Hi Reader!

Happy June! I’m just getting back to normal after a ridiculously busy couple of months where I over committed myself to too many things on top of expanding my team. It’s been hard but also so frickin’ fun!

I got to participate in some amazing conversations, meet some great people, celebrate amazing wins, and play with some really fun new tools. I’ve lost hours making apps, testing workflows, and building people’s AI Boardrooms and have loved every minute of it.

At one point in time, I logged into Kit and the number I saw made me so happy I literally bounced in my chair clapping like a child.

Caleb poked his head into my office to ask what I was so happy about.

Now, if I was trying to sell him (or you) a "How to Build Your List" offer I might have pointed at this.

Look, my list grew by 8,675% in the last 7 days!

But if you know anything about math, you'd probably give that figure a little side eye.

I could have pointed at this more conservative, yet still impressive number instead.

Woohoo! My list grew by 458.2% in the last 30 days!

Of course, being the math-y guy he is Caleb would have immediately asked "how many subscribers is that?"

And he would have been right to, as you are. Because a random percentage number with no context doesn't really tell you much.

Were they real people or did my form get hit by a bot attack (again)?

Did I go from 10,000 to 55,800 subscribers? (that's a pretty nice jump). Or it was it 10 to 56? (not so impressive).

Regardless, what I’d really want to know is whether or not that trend kept going.

In this case, it meant going from about 3,500 people to 3,876 people.

I’m pretty chuffed about those numbers 👆and they got even better from there; but that upward trend line didn’t last.

The point is, it’s really easy to make numbers look impressive when you’re the one choosing what to show and what context to include.

I think about this every time I see a message like this pop up in my feed — “I made $50,000 on my first launch to a 100-person list. Want to see how I did it?”

Sure, I’d love to see how you did it. But what I really want to know is whether you were able to replicate those results or not, and if the offer was for something other than “here’s how to make $50k from a small list.” Because if you haven't and it wasn’t then your information isn't worth much, tbh.

The number I really care about is the one you can repeat. And that's what you should care about too.

Not the promise to 10X your list, triple your revenue, or get you 5,000 subscribers in two days just by walking out your front door. But the proof that it’ll work for you and your business at the stage your business is at, with the audience you have.

It’s super easy to get drawn into flashy numbers, and big promises.

A few months ago I was swayed by a fun and exciting marketing plan my coach proposed. A social media auction. He’d done it with a ton of his clients and everyone seemed to get really great results. It felt like a no-brainer. An almost guaranteed win.

Yet every time I sat down to move the plan forward, I hesitated.

So I brought it to my Board.

Within minutes they named exactly what my gut had been trying to tell me. The tactic was built for a business with a large, warm social audience; hundreds of engaged followers who'd create bidding energy and social proof. At the time I had about 2,000 email subscribers and a near zero social presence. The math that made it work for someone else made it awkward for me. Plus, there was a positioning problem: auctioning off a diagnostic service I charge $5,500 for runs the risk of greatly devaluing the service.

The tactic wasn't wrong (it worked for someone!), it just wasn't the right path for me.

That's the thing about flashy results — they're always true in some way. The question is whether they're repeatable for you, with your audience, at your stage. And that's genuinely hard to answer on your own, because you can't see your own blind spots.

That's why I built my board.

To tell me what I need to know and help me see what I can't.

Next time you're considering a tactic, course, or offer, that sounds good on paper, it's worth asking who do you have in your corner that can actually tell you whether it's right for you? Not a cheer squad telling you to "go for it". Someone who can ask you the hard questions and give you clear context and deep consideration.

If the answer is nobody, that's a gap you’re going to want to fill.

xo,
Sandra

Ps – I filled the gap with my AI Advisory Board; A curated room of expert advisors who know my business and weigh in whenever I need a reality check. If you want one but aren't sure where to start, I can help you build it. Curate the Room is 50% off right now. You can grab it here.

Or if you're a bit more tech savvy and want to build it yourself, grab my free AI Boardroom Blueprint here.