number 2, make sure that you're subscribed to the YouTube channel, @samanthadaily, where you can get all of our video versions of the podcast. And then the 3rd thing that you're gonna have to do is just screenshot and share one of your favorite episodes of Makeshift Happen to your Instagram stories. And make sure that you put like a little takeaway that you had or the reason that you really enjoyed that particular episode. And obviously when you share to Instagram stories, just make sure that you tag @makeshifthappenpodcast so that we can see it and count your entry. So the more episodes that you share to your stories, the more entries that you will have. And we can just keep this open for the entire month of September and then we'll announce the winner at the end of the month. So someone is going to win this private intensive session with me. All you have to do is make sure that you're following both my accounts on Instagram, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and screenshot and share one of your favorite episodes and let us know what your major takeaway was or the reason why you loved it. Okay, cool. So you've got the entire month of September to get your entries in, and I can't wait to see what episodes you guys decide to share because that will also tell me what kind of content that you are loving the most. Okay, so let's get into today's episode, which I think you're really gonna enjoy because rather than me interviewing a guest, I'm actually going to be in the hot seat for this one. So you'll get to hear my friend Chelsea Ryf interview me, and she does not hold back with the juicy questions. So in this conversation, we're going to talk about what it felt like to reach a million downloads on the podcast, why I still felt poor even when my sales and business had never been higher, the difference between revenue, profit, and income, the full behind-the-scenes story of hitting my first $100K month, and why it actually felt kind of lonely. This question of do financial differences result in weird power dynamics as a couple? How does sex change when you're both heavily focused on career and working hard? Mom and Dad, if you are listening, please stop this episode. This episode is not for you. Okay, so this episode was originally published on Chelsea's podcast over a year ago at this point, in my non-expert opinion. And I wanted to bring it to our show because it was such a great candid conversation. I think you guys are really going to love it. So if you are ready ready for some real behind the scenes of my business, bank account, and sex life. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Makeshift Happen Podcast. I'm your host, Samantha Daly, entrepreneur, life coach, and your no BS bestie, here to bring you all things mindset, manifestation, and personal development. This podcast is designed to help you expand your mind and uplevel your life. So turn the volume up and roll the windows down if you're coming along for the ride. Let's go make shift happen.

Samantha Smith, welcome back to the show.

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited we're in person.

We're in person. Sam, last time we talked, we— I think it was, what, early 2022?

It must have been. It was, I think it was back when I was still living at my parents' house.

Yeah. I think, and I was living at my parents' because I was about to go on my journey around the world. That's right. And I was saving and living at home. We were in a lot of different places. And Sam, last I saw, you are pretty close to being a millionaire. There you go.

Yeah, it's coming up. It's around the bend. It's on the horizon.

You're a millionaire in one aspect though. Can you tell us? A milestone that just hit?

Yeah, the podcast. The podcast has crossed a million downloads, which was crazy. I was wondering if those two things were gonna like coincide at the same time and it would be like really crazy, but no.

But that's incredible. I mean, 1 million downloads on a podcast and you've only been podcasting for what?

It literally happened almost exactly on the third birthday of the podcast.

That's insane.

It actually may have been technically— it wasn't the day that we published, but you know how you kind of have to like upload a little bit before so that you can get your RSS feed or whatever established, it was literally like right around the 3-year birthday.

Oh my God, so that is a massive uplevel. And something I feel like people tend to ignore is like, we celebrate the milestone and how good it feels to hit that, but what other feelings came up outside of seeing the 1 million downloads on your Buzzsprout dashboard? Like, were you like, oh shit, now I have a lot more to do?

Yeah, I think because we could see the downloads and we kind of knew that it was coming and we were planning for it, and I wanted to rebrand the podcast in alignment with when we hit the million downloads and all of that, I had kind of had a lot of time to get used to the idea of the fact that we were going to hit a million downloads. Like, we were planning for it, but once it actually happened, it was just kind of like, okay, so the podcast has a million downloads now organically, like No ads, no nothing, just as it is. And now what? You know, like, what do we— because it's such a— it feels like such a big opportunity that's sitting in your lap where it's like, okay, I don't want to fuck this up. Like, what am I gonna do now with this big opportunity that we've built such a loyal following and a community and great listenership and people who tune in every week? Like, what do we do now? You know, we can't just keep doing the same thing that we've always done and expect it to stay the same or grow. So I think there was a little bit of— there still is that like pressure on my side of like, and now what?

Do you feel any fear?

I don't think I feel fear per se, but there's ways that— there's directions that I want to move in. There's, there's growth that I know is possible that feels intimidating. Like, it's not like scary of like, oh my God, like I'm not scared that the podcast is gonna die or like it's gonna flop or whatever. But just looking at the next sort of evolution of the show, I'm like, wow, that's gonna be a lot of work. And I've already started to kind of like put in certain things like video elements and stuff to just uplevel the experience of the podcast. And it has, like, it's been, it's been challenging of like, oh, this is not comfortable. I don't want to have a million things plugged in and cameras and SD cards and dummy batteries and like all this stuff and having to plan super far ahead of time and So yeah, there's been elements of the growth that are like uncomfortable and intimidating, I think. Okay. So I have something I think you're really gonna love and your business is gonna love it even more. Do you wanna steal the strategy I've been using to seduce premium buyers and sell out my offers on Instagram stories? Chances are you're already posting, you're already making sales, but if your Instagram stories aren't working as hard as you are, you're leaving money on the table. Sold Out Stories is gonna teach you exactly how to change that so that you can sell out any offer at any price point. And even high-caliber coaches miss this because selling on stories isn't about how much you post or how frequently you show up face to camera. It's about psychological sequencing. And the way you're posting right now might be giving the premium buyers in your audience the ick. Documenting your day and hoping it builds trust, posting look-at-me content and calling it authority, sharing client wins as soon as they drop in instead of strategically weaving them into a story selling sequence designed to drive drive demand and convert sales. We both know that you're not here to learn how to show up more. You're here because you know your content could be converting faster and more effectively. Sold Out Stories is going to give you 5 high-converting story selling frameworks built specifically for premium buyer psychology. Inside, you'll get over 6 hours of deep dive video trainings, real IG story breakdowns, and live walkthroughs that show you exactly how to elevate your slides from authority building all the way to offer flow in than 10 slides. My clients have already been using these frameworks to pull 5-figure sales days while posting less. One client generated 14 premium leads from a single story sequence. Another sold out her event in under 6 hours with just 8 strategic story slides. No sales calls, no paid ads, just the right frameworks. You'll walk away knowing how to sequence for desire, transition into your offer seamlessly, and sell daily without ever feeling salesy. You already know your offer is incredible, so now it's just time for your stories to sell it like it is. Grab Sold Out Stories today and turn 10 slides or less into your highest converting content. Let's make your next story your most profitable one yet. Click the link in the show notes below and I'll see you inside.

Yeah, I think that's something when you start a podcast, it's really fun and exciting. You're like, oh my God, I'm on the airwaves. And then as it grows, you're like, this is a production, and every week it's a production, and you have to come up with new content, new promotional strategies, new ways to hit people. And I'm curious, from when you started 3 years ago to now, what's maybe like one or two of your biggest lessons that you would give to new podcasters, or like when you were just first starting?

Yeah, I think if you're just starting a podcast, one of the best things that I ever did was that I— even before, like I told you before, I had my own show I was already like pitching myself to be on other shows, and that really helped build the— not only the ability to be interviewed, but to have these types of conversations and share my work and my stories and kind of get like my storytelling underway. I was on several podcasts before I had my own. So I think the earlier that you can start having the conversations and just interviewing people or being interviewed, the more— like, obviously the faster you're going to build that skill. Because in the beginning, it feels like there's so much pressure of like, the podcast has to be amazing before I start But the truth is, when you first start a podcast, not that many people are going to be listening to it. So you have this room to kind of play with learning how to interview or be interviewed or tell stories. I did my first episode with no notes, no outline, which is actually insane now that I think about it. But I just told the story from start to finish from my brain, and I had a lot of ums and you knows and things to cut out, but I learned a lot about how to collect my thoughts and get a point across and all of that. So I think starting before you feel ready is really, really important. And the collaboration piece was a huge part of my growth— being featured on other shows, having guests on yours, just getting in those spaces and collaborating with people that you have rapport with, making— building relationships in your niche or your industry or whatever you work in. So that you can easily have those connections where it feels seamless to invite someone on the show. And it's not always this, this marketing pitch of like, and this is what you're going to get out of it, and having to sell yourself or sell them on coming on the show. Those are two of the things that have helped me the most with having a really quality experience of the podcast and also helping facilitate more growth.

100%. I always tell my clients, like, pitch yourself on podcasts and have people on yours because it's not only just about an amazing conversation and interview, it can turn into mentorship. You could hire them, they could come guest speak for you, they could introduce you to their literary agent. Like, there are so many opportunities that unlock for you with podcasting. And I'm curious, now that you've hit that 1 million download mark, what opportunities or like milestones can you think of that the podcast has brought you in the last 3 years? Opportunities, opportunities, wins, just like really exciting things that you're This wouldn't have happened without the podcast.

Yeah, so much. I always tell my business clients, you know, the podcast is probably the number one driver of sales in my business because it's, uh, long-form content, which is the best for trust building and relationship building with an audience. People feel like they get to know me so much more through the podcast than they could through reels or this other short-form content on social media. So I really feel like there's more trust building, relationship building, community, this sense of like, I really understand this person. I know her, I know her heart. I know where she's at with a lot of things. I resonate with her journey. We are super similar in these ways. Like I super resonate with that thing that she said. There's so much that helps facilitate an ease of bringing people into your world and signing clients and getting people to join programs and different things like that. Because trust is a lubricant in your business. It makes everything go faster. And so the more trust you can build, obviously the better your business is going to get. So in terms of opportunities, the podcast has for sure brought me tons of revenue and sales and clients because of the way that it builds so much trust. I think other things that come to mind is just the opportunity to go and do in-person interviews and sit down and have experiences like this. And I flew to Austin and was interviewed on my coach's podcast at one point, which was a really fun opportunity and was just like, an excuse, sort of. If I didn't have a show, it probably wouldn't have been the same, but it was an excuse to really do something outside of my comfort zone that was gonna stretch me, that was fun, expansive, to get me in front of another audience. So things like that. And, and even just like the retreat, I think I really believe that my first retreat that I hosted, what we were able to fill it with 16 women because of the podcast and the rapport and the trust and the relationship building. And we talked about retreats on the show and it just really helped people feel safe and jumping into an experience like that with me. And that was obviously, you know, a life-changing experience, not only for me as the host but also for a lot of our guests. So opportunities everywhere from the podcast.

Oh my gosh, I love it. I have a fun fact that when I was on your podcast last year, I just changed my prices and I was like, oh my God, am I going to be able to sign one-on-one clients? Like, you know, that fear when you raise your prices. And I just happened to be on your podcast and I signed a new client that listened to your podcast and she was like, I heard you on Sam's podcast, and then we started working together. So live in real life results, people, from collaborations and connections. It's just incredible to see what happens when you really like pour your heart and soul into something that people listen to and want to listen to. Yeah, I want to talk about business growth because everyone wants to make a shit ton of money. Everyone wants to be rolling in the dough. Everyone wants to be a millionaire. Everyone wants to add 7-figure whatever to their title. But when that happens, a lot of people either A, don't know how to manage their money, and they freak out because they don't feel like they can hold it and they spend it all. I have done that at one point in my life. Or they start to freak out about the responsibility and they're like, I'm getting bigger and bigger, this is too much responsibility, I don't have the teams or systems in place, I need to like stop making money. Or C, they enjoy it and they just keep making more money. I want to know, do you fit in any of those categories, or do you have a D that you want to share with us?

Well, I think, yeah, I don't think it's like a hard A, B, or C. There's probably elements of all of it. Obviously, when you have an influx of income, I guess in this case, because there's a difference, and I'm glad that I learned this, there's a, there's a difference between revenue and income. Well, like personal income, like salary, right? So every— all the money that comes into the business from anything that I sell, programs, stuff like that, that's not my money. Like, I can't just go and, you know, do whatever I want or buy a luxury car with that. And in some ways I could, but of course there would be tax implications and other things. So I really operate from the, from the feeling of like the business's money is over here, and there's lots of things that count as business expenses, and there's a lot of things that I can do for myself and buy and whatever in my life that are considered business expenses, so they get to go over there in that category. But my money is completely separate from the business's money. And for a really long time, actually just up until literally last month, I paid myself very little. Like, my personal salary was very low for the amount of revenue that the company generates. And so I actually had to change it because I was like, I feel poor. Like, I was like, this is so fucked up because I'm running a business that feels really abundant and they're— it's doing amazing numbers, and then I literally feel poor. Like, I'm not even paying myself the amount of like my mortgage payment, which is just dumb. It was bad planning, dumb. So anyways, I had to like increase my salary and, and things are feeling better now. So I think there's, you know, there's elements of all of it of like wanting to spend. Of course, when there's an influx, you're like, ooh, this is fun. Like there's so many more things that I can do. There's investments in the business, there's coaches I can hire, there's trips that I can go on, there's stuff that we want. And so I do allow myself for sure to spend a little bit more in accordance to the increase in revenue that's coming into the business. But I also am just kind of like, great, and let's keep going. You know, like that C option of we're making money and let's keep making money. And I think sometimes that's— it sounds like, oh, that's the best option of the ones you gave, but I also think there is a downside to that, which is that sometimes if you're so in the sea of things, of like, we're making money and let's just keep making more, it— the shadow side of that maybe is like, there's no— it's never enough, of like, I'm not really enjoying the fruits of my labor, what's actually happening here, because I'm just focused on one-upping myself all the time. Yeah. Or like beating myself with things. So yeah, I think there's a, there's a mix. I mean, I, I have heard from mentors and people in the space that I know that it can get to that point where you're almost racing yourself of like, and I've done 50K months and 80K months and 90K months, and you're just trying to go and go and go. And there is this sort of narrative too of like, being able to sustain things. And there's a lot of conversation, especially in the coaching space, about like consistent months, consistent 5K months, consistent 10K months, consistent 100K months. And there's this real focus on like being consistent with the money. And I just sort of learned from people who are much further along than me and much smarter than me that yes, there's a, there's a reason for the focus on consistency, but consistency is never going— when you're an entrepreneur at least— is never going to look like the exact same, the exact same, the exact same, the exact same, the the exact same. It's going to be, you know, it's going to vary, it's going to ebb and flow, there's going to be dips. And so not having an expectation for myself that once I hit a certain number per month that the next month either needs to be that or higher, right? Because I think that would, that would send me into a tailspin for sure. Because then what do you do? You have to be launching all the time, you have to be selling all the time, you have to— it's that competitiveness with yourself over and over again that leads a lot of people to burnout. So I purposely took 2 months off after I hit my first $100K month I was like, and we integrate, we rest, and we chill. And it was a huge— of course, you go from $100K a month and then it's going to be a huge dip when you're just relying on monthly recurring revenue after that. But I did that on purpose, intentionally, to almost set up my nervous system to be able to hold that intense, like, fluctuation so that I wasn't expecting so much all the time.

Oh, that's so smart. And I'm so glad you distinguished revenue, income, and sales. Because same thing, I used to see $100K months and think that people were going on like $100K shopping sprees with $100K going directly to their debit account. And now they just have like, woo, I get to shop with $100,000 or do whatever with $100,000. And it's like, no, first of all, there's taxes, and depending on where you live, it could be a shit ton of money. Then you have business expenses to pay, you have softwares to pay for, people to pay for, studios to pay for. Like, there's so many business expenses. And then you also have your survival costs and all these other things that it's like, yeah, when someone has a big month, you also need to realize how much, how much behind the scenes is going on. And yeah, like a business is separate from your personal income. And again, I think it's important that people know this because I was definitely in the dark about that. I was like, oh, everyone has $100K liquidated cash ready to go. And it's like, that's not really how it works.

Yeah. But that's how it feels when you see people being like, $600K so far in the last 4 months, you picture their personal bank account with $600K in it, and you're like, wow, that would be nice. And you know, people who know how to manage their money, they probably do have a lot of liquid cash that they're able to have fun with, right? Right. But there's so much more to the story of that that I think people sometimes miss the picture on.

Yeah. I want to talk about the internal thermostat that you were talking about, of like training your nervous system to prepare. That's something that when I just told you I spent all my money I wasn't aware of this internal thermostat. And my very, very first course launch, I mean, I barely knew what I was doing. I made my first $10,000 and I was like, I was expecting to make literally $500. So to make $10,000 when you were expecting $500, I was like, I don't know what to do with this. I was backpacking Australia and I basically was like, get it out of my hands. Like that was the subconscious energy. So I was just blowing it on like massages and going out to eat and this and that and the other thing, not thinking about like how good this affect my future? Could I hire a mentor? Could I invest this money? I just blew it because it felt safe for me to not manage that amount of money because I was so used to being kind of like a broke backpacker. So it took me a very long time to be comfortable with receiving large amounts of money. And even this year, my income spiked like 3 times what the monthly income used to be from last year. And I've let myself for 6 months adjust to that new number because I'm like, I don't want to do what I did my first course launch where I spent all my money. You having $100,000 a month, that's some people's yearly salary. What was going through your mind when you saw that report at the end of the month?

It just like doesn't really feel real. Like I'm laughing because it literally feels fake. Like I'm seeing the numbers and the sales and people coming into programs and stuff. And there's first, there's the logical side of you, which is set the goal and you know the potential and you know, you know, the cost of the program X, how many people typically join. And you're like, okay, this is feasible. Like, this could potentially be it. This is possible, right? So there's an awareness that the goal is somewhat realistic and you're actively moving towards it. And so then you're moving through the launch and you're like, okay, this is great, this is great, $20K, $30K, $40K. But then you take a second and you're like, you step outside of, of the role of like the CEO or the coach. I even think it's just like the coaching industry in general that warps your fucking brain when it comes to numbers. Like, the way that I get a realistic handle on numbers is I try to like take myself out of the coaching space and go out into the real world and just imagine if someone else in my life that I know was like, I made $100,000 this month. Like, that's insane. And the fact that that's not even that much for this industry is literally wild. So there's moments where it feels so normal because you're in the tunnel of like, this is the coaching industry and this is what's possible. And knowing what other people are doing and, you know, people are doing million dollar months, right? And so there's that. But then there do come these moments where you almost like get snapped back to like reality or like an old version of yourself or just kind of like outside of the coaching industry, like real people. Mindset, and you're like, holy fuck, that is a lot of dollars. Where is it? Like, is that mine? Like, what? And it's, it's funny because like the way that, you know, Stripe and things like that are set up, I don't get paid everything like instantly, right? So it does take a little while. There's like a period where they hold some of it and then they'll release the rest of it to you. And so there's a period where you see the sales coming in, but it's not directly reflected immediately in your bank account. But once that hits, once I looked at my bank, probably like 15 days after the launch finished, I was like, wow, did someone hack me? I'm like, that is a lot of money.

And did you immediately celebrate? Did you keep it quiet and you're like, hold on, let me like integrate this for a moment?

Or were you like, ah, hey, don't forget that every month we are picking a listener of the month to win $50 in cash just for showing love to the show. All you all you have to do is leave an epic review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, screenshot the review before you hit submit, and DM that screenshot to us on Instagram @makeshifthappenpodcast. And that's it. I want to thank you for being such a loyal listener and show my appreciation by putting a little extra cash in your pocket. I know it's super easy not to do it, but every single rating and review seriously helps the show rank higher and reach new people, so we appreciate them more than you know. We'll announce the next winner at the end of the month and slide into your DMs if it's you So keep an eye out and good luck. Love you guys and thanks for supporting Makeshift Happen. Well, I did celebrate. I celebrate like my partner knew. He was like, he knew that that was the goal for the month. We were tracking together. It was like fun every day to be like, how much closer did we get? And blah, blah, blah. I actually crossed the $100,000 mark when we were at Ultra Music Festival in Miami. So it was classic. It was a, it actually was a really weird moment. We were with, cuz his friends from Spain had come to visit to go to Ultra with us. And I had one of my clients that was coming, but she wasn't there yet. We had just gotten to Miami. We had just checked into our hotel. We were down at the pool. And so it was just me and this group of like 5 Spanish guys. I know them all cuz they're good friends of Jaime's from what, from, from Spain. But no one who's like my close girlfriend or like someone who would understand it, or even someone that I feel appropriate announcing this to. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. So I was in such a weird environment where I was like, I just did probably the biggest thing that I've ever done in my career, and I feel like I can't tell anyone or I can't like talk about it. So I was in my like Telegram group of a mastermind that I was in, and I was, you know, telling my friends in there of like what happened, and they were all like, holy fucking shit. And we were kind of like celebrating in that way. But I felt lonely. It was really weird. Like, I was excited. It's not like— it's not like a sad story of like, I made $100,000 and I felt lonely. Yeah, like that. And it's not the sob story I'm trying to tell. It's just the— it was bizarre. There's not a lot of people that you can— I felt even— and my parents would be so happy for me, but for some reason I still felt weird. I was like, maybe I should call my mom and tell her. Like, that would— maybe that would be fun. And then I was like, and it was so weird. It was like I felt like it was inappropriate to like just call someone and be like, hey, I just made $100,000, do you want to be happy for me? Like, it just felt weird, you know?

Yeah, well, I think you're bringing up an important point of duality. Like, you're allowed to be so fucking excited and like, I'm so proud of myself, and yeah, this is lonely. It's not like, you know, the old office job where you make a sale and the whole office is celebrating with a bell because you closed the sale, or, you know, a big Slack channel goes out, woo, congrats Amanda! Like, That's the weird part about being a solo entrepreneur, is you're celebrating yourself all the time, and then you're like, am I annoying because I'm celebrating all the time? Is it okay to celebrate all the time? Like, but I want to celebrate so I don't feel bad about myself because there's so many things that go wrong all the time, and it's just this constant dance of like, woo. And so yeah, I'm curious too, after that, who did you end up telling and how?

Well, I told Jaime, and I— because he was talking to all of his friends and he hadn't seen them in such a long time because because he— we were in the green card process for so long. He literally got his green card like a couple days before this trip. So we were landlocked in the U.S. He couldn't leave, hasn't seen family or friends in over a year. So he's super excited to like be with his buddies, and they're all catching up and talking. And I'm like, babe, tap tap, like tap tap, babe, I just, I just made $100,000. And he was, of course, he was like, holy shit, like, oh my God, that's amazing. He's like, we'll celebrate later.. And so I'm just kind of like sitting there like looking at my phone like, yay me, raging like Kygo or something. Yeah. So bizarre. But then it was fun obviously to go to the— my, one of my clients was there who is someone who's in the coaching industry who understands and we kind of like talked about it and we were like celebrating and dancing and whatever. And, and it was fun. So yeah, I told him and I obviously told like my coach friends who sort of knew that that was was the goal and that it was close on the horizon. I told my coach, and that was a fun, like, celebration to be able to have. And yeah, I eventually told, like, my family, and I eventually talked about it on the podcast. But I also— it was the first time that I felt weird or, like, hesitant to share something because I pretty much just share everything on the show. And it was the first time that I was like, ooh, like, I, I was very cognizant of— I, I want to share this, I want to talk about this experience, but I also want to be really careful with like how it comes across and make sure that the way that I present it is a, is an accurate reflection of my heart and my intention and my motivation behind sharing it.

I think that that is such a thing that I don't think coaches realize is like there is a certain income level where people start to perceive you differently. And we talked a little bit about this this morning And it's so interesting that we're like, okay, we're sharing like a certain amount of money and then there's this threshold where you're like, I, I can't do this anymore. What do you think that is? Where do you think that comes from?

Yeah, I think there's so much— this would be like a whole nother conversation, but you know, there's so much in our society about money that makes us weird. And it's only comfortable up until the point where you feel like either it's no longer comfortable for you— like if you can't imagine yourself as a billionaire, then you probably feel awkward or uncomfortable talking about billions of dollars because it feels like it's not even real.

Right.

Or a level where you're just aware and cognizant of the fact that it's unrelatable to most people. And I think there's a feeling of— I would never want it to come across as bragging of like, look how much money I have. But that's the, that's the socialization. That's the conditioning that we've been built with through the world that we've grown up in is that if you talk about money, it means that you're bragging. And so it's interesting how we've done all this money mindset work and all this stuff, and it's like, oh, we're okay talking about it down here and here and here and here. But then when it gets to here, suddenly the old conditioning is back and it's like, now if you're talking about it, you're bragging. But it's like, why was it not bragging when it was $5K or $10K or $30K? And I think none of it actually has to be bragging. It's really like the intention and the motivation and the way that you deliver things and talk about it. You know, when I shared about the $100K month, I talked about the first coach that I ever saw who was making $100K months and how it was a huge expand— she was a huge expander for me. She ended up being one of my coaches, and it was so fun. She was the coach that I was working with when I hit my first $100K month. And so it was just this like really serendipitous this like full circle moment of like, I never would have been here had I not seen you doing it first. If you didn't show me that it was possible by you doing it, I would have never known that these things were available. And so it really did expand my mind and my own belief of the potential that I had as a person in the coaching industry. And I would not have gotten to that place if I hadn't seen someone like her sharing it or doing And so I felt almost like, especially because I was working with her at the time, I felt almost like this due diligence or something to like be the next one who like reaches the hand back and is like, hey. And for you who's listening to this, you could be the me, you know what I mean? Like the past me that like saw that coach making $100K and was like, wow, that's absolutely insane. I don't know if I'll ever be able to make that, but I'm motivated now. Like that could be you. So that's what I wanted my sharing to be. And so I think none of it actually has to be bragging, but it's interesting how we do get to a certain threshold and we're like, this is unrelatable to anybody. People are gonna perceive this in the wrong way. And then of course we wanna protect ourselves and not share. Right.

And I think it also depends, yeah, what communities you're in, what zip code you're in, what country you're in, right? Like $100,000, I think we all got comfortable with cuz like we hear a lot of Americans saying like, oh, that's my average salary. You're like, I, I'm aiming towards that.

That's 6 figures, right? 6 figures. So it's like, oh, that's comfortable.

So, and we hear average annual salary. So when you start to hear it in a monthly context, it's like, what the fuck are you talking about that you made that in one month? And it starts to feel very activating in your nervous system. And I think that's like what you said when people start being like, I don't want to be activated by that. So I'm going to either deflect and like get it out of, get it out of here. I don't want to follow you. I don't want to see this. Or I'm going to be mean and like project and be like, don't fucking show me this. Go talk about something else. Have you gotten any type of feedback like that?

No, luckily I'm like knocking on wood. Luckily, like, I, I was— that was the first episode that I was ever really nervous to like share because I was like, God, you know, there might be some of those people that are activated by this in a negative way. It also triggers this— if you, if you already firmly believe that it's not possible and you see someone else doing it, it initiates this sort of thought pattern of like, well, it must be fake or it must be a scam. Them or whatever. And there's a lot of that in the online world of like, that's not fucking real and you're a fake and blah blah blah. And so I was like, I don't know, like that could be something that happens, like we'll see. And I was pretty strategic with the way that I did it. Like I didn't share about that— it was a whole like long episode and that was the very last thing that I talked about. So it's kind of like, you've got to be in my real community of listeners if you're gonna actually hear me share about this thing. So I did that on purpose as kind of like a self-protection mechanism. But I got so much feedback because I shared on the episode, like, I am actively nervous to share this. And I'm not just saying that like, oh my God, I'm so nervous to tell you guys about how cool I am. Like, it wasn't like that. And so a lot of people were like, I'm so glad that you shared. Like, it really inspired me. Like, holy shit. Like, keep sharing, keep sharing, keep sharing. There was a lot of affirming to me, like, yes, like, please keep going. Like, that motivated me so much. I'm so inspired. So, so far it's been, it's been good.

Oh, it's so good to hear. I want to talk about being in a partnership while you are making a ton of money and growing your business and, you know, trying to also maintain a healthy partnership. So let's talk about your lovely man, Jaime. Can you just give us a quick backstory of how you met?

Yeah, okay, so the quick backstory is when I was 21, I was a junior in college, I went to study abroad in Spain. I was single, I went by myself, I did not go with my university, I knew nobody. I was in like a third-party sort of program. It was kids from all over just thrown into a group, and there was a bunch of single girls on the trip as well. And we were just, you know, we were 21 traveling Europe, we were ready to YOLO. And this was 2015. So we had never used— like, I had never used Tinder or any dating apps before in my life at home. I also was in college, and you don't really need it when you're living on campus in college. But we were in this group of people, and they were like, hey, Tinder is kind of popular here in Europe, and people use it not just for hookups but like to really meet people or like go on dates and stuff. And so a bunch of us girls, like, one day we're bored at school and we're I was like, should we like just mess around and get Tinder and swipe and meet up with foreign guys? Like, that sounds like something a 21-year-old would do, right? And so it was a total joke thing, and but it got very serious. We've been together for over 8 years. So we swiped, we met up, we went on an awful date. We could barely like understand each other. Communication was so off. He did not speak very good English. My Spanish was still very sketchy. I left the date being like, and he thinks I'm an idiot. We're never gonna see each other again. I'm glad I tried, but also mortified because that was so embarrassing. And yeah, I just kind of like— I told my friends, I was like, it's not happening, we're never talking again. And then I went on a trip to London and he was texting me and he was like, when can I see you again? And I was like, this is weird, like, what do you see in me? Because we had zero conversation, like, it was so hard to communicate. But we went on a couple of other dates when I got back and things kind of started like pick— I mean, there was physical attraction for sure. It's Tinder, you're 21. Obviously the reason we both swiped each other was physical attraction. So we had that going for us. There was steaminess, there was sexual chemistry, there was the intrigue of like, this is a foreign person and like it's not gonna last. And he knew that it wouldn't last and I knew that it wouldn't last. And it was just this fun sort of energy. And so our dates got better, our communication got better, we had sex finally. So that got better. And then we just kept seeing each other like consistently while I was there. And then I had to leave once my study abroad program was done, so after a couple of months. And I left and we said goodbye, like, I will never see you again, like, goodbye. And then I cried on the plane because I realized how much I actually really cared about him and stuff. And, and I tried to go like no contact, but then it was his birthday shortly after, so it was this whole thing. So then we started talking again, and then long distance, and then and all the whole story unfolded from there to where I eventually moved to Spain so that we could be together.

Oh my gosh, I love travelationships that turn into full-on relationships, and now you guys live together in Florida. I mean, it's crazy. You said 8 years?

Yeah, we just bought a house together.

And you met though while you were in Spain, and I'm imagining like a college kid living on college money. Yeah, and now you're not living on college money, right? This is a question I have. Yeah, thank God. Shout out, no more ramen, no more coupons.

That life served us for a little bit, but yeah, no more sharing an apartment with 9 other people and having one shelf in the fridge.

Oh yeah, I lived that life in Germany like 3 years ago. So let's sayonara to that lifestyle. What I'm curious about, and it's something I'm selfishly asking because I'm not in a partnership, but actively seeking a partner. Shout out if anyone's watching this, I am single, ready to mingle. But something I feel, and even my therapist has talked to me about, is like feeling intimidating and having so much success financially, career-wise, being confident, and your partner not being on the same quote-unquote level as you. Have you and Jaime ever experienced what I would maybe call like a power imbalance or dynamic where you're like, I don't, I don't feel like we're on the same page anymore?

Yes and no. I'm gonna say no first because we started dating at a place where he was in a much better position than I was. And he has seen me, like when I moved to Spain and we started actively like dating and being together, I was there on a student visa doing the English teacher assistant job thing, earning absolutely— TEFL?

Teaching English as a Foreign Language?

No, I didn't even have to do that.

Oh, okay.

It was even more basic. I didn't even have to take that test. Test. Like, you're just out there. They were like, as long as you have a degree, get on over here.

I love it.

I was like, sign me up. So yeah, I was earning like $1,000 a month, around that. And over 50% of that was going to my rent and expenses. Well over 50%. And so there was a lot of times where I would get to the end of the month— he reminds me sometimes— there was times where I would literally text him and be like, hey, so sorry, could you like Bizum me— that's like Venmo, but like in Spain— like, can you Bizum me, uh, like $15. I'm going out for drinks with a friend and like, I don't have money right now because I was waiting for my paycheck. So we met when I was actively in a not very great financial place, and I was always without a job for like 4 months in the summer because the— they don't pay you at that time of year. So summers were always horrible. He would have to cover a lot of our expenses during that time. I had gotten fired from some jobs, quit other jobs. There was multiple times where I was unemployed during our time in Spain. And he picked up the slack every single time because he had like consistent good enough jobs, right? So I think there's that element of like, he's taken care of me and so now I can take care of him in some ways. So I don't think that there's like a power dynamic necessarily as much. Like, there's no intimidation, right? Because we don't— right, it would be different if I met him now, right? And I'm like, oh, like— but I think for me, if I were in your position, I wouldn't be as worried about if they were going to be intimidated by me me, I would be more like, are you like good enough to be like on my level? Not even just like financially, but you have a certain standard of quality of life and the type of restaurants that you want to go to and stuff like that. Like, are you going to be down for it, or are you going to be like pinching the pennies? So I think there's that. But with us, there's definitely— we've definitely had to have like serious conversations about how this affects our dynamic, because— and I kind knew that it was going to happen when we were in the process of buying a home and we were going to have a mortgage and lots of, you know, our expenses were going up a ton once we actually bought the house. So I was like, and he couldn't work obviously for legal reasons because of the green card processing. So it was like, you know, you kind of have to let me, you're gonna have to let me do this and we have to find a way for you to be okay with it. And I just like want you to know that I'm good with it I don't think less of you for it. I'm so grateful that you're willing to pick up your entire life and move to another country for me and go through this grueling process of not being able to see your friends or family for a year and not be able to travel and not be able to work and feel sort of like paralyzed and useless, sort of, of, you know, it's, it's weird if you didn't work for a year but you couldn't do anything else either. Like you couldn't travel cuz you had to save money or do what you would feel.

So it's like a little bit prison-y.

It is. And he He definitely went through times of feeling sort of purposeless, and that kind of— there's a struggle with like your identity of how you fit. And are you— he wants to be the provider, but like in that moment you can't. So we had to have those types of conversations of like, this is just what it is right now, and there's nothing that you or I can really do about it, but you've got to let me help you.

So have you ever felt bad about making more money than him?

No.

Okay, love that. Love that answer. You're like, um, no. Where I'm gonna keep doing me.

No, I don't feel bad about making more money than him, but he does know that my dream is that he will make more money than me.

Just throwing that out there.

Just throwing it out there. Not because I like want so much money, it's just like, if you're making more money than me, then I can chill a little bit.

Yeah, you're like, I'm hustling right now.

Literally, I'm like, I'm in my Hustler era and I'm just waiting for you.

I'm ready, I'm ready for a Rest Girl era.

Yeah, I'm ready for my soft girl era. So let's pick it up.

I love that. What about just the stress of, you know, they call it new levels, new devils. I actually like the term upgraded problems, that whenever your income increases, naturally you have more clients or you need more customer service or you need more systems, whatever the case is. I've never seen anyone grow exponentially and have no change in like the other areas of their life. So I'm curious, when you have, let's say, a $100,000 launch and now all these new problems pop up and you're stressed the fuck out and you're managing 20 different projects, how does that affect your intimacy or bonding time and even sex? Are you like, we're not having sex this month because I'm launching?

Probably not for a whole month, but there's definitely periods. And I think like, now that he's working again, he's also in his hustle era. So it's been— that's been the most interesting dynamic for us when it comes to sex life and libido. And we've had conversations about this too. It's like, it's so crazy how how when you are busy and stressed and focused on a goal and like really working towards something, your body doesn't even crave sex as much. Like, the libido has definitely been lower on like both of our parts. I think he's was so weirded out by it to begin with because he's like, I've never experienced this before, of like having like a lower libido. Of times where I— there's been times where I've like initiated and he's been like, no, like, I can't. Like, that's weird to experience.

And even himself, he's like, I can't even believe that I'm saying no to you right now, but like literally I can't.

I'm so stressed out, or I have anxiety, or I'm so tired, or whatever. So I have felt that before in my business of like, you know, the hustle phase of growing things. And so I'm not hurt by it. I totally understand it. I'm like, honestly, I'm fucking tired, dude.

Like, going to watch Vanderpump Rules. Good night.

Yeah, it's totally fine. So it's been interesting to like adapt to that.

Oh my gosh, have you ever sat down and been been like, we need to have sex.

There's been, there's been conversations where we're like, we should, we should probably have more sex, don't you think?

Let's like schedule it in, in our Google Cal, you know.

And we, we've thought about that. We're like, should we schedule it? Should we try to do it like X amount of times per week? But it's like, it, for us, that doesn't feel natural. It doesn't feel good. So I think we've just, you know, recently tried to be like, okay, it's more of like a priority. We need to like make space for it, which means means practical things about eating dinner earlier, like simple shit like that that you don't think about. It's like, I need to be maybe a little bit better with my time boundaries of when I stop working so that we can actually make dinner at a decent hour, so that we can actually have time to watch a show or cuddle or have sex if we want to. Like, the thing is, when you go so— you work all day and it's so late, and then it's like, no, that's not happening. The good thing for us is that we both work from home. So I think our best thing is like a midday sex.

Oh, because there's like—

it's a hot tip because there's energy, you know? Like, I'm not a good like nighttime sex person. No, at least right now I'm too tired after dinner.

And usually with my ex, we used to watch like 2 Netflix shows. I'm like, do you really think after eating dinner and watching 2 Netflix shows, I'm like, woo, let's go? Like, that's, that's not happening.

No, no. So midday, midday, usually a little lunch break.

Sex. Oh, love that little lunch break on the couch and you're like, you know where we are. What about just being in a relationship for 8 years? That's, to me, in millennial timelines, I'm like, you guys are practically married for 40 years. Like, what do you do to keep the spice alive and living together and like still keeping that attraction high?

Yeah, it's so weird. Like, when we look at each other and we're like, we've been together for so long. In some ways it does feel like it's been so long because I feel like we've been 25 different versions of ourselves together. And then in other ways, I'm like, I can't believe it's been almost a decade with you every fucking day, you know? But yeah, it's, it's a long time. I think— I don't know if I have like the best tips of like how to keep the spice. We're really lucky in that we just really like each other and we appreciate each other. I mean, I think like sex toys are a good way to like bring Spice hot tip, like, sex toys are good, but in terms of like, you're not going to get to the point of like wanting to have sex with someone or even have sex toys be a relevant tip for you if you're in like a weird emotional or unreciprocal dynamic with somebody. So yeah, we support each other, we understand each other's vision, we're both really goal and career driven at this moment in our, in our lives. So I think something that is really good for us is that neither of us are really bothered about like needing to get a proposal or married or have babies. I think sometimes that throws a wrench in situations when someone's timeline of what they want is not matching with somebody else's. And luckily for the moment, we are on a very similar timeline of like, that's not the focus right now. I'm not really bothered by it. I don't need it. We're we're focusing on our careers right now simultaneously. And so when I need to work and he needs to work, we're very understanding. We're on the same page. I think that's probably the best thing for our relationship is that we've always been supportive of each other in that way. And he's always been— shout out, honestly, because sometimes I look back on my initial endeavors of like business things like network marketing and other things, yoga teacher training and stuff that's like, you know, could have easily been judged of like, why are you doing that? Are you even going to use that? What is that for? And he's just always been supportive. He's always been like, yeah, you're gonna be great, do it. I think that's the literally the number one reason why we're probably still together is because he's always been supportive of anything that I want to do.

The more and more couples and people that I interview that are in long-term relationships, that this is the answer they give, that we had the same vision or same idea of how we want our future to look, so we're going to work there together to get there. And I think something I realized in talking to couples is like if one person has a different vision and someone else has a different vision, it doesn't mean one's a villain and one's not. It's just like, that's probably not going to be the most compatible. But I used to think when someone comes into my life, they're going to slow me down and it's going to take away from everything I've built. I'm gonna have to like shrink and water it down and like pull the reins back a little bit. And talking to people like you, I'm like, oh, this is exciting. Like, I want to bring in a partner that's like, let's fucking go, babe. Like, I'm proud of you. Let's check in on our projects.

Like, when you just told me he's literally cracking the whip on me all the time. Yeah, goals that we were talking about earlier, and I'm like, I know I really want to do this, but I don't have the time. And he's literally always like, you need to do that, you need to send the pitch, you need to think. I'm like, literally, shut up, you're stressing me out.

When you said you were celebrating, like, checking in every day on your 100K month goal, I'm like, that is so cute. Like, to me, I, I think I've just been in relationships where I'm like, I think my boyfriend would be like, what are you doing? I don't want to see that number. Like, I don't, I don't know. So this is just really inspiring. So thank you for sharing the ins and outs you're in Jaime's relationship. Yeah. Do you speak Spanish, by the way?

Yeah.

Okay, so you learned. I did eventually. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh, because I was like, how did you go from not communicating to practically being married?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what's funny about that too is I didn't know this at the time, but I found out like years later when we started actually seeing each other while I was in Spain. He apparently bought like a bunch of like English books books, and he was studying. He was like reviewing his— because he, he learned— you learn English in school in most other countries from the time that you're a child. He was just lazy and didn't care and copied everybody and never wanted to learn English. And then I came along and he was like, shit, I should have paid attention. So he went out and bought books and started studying, and then he actually hired a teacher that would do like a virtual Skype language classes with him to like build his conversation skills. Which is like, from a person who like didn't want to study and never wanted to learn it and was always just copying to get by, to that, I was like, wow, wait, I'm actually gonna cry. Like, that's so sweet.

I remember my ex's roommate found out I was taking German lessons, and he was talking to him in the kitchen, and he was just like, wait, what? She's taking German lessons for you? And I was like, well, yeah, for what? I'm not gonna open a business in Germany. And I was like, yeah, it's for him. And he was just like, that's a really big sign of love. And I was like, yes! So anyone listening, like, if you love someone and they're a foreigner, you need to go learn their language. Yeah, it's so amazing. And I'm glad that you learned Spanish too.

This is— well, yeah, yeah, I studied Spanish all through school. I took it in college. I minored in it. That's why I studied abroad, because I wanted to get fluent. I had way more of a motivation already that I wanted to, to learn it. He was not interested in being fluent in English at all. That was my goal by being in Spain and by living in Spain. So yeah, it was kind of sweet to find out that he did that behind the scenes, and he didn't tell me about it. He wasn't like, oh, I'm practicing and I'm hiring people and I'm learning. He was just doing it.

I love that. So what's next for you? I feel like something that happens to a lot of entrepreneurs that hit these milestones, get what I've heard called astronaut syndrome, where you're like, I've already been to the moon, what else is there to see? Like, you've already hit the $100K month, you've hit 1 million downloads.

Like, what is feeling expansive and exciting for you coming I don't feel that at all.

I don't— you're like, I'm just getting started.

I'm like, I hit the moon, like I'm barely even gotten in the rocket ship. Yeah, I don't— I don't— I feel like there's— I feel like I'm just getting started. I feel like I'm a baby in the space. I feel like there's so much to learn and do. I'm excited about more speaking opportunities. We kind of talked about that earlier. Yeah, just like taking the podcast in different directions and expanding with it and adding video and and just upleveling the content. There's so much, there's so much that I want to do.

Oh my God, I'm so excited. Well, where can everyone find you, follow you, and stalk you and Jaime?

Yeah, we actually did a full podcast episode together on my show. I finally got him to come on and answer all of the audience's questions, so you can hear the story of how we met from his perspective. But yeah, you guys can follow me at _samanthadaily, or you can check out my podcast Makeshift Happen. It's anywhere you find podcasts. And if you want to check out my programs or my work, you can go to samanthadaily.com.

Amazing. Thank you so much, Sam. Yay.

Thank you.