257. This Mistake Cost Me $500,000

Financial Feminist

Her First $100K

Self-improvement, Education, How To, Business

4.7 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It took me three years — and more than half a million dollars — to learn this lesson. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down the biggest business mistake I’ve ever made: ignoring my gut, following “expert” advice, and paying the price. We’re diving into what happens when you give away your power for credibility, why trusting yourself is the best business strategy, and how to rebuild self-trust after a big mistake. If you’ve ever been told, “That’s just how it’s done,” this episode will remind you that sometimes the best thing you can do is trust your instincts — even when it goes against the norm. You’ll learn: Why “industry standard” doesn’t always mean right for you The true cost of outsourcing your power How to rebuild self-trust in your money and business decisions In this episode: 00:00 — The mistake that cost me $500,000 03:00 — What it means to sign with an agency or network (and why it’s risky) 05:00 — Losing transparency and control in my own business 07:00 — When credibility costs more than it’s worth 08:30 — The moment I realized I’d given away 40% of my revenue 10:00 — The danger of doing things just because “that’s how it’s done” 13:30 — What running everything in-house has taught me 14:00 — The deeper lesson: self-trust, transparency, and ownership 16:00 — How to support independent creators and shows like this one 17:00 — Learning from mistakes without shame 17:30 — The challenge: where can you trust yourself more? Want more resources from this episode, like our FREE money quiz, tools, or challenges? Head to https://www.herfirst100k.com/ffpod Check us out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/herfirst100k Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It took me three years to learn what I'm telling you in this episode, and it cost me over half a million dollars.
0:05.5	And today, I'm teaching you how to avoid it in just 20 minutes. Let's get into it.
0:13.7	So let me tell you what happened. We have to start at the beginning. I hear it's a very good place to start.
0:18.0	This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. One of the biggest things I hear from people who want to be business owners is they don't know where to start. They're like, I don't know what to do. I'm so overwhelmed. I want to start this business, but I need a logo and I need brand colors and they make a million excuses to prevent them from getting started because they're too afraid of failure. They're too afraid of their business failing. And I've done the research for you.
0:40.4	Squarespace. Squarespace is a lot. prevent them from getting started because they're too afraid of failure. They're too afraid of their
0:37.5	business failing. And I've done the research for you. Squarespace. Squarespace is what you need to start
0:43.2	that business finally. Squarespace was the first investment I made in my business way back in 2016,
0:48.1	and they make it so easy for you to get a custom website without having to know how to code and without
0:54.1	spending thousands
0:54.8	and thousands of dollars. Squarespace has a bunch of stuff in addition to their website features.
0:59.2	The best thing about Squarespace is they're saving you money and a bunch of other things.
1:02.7	They're helping you design emails using their email campaign tool.
1:05.9	They're helping you set up SEO tools with website optimization that is built into Squarespace,
1:13.1	and they help you offer your services so you can get paid all in one place.
1:16.9	You don't have to use another third-party platform.
1:19.4	If you're ready to start that business and you want to save money, Squarespace is the place for you.
1:23.6	Go to Squarespace.com slash FFPod for a free trial.
1:26.6	And when you're ready to launch, use offer code FFPod to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
1:34.4	300 sensors. Over a million data points per second.
1:39.9	How does F1 update their fans with every stat in real time?
1:44.2	AWS is how.
1:46.2	From fastest laps to strategy calls,
	...

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