[Offer Grid] 📬 | Breaking $1 Million | Issue No. 12

Hey there, you wonderful, warm-blooded biped,

Let’s talk about the mythical land of the Million Dollar Business.

It’s sparkly. It’s shiny. It’s supposed to come with financial freedom, a sense of accomplishment, and maybe a hammock somewhere near the ocean.

But in reality?

Breaking $1M in revenue doesn’t always feel like what you imagined.

Sometimes it feels like burnout. Sometimes it feels like debt. And sometimes it just feels like… “wait, this is it?”

If you’ve ever found yourself chasing the million-dollar mark (or even if you’ve already hit it) I want to gently poke at the fantasy a little.

Let me introduce you to Doug.

Doug came to me when he was stuck just below $10k/month. Sales were slow. Traffic was patchy. He couldn’t get things to click.

He had a solid product. A vision. And the kind of grit that’s honestly hard to teach.

So we got to work.

Doug was all-in on paid ads. “Let’s grow this fast,” he said. And we did.

Traffic picked up. Sales grew. There was actual momentum.

And then…

The expenses showed up like surprise guests at a wedding.

• $30k–$50k/month on ads. (These budgets would have been fine if the metrics had supported them.)
  

• Five full-time employees (who were also friends, which made hard decisions even harder).
  

• A six-figure salary for himself (before the business could truly support it).
  

• Inventory cycles and loans that made his bank account feel like a roller coaster.

Doug was working 6-7 days a week. Exhausted. Disconnected from his family. And starting to resent the business he’d worked so hard to build.

He got the number he wanted, but not the life.

Now, before we go any further, I want to be super clear:

I am not anti-growth.

I love growth. I help people grow their businesses.

But I also care deeply about how that growth feels.

And Doug’s story? It’s not unusual.

Doug’s Story: The Hidden Cost of Hitting 7 Figures

Doug’s business looked successful on paper.

Revenue was climbing. Orders were coming in. He had a team. A real business!

But every month, more money flowed out than in.

He had all the trappings of success, but underneath? It was barely holding together with duct tape and wishful thinking.

The ads weren’t giving consistent returns. His payroll was bloated. He was personally drawing more from the business than it could truly afford. And the inventory debt? That was a whole mood.

One week he told me, “I didn’t build a business. I built a trap.”

Doug wasn’t lazy. He wasn’t reckless. He wasn’t dumb.

He just did what many entrepreneurs do when things start to work — he scaled too fast, too soon, and too emotionally.

Because here’s the thing:

Revenue ≠ Profit. Growth ≠ Freedom.

Let me say that again louder for the folks in the back:

Revenue is not the same as profit.

And growth, while exciting, does not automatically equal ease, joy, or freedom.

In fact, it can mean the opposite — especially if it’s not aligned with your capacity, your values, or your actual life.

Doug and I had to press pause. We had to slow things down.

We had to look at what the business needed — and what he needed — to build something sustainable.

Not just bigger.

The KPI Trap: Why Metrics Alone Are a Terrible Compass

You know how everyone loves a good dashboard? ROAS, AOV, LTV, CPA, conversion rates, click-through rates…

Don’t get me wrong: metrics matter.

But let me tell you something I’ve seen again and again.

Numbers can trick you.

They can give you the illusion of control. The illusion of success. The illusion that now is the time to throw gas on the fire and scale.

And sometimes? That’s true.

But other times?

 • Your fulfillment process is already gasping for air.

 • Your systems are a patchwork of duct tape and Google Sheets.

 • You’re running on fumes, one Slack ping away from a full-body meltdown.

And the numbers won’t show any of that.

That’s why I always say:

Data can guide you, but it shouldn’t boss you around.

Use your metrics like headlights, not marching orders.

Check in with your body. Your bandwidth. Your gut.

Because if the business is thriving but you’re falling apart, it’s not actually working.

Scaling Without Intention Will Break You

Let’s get real: scaling isn’t just logistical. It’s emotional.

Yes, there are processes to build.

Yes, there are systems to set up.

Yes, there are numbers to track.

But there’s also you. Your energy. Your focus. Your joy.

When you scale without intention, here’s what tends to happen:

 • You lose touch with your “why”.

 • Your systems get brittle under pressure.

 • You say “yes” to things that don’t align.

 • You stop loving your business and maybe yourself, a little.

Founders often scale because they can, but not because they should.

They might want that “40 under 40” award. Or they might go for a long line of guest appearances on podcasts and end up at that posh retreat with the cool kids.

Whatevs.

Healthy growth isn’t just about what you’re capable of.

It’s about what you’re ready to hold.

I once worked with a client who said, “We grew 60% year-over-year but I don’t remember most of last year because I was so stressed.”

Friend, that’s not the dream.

Scaling should feel like an expansion of your mission not a betrayal of it.

What Real Growth Looks Like

So what does good growth look like?

Let me offer a few gentle truths:

Real growth is…

• Sustainable. You’re not waking up in the middle of the night with phone notifications and heart palpitations.

• Intentional. You’re growing because it makes sense not because you feel like you’re supposed to.

• Aligned. With your values, your capacity, and the kind of life you want to live.

And may I make a little bumper sticker speech for a second?

Planned growth is powerful growth.

Preach!

(OK, I’m all right.)

This means doing unsexy things like:

• Mapping out your margins.

• Setting realistic hiring triggers.

• Asking yourself, “If this works, can we actually handle it?”

• Building standard operating procedure files for every employee or contractor.

It means protecting your joy as much as your revenue.

It means building something that still feels like yours after the next wave of success.

The $1M Question: Do You Want This Version of Success?

I want to pause for a moment and ask you something:

What does success actually look like to you?

Not to your favorite Instagram entrepreneur.

Not to your mastermind group.

Not to the podcast host who told you that $100k/month is the holy grail.

You.

What do you want your days to look like?

Your bank account? Your schedule? Your mental health?

Here’s the truth:

$1M in revenue is still a small business. It’s not a guaranteed life upgrade.

You may hit $1M in revenue and decide that the next stop on the train is $5M.

It can come with joy, and it can come with stress, debt, and a total loss of identity.

Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s right for you.

Ask yourself:

• Am I chasing $1M because it’s meaningful to me or because it looks good from the outside?
  

• What am I sacrificing right now to hit that number?
  

• Is the trade-off worth it?
  

There’s no right or wrong answer.

But if you’re going to chase the dream, make sure it’s your dream — not someone else’s highlight reel.

How to Grow Without Losing Yourself

Let’s get practical.

If you’re on your way to $1M or if you’re looking to stabilize what you’ve already built, here are a few things I recommend before hitting the gas:

Audit Your Business

Take a real, honest look at what’s working and what’s… hanging on by a thread.

• Are your systems ready to scale? (Do you have SOPs for staff so you don’t have to answer the same questions 800 times?)
  

• Can your customer service team (even if it’s just you right now) handle a volume spike?
  

• Are your profit margins as healthy as they should be or are they whispering “danger” behind the scenes?
  

Grow What Actually Matters

Growth isn’t just top-line revenue.

It’s also:

• Trust with your customers
  

• Operational flow and ease
  

• Clear, clean product offers
  

• Margin (financial and emotional)
  

Focus on these, and the revenue tends to follow.

Watch the Warning Signs

If you’re feeling…

• More anxious than excited
  

• Reactive instead of strategic
  

• Like you’re running a sprint that never ends…
  

Those aren’t just “busy season vibes.”

They’re red flags. Slow down. Ease up. Regroup. You get to do that.

The Real Flex: A Business You Still Love at $1M+

Look, hitting $1M isn’t bad. Not even a little. I’ve helped a nice bunch of businesses scale by hundreds of percentage points and 

It’s just… not the whole story.

The real flex?

A business that feels like you, even at scale.

One where you’re well-paid and well-rested.

One where your customers are happy and you’re not silently dreading your inbox.

One where the team, the systems, and the energy of the business all reflect the things you care most about.

Yes, you can absolutely build that.

But not by accident.

It takes intention. Constraints. Some trial and error. And a whole lot of coming back to your values, again and again.

All of this brings me here: I have helped bunches of small business owners scale their businesses by hundreds of percentage points in revenue (and profits). And some of these business owners have become millionaires in the process.

No matter if your goal is $250k per year, or $2.5M per year, I can help.

Reply to this email to find out more.

Conclusion: Rewrite the $1M Narrative

Let’s say it plain:

• $1M is not the endgame.
  

• It’s not a magical finish line.
  

• It’s a checkpoint. And for some, it’s a fork in the road.
  

You get to decide how you scale.

You get to decide if you scale.

And you get to design a business that loves you back.

And hey, if it takes a little longer to get there, but you like the journey and you like yourself when you arrive?

That’s the real win.

More soon,

Amy

P.S. Go ahead and forward this newsletter issue to someone who’s chasing the million-dollar mark but might be forgetting to breathe.

P.P.S. Got a story like Doug’s? Hit reply and tell me. I’d love to hear it.