“Launching in the online world is just like the male orgasm…push, push, push, push….explode!”
I was talking with a colleague about the benefits of keeping your offerings on evergreen versus the live launch model, and that’s what came out of my mouth.
What if we launched like we were riding the wave of the most delicious multi-orgasmic experience that someone with a vulva was having instead of someone with a penis?
I have nothing against penises. It’s just that the world has been run by and for people who have them for too long.
It’s time for a refreshing new take on a lot of things, IMHO.
One of them is launching.
Here’s what I learned from the online marketing veterans about launching:
Do as many things as possible with as much energy as possible for as long as possible, and push really hard so you can get the best results possible.
I’ve done launches like that.
And you know what?
Sometimes they’ve worked. And sometimes they haven’t.
But 100% of the time, I’ve crossed the finish line and collapsed (physically, emotionally or energetically), felt disillusioned and disconnected with my business, and said “never again.”
And for the launches where we did all.the.things and they tanked, I’ve wondered: What am I doing all of this stuff for anyway?
And for the ones where we hit or exceeded our goals, I’ve wondered: Is all of the pushing, anxiety, caffeine, snacking, and exhaustion worth it?
Here’s what I know:
HOW we do things matters just as much, if not more than WHAT we do.
The how matters to the results, but it also matters to our wellbeing.
It turns out our wellbeing matters the most. (You don’t have to go through a long-term illness or have someone you care about go through one more than once to get clear on this.)
The old model where we sacrifice our wellbeing at the altar of “success” needs to go.
And in its place we need to plant seeds of:
- Well-tended bodies that business owners live inside, relations relationships within and without companies
- Relationality instead of transactionality with our teams, our customers, and our businesses themselves (a nod to Nisha Moodley for inspiring me with her insights on this)
- Business practices that feel good in addition to being effective
- Alignment with nature itself as our guide to the most regenerative abundance possible (a reminder that this is not outside of us—we are nature)
I’ve been in the exploration and experimentation process with these new ideas since 2017 and I have to tell you: the results (invisible and visible) have been astounding.
Looking at business through the lens of our biology and the greater natural world has helped me see new possibilities and strategies that are more life-giving than some of the traditional ones I used to think I had to ascribe to.
Inspired by this new lens, we’re trying out something we haven’t done before but which feels totally natural (which is how I know it’s perfect!)
Instead of doing a 3-part video series or a challenge or a webinar, I’m teaching a 3-day, intimate masterclass where we’re going to dive into how we can switch our fuel source as business owners from stress and pressure to joy and wholeness.
The 3-day masterclass is called Replenish and you can sign up here.
Today, I shall leave you with the question I’m pondering, so we can ponder together:
What would a business model based on the orgasmic experience of someone with a vulva instead of someone with a penis look like?
Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts!
P.S. After this post came out for the first time, I received a couple of messages from people saying they’d read a similar concept in Adrienne Maree Brown’s book Pleasure Activism. While I’m a HUGE Adrienne Maree Brown fan, I actually haven’t read Pleasure Activism in its entirety and have yet to read the part that folks felt this blog was similar to. Therefore, any similarities between this post and Adrienne Maree Brown’s words in her book are by chance. That being said, I highly recommend all of her work, especially Emergent Strategy, which is one of my favorite books of all time.
Kate Northrup is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, mother, and founder and CEO of The Origin Company, which reaches hundreds of thousands globally. Kate is committed to supporting ambitious women to light up the world without burning themselves out. She’s the author of Do Less, the Do Less Planner System creator, and runs The Origin Membership, which helps business owners grow their business while doing less.
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