Imperfect Success

It’s getting real on the podcast today. 

Join host Nicole Holleman as she gives an inside look at the rapid, overwhelming, overnight success of her side project turned full-time gig.

She explains the origin story of the new podcast, her theories on why it took off, and the impacts on her routine, workload, mental health and Imperfect Success Podcast. 

It's a vulnerable look at the sacrifices, uncertainties, and adjustments needed to manage exponential growth.

5 Key Takeaways:

1. Nicole traces the creation of her podcast, Fantasy Fangirls, which has grown to a 100+k person community in 80 days.

2. She discusses factors she believes fueled the viral success, from leveraging existing skills to luck with algorithms.

3. Nicole explains how her highly structured 30-hour workweeks vanished, replaced by 12-14 hour days riding the rollercoaster of rapid scale.

4. She describes the uncertainty ahead and difficulty letting go of Imperfect Success' consistent release schedule to focus where needed (at least for the holiday season).

5. Nicole shares how she's adjusting amidst overwhelm - protecting personal time, saying no more, addressing wavering mental health.

Episodes to Listen to this Holiday Season

Holiday Themed Episodes: 

• 172: 4 Ways to Make Resting Easier During the Holidays

New Years: 

• 182: 11 Powerful Questions to ask yourself

• 174: 5 Powerful Questions that will set you up for the new year

Mindset/Habits:

• 202: Fear of Failure vs. Fear of Success 

• 198: The 8 Biggest lies High Achievers tell themselves

• 170: 5 Reasons Your Affirmations are NOT working 

• 165: How to Rest without Guilt

Resources/Strategies: 

• 200: Habit Hacks: Mastering the fundamentals of Habits

• 193: 3 Ways to Quickly Cure your procrastination for good

• 168: My Favorite Personal Growth Books 

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In today's episode, Nicole interviews Amy Traugh, a former healthcare worker turned mompreneur and self-proclaimed "chaos coordinator". 

Amy shares her unexpected pivot from physical therapy to entrepreneurship, which was sparked by the challenges of suddenly homeschooling her young children during the pandemic. 

She reveals the messy action and mindset shifts that helped her embrace imperfection and grow a business while managing a household and homeschooling. 

Amy provides tactical tips for moms looking to balance family and entrepreneurship through intentional time management. 

5 Key Takeaways:

1. Being forced to leave your job and suddenly homeschool kids is scary, but you can get through it by just taking "the next best step forward".

2. Look at how you're spending time each day and seek small pockets where you can work smarter, like outsourcing chores.

3. Manage your family like a business - create a family mission statement, assign roles and responsibilities.

4. Asking for help doesn't mean failure - you can't do it all alone. Outsource what you can.

5. Celebrate small wins - you don't have to be perfect, just consistent and disciplined in moving towards your "why".

Follow Amy: 

IG @amytraugh 

Podcast - Motivated mompreneur 

In this episode, Nicole interviews YouTube expert Gillian Perkins! 

You'll learn insider tips and growth hacking strategies to build your audience fast and turn your channel into a business. With over 700K subscribers herself, Gillian reveals the secrets to optimizing your content for the YouTube algorithm while avoiding mistakes beginners make.

5 Key YouTube Growth Takeaways:

• Create high-quality videos consistently to rapidly improve production skills. Forget perfection - consistent practice is key.

• Leverage launching a new channel to get your first 100 subscribers quickly. This gives the algorithm initial viewership data to recommend your videos.

• Optimize content for your audience's needs and desires, not just to please the algorithm. Build trust and rapport with viewers.

• Have at least 50 video topic ideas prepared before launching a channel to choose the best and know you have enough planned content.

• Prioritize YouTube ad revenue as your main monetization focus over distracting tools like Super Chats. Focus on high-impact income strategies.

Tune in to hear Gillian's best tips for launching a profitable YouTube channel quickly, avoiding common beginner mistakes, and growth hacking your way to YouTube success fast.

More From Gillian: 

Welcome to Imperfect Success, the podcast for success-driven perfectionists. Today we are diving into the 3-step process for breaking down big goals. 

Do you tend to bite off more goals than you can chew? 

Do you feel overwhelmed when trying to make progress on multiple big goals at once?

In this practical episode, Nicole shares her proven step-by-step goal setting method to help you break down big goals into manageable micro-steps. 

Learn how to create an inspiring “Everest” vision, break it down into milestone goals, and ultimately take tiny imperfect actions that will lead you to success.

5 Key Takeaways:

• Start by defining your long-term “Everest” goal - the big vision you're working towards in 3-12 months. Make it specific!

• Break your Everest goal down into short, 1-2 week “milestone” goals. Keep them small and focused.

• For each milestone, define 3 “one-sitting” tasks you can complete in 60-90 minutes. Tiny imperfect steps forward!

• Stuck on your milestone tasks? Reach out to people 3-5 steps ahead and ask for their insights.

• Focus on 1-2 key goals at a time. Don't spread yourself too thin trying to achieve everything at once.

By setting well-defined micro-goals and taking tiny imperfect actions, you can make consistent progress on even the biggest goals without getting overwhelmed. Tune in to gain an actionable game plan for tackling your most ambitious goals!

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