#170 – October 2025 Income Report

Shannon Mattern (00:02.149)

Hello everyone, welcome back to the profitable web designer podcast. And I'm here with our client success coordinator and my co-host Erica Nash for our October 2025 income report. Hi Erica.

Erica Nash (00:18.158)

Hi.

Shannon Mattern (00:19.941)

So this is my favorite episode that we do every single month where we break down how much money the Web Designer Academy made, how much we spent, all of the lessons and mindset shifts and whatever happened along the way. And even though we're not a web design agency, we are a business coaching.

program for women web designers and we make our money in a completely different way than our listeners do. How we think about money is basically how we think about everything. so we like to share with you the mindset behind the money on this podcast because

We just got back from our next level mastermind retreat at the time of this recording. And pretty much the theme of that event was like, your thoughts create either wanted or unwanted results. And so becoming aware of your thoughts and just being aware that like,

you're thinking certain things can help you have some agency to make different decisions if you are, if you're thinking things that are creating unwanted results and shifting into things that create wanted results. So that's top of mind for me as we dive into this episode talking about how much we made in October, how we created that and all of the things. So Erica's role here is to just.

kind of ask me the questions and, you know, ask me anything that she gets curious about and yeah, so we just, we don't pre-write these. They happen how they happen. They go where they go. And yeah, so I'll hand it over to Erica to kick us off.

Erica Nash (02:26.21)

Amazing. I like how you said how we think about money is how we think about everything. And I think that that I think if we can recognize that, and then begin to get put space between us and our thoughts, like that's where the real sort of magic and also like where the real work is. It's not so much about like hustling harder, but more about like

Shannon Mattern (02:32.646)

Yeah.

Erica Nash (02:55.054)

actually recognizing what we're thinking about money and what that is causing us or like how that's causing us to move through the world. So yeah, I don't know. That's just this good stuff. So our first question, how much was the total inflow in October 2025 and where did it come from?

Shannon Mattern (03:05.477)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (03:16.743)

So October was $30,277. I'm sure there are some cents attached to that, but I did not write them down. And that revenue came from our payment plans, like Web Designer Academy payment plans. So we have two options for working together, pay in full, like a single payment, and then a 12-month payment plan.

Erica Nash (03:26.958)

Thank you.

Shannon Mattern (03:46.311)

It came from those payment plans for both the Web Designer Academy and the Next Level Mastermind. A little bit from our Marketing Momentum membership. I'll probably talk more about my plans for the Marketing Momentum membership in our November income report as I reflect on a year of that and what I want to keep, change, test, and stop related to that program.

and then we also had, three new web designer Academy members join and pay, make a single payment. and like, that's always like, a, it helps massively with our, with our cashflow when that happens, but B I'm really excited. Cause I think I, I figured out like the right, like I've, I've tested so many elements of.

the Web Designer Academy offer. And I think I've landed on something that's really, really compelling. And the evidence is showing that the offer matches the need. And it's resulting in people being like, yes, I'm in. I'm making a single payment. I'm fully committed. Let's go. And that's really what I've been working towards. So nothing out of the ordinary.

web designer academy and next level mastermind enrollments. And what's really awesome about that is I think that's like our fourth or fifth, fourth month in a row of meeting the revenue goal that I set for myself. And yeah, so I had to be really patient and persistent.

and stay the course and notice when I was like getting impatient and frustrated and check myself and just keep moving forward and not.

Shannon Mattern (05:57.639)

stop and say something wasn't working before I really truly gave it a chance to work. and this is what this is the result of that is that, you know, we, we're bringing in the amount of money that we want to bring in that makes running this business really sustainable. and it feels really good. I'm really proud of it. So yeah.

Erica Nash (06:24.854)

Yeah. Has it been two full years of like testing?

Shannon Mattern (06:31.46)

Yes, I would say more than that, maybe even two and a half. But we've been working with Lee's team for two full years. So yeah, it's been two full years of testing with support, not just me in my own head being like, that didn't work. Let me try something else from a place of panic and worry and anxiety. Yeah.

Erica Nash (06:32.684)

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

Erica Nash (06:39.906)

Mm-hmm.

Erica Nash (06:46.222)

Bye.

Erica Nash (06:53.198)

Mm-hmm. I think, at least for me, I know this is true. Maybe it's true for other people as well. But especially when I'm feeling panicky, I overestimate.

the time, Yeah, I overestimate the time that I think something should take and I underestimate the amount of time that I actually have. so time, like time feels really, really squishy. whenever something, whenever like I'm in panic mode, like it's ending right now. And I think like,

Shannon Mattern (07:22.118)

I do the opposite.

Erica Nash (07:42.018)

Maybe I did say that wrong. But I think that things, I think that things should, I want things to happen much faster than they do. So, you know, like I'm thinking like, I'm trying all these things and it's not working. I, really what I did was I hyper fixated for a day and did a whole bunch of things, but seeds don't grow in a day. Things don't change in a day.

Shannon Mattern (07:44.038)

No, it's okay.

Shannon Mattern (07:51.012)

Yes.

Erica Nash (08:10.062)

And so, know, really like when I look at the amount of testing that we've done in the amount of time that we've done it and it's like, you're like, yes, we finally landed on something really compelling. I just think that that's really cool and tells such an amazing story of like persistence and determination, which is awesome.

Shannon Mattern (08:10.619)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (08:35.344)

Well, thank you. And it really was persistence and determination. And I think that that's something that I've said since, you know, before even like from when I started the business over 10 years ago now, like, and I was marketing the free five day website challenge and teaching business owners how to DIY their website. And then it was like, well, they need to figure out how to market this and get traffic.

And I was teaching patience and persistence, patience and persistence, and not instantaneous results. But then, like you said, when you have a goal or a real, not real, but like,

This business requires money to run. Like we have outflow, right? We have commitments that we've made into the future to pay for things. Like we have payroll. I pay you, I pay me, I pay, there's all of those things. And when we start to get into a worry and a panic about like, about having quote unquote enough for all of that, it almost makes you try to like,

Erica Nash (09:30.679)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (09:53.815)

do thing. Well, for me anyway, it's like, I have to make it all now so that I know that I have it all for the future. And that there will never be a question that I can pay for this stuff in perpetuity for forever. That I'll have so much money in my bank account that there won't be a question that I could like, pay our payroll for the next 10 years. Like, that's not how you're supposed to a business. I found out no.

Erica Nash (10:01.262)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (10:22.214)

But I didn't realize I was thinking that way. I didn't realize I was thinking I need it all now so I can feel secure. And for me, it's like, no security comes from I can make it make it along the way. I don't need to have it all now. And like, every little we've talked about this on previous episodes where I'm like, every little step counts every little bit counts every little seed.

Erica Nash (10:25.198)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (10:50.97)

planted. And I think for me, yeah, I just had to drop the all or nothing thinking and just take one step forward. And I just had a podcast interview with a woman named Nikki Thompson and it's going to come out in a few months, but I loved our conversation, because she said something and this was like related to messaging, but it makes me think of like how we've been testing things. She was like, sometimes

It just needs a quarter turn. Like, you know, if you think about like tightening a screw or something, she's like, or like straightening something. Like I always think about my husband. Like has to have, you know, the light, the light switches, there's a screw at the top and a screw at the bottom. And it's like the flathead screw. Like he will make sure that both of those are like equal, like lined up.

Erica Nash (11:37.588)

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Erica Nash (11:49.358)

you

Shannon Mattern (11:49.415)

On every single switch and outlet in this house. So if there's one that's off, he's going to go get a little screwdriver and straighten it. And maybe it's just a quarter turn that it needs to be turned. But like, that's kind of how I feel about the web designer Academy offer. Like I didn't do these big sweeping tests where I'm like, throw out this offer. Let's do a new one. It was just like,

Erica Nash (12:01.91)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (12:17.412)

What's a little quarter turn I can make? Like, what's the objection here? Like, what am I hearing from people? I don't need to start over. I just need to give it a quarter turn. Like, what's one little thing I can do to like bridge this gap? And I don't even like the word like, I don't even like to talk about like overcoming objections. It's like, if the stepping stones across

the raging river are too far apart. Maybe I just need to add a couple stepping stones instead of like trying to convince you that you can jump across it.

Erica Nash (12:55.949)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (12:57.936)

So that's really like that patience, that persistence, like, I think it's like, I stopped thinking that I was the problem and that like, I wasn't good enough and that I needed to change something or that the Web Designer Academy offer wasn't good enough and that it needed to change. Like, I really just was like, how can I create more safety for people who really want to say yes to say yes?

Erica Nash (13:11.278)

Hmm.

Erica Nash (13:28.274)

That's so good. I think somebody probably wrote down, I don't need to start over, I just need a quarter turn. That was good. Write it down. So out of the inflow in March 2025, what was the total outflow?

Shannon Mattern (13:35.694)

I hope they did. I love that. Write that down.

Shannon Mattern (13:47.175)

Yeah, so the total outflow was $25,207.78. The things that were not normal out of that would be almost $3,500 of that went to our next level mastermind retreat. So we bring in a photographer, we bring in some guests, we...

have some supplies and swag. have some travel expenses for that. So 3,500 came from that. But that 3,500 came from when I sold the tickets back in July. it's like when I collect that money, I kind of think of it as like an escrow to be used just for the retreat and also plan for it that way. So that's.

That was part of that outflow that just flowed right back. It flowed in in July. It flowed right back out in October. And that's what that was. I paid down on my line of credit $1,200. So before, I would have been like, that's nothing. That doesn't like, what's the point? But I'm like,

I just keep chipping away at, I'm going to look up one day and it's going to be gone. It's going to be gone in 2026. That's just, you know, and that'll be a really fun day to celebrate. I also hired Anshin LaRue of Simply Digital Design. Some of you may know her. She does VIP days for Summit Setup. And so I bought a pack, a five pack. I don't think she calls it that, but I'm like, I bought a five pack of VIP days.

Erica Nash (15:10.158)

Mm.

Shannon Mattern (15:35.783)

for her to set up the Simply Profitable Designer Summit for 2026. I think one of the things that happened in October is I was like, do I really need to do the Simply Profitable Designer Summit again? Everybody has a designer summit now. There are so many good ones. I speak at all of them. Like, it's a lot of work. It's a big chunk of time from

Erica Nash (15:50.19)

You

Shannon Mattern (16:03.458)

our team to put into that? And does it really matter? Does it get us, like, does it help us get more web designer academy students? Or is this just like a service that we do for the design industry? you know, like, based on how much time we spend on it and how much money we spend on it, is it really like worth our business committing that much?

time, effort and energy to running that event. And I had that big, I wouldn't call it so dramatic to say existential question, but kind of, cause it's like the 10th year. And I was like, am I going to do this? So I asked our conversion rate optimization team at Zainutain consulting to do an analysis for me because I could tell that my

Erica Nash (16:41.494)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (17:02.406)

hesitancy to want to do it came from when it was time to start researching speakers and potentially pitching them. was just like, I wasn't tired, but I was like, enjoying the space that I was experiencing in the business in October. And I was like, if I say yes to the summit, all this space is going to be gone, which that's a thought, but that's what I was thinking. And so I was like,

Erica Nash (17:18.882)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (17:33.56)

What if the numbers tell me that I don't have to do this? That would be so exciting if the numbers came back and said that actually nobody ever comes to the summit and joins the web designer academy. And, you can feel good about like just not doing it. Well, guess what? It is effective. It helps us get it. How like it, we do see,

part of the customer journey for people that come to work with us. One of the stops along the way is the Simply Profitable Designer Summit. And so I was proud of myself for being onto myself that I might be not wanting to do this because I was like, if I do this, I won't have all of the spaciousness that I'm feeling right now.

Erica Nash (18:22.359)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (18:34.694)

Then I gathered some data. The data showed me what it showed me. And then instead of just resigning myself to be like, well, I guess I'm just going to have to give up my freedom or whatever. was like, if I do this, these are the change. This is what it gets to look like for 2026. And this is what I'm going to keep doing. This is what I'm going to stop doing. This is what I'm going to change.

because I get to run an easeful business, a business that has ease in it and stop grinding. And I stopped working weekends halfway through probably like at the beginning of September, I wanted to continue that in October and I did. And I just had to make it the decision to not do that. And so that means...

Erica Nash (19:14.307)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (19:34.394)

that when I choose to do big projects like the summit, that means I'm going to be not using my time to make that happen. So that's the long way to say, I hired Anshin. We hired her last year, it was amazing. We hired her to do some additional stuff this year, like migrate the site from Krista Miller's

Erica Nash (19:47.853)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (20:02.553)

a hosting, because she's the one who I acquired the summit from, to our hosting and things like that where I could be like, obviously I know how to migrate a site. I can just take care of this and I would take care of it over a weekend, But like, no, I'm not doing that stuff anymore. And so really proud of myself for giving myself those constraints and asking for other people to do those things for me.

Of course I know how to do that, but it's no longer worth my time. So that was part of what we spent, what our outflow was. Our payroll is about $10,000, but I took an extra owner draw. I took a $2,100 owner draw.

in October. And so like, it's not like, it's not back up to where I was before, but it's pretty close. And my husband's really happy about that. He likes, he likes our personal bank account and our savings account growing back from, when I wasn't paying myself that. So yeah, what else?

Erica Nash (21:15.692)

You

Shannon Mattern (21:30.477)

Our marketing and project support as always, Zainutain Consulting for our conversion rate optimization and podcast production, the work that you and I are doing on the rebrand project, a one year long project, everyone. So we have two more months on it. Eric and I were just chatting about that before we hit record on this episode. Like we have done so much stuff since we started on that project in January.

Erica Nash (21:56.526)

you

Shannon Mattern (21:59.492)

And we planned for it to be a one-year rollout, really. And I'm also paying along the way as we're rolling things out too, which has been such a... It's been fantastic for me to be able to do it that way. So I'm so glad that Riot Creative Studio had that option available, because it's been really sustainable for me to be able to just even implement the work that you're...

that you're doing, I would not have been able, if we would have done a 90 day project and you're like, here's 1,000 assets to implement and you dipped out and went on to the next thing, 995 of them would still be unimplemented.

Erica Nash (22:30.381)

Yeah.

Erica Nash (22:36.809)

Erica Nash (22:48.514)

Yeah, yeah. And like, through a fault of no one, right? Like that literally, and I've done that before. I've learned, you know, like that is very overwhelming. And so...

Shannon Mattern (22:58.895)

Same, absolutely.

Like I've off more than I can chew and I've allowed my clients to bite off more than they can chew.

Erica Nash (23:07.852)

Yeah, yeah. And so I love that we were able to space it out, you know, over and in our conversation today, we almost kind of had a hard time coming up with things to like finish out the year with. And what that tells me is that we've done a really good job of like pacing ourselves and figuring out like what those domino pieces were at the very beginning to make a lot of progress really quickly. And we did that.

Shannon Mattern (23:17.57)

you

Shannon Mattern (23:31.279)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (23:35.225)

Mm-hmm.

Erica Nash (23:36.298)

And so, you we've got our last couple of months planned with those just final little things that we need to get checked off the list that are still important, but we're not, you know, like at the very top. And so I think that, yeah, I just think that that tells us a lot about like how we did the work sustainably. So, yay us.

Shannon Mattern (24:02.521)

Yay, us.

Erica Nash (24:05.216)

Also, as you were talking, I was just listening to like all of the mindset, like all of, there were all of these things that you were saying. And I was just like, wow, like that's a next level thought. That's the next level. Like all of these things that are just like skies blue now. And so I'm curious if you ever go back and listen to like,

Have you ever, like for instance, if you were gonna do it this month, have you ever gone back and listened to like the previous year's income report just out of curiosity?

Shannon Mattern (24:41.871)

I have listened to them all, but I don't think I've listened to them all recently. And an interesting thing happened to me today while I was walking Scarlett. I always listened to a podcast and I was looking through some of my like go-to podcasts and just popping them in and like having this like moment of like

I like I've outgrown the reason that I was listening to this. Like the last one that I tried to listen to was like something about, something about like the thing that you built note feels like.

The thing that you built no longer serves you and you need to tear it all down and start over. I was like, I don't feel that way at all. Like, I feel like the thing that I built is serving me really, really well. And I get to like, hang out here and I feel very fulfilled and I don't feel like I need to change anything about it. And I don't feel complacent at all.

Erica Nash (25:49.112)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (25:59.726)

I don't feel like I've arrived somewhere. I just feel so very where I'm supposed to be. And so was like, the messaging around growth, I'll always be growing, but I don't feel like I'm chasing anything or trying to get somewhere. I feel like I'm exactly where I want to be.

Erica Nash (26:11.374)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (26:28.183)

And so I would be so curious to go back. Like, I think this has only happened in the past couple of months, October, especially. October is when I noticed, like, I see a year ago, me having this space, meaning I was going to meddle with something because I was being impatient. And like, I intentionally didn't meddle in October.

like very intentionally didn't meddle. Yeah, so I'd be so, yes, now that you said that, I'm like, ooh, I wanna go back and listen because I feel like something has changed and I'm like a different person.

Erica Nash (27:00.6)

I seem to remember having that conversation.

Erica Nash (27:09.994)

Mm-hmm. I, from the outside in, I'm gonna say yes, that is true. Yay for growth.

Shannon Mattern (27:18.469)

What have you noticed? Just things that I say now that I never would have said before?

Erica Nash (27:20.12)

Hard work.

Erica Nash (27:23.692)

Yeah. Yeah. And just like about the space and like intentionally not filling it, not working weekends, you know, being willing to outsource some of the things, asking for more help, like those sorts of things. I think probably at this time last year, you were like, I want to get to that place where I can do that.

Shannon Mattern (27:40.933)

Mm-hmm.

Erica Nash (27:50.92)

And I think you have found yourself solidly there. And like...

Shannon Mattern (27:55.396)

Yeah. And the interesting thing is, is that if I would have said, I want to get to that place, that meant I believed that it was going to be external things that would, would like, could be like, okay, in scanning the environment, these external things being a certain kind of way means that I can now, now I'm in this place and I can slow down. But what actually happened is I had to decide

to slow down regardless of what those external circumstances were. And that is what created.

Shannon Mattern (28:37.155)

I think me feeling solid and safe and secure and not needing anybody to join so that I could slow down created the safety for people to say yes to come into the program. I think it's so many things converging at once, but I think ultimately it's me being unattached. I'm attached in the way that I know what your potential is and I see when you tell me,

Erica Nash (28:50.882)

Yeah, that's good.

Shannon Mattern (29:07.577)

this is what I want for my business. I see exactly how it's possible for you. And so I'm attached to you having the life and the results that you want. I'm not attached to your money.

Erica Nash (29:23.106)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (29:24.941)

And so that's where I think me just being like.

unattached to the need to get the money that specific way has shifted the conversations I'm having with people about joining.

Erica Nash (29:46.249)

Mm.

Shannon Mattern (29:47.971)

Yeah, there are so many things. That's a big one. I had to just trust.

Shannon Mattern (29:57.892)

period.

Erica Nash (29:59.022)

Yeah, it reminds me of the thing we were just talking about. Most people think it's have, do, be, but instead it's, what is it? Be, be, do, have.

Shannon Mattern (30:16.345)

be, do, have. Yeah, that's what my business and mindset coach and friend Alicia St. Germain says. we just spent a whole few days masterminding around this concept of like, we all think it's just like more strategy, more strategies. Like we've told you everything to do, it's on this podcast. But yeah.

It's just, it's a decision and being willing to like think different deconstructor beliefs about like things if they're not like working for you. And I think my belief, a lot of my beliefs weren't working for me. And I didn't really know that they were beliefs. I just believed it like the sky is blue and like, just even like asking for more help, like taking more things off my plate, asking you to do more things, like shifting that.

Like I remember hearing myself say like, I'm so tired. I don't have the capacity for that. I'm so tired. I don't have the capacity for that. And it's just like, even me saying I'm so tired. Like that was making me feel more tired. Like that was making me feel stressed to even just say those words. And I was like, like I'm going to stop saying that because like, that's me. Like, here's the only reason I can justify.

Delegating is being at capacity or being tired. It's like, no, I'm allowed to like shift my role in the business because that's what's supposed to be happening right now. Not because, I would do it if I wasn't so tired or I had capacity.

Erica Nash (32:02.935)

Right.

Shannon Mattern (32:05.141)

So it's like, I also am like shifting my identity. Like, no, I'm just allowed to like have space and not be tired in the space. Like, do whatever I want with the space.

Erica Nash (32:15.437)

Yeah.

Erica Nash (32:21.23)

Mm-hmm.

That's huge. The concept of just deciding is a sticky one for me. That, I've, you know, obviously, like, we just got back from spending a lot of time together. And I keep hearing you say it. And every time, like, it sticks out to me. Like, I just decided, or you just decide, or like, whatever. And I think that...

Shannon Mattern (32:24.463)

So yeah, it's a big deal.

Erica Nash (32:52.114)

That is my, I think that's my next identity shift is like just owning the fact that I get to decide how I feel and when I do things and whatever, like obviously honoring like how I feel in the moment, you know, all of those things, but like getting to decide what happens in my life and my business. and just, I don't know.

having some agency over my decisions, also like using those specific, like really watching what I say about myself and my business and, you know, my capacity or my energy or whatever it might be. Because I think that there, I am learning and observing the amount of power that are in those things. It's easy to forget in a moment.

Shannon Mattern (33:52.163)

Yeah. And it really is a paradigm shift too, because it's like, we think we have to structure things a certain way because we think the rules of running a business are a certain way, right? If clients are happy, then I'm safe, then I'm secure, then I make money. If clients are happy, I make money.

money equals safety, security. So if clients aren't happy, then I could lose money or safety. And it's like, we think it's just like a zap. Like if this, then that, and we just believe that those are the inputs, that's the output, it's black and white. There's no other, like, there's no other way that it works. Like we just believe that to be true. Like that's the math, it's the equation. But like, what if?

that's not the equation. Like what if there are different inputs that could get you the same exact outcome? And what if those inputs are

I decide if I'm happy, if I'm safe and if I'm secure. And so it's just like a, it breaks your brain because, and I think literally it breaks your brain because you're like, but the neural pathway that is in my brain just goes from A to B. And you're telling me to go into uncharted territory.

And there's no path there. Like, there's literally no way for the neuron to get from here to there on that, like, paradigm. And so when you're like, it's hard for me to believe that I can decide, like, that's partly because your brain's like, I don't have the highway here.

Erica Nash (35:33.197)

Mm-hmm.

Erica Nash (35:53.664)

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Shannon Mattern (35:54.917)

Like this was farmland, there was nothing here. And you're trying to just like, so now it's like you have to like build it and it takes time. You don't just go from like no freeway to freeway overnight.

Erica Nash (36:12.001)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (36:14.316)

And so you get to be patient with yourself and just like, now you're noticing you're like, I notice that it's possible that I could decide.

Erica Nash (36:24.302)

Right, yeah.

Shannon Mattern (36:25.992)

That's basically like I mowed the field down, you know? And then it's like, if I could decide what would I decide? And that's like maybe starting to like dig the path a little bit.

Erica Nash (36:29.92)

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yep.

Erica Nash (36:41.934)

Mm.

Shannon Mattern (36:44.956)

So, and then you just get to the point where you're like, okay, I'm tired of messing around. Like I'm pouring the asphalt now and it's done and I'm using it from now on. I'm not even gonna wait for it to dry probably or cure or whatever it does.

Erica Nash (36:52.398)

I'm

Erica Nash (36:58.574)

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Building new highways in your brain is hard work. I don't even want to say hard. That doesn't feel like the right word. But it is.

Shannon Mattern (37:08.74)

It's just take good job, Erica. It just it takes it takes time. Yes, it takes it takes awareness. I wouldn't even say it takes effort or energy. It just takes awareness and it takes the decisions like a decision in the moment like, I notice thinking this. Do I want to keep thinking this so

Erica Nash (37:18.252)

Yeah, and you have to be intentional about it.

Erica Nash (37:23.99)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (37:37.561)

Yeah, just being willing to be like, the things that I've just been, the programming I've been operating on, there might be other ways to do this. That's not saying that's wrong. That's one way of doing it. But we always say, what got you here won't get you there. And it's like, I'm driving the car up the hill in the wrong gear. I just need to shift instead of giving it more gas.

Erica Nash (37:54.648)

Yeah.

Erica Nash (38:07.854)

or maybe I just need to drive a Jeep.

Shannon Mattern (38:11.14)

Just, yeah. Just get in the Jeep and drive over the field. You don't need a freeway. Yeah, so I'm going to go back and listen to last year's October income. I'm just, yeah, now I'm curious. That'll be in my podcast feed for the next few hikes with Pup on 2X Speed, because that's how I roll. Yeah.

Erica Nash (38:11.96)

Just go off-roading.

Yeah. So.

Erica Nash (38:28.6)

Yeah, I do.

Erica Nash (38:37.932)

I love it. You'll have to report back. So what are some of the important things that happened in October?

Shannon Mattern (38:47.364)

Um, yes. So I, let's see, let me look at my calendar. It's like a pretty normal month in terms of, uh, the month. So I have, uh, I think I might've off-boarded my first, one of my first private coaching clients. So I went through like a full 90 day arc at the, my private coaching offers called the 90 day shift. And so it's like a 12 week.

program where we set some goals at the beginning. And then we meet every week. And I coach you through all of the thoughts you just think and believe to be true. And we like rework them together. I like, I was talking to a couple of my one of my private clients yesterday. She was like, I came in here thinking

I knew what I was going to get out of this and she was like, I got something completely different out of it. And we were going through her goals because yesterday was her last session. We were going through a goal. She's like, Yep. Check, check. She was like that goal. She was like, I didn't even need to do that. And I was like, I know, but I let you put it down there anyway. Knowing that like about three quarters, like about halfway through you would realize that like

Erica Nash (40:04.27)

You

Shannon Mattern (40:11.426)

That goal is just a pile of mine trash that like, once we clean it up, you wouldn't like want to do that anymore. She's like, so you can just cross that one off. like, so, so, so I off-boarded my first one in October and I did not know how much I would love the one-on-one coaching, like to get to actually like, Walk someone down the path.

Erica Nash (40:17.454)

You

Shannon Mattern (40:38.702)

for 12 weeks and how much progress can be made in such a short period of time was so fun. And so I originally did the private coaching offer as a way to just, like it was something people had been asking if I was ever gonna do. And I was just like, I don't have the time. I don't have the capacity.

I don't know where I would fit this in. And then our branding work helped create the capacity for that. And then also it was like something that my financial coach Jen was like, is there something that you can offer that like requires like no project, like investment of a project around that you could just offer? And also I saw some of our students going to pay other people.

for coaching that I wasn't offering. And I was like, no, no, no. Like this is not happening anymore. Like you're gonna go over here because I haven't just opened the door. Like that's just not a thing that's gonna happen anymore. I want you to go over there if you wanna go over there, not because I don't have something. I don't have what you want. And so I did and...

Erica Nash (41:38.208)

Yeah.

Erica Nash (41:56.951)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (42:02.518)

I was worried because I always say Mondays and mornings are mine and Mondays were the only day I had to like do the coaching calls and I love it. Mondays still feel like mine. If that makes sense. Because I'm just like

Erica Nash (42:19.854)

That's awesome. Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (42:23.428)

So it's so fun. And I'm going to have a podcast episode with some or all of my private coaching clients to discuss what that's been like. Because yesterday, the one that I was talking to yesterday, she was like, I will get on a podcast and I will talk about my experience because I think more people need to consider doing this. And I'm like, yeah. So.

That's really fun. And I'll open up a few spots again in, in Q1 of 2026. And as long as it still feels spacious and fun and whatever, like I'll continue to carve out time for that. But that was a milestone that happened in October is off boarding my first private coaching client. What else? What else? I hosted two.

live trainings of my new five secrets to high converting proposals. So I did one on the 10th and another one on the 24th. And so in each one of those, I just did like a quarter turn and like just made a little test and a little test. So I'm doing it again this Friday at the time of this recording. It'll be with another quarter turn. And I'm just like,

making little adjustments and like having a lot of fun doing a live thing that doesn't take a whole lot of time. Cause I'm doing the same thing over and over again. And yeah, so that's, that was something that happened in October is like, I've kind of hit the stride of like repeating that same thing and not being like, I can only do one thing once. Cause if I send it to my whole email list,

then everybody has seen it. And now I have to do something different the next time. It's like, no, pretty much the same amount of people are signing up for it every time. So that's been interesting to see. And then I I participated in Jacob Cass's Brand Builder Summit 2025 All-Stars Encore. So I got invited back to speak on a panel with that. So that was really cool. And I was like,

Shannon Mattern (44:48.036)

I don't know. was like, like, I, how do I say this? Like, sometimes I'm just like, why would I be considered like an all star? Like, why would you like, you know what I mean? And I know that's just a name that he's calling it, but like, that I was invited back, like one of my goals is to like, be a thought leader in the space.

I want to get opportunities like that. I'm like, like I'm, I'm doing the things that I want to do to be recognized as a thought leader in the space, because I don't think anybody else is talking about, talking about this, how we're talking about it. And I want more people to hear that there's a different way you can think about how to run your business. And so it's important for me to like have platforms to share this.

share how we think about things like wider. when I, when I'm like, I want to be a thought leader. It's not because I'm like, for my ego, but it's because I think it's important for women to hear that there's a different way to do this. And being invited to those things is, like, like how I am, it's like, that's evidence that like people are hearing and paying attention.

And, you know, that type of thing. So I thought that was cool. And then I also met with Jen Boss, who is my financial advisor, I guess, my fractional CFO. And we talked about like our last quarter's numbers and we talked about like goals for 2026. And she was like,

your business runs really, really well at $30,000 a month. She's like, I know that when people get to your point, they want to grow to half a million or a million or whatever. And she was like, sometimes that can cause more problems than it solves. And so she was like,

Shannon Mattern (47:13.496)

You're really profitable here. You're making a lot of progress on your goals. Once you pay the lender credit down to where you want it to be, she was like, you have a lot of cash flow coming in. She was like, before you decide to on your next revenue goal, let's sit down and talk about what the costs of that are going to be.

see if it's something that you really want to do. And I was like, you know what? I kind of agree with her. I was like, I said, Jen, and here's what I think too. I think if I allow myself to just be here, I'll probably exceed that without trying. And she was like, yeah, that's what I often see. She was like, but when I see people like, oh, now I need to scale to whatever, seven figures.

Erica Nash (47:57.229)

Yeah.

Shannon Mattern (48:11.94)

they create, they like actually, maybe they'll create that in revenue, but they won't like they'll spend more to do it and they won't keep as much money. And I was like, I don't, yeah, to me.

Yes, if your goal is impact and that's okay with you, cool. And my goal is impact, but not like I need to balance that with the costs. And I'm like.

I think I get to give myself even another year of working a lot less and just enjoying it. so that was a really interesting conversation because it's like, we all have these like revenue goals. It's like, everyone's like, I want to make 10,000 a month. I'm like, awesome. I'm down for that. We can help you with that. But do you need to make 10,000 a month?

Erica Nash (48:49.41)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (49:09.922)

Like if you do cool, but if it's like, because you think you're successful there and the trade-offs are such that it's not worth it, then how can we create a business that feels really good to you at a number that feels really good to you? And I also believe that you can create $10,000 a month without working really hard. You can have like, you really truly can like design the

work life you want with the money life that you want. And those things don't have to be mutually exclusive. And also it's just like, why? Get really clear. Because you can just feel how you think that money will make you feel today. Like it's a decision.

Erica Nash (49:58.988)

Just decide. Yeah, that's good. I want to go back for a second and talk about the thought leadership thing. You said I want to be a thought leader. Do you think you're not a thought leader?

Shannon Mattern (50:07.288)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (50:11.95)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (50:20.452)

think that I am, but I don't think that, maybe I don't think other thought leaders think I'm a thought leader, and I don't need them to, but I think more opportunities will come to me when I'm like, yeah, no, do think I'm a thought leader. Maybe if you would ask me that, yeah.

Erica Nash (50:33.774)

Because you are.

Erica Nash (50:43.822)

Do you have?

Shannon Mattern (50:48.292)

I do think if you had asked me that a month ago, I'd been like, nah. But yeah, I think I am a thought leader. You're like, chest double checking here. Are you going to have to come through this screen and smack me?

Erica Nash (50:58.04)

Good.

because you are and we're like hold on

I know people were listening to being like, wait a second, why didn't Erica say something? I had to double check because you definitely are. I think that like, I think that your experience at Josh's Web Designer Procon is such a great, just external like show of that, but also just the fact that

You have been a public figure in the web designer industry for as long as you have, and you've had podcasts, people really value what you have to say.

thought leader. Absolutely.

Shannon Mattern (51:59.748)

Well, thank you for that. And I think that when you're a public figure, but I'm a public figure online, I spend all my time just in this house with this dog. You know what I mean? It's just a little bit of a weird, I don't think dichotomy is the right word, experience, to be like, well, I'm hot, if it's like,

Erica Nash (52:17.55)

Yeah

Erica Nash (52:25.794)

Mm-hmm.

Shannon Mattern (52:29.42)

If I'm not in places to experience that feedback, I guess what I'm saying, then it just has to be a decision that I am without the external validation of, see, I teach what I have to learn, Yeah. Yeah. So that was kind of full circle there, wasn't it?

Erica Nash (52:40.494)

Yeah.

Erica Nash (52:47.155)

I just get to decide. It's just a decision. I love it.

Erica Nash (52:55.766)

It was.

Shannon Mattern (52:58.798)

So we have just a few minutes left in this episode. So I think I covered the big pieces of what happened in October. But like we've been mentioning, we just got back from our next level of mastermind retreat two days ago. There's a lot of reflection and integration.

happening there, I'm sure we'll dive much more deeply into that in the November income report in terms of the shifts that we're noticing after reintegrating into society, after being in the bubble for a few days. Any final thoughts that you would like to share before we wrap this up?

Erica Nash (53:45.294)

Coming back to real life.

Erica Nash (53:59.278)

Final thoughts. I mean, I guess...

I guess it would, I mean, it has to go back to just like reiterating the decision piece. Like whatever it is, you can just decide, which I know like even as I say it, I'm like, what do you mean you can just decide? And so there's still a lot of work to be done there.

Shannon Mattern (54:24.78)

You could just decide, I can charge that much. It is worth that much. I'm in integrity with what I do. I'm good at what I do. My skills are valuable. You can just decide all of that. You don't need anybody else to tell you any of that.

for a lot of you, you might feel like, what? Someone else has, a client has to say yes to my price for me to decide that it's worth it and that I'm good enough. And absolutely not. You decide.

Erica Nash (55:10.284)

here breaking brains. Yeah, we're gonna leave it at that I guess.

Shannon Mattern (55:12.356)

We'll leave it there. So thank you all so much for listening and we'll be back in your earbuds next week. Bye everyone.