324. Why Your 2025 Didn’t Go As Planned (And What That Teaches You About 2026)

posted by:

Salome Schillack

Discover The Gap In Your Online Course Marketing And Unlock Its Full Earning Potential

Take The Most-Profitable
Course Quiz

Take The Quiz

Get Your First List Building Ad Up Without Wasting Time Or Money

Get Started

FREE Facebook and Instagram Ads Training

Your First $10K Online Course Launch

A Step-By-Step Guide To Launching Your Online Course Profitably The First Time

Sign Me Up

follow @the_launch_lounge

I love helping course creators advertise and market their courses well!

I created The Launch Lounge to provide training and coaching resources to help you master marketing so you can make a global impact, build a highly profitable business, and live life on your own terms.

Hi, I'm Salome

Discover The Gap In Your Online Course Marketing And Unlock Its Full Earning Potential

Take The Most-Profitable
Course Quiz

Take The Quiz

Get Your First List Building Ad Up Without Wasting Time Or Money

Get Started

FREE Facebook and Instagram Ads Training

Your First $10K Online Course Launch

A Step-By-Step Guide To Launching Your Online Course Profitably The First Time

Sign Me Up

follow @the_launch_lounge

I love helping course creators advertise and market their courses well!

I created The Launch Lounge to provide training and coaching resources to help you master marketing so you can make a global impact, build a highly profitable business, and live life on your own terms.

Hi, I'm Salome

Get Your First List Building Ad Up Without Wasting Time Or Money

Get Started

FREE Facebook and Instagram Ads Training

Your First $10K Online Course Launch

A Step-By-Step Guide To Launching Your Online Course Profitably The First Time

Sign Me Up

follow @the_launch_lounge

I love helping course creators advertise and market their courses well!

I created The Launch Lounge to provide training and coaching resources to help you master marketing so you can make a global impact, build a highly profitable business, and live life on your own terms.

Hi, I'm Salome

Discover The Gap In Your Online Course Marketing And Unlock Its Full Earning Potential

Take The Most-Profitable
Course Quiz

Take The Quiz

follow @the_launch_lounge

I love helping course creators advertise and market their courses well!

I created The Launch Lounge to provide training and coaching resources to help you master marketing so you can make a global impact, build a highly profitable business, and live life on your own terms.

Hi, I'm Salome

Your First $10K Online Course Launch

A Step-By-Step Guide To Launching Your Online Course Profitably The First Time

Sign Me Up

follow @the_launch_lounge

I love helping course creators advertise and market their courses well!

I created The Launch Lounge to provide training and coaching resources to help you master marketing so you can make a global impact, build a highly profitable business, and live life on your own terms.

Hi, I'm Salome

Get Your First List Building Ad Up Without Wasting Time Or Money

Get Started

FREE Facebook and Instagram Ads Training

follow @the_launch_lounge

I love helping course creators advertise and market their courses well!

I created The Launch Lounge to provide training and coaching resources to help you master marketing so you can make a global impact, build a highly profitable business, and live life on your own terms.

Hi, I'm Salome

Listen on..

APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE

The Three Hidden Structural Problems Keeping Your Course Business Stuck In Feast-Or-Famine Mode

I cut my email list in half this year on purpose and it tanked my podcast downloads overnight—turns out those “dead leads” were worth nearly $40,000 in revenue. 🚀

That's just one of three expensive mistakes I made in 2025 that taught me exactly what not to do in 2026. And here's the thing: if you had big plans for 2025 that didn't quite pan out, you're not alone. Maybe your launches underperformed, your evergreen funnel didn't convert, or you spent way too much on ads with nothing to show for it. But before you just move on and hope next year will be different, I want to show you the three structural problems that are probably hiding in your business right now.

The difference between making $100K a year and $300K a year isn't working harder. It's fixing these three foundational gaps that 2025 exposed. I'm talking about the gap between your calendar and your revenue (hello, feast-or-famine cycles), the gap between the metrics you're tracking and the metrics that actually matter (spoiler: email open rates aren't the whole picture), and the gap between the business model you built and the business model you actually need for sustainable growth.

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on my own business mistakes this year—because sometimes the best lessons come from seeing what NOT to do. I'll show you exactly how to identify these gaps in your own business and, more importantly, how to fix them before January 1st so you can build a freedom empire that actually gives you freedom.

“One launch funnel is not a business. It's just a risky way to feed your family for a while. A real business has multiple ways to generate revenue, and 2026 is the year you build that.”

🔥 In This Episode:

  • Discover why making 80-90% of your revenue in just three launch months is creating massive risk and burnout in your business (and the four simple revenue bridges that fix it)
  • Learn the expensive lesson I learned about email list size versus engagement—and why optimizing for the wrong metrics can cost you thousands
  • Uncover the high-ticket-only trap that breaks your customer ascension path and leaves 80-90% of your audience with nowhere to go
  • Map out your three-tier offer ecosystem that creates predictable revenue without launching every single month or burning yourself out
  • Get your exact action plan for the next few weeks to audit your 2025 numbers and build systems that actually work for 2026

Grab your favorite coffee and settle in—this one's packed with strategic insights that'll change how you approach your business planning. ☕️

💚 💚 💚 

Salome

✨ If today's episode helped you, help other course creators find these strategies too! Your review helps us reach more people who need to get their knowledge into the world. Rate and review the show – when more helpers succeed, we all win. Thank you! 💫


⏱️ Chapter Guide:

(00:00) The $40,000 email list mistake that changed everything about how I measure success

(09:09) Why your best launch months are actually creating the biggest risk in your business model

(22:03) The invisible metrics that matter more than email open rates (and how to track them)

(36:46) How I accidentally broke my own ascension path by simplifying my offers the wrong way

(49:02) Your week-by-week action plan to fix these three structural gaps before January 1st


📚 Other episodes you might like: 

>> 323. The Black Friday Trap: Why Discounting Might Be Costing You More Than You Think

>> 322. The Worst Business Advice I Got and Why I’m Grateful for It Today

>> 321. Everyone’s Burning Out – You Don’t Have To. Here’s How


🎙️ Click Here To Listen Wherever Your Get Your Podcasts 🎙️


Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

“Valuable and funny! ★★★★★

I love these tangible tools Salome gives us! Finally a podcast with a full picture strategy. And she makes it fun which makes you remember what you learned even better and you can’t wait for the next episode to air. Thank you!”

Mtillie in Sweden

Please rate, review and follow the show. When you do, it helps me reach more people and help them create wildly profitable businesses that impact millions of people! You'll also unleash good carma get the best parking spots forever (ok, I made that up – but rating and reviewing can be your good deed for today).

Click here to go to Apple Podcasts, open the app, and scroll to the bottom of the show page. Click the 5 stars to leave a 5-star rating and leave a review for us, please. While you're there, follow the show so you never miss a single episode!


A tablet showcases a banner reading FREE: Facebook & Instagram Ads Training with a note stating, Training Taken By Over 10,000 People. Surrounding it are office supplies like a plant and notebook. Dive into this transformative 5-Day Training today!.

Get Your First List Building Ad Up Without Wasting Money!

Free 5-Day Facebook And Instagram Ads Training 

We have recorded a FREE 5-Day Video Training for you where you can look over my shoulder as I show you everything you need to know to get your first list building ads up. 

A woman in athletic wear smiles while holding a plank position on a round rug, looking at a laptop in a bright room—perhaps researching how to fix feast or famine revenue cycles amid gym equipment and lush plants.

follow @the_launch_lounge

Hi,

Here to help you turn your passion, knowledge and skills into a wildly profitable business that gives you complete freedom and autonomy in your life and your work.

An entrepreneur, marketer and teacher

I'm Salome

A woman in black athletic wear sits cross-legged on a yoga mat, meditating with eyes closed in a bright, modern living room. A laptop is open in front of her as she reflects on how to get out of the 1:1 trap and create a scalable offer.

Business, Podcast

343. How to Get Out of the 1:1 Trap (And Into a Scalable Offer)

Discover how to build a scalable online course from your one-on-one method — without losing your current income.

read the post →

read the post →

Hot Off The Press!
Binge Our most popular posts

A woman with long brown hair and glasses, wearing a pink sweater, sits in an armchair smiling and gesturing at her laptop, recording a master podcast in a bright living room with a plant and sofa in the background.

Marketing, Podcast

342. You Don’t Need More Content, You Need a Traffic System

Discover how to build a traffic system that turns your best content into leads without burnout.

read the post →

read the post →

Hot Off The Press!
Binge Our most popular posts

A woman with curly hair smiles and talks to a smartphone mounted on a ring light, recording a video in a bright, modern kitchen for her master podcast page.

Business, Podcast

341. Stop Doing 5-Figure Things If You Want a 6-Figure Course Business

Unlock the secrets on how to scale online course business from five figures to six figures and achieve consistent success.

read the post →

read the post →

Hot Off The Press!
Binge Our most popular posts

A woman stands and gestures confidently while speaking to a seated audience, smiling as she discusses her master podcast page. A tablet on a stand is positioned in front of her, with large windows and greenery in the background.

Business, Podcast

340. What a $50K/Month Online Course Business Actually Looks Like (Real Examples)

Discover what does a 50k a month online course business look like beyond the highlights and hype. Get the real insights.

read the post →

read the post →

Hot Off The Press!
Binge Our most popular posts

A woman sits at a desk working on a laptop in a bright, modern living room. Smiling and wearing an orange shirt with braided hair, she reviews her ads budget, surrounded by papers, a notebook, and a pen.

Ads, Podcast

339. She Had $10K for Ads. I Told Her No.

Learn how to know if you’re ready for Facebook ads and maximize your Facebook ads conversion rate effectively.

read the post →

read the post →

Hot Off The Press!
Binge Our most popular posts

A woman wearing headphones smiles and speaks into a microphone while recording in a studio, suggesting she is hosting a What's Working in Podcasting show or exploring the future of Podcasting 2026.

Marketing, Podcast

338. Podcasting – What’s Working in 2026

Explore podcast growth strategies for online course creators 2026 to overcome flatlined audiences and adapt to new algorithms.

read the post →

read the post →

Hot Off The Press!
Binge Our most popular posts

A woman wearing a white dress sits indoors on a chair, smiling and holding a smartphone. She has long dark hair and gold hoop earrings. There are plants and modern wooden furniture in the background.

Business, Podcast

337. Amy Porterfield Retired DCA… So Are Online Courses Dead?

Discover what’s actually changed and get your 2026 playbook for profitable launches.

read the post →

read the post →

Hot Off The Press!
Binge Our most popular posts

A woman with blonde hair sits at a desk with a microphone and laptop, sharing tips on how to nail your marketing while speaking to a camera in a bright, modern room with shelves and books in the background.

Marketing, Podcast

336. The Only 2 Things That Matter if You Want to Nail Your Marketing

Discover the only 2 things that actually matter for consistent sales—without the endless strategy hopping.

read the post →

read the post →

Hot Off The Press!
Binge Our most popular posts

A woman with an afro hairstyle smiles while sitting at a desk with a microphone, headphones around her neck, and a laptop nearby, recording podcast content strategy for online course creators 2026 in a bright, cozy room.

Business, Podcast

335. What You Can Expect in 2026

Uncover the podcast content strategy for online course creators 2026 to connect more deeply with your audience.

read the post →

read the post →

Hot Off The Press!
Binge Our most popular posts

Connect with us on

facebook

Join our vibrant Community of course creators on Instagram and let's build our Freedom Empires together.

Check out OUR 

Insta

stay a while + read

The Blog

elsewhere:

Connect