5 Entrepreneurs. 5 Big Moves. 2 Industry Shifts.

I’ve been following business owners for 15 years now, even before I started my business. It’s always been fascinating to me to study their way of thinking, to see what shifts they make in their business, to read their story, and to watch them grow their business.

I listen to their podcasts, read their books, blogs and newsletters, and follow some on social media. They keep me going when I lose motivation.

They started from nothing and are now making millions and living the life they strategically designed for themselves.

I only learn from the self-made ones, who share their journey, aren’t in this just for the money, and who are into personal growth.

These are the people I listen to and take advice from. They are the ones whose content I engage my mind with, whose lessons I write down, whose words I turn into affirmations for myself so I can start believing that too and operating from that place.

I won’t list them all today, and they change over the years, but I had a fun idea for a new article.

Things have been shifting in the online business industry for some time now, and as we just entered the new year, it seemed like a few big themes occur everywhere.

But these are not predictions. I want to share with you the big moves I’ve noticed a few amazing and successful business owners make recently.

I believe that’s the biggest proof of all for what’s working and where the industry is going. Many people might predict what will happen next, teach you what steps to take next, but at the end of the day, the biggest proof is if they take action in a certain direction.

What I’ll share below is a list of very interesting and even unusual moves, big ones, where money is left on the table, where the entrepreneur followed their heart and did something most other people won’t.

This is inspiring. We’re in business to do what works but also to evolve, to see what’s no longer satisfying us, to close old chapters even if they are still earning millions, to do things differently in order not to rely on algorithms anymore.

So here are a few powerhouses and what they recently announced to their audience:

Jenna Kucher: Sunsetting the Podcast and Starting a Substack

If you don’t know Jenna Kutcher, you may want to check out her Instagram (1M followers), website, and podcast (900+ episodes, 115M downloads).

She’s a marketing expert and teaches online business in a genuine way. She’s done very well with her courses, email newsletter, social media presence, and – of course – the Goal Digger Podcast.

The show is one of the top ones in the Marketing and Business category, and it’s been running forever. Which also means it’s been a massive part of her discovery process and email list growth, which ultimately leads to revenue and loyal fans.

Recently, she made a big announcement – she made a decision she’s been sitting on for a while now, and she shared it in the latest podcast episode.

She won’t be releasing any new episodes from now on. She’s consciously stepping from something that’s woking so well, because she craves more peace, time and freedom.

As she said, she’s not disappearing, she’s expanding. Her courses and email list are thriving, and she can now be even more present in those spaces. 

She wants to enjoy offline living more, to spend more time with her family, and to follow the deep knowing that it’s time to sunset the show (at least for now).

One new thing she’s doing, though, is starting a Substack. If you don’t know it, that’s a subscription-based publishing platform. Creators use it for articles and newsletters, and it’s great for forming a community and nurturing your people, as well as getting paid for it.

By the way, she’s not the only person getting on Substack. I’ve seen others do it, and I mean big names.

The reasons are usually that: 

• they don’t want to rely on social media algorithms (most posts don’t get seen on IG anymore and there’s little to do about it);
• creating another income stream (recurring one);
• community building;
• having control over their audience and direct access to them.

What do you think?

Have you considered Substack for a newsletter or a place to create content and monetize it?

Amy Porterfield: Closing Down a $60M Program

The next entrepreneur I want to talk about is Amy Portferfield, another Internet marketing guru, the host of a top-ranked podcast, and a bestselling author. She’s been in business for 16 years, has served 100K students through her programs, and makes 85% of her revenue from just 2 courses.

The big news she just shared is that she’s closing down her signature program, Digital Course Academy. That’s the course that she launches once a year and which has earned her $60M so far.

She asked herself some hard questions, is willing to make less money for a season, sit in uncertainty, look inexperienced and let go of something great, to create something even greater.

Instead, she’s stepping into deeper work, she wants to work with female entrepreneurs, in particular, and help them go from 6 to 7 figures. Next, she’s launching a coaching program focused on online marketing, built specifically for the women in business who want to double their revenue. 

She’s doing this because it feels aligned, and – again – she’s following a soul pull.

As you can imagine, this takes courage. It’s not logical, and most entrepreneurs simply wouldn’t take this risk.

Digital Course Academy was not only bringing millions with each launch, but creating real impact in the lives of the students who took it. There’s a funnel for it that works incredibly well, and this could have continued for many, many years, bringing more revenue than most other people in business would ever see.

But Amy decided to step into her next era, to follow her mission, to create an even bigger impact. And that meant closing an old chapter so she can enter a new one.

The goal here is to serve people in the best way possible, and to stay true to yourself in business.

Victoria Washington: Walking Away from a Profitable Membership

The next bold move of a female boss also has to do with closing down her most profitable offer. That’s Victoria Washington, who I considered one of my money mentors till some time ago.

She had this amazing money membership, with thousands of women inside, and was hosting other events and launching more offers around money mindset. She went deep into the topic, in a way that has helped me shift some limiting beliefs and open myself to more abundance.

As she replaced spirituality with religion, though, she was called to close down the membership (even though it was super profitable, the members were active and excited to keep learning from Victoria).

She built a 7-figure business and appeared successful on the outside, but was spiritually bankrupt on the inside, as she shares. And in 2022, she surrendered to Jesus and left new age spirituality behind.

She now leads a community of women who walk in obedience of God through her book, ministry, and digital platforms. She’s also about to launch a new membership.

With this pivot, she lost many followers, confused existing members of her community, and even made some angry (those who are spiritual and didn’t like how she’s now against everything she was teaching till recently).

I don’t judge that. I admire how she found the courage to welcome God into her life and follow a new path, one that not everyone agrees with. While the religious aspect doesn’t resonate with me that much, I still follow her journey as I think it’s inspiring. She still releases cool offers, grows her community (this time with the exact type of women she can help the most), and spreads her message.

Gary Vaynerchuk: Publishing Long-Form Content on Substack

Gary Vee is a no-nonsense entrepreneur, investor, and internet personality known for his hustle energy and real-talk business advice.

He started VaynerMedia, a digital marketing agency that works with huge brands to build social presence and strategy.

A big part of his influence comes from social content. He makes daily videos, podcasts, and posts about entrepreneurship, mindset, branding, and modern marketing.

He’s also an early investor in companies like Twitter, Uber, and Snapchat, showing he’s not only a maker, but a smart performer in the tech world. He notices trends early on and is a good source of information when it comes to predictions in the online business industry.

In a recent LinkedIn post, he just wrote that long form content is a huge opportunity, and invited people to follow him on Substack

So, yet another big name in the industry moving to a platform that allows you to own your audience, that doesn’t depend on algorithms, that is monetized through a subscription model. A private channel to publish long-form content, connect with people, and earn.

Christina Galbato: Closing Down Million-Dollar Courses and Switching Niches

Christina Galbato is a successful influencer and travel blogger, who was earning 8 figures from teaching people how to start a business and build an audience.

A year or so ago, she retired her 2 most popular courses, after 7 years and 20,000 students. She went through a challenging year and had a spiritual awakening, and shifted her focus in business. Her purpose went from teaching others how to build a business, to guiding them to live well, inside and out.

She launched the WELLthy podcast, where she has conversations about mindset, wellness, spirituality, self-mastery, and building wealth in alignment.

She also organizes in-person events for women to form connections and expand, and releases workshops and programs on building a soul-aligned life.

Industry Shifts

So these were the 5 entrepreneurs I wanted to bring to your attention, and the bold moves they made lately.

One thing they have in common is that they all left income-generating activities/platforms/niches/programs, and embraced uncertainty, following their hearts’ desires.

And the 2 industry shifts we see in action here are:

• Authenticity – people online crave realness. They are tired of AI content, so they appreciate originality. They also want you to teach what you actually know and are good at, and not just be in a profitable niche and create offers with money in mind. They want to learn, to see your actual face, to hear about your insecurities and how you overcame them, to take a look behind your business or see your messy life at home, while you’re sharing tips with them on your chosen topic. And if you want to switch niches, they’d be fine with it. They want you to talk about what you’re genuinely passionate about. They want transparency, they want actionable advice from someone who knows their stuff.
• Community – I see this a lot and hear it from experts – community is one of the keywords in online business now and we better pay attention. Social media alone doesn’t cut it anymore due to unpredictable algorithms, so most entrepreneurs are looking for alternatives. They also double down on email marketing (and nurture their email lists more than ever). But the new things you can try include Substack or any other platform similar to it, launching a membership, or starting an actual community (using Podia, Circle or any other place that offers these features).

Over to you now.

What can you learn from the bold moves listed above? What came to your mind when you were reading these examples? Is there a voice in your head guiding you to a specific shift in your business?

Let me know.