9 years, 9 mistakes & the Lessons That Built Champagne Collective
If you’ve been here a while, you’ve seen me share the messy parts of entrepreneurship: the micromanaging, the scarcity mindset, saying yes when I should’ve said no. None of it was pretty, but all of it shaped the business we’ve built today at Champagne Collective.
Because growth doesn’t come from getting it perfect. It comes from getting it wrong, owning it, and doing better the next time.
Here are a few lessons from nine years in business that I wish I’d learned sooner, so you don’t have to.
1. Control isn’t leadership.
When I came back from mat leave, I tried to fix every detail myself.
What we really needed were updated systems, not more control.
Trusting your team is the only way to scale.
2. Scarcity creates chaos.
When we lost clients early on, I panicked, hiring too fast, taking on red-flag clients “for cash flow.”
That short-term mindset almost broke the business.
Sustainable growth only happens with alignment.
3. Strength doesn’t mean pretending you’re fine.
For years, I thought being “strong” meant never admitting mistakes.
But that doesn’t make you strong. It makes you brittle.
Vulnerability is what builds trust, with your team and yourself.
4. Saying yes to everything isn’t value.
Extra calls, weekend work, last-minute favors…
I thought over-delivering would make us indispensable.
It made us exhausted. Boundaries create value.
5. Your gut is a business tool.
I’ve ignored mine more than once, keeping the wrong people around because I didn’t want to be “the bad guy.”
Every time, it cost us more than it saved.
Listen to your gut. Every. Single. Time.
6. “Big” doesn’t mean profitable.
I used to obsess over looking “big” instead of focusing on staying profitable.
Likes, followers, engagement …none of it paid the bills. Margins do.
Don’t chase shiny metrics; chase sustainability.
7. Peacekeeping kills boundaries.
Letting things slide with clients to avoid conflict always backfired.
When boundaries aren’t clear, they get crossed.
Establish them from the start to protect your peace and your profits.
8. Hustle culture isn’t a badge of honor.
I used to believe more hours worked meant more revenue.
It doesn’t.
Strategy, delegation, and rest do more for your bottom line than burnout ever will.
9. Mistakes aren’t mistakes. They’re data.
The biggest shift came when I stopped labeling everything as a failure and started seeing it as information.
Every wrong turn built the foundation for what Champagne Collective is now.
If you take one thing from this: Growth doesn’t happen in the highlight reel. It happens in the lessons you’re brave enough to face and the humility to evolve from them.
Here’s to every misstep that made the next step possible. 🥂
✨ If you’re in that “messy middle” season where the lessons are loud, the boundaries are blurry, and you’re trying to grow without losing yourself…you don’t have to do it alone.
Work with me 1:1 to refine your systems, rebuild your confidence, and grow the business you actually want to run.
Or, if you’re ready to hand off the backend chaos, our Champagne Collective VA team can step in so you can finally breathe again.
Because every next-level version of your business starts with the courage to ask for help.