Ep. 42 Owning Your Success as an Online Business Owner
I talk a lot on this podcast about things we don't discuss enough in online business. And a huge one? Owning our successes.
It's so funny because we're very quick to post when things are hard, when we're struggling, burnt out, confused, or in the middle of the mess. But when something good happens? We hold it close to our chest and get quiet.
Not because we're not proud, but because we don't want to seem braggy or arrogant or like we're rubbing it in. We worry that people will roll their eyes or think we're being fake or out of touch. We worry we'll hurt someone's feelings because we're doing well but they're struggling.
But here's the truth: you have worked really freaking hard for every single win in your business, and you deserve to be proud of that.
Today's episode is a heart-to-heart reminder that you are allowed (and encouraged) to celebrate yourself. You should be proud of what you've accomplished, no matter how big or small. And honestly? Sharing those wins might be exactly what somebody else needs to hear right now.
Because business is really hard. And celebrating your successes doesn't make you arrogant. It makes you human.
Or listen on your favorite platform: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | YouTube
You're Allowed to Celebrate Your Wins (And You Should)
I talk a lot on this podcast about things we don't discuss enough in online business. And a huge one? Owning our successes.
It's so funny because we're very quick to post when things are hard, when we're struggling, burnt out, confused, or in the middle of the mess. But when something good happens? We hold it close to our chest and get quiet.
Not because we're not proud, but because we don't want to seem braggy or arrogant or like we're rubbing it in. We worry that people will roll their eyes or think we're being fake or out of touch. We worry we'll hurt someone's feelings because we're doing well but they're struggling.
But here's the truth: you have worked really freaking hard for every single win in your business, and you deserve to be proud of that.
Today's episode is a heart-to-heart reminder that you are allowed (and encouraged) to celebrate yourself. You should be proud of what you've accomplished, no matter how big or small. And honestly? Sharing those wins might be exactly what somebody else needs to hear right now.
Because business is really hard. And celebrating your successes doesn't make you arrogant. It makes you human.
The Conditioning That Keeps Us Quiet
A lot of us have been conditioned to believe that if we talk about our wins, we're bragging, being self-centered, arrogant, or attention-seeking. Fill in the blank with whatever negative label you'd like.
There's also this unspoken online business guilt that creeps in. If you're doing well, you should keep it to yourself because you don't want to make anyone else feel bad. Or there's the opposite fear: that people will think you're lying or exaggerating because they've seen too many fake overnight success stories online.
So no matter what you do, you can't win.
Instead, we over-correct. We underplay things. We say:
"It's not a big deal"
"I just got lucky"
"It wasn't that hard"
We really undercut our own successes.
But the reality is it was hard. You've poured your time, your energy, your heart into this business. You've built something from nothing.
Downplaying that doesn't make you humble. It just robs you of the chance to feel proud of what you've created.
If you wouldn't hesitate to celebrate with a friend for the same achievement, why would you hold back on celebrating yourself?
Celebrating Isn't About Ego
Celebrating yourself can feel like it's just a big ego boost, but it's not. It's about acknowledging: I've worked hard for this and it's paying off, and it's cool to be proud of myself.
When you allow yourself to celebrate, it reinforces self-trust. It helps you build momentum so you can keep doing cool things you're proud of because you start to believe, "Okay, I did this once. I can do it again."
Without pausing to acknowledge your progress, entrepreneurship can feel like an endless treadmill. You're always chasing the next goal without taking any time to appreciate how far you've come.
Let me tell you, I know this from experience. I've told this story on the podcast before: I didn't realize I'd had my biggest month ever in business (July 2019) until several months later. I was so busy trying to keep up on the treadmill that I didn't even check my bank account or my sales to realize, "Oh my gosh, I just hit a huge milestone."
Your Wins Don't Have to Be Massive
Your wins don't have to be huge to be worth celebrating. All of these count:
Signing one really aligned client
Finishing a project you're super proud of
Hitting some sort of consistency goal with posting on social media
Even just surviving to the end of a tough week
I can promise you that your people, your village, your community want to celebrate with you.
Those moments matter because they remind you why you started. Those little wins are what keep you going if you take the time to celebrate and acknowledge them.
It's not about shouting from the rooftops, "Hey, look at me! Look how amazing I am!" It's about letting yourself look around and say, "Wow, I built this. And this is really cool."
Calling Out Rain Cloud Culture
I want to take a second to really blatantly call out what I like to call the "rain cloud culture" of online business.
Social media, always and especially right now, feels really heavy. If you scroll through Threads or TikTok for two seconds, there is so much Debbie Downer stuff:
Business is slow
Everything's changing
I'm exhausted
The world's on fire
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah
I think those conversations are important. Everyone's allowed to vent. People are allowed to use their social media for whatever purpose they want. It's healthy and important for us to have safe spaces to be really real and authentic about the hard stuff. I am 10,000% on board with that.
But if that's all we share, then:
It paints a really one-sided picture of what entrepreneurship looks like
You get stuck in a rut of looking at everything so negatively and frankly just always finding something to complain about
Because if you're looking for something to complain about, you will always find something to complain about.
That constant negativity can really trick you into thinking everyone's struggling or success isn't possible anymore. That's why it's so important for us to balance that narrative. To show that yes, business is a struggle a lot of the time. And it can also be really amazing, exciting, fulfilling, and easy some of the time.
Sharing your wins does not make you out of touch. It can be a tool to give other people hope and remind them of what's possible.
I can't tell you how many times I've been having a hard day or struggling with my business, and a friend or even somebody I don't know posts about something really cool that happened to them or a big goal they met. Being able to send them a like or a congrats not only cheers me up because I feel like I'm sharing in someone else's success, but it reminds me: "Hey, that's possible for me too."
We need more proof that good things still happen in this space. And it's okay for us to talk about that.
My Personal Story: The Car I Didn't Want to Celebrate
I want to share a short but really specific story about how this not wanting to celebrate our wins publicly has shown up for me this year.
In July, I purchased a new vehicle. It was super exciting. It was something I'd been working toward for years. It's my dream car, a huge personal milestone for me, and a big symbol of growth and what my work on my business has provided for myself and my family.
When I went to pick it up from the dealership and drive it home, it was a highlight of my life. But I didn't want to share about it online.
I mentioned it in a few emails and some social posts kind of in a storytelling way, but I really did not feel comfortable sharing a photo of me with my new car and saying, "Hey look, Mom, I made it!"
Why? Because I was afraid that people would think:
I was bragging
I was being performative
Or this really hyper-specific one: that my husband must have paid for it (which is so dumb, like no one has ever given me a reason to think that, but those are the stories we make up in our heads)
I know my audience would have been excited for me. They are the type of people (you are the type of people) who want to celebrate others.
That's kind of what hit me and gave me the idea for this episode. If me, someone who regards myself as fairly confident, grounded, and self-aware, still struggles to celebrate such a huge win publicly, everyone else has to be doing the same thing.
That was a big wake-up call for me. Not only do I need to celebrate my own successes, I need to help encourage everyone else to celebrate theirs.
So that's what we're doing today.
You Can Be Proud AND Humble
This fear of people thinking we're selfish, not humble, ungrateful, or whatever is just so silly.
You can be proud of yourself and really stoked about your accomplishments AND also be grateful, humble, and selfless at the same time. Those things can coexist.
It's time for us to reframe what it means to own our success in the online space.
It's not about showing off. It's about sharing the truth. And sometimes that truth is that business is hard. And sometimes that truth is that you kicked butt and have something huge worth celebrating, and your people want to hear about it.
It's saying: "I worked really hard for this and I deserve a pat on the back." Full stop.
Why Celebrating Matters
When you celebrate your wins, you're not only validating your own effort (which is so, so, so important, especially as women and moms and all of the things that we just don't do enough in our lives), but you're also modeling what's possible for others.
You have no idea how many people are following you silently and thinking, "I hope I have a business like hers one day."
Somebody will see your post or hear your story and think, "Wow, if she could do that, I bet I could too."
What an amazing impact to have on another person.
Success Isn't Always Financial
There's also a lot of power in remembering that success is not always financial.
For me lately, it was buying a car, and yes, that is financial. But I've also had wins that are:
Noticing that I've shifted my mindset around something and thinking, "Wow, this thing would have been so much more difficult for me to navigate or would have hit me harder before. Now I've grown mentally and have the tools to handle that."
Finally saying no to clients who are not a good fit
Taking a break when you need one
Finally just feeling at peace in your business for the first time in a long time
Success looks different for everyone, and all of it, no matter how big or small, deserves to be celebrated.
You Deserve to Celebrate
Entrepreneurship is one of the hardest things we will do in our lives. When something goes wrong, we deserve to be able to vent about it. But when something goes right? We deserve to celebrate it.
The people who matter most will be happy for you. And if they're not happy, or they think you're bragging, or have any of those negative thoughts? Those are not your people anyway. That's a blessing-release situation.
You're not bragging. Acknowledging your own hard work is not bragging.
By sharing your wins, you're adding a little more light to a space that sometimes feels pretty dark and heavy.
Your Reminder To Take Up Space
You are allowed to take up space in your own story. You've earned it. You don't need to justify it. And your people want to celebrate your wins with you.
We need more people celebrating what's going right, not just lasering in on what's going wrong and then minimizing our own successes.
So if you've had a win recently, no matter how big or small (whether it's "I finally got my kids to preschool on time" or "I booked a $10,000 client" or anything in between), I want to hear about it.
DM me on Instagram and tell me about it. I would love, love, love to celebrate with you.
Remember: Your wins matter. Your hard work matters. And you deserve to be proud.
🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned In The Episode:
➡️ Follow me on Instagram @spechtand.co
➡️ Grab The Stand Out Brand Foundations Workbook
➡️ Book Your Stand Out Brand Strategy Session (use code SFBPOD for $100 off)
➡️ Book A Brand Chat
🎧 Listen to episode 42 of The Six Figure Brand Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube
