Let’s flashback to August 2010.
The day I walked in the doors of my very last job…
I didn’t walk in with the excitement of something new.
I walked in with my head down, shoulders slumped in defeat.
5 months earlier, I had walked out the doors of my previous job with the intention to start my own business, but just couldn’t make it work.
I’d been following the standard advice to do something practical, do something that would make money, so I offered web design — it doesn’t get more practical than that. But I still couldn’t sell it!
What was wrong with me?
I’d get maybe one client every 2-3 months that would bring in $3-7K, but I instantly spent all of that just to deliver my services and keep the business open.
Worse still, I had to chase clients who tried to nickel-and-dime me over every single piece of their website.
Every button.
Every word on the page.
It just wasn’t what I imagined. I wasn’t having fun and I was running out of money.
So just five months after quitting my job, I gave up on my dream and got another 9-5.
This time it felt much worse. The instant I stepped into that HR office and started filling out all those dreadful, soul-sucking forms, I knew this was the last time I would ever work for someone else again — the last time I would start my work day by putting on heels.
So I invested a big chunk of each paycheck into learning from all the OG online business gurus — Brendon Burchard, Jeff Walker, Eben Pagan — and driving hundreds of miles to their in-person events…
At one of those events, I bumped into my client, Michelle Schubnel. She invited me to speak on web design at her event a couple months later… and asked me what I would sell?
I looked at her blankly. Sell?
I couldn’t admit that I had nothing to sell, so the first words out of my mouth were, “How about my Build Your Site, Launch Your Business program?”
She said, “Perfect!”
And I responded, “Done!”
But the truth was it was far from done… and I had no idea how the heck I was going to pull this off!
My inner voice was screaming, “What did you just do?”
I had never spoken on-stage before so needless to say I didn’t have a talk…
I’d never created a program before…
I didn’t have an audience or an email list.
And my experience with online business was limited to just a handful of web design clients.
Ready or not, here I come!
I quickly discovered that the only way to get ready for something is to actually do it…
Enter my first group coaching program: Build Your Site, Launch Your Business.
Clearly I didn’t know anything about choosing a compelling name…
Or designing a compelling logo (Yup, I made this bad boy myself. 🙂
But I DID have a laptop, an internet connection and a desire to help people with my skills and expertise — which I discovered are THE ONLY 3 THINGS you need to get started…
Not to mention that looming date on the calendar to get it all done!
I wished it was a year later — because less than 3 months didn’t feel like a whole lot of time to figure everything out.
But I had made the leap and the only option was to fly.
I was living on Sawtelle Blvd in the Mar Vista neighborhood of LA… renting half the top floor of a family house.
My office overlooked a long-neglected cherimoya tree and I could hear the urban chickens clucking away somewhere beyond my sight.
I remember staring at that tree for hours — as a way to take my mind off the blank page in front of me — and listening to those chickens who seemed to be mocking me.
“Still nothing?” they clucked.
“You better get on with it…”
And then, “Who you calling chicken?”
ok, Ok, OOOOOKKK…
There was no choice, but to write.
The weeks flew by until it was time to get in the car and drive those 5 long hours to San Francisco — a trip I had made so many times before…
I crashed at a friend’s house and made my way to the venue. The moment had finally arrived!
I sat in the back of the room cramming my notes until the last minute…“Let’s welcome my good friend Marisa Murgatroyd to the stage.”
I looked out at the 75 people in the audience… and they looked back….
No, they stared back at me…
I started talking to the soundtrack in my head — I can’t do this. I CAN do this. I can’t do this. I CAN do this. I can’t do this.
A few people nodded.
Wait! Maybe. I. Can. Do. This…
A few more nods.
Maybe they’re even liking this?
I managed to get to the end and fumble through my offer…
3 people bought.
Not what I was hoping for, but at least I made some sales!
A week later, Michelle decided to give me one more chance and hosted me on a webinar to her audience, which attracted another 100 people.
This was long before Zoom and I remember how strange it was speaking into the abyss — wondering if people were really there and really listening?
But I got through it and made 4 more sales — bringing me to 7!
I really wanted 8, so I remember calling and messaging a bunch of people I had met on the event circuit until I got that last sale…
Almost 200 no’s and 8 yeses… but I did it — I designed and launched my first program!
I was now a course creator!
And you never know what will happen when you take life-changing action.
Flashforward to today and those 8 students grew into over 12,000 students!
It still amazes me that I’ve inspired my students to take over 500,000 hours of action — and it all started from me saying yes long before I was actually ready…
And, no, the path from 8 to 12,000 wasn’t easy and it didn’t happen overnight.
I’ll be sharing a few more Throwback Thursday (#TBT) moments in the hopes of showing you how humble (and even embarrassing) beginnings lead to extraordinary results…
Which leads me to my next story…
Throwback Thursday Series
Throwback Thursday #2: Strike Two — As If One Failed Attempt Weren’t Enough!
Throwback Thursday #3: My First Semi-Hit — Insights Gained From My Message to Money Program
Throwback Thursday #4: The Win That Came Disguised as a Fail
Throwback Thursday #5: You Did What?!!?
Throwback Thursday #6: This Put Me On the Map
Throwback Thursday #7: Me? Do a Live Event?
Throwback Thursday #8: My First Upsell
Throwback Thursday #9: Course ✅ SaaS Next?
Throwback Thursday #10: 1 Launch > 4 Big Lessons
Throwback Thursday #11: Message to Millions
Throwback Thursday #12: Website in a Weekend