Hi Reader,

For those of you wondering: I'm sad to report that Peanut the chipmunk didn't make it. 😔 We all tried, and it was looking positive for the first couple days, but it apparently had internal injuries that couldn't be fixed & a concussion. At least it was as comfortable/safe as possible for its passing... 🤷‍♀️🙈🪦

In other news, something I've been noticing a lot lately is a feeling of not-enough-ness due to comparison, or cycles of imposter syndrome & burnout on repeat. I was justing sharing this with someone in the Club today, who said,

She's right though ––she's NOT alone in this. I've struggled with those same feelings on/off over the last 10 years at different phases in my business, and I know other "successful" designers/business owners have too, because it's totally normal when we're constantly comparing our success to someone else's. 😬

Two things my husband reminds me of all the time are:

• "feelings are not facts" meaning, just because we feel like it's true, doesn't mean it is or must be true.
• "Correlation does not equal causation" meaning, just because two things tend to happen together, or are related, it doesn't necessarily also mean that one causes the other.

Examples:

Growth that doesn’t show up on paper still counts. If dollars were the only measure of success, therapists, teachers, and your favorite local coffee shop owner would all be considered failures. 🙃

All that said, I know it’s easy to internalize these things & make them mean something that’s not necessarily true, or mean something that is true but not the whole picture & maybe not even based on something YOU value most, like spending more time with your family/kids/friends/whatever.

I like data too & self-monitoring or tracking is one way I try to make evidence-based decisions in my personal life & in my business. 🙋‍♀️

Metrics do matter. Numbers can tell a story, and they’re often the easiest thing to point to when we’re trying to assess “how things are going.” ...But I also know (personally and from so many conversations with other designers) that when we attach our worth or progress solely to the numbers/metrics, we end up feeling like we’re always coming up short—even when we’re quietly doing the work, growing our skills, and genuinely helping people.

These feelings usually arrive in seasons or cycles, because some seasons do require us to chase income, hustle hard/er, and stabilize, –while others call for rest, recalibration, realignment, or building foundations that don’t pay off right away (financially, at least).

So here are my thoughts on what to do when you find yourself staring down the barrel of not-enough-ness.

What if your definition of success doesn’t have to ignore metrics... but also doesn’t let them sit in the driver’s seat? What if you let numbers get a vote 👍🏻 —but didn’t let them get a veto? 👎🏻

Wins like these that I've seen from some of the members in the Club have:

• Set boundaries for the first time and stick to them
• Raise their rates and not flinch
• Say “no” to a client that didn’t feel right
• Make more decisions with confidence
• Build in buffer time so they could build their business without everything crumbling/burning out

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None of those moments would show up in a Stripe dashboard, but I'll argue ALL DAMN DAY that they’re still huge signs of success & progress. That's a hill I'll happily die on. 🤭

So with all of that in mind, here are a few alternatives to mull over if YOUR metrics are dragging you down:

⚡️ No-BS, no-numbers successes:

• Success is when your values and actions are in alignment. (Not always easy, but its deeply rewarding!)
• Success is freedom—to choose your work, your clients, your schedule, your focus.
• Success is the ability to keep going without constant external validation.
• Success is growth you can feel, even if you can’t measure it yet.
• Success is when the life you’re building fits you better than the one you left behind.

Many of those are relatable for me, specifically, and are metrics I still measure against in my own business because it's NOT all about the numbers for me. Again–– yees, they're important, but they aren't the whole picture!

💡 Other concepts of success without numbers:

• “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou
  ​(Simple. Grounded. Still gives room for ambition.)
• "Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” – John Wooden
  ​(A powerful reframe: effort as a metric.)
• "Success is when the people who know you best respect you the most." – Robin Sharma
  ​(Less about audience size. More about impact.)
• "Success is when your calendar reflects your values." – Unknown
  ​(For those of us building life-first businesses.)
• “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
  ​(This one always makes me smirk, because… relatable.)

Anyway... —now that we’ve officially dismantled half the lies capitalism tries to sell us about success 😅 let’s pivot into some behind-the-scenes updates from my own little corner of the internet! 🤭

😳 Rebranding & Redesigning is HARD

As I've been tinkering with my website redesign on the backend, you might be noticing some updates to things like new font choices, and if you have a really keen eye you might have noticed some slight color adjustments too.

At one time I would've felt a STAGGERING fear at doing these kinds of edits & trials on a LIVE website with 50k+ monthly page views & wayyy more monthly Google impressions. 😂 But now, I actually kind of ...DGAF? For example, right now I'm testing out a new logo font that matches the current heading font style, which I've been wanting to update for a while, –but our own websites always sit on the back burner, right?!

As always, if you see something funky somewhere, let me know! I have a lot of pages to rebuild –like, a scary amount of them... 🫣 – during this overhaul, so it's not possible to catch everything & it's going to take a few months to finish this process myself.

Should I do a whole video on this process & why/how I'm making changes, in the way that I am (live)? 🤭🤔
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📞 Join me tomorrow for a kinda-random AMA!

I'm doing a free AMA group call via Google Meet Thursday at 11am Eastern for anyone that wants to join! So far some of the questions/topics are how I use Claude &/or ChatGPT in my business, anything related to client processes & a few other ideas. We'll meet for about an hour & I'm just gonna answer questions & hang out with whoever shows up while I drink my coffee! ☕️

📊 Report: Web Design Industry Financial Outlook for 2025

I’m excited to share that Diane Whiddon's & my free survey report is now live! 🙌 (No sign-up/subscribe to access it.) We unpacked everything from income trends to runway (savings), budget habits, and how many of us are investing in AI tools this year. It’s the kind of insight that helps you move from "vibes" to facts in your business decisions. Feel free to share it with your fellow designers —it’s yours and theirs to use freely. 🎉

🎥 Live on YouTube – Report Summary

Diane & I will be going over the report together with you LIVE next week! Make sure you subscribe to one of our YouTube channels (YT links are at the bottom of the survey report!) to be notified when we go live –and bring your questions/discussion topics if you have any!
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👩🏻‍🍳 Kitchen updates

Have you been keeping track of all the updates recently? I have! I keep waiting for them to pause release announcements, but they just keep coming. 😂 🤩 As of today, there's at least 44 and the proof is the playlist. 👉🏼

Many of these were quiet releases while I was building the Ultimate Client Portal System course and will already be referenced in the lessons, but a few are big & totally new so new lesson videos are warranted. So, updates are coming soon!

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HAHA – just kidding! (Yes, again.) But instead... I'll share an exclusive tutorial I made for someone in the Club's All-Access group, that walks through how to use Breely for anyone that's considering/hoping jump ship from Acuity, Calendly, or even Cal.

Ever since Christy Price introduced me to it (thank you, Christy!), I've been hooked. It's cheap AND robust, which is a very rare combination. Plus, Gavin, the Co-Founder, is the original guy behind Acuity (& who sold it to Squarespace); I've e-met him & he's awesome!

I've also been suggesting some feature requests they've added, and a few more they're working on adding which is just increasing how impressed I am (& my obsession) with this simple yet robust scheduler system. 🤭

How to use Breely* in ~15 minutes Book 1:1 appointments, classes or workshops; sell packages & subscriptions, get signatures, and start waitlists – with HIPAA compliance & custom automations – for free, or just $7/mo. Not kidding! Find Out Now

That's all for now.
I'll see ya next time! 😁

Katelyn Web Designer & Educator ​Thrivin' on coffee, community, cursing & carefully laid plans!