This is It: The Philosophy that Shatters Glass Ceilings by Erica
Nash
Scared Money Don't Make Money: Why Bold Hiring Paid Off (And What I Wish I'd Known First) by Sam Sarsten
Bold Moves + Breakthroughs
The Intimacy of Business Finances by Megan Evans Carving a Path to Success
by Darcie Brodsky
From the Founder
When you start asking people about their bold moves and breakthroughs, they always start with fear. This isn’t a surprise. For it to be bold, it has to be a little risky
Riot Creative Studio is built on the idea that we can create more impact when we are fearlessly creative, but don’t misunderstand In our case, fearless does not mean without fear Instead it’s more scared but let’s do it anyway When we allow ourselves to dream big and chase after those dreams with an almost reckless abandon, there’s a certain magic that happens Things start to change WE start to change
The bold moves begin to pay off and lead to breakthroughs that we never thought possible. Financial breakthroughs. Emotional breakthroughs Personal and professional breakthroughs Nothing is off limits if we lean into our bold moves with a sense of curiosity and almost child-like wonder.
This issue of Riot Magazine features stories of business owners who did just that
It is my sincere hope that as you grow your business, you have the faith to see past the fear, that you can make those bold moves and endure the in-between with curiosity and wonder, so that when you make it to the breakthrough, it’s nothing but sheer celebration
Erica Nash Founder, Riot Creative Studio
We replay old conversations, dissect past failures, and spend countless hours worrying about potential scenarios that might never happen This mental gymnastics both exhaust us and prevents us from experiencing the only moment we truly have: right now
"This is It" isn't about ignoring the need for plans or not learning from history. It's about understanding that true breakthrough happens when we fully inhabit our present experience It's about recognizing that this moment right here, right now deserves our full attention.
When you start asking successful entrepreneurs about their bold moves, fear always enters the conversation. But here's the revelatory twist: fear isn't the enemy. It's the gatekeeper to your most significant breakthroughs.
Think of fear like a bouncer. It's not there to stop you; it's there to test your commitment. The "This is It" philosophy doesn't suggest eliminating fear. Instead, it invites you to dance with it. To look fear in the eye and say, "I see you, and I'm doing this anyway "
When you fully commit to this moment, something magical happens Your decisions become clearer Your creativity flows more freely Your intuition sharpens
Imagine approaching every business challenge not with a cluttered mind filled with "what-ifs" but with the laserfocused attention of someone who understands that this is it. No rehearsals. No do-overs. Just pure, unfiltered engagement with the present.
Breaking Glass Ceilings, One Moment at a Time
Glass ceilings aren't just about external limitations They're often constructed within our own minds built from past narratives, societal expectations, and our own self-imposed restrictions "This is It" is your hammer, ready to shatter these invisible barriers.
By choosing to be fully present, you're making a declaration: I am not defined by my history, nor am I bound by what ifs. I am capable right now.
Breakthroughs aren't necessarily massive, earth-shattering events. They're the accumulation of moments where you chose to be brave, to be present and say this is it.
Financial breakthroughs. Emotional transformations. Professional quantum leaps. They all begin with the same fundamental shift: fully showing up for this moment
This isn't just a philosophy. It's an invitation and a challenge to step into a version of yourself that isn’t chained by waiting or wishing away today To recognize that every breath, every decision, every interaction is it There are no rehearsals. No waiting for the "perfect" moment.
The moment is now And this is it
As you navigate the complex landscape of business and personal growth, remember that there is beauty and adventure in not controlling every outcome, but in your ability to be fully, courageously present This is it Are you ready?
FromthePortfolio:ButterLeafCustomCatering
Butter Leaf Custom Catering is a private catering company in Columbus, Ohio and owned by Carrie Young. Carrie provides unique eating experiences that rival the best restaurants and wanted her branding to reflect that. We went for an elevatedbut-hand-drawn look inspired by art nouveau stained glass.
The Anatomy of a Bold Move
Big breakthroughs don’t just happen. They start with discomfort, a little chaos, and a lot of trust. We’re pulling back the curtain on one bold move to show you exactly how scary (and worth it) it can be. This is it.
Step1:TheStuckMoment Whereitallstarted.
Themomentyourealizedsomethingwasn’tworking,or thatyou’dhitaceiling Thiscouldbefeelingdisconnected fromyourbrand,strugglingtoraiseprices,orclingingto asafebutstaleoffer
Step2:TheScaryDecision Theboldcall
Whatyoudecidedtochange,despitefearoruncertainty Thisisthemomentyourecognizedthatplayingsafewas costingyoumorethantherisk.
Step3:TheActionStep Movingfromideatoexecution
Howyouactuallymadethemove,imperfectlyor otherwise.Thiscouldbesendingascaryemail,raising yourprices tosomethingmoresustainable,goingliveto announcethepivot,orfinallyhittingpublish.
Step4:TheBreakthrough Theoutcome(expectedornot.)
Theafter:whatchanged,howyoufelt,andwhatripple effectsfollowed.Sometimesit’simmediatewins, sometimesit’sunexpectedclarityoropportunity.
ScaredMoneyDon'tMakeMoney:WhyBoldHiringPaidOff(And WhatIWishI'dKnownFirst)
SAM SARSTEN // LOCAL SEO ACADEMY // LOCALSEOACADEMY CO
Where Fear Begins
It was June 2024, I was $10,000 behind my gross revenue goal for the year and I'd somehow lost over $1,000 in June My stomach dropped as I stared at QuickBooks. The voice in my head the one that sounded suspiciously like my parents fighting about bills when I was growing up screamed that I'd made a terrible mistake trying to build a team.
Six months later, I closed out the year with over $125,000 in gross revenue no more months taking a loss either. What changed? I remembered a saying I'd once heard: "scared money don't make money." But being fearless okay, less scared wasn't the biggest lesson In fact, it's not even the lesson I want you to learn
Like many American children, I grew up watching my parents live paycheck-to-paycheck Money conversations in our house always centered around one theme: there's never enough. This scarcity mindset followed me into adulthood and, naturally, into my business. When clients started flooding in okay, trickling in and my workload started becoming overwhelming, my instinct wasn't to hire help No, it was to work harder, sleep less, and somehow do it all myself that's how I got through college, right?
Stress has a way of becoming physical I found myself agitated constantly, snapping at my roommate's cute corgi over minor infractions (and really, who can be mad at a corgi?), staring at my computer at 2 AM wondering how I'd finish everything Something had to give but I wasn't going to quit
The Reluctant Employer
My first hire wasn't strategic it was desperate My client's website crashed, and I needed a developer fast I found someone who could rebuild it for just $100. Their work impressed me so much that I kept sending projects their way Today, they earn over $1,000 per site
My second team member came through a volunteer connection. She was a designer I met while helping a nonprofit When she brought a client needing both her design skills and my SEO expertise, our partnership was born.
These accidental collaborations taught me something crucial: specialists could do certain tasks better and faster than I ever could. When my designer delivered a 92% complete website in 48 hours work that would have taken me well over two weeks I realized I'd been thinking about hiring all wrong
From Lucky Breaks to Deliberate Growth
With newfound confidence, I posted on a local university job board and hired an SEO project manager By the way, two months later was June 2024 the month with the big loss.
I was nervous, I was scared, but scared money don't make money
Nearly a year later, this team member has been essential to growing our monthly recurring revenue. Several months after that, we added an SEO technician to support him
The results speak for themselves: In 2023, as a solopreneur, I generated $21,000 in revenue In 2024, with my team in place, we reached $129,000 a sixfold increase
But while taking the leap to hire was the right move for gross revenue gains, how I went about it created unnecessary pain points that you can avoid.
The Painful Learning Curve
My sanity started to take a serious hit because I had no systems in place. The biggest growing pain? Training.
In the beginning, my training process was well, non-existent No documentation No systems Just me frantically trying to transfer knowledge from my brain to theirs through scattered voice texts and Slack DMs.
You see, I was building the airplane up in the air. I had to develop systems while simultaneously teaching them, which slowed everyone down, caused unnecessary friction, and led to some limited results for clients.
If I could change one thing about my journey, it would be this: I would have started documenting processes from day one, before I even hired anyone
From Doing to Leading
As my team has grown, my role has transformed from working in the business to working on it Instead of writing meta descriptions and tweaking CSS, I focused on:
Mentoring and developing team members
Building sales pipelines and marketing strategies
Community networking and relationship development
Do I still occasionally dive into the weeds to adjust an SEO title or make a header responsive? Of course I'm a recovering perfectionist and self-appointed fire-putter-outer. But these instances become rarer as my confidence in my team grows
The Moments It All Changed
The turning points came when my team delivered complete websites with minimal input from me, and our clients loved them. Or when I saw the SEO project manager's strategy leading to actual business results for our clients.
These are the moments I realize that I've built something that could operate beyond my individual capacity. The business was becoming larger than just me
What I Wish I'd Known Sooner
If you're standing where I once stood overwhelmed, afraid to hire, uncertain about delegating here's what I want you to know:
Document everything Now Today Don't wait until you hire
Start simple: Record a Loom of yourself performing tasks Write bullet-point instructions in Google Docs Create templates in Notion. Transfer knowledge from your brain to shareable systems, however imperfectly.
This isn't just about making onboarding easier when you eventually hire It's about preparing your business and your mindset for growth.
The Real ROI
The return on investment wasn't just financial, though hitting six figures was certainly nice. The real return was reclaiming my time, creativity, and vision for what's next
This journey inspired me to launch the Local SEO Academy, where I teach others the strategies that transformed my business It's my way of giving back to entrepreneurs facing the same challenges I once did
Remember: Scared money don't make money, but smart money builds faster if you put systems first. When the right opportunity arrives and it will you'll be ready to grow without the painful learning curve I experienced
Be bold! Your future team (and future self) will thank you
“...smart money builds faster if you put systems first.”
ConnectwithSam YT:@thencandesigns LI:linkedin com/in/sam-sarsten
TheIntimacyofBusinessFinances
MEGAN EVANS // BORN TO ROAM BOOKKEEPING // @BORNTOROAMBOOKKEEPING
Finances are intimate and personal, even business finances. Signing that extra client this month allowed you to enroll your kid in soccer Hiring that assistant freed up 10 hours per week of your time; you no longer have to work late nights after your kids go to bed
Business is not just business, it’s the vehicle used to fuel our life.
The biggest compliment we get from clients who work with us is that we actually care about them as people. Letting someone into your bank accounts is a vulnerable thing that we do not take that lightly.
Twice per year we have the opportunity to sit down with our clients. There is no specific agenda or action items, it’s just at time for us to connect and provide guidance where needed. It’s totally optional, but 100% of our clients take advantage of it On those calls our clients have shared pregnancy announcements, shed tears during times of uncertainty, received encouragement and celebration, planned business growth, and everything in between.
We are all running businesses, but those businesses have a direct impact on our life, families, livelihoods. How can you not take that personally?
A couple of years ago I was working with a recruiter to fill our first assistant bookkeeper position She was asking me questions about our agency and what we are looking for in a bookkeeper. She said to me, “You deeply care about your clients We work with a lot of CPA and bookkeeping firms and that is really uncommon”. It wasn’t until then that I realized that is our super power
When you work with Born to Roam Bookkeeping, you are hiring a partner in business who cares, supports, encourages, and cheers you on as you crush all of your business goals.
ConnectwithMegan
IG:@borntoroambookkeeping
CarvingaPathtoSuccess
DARCIE BRODSKY // CRUMB GLUTEN FREE // CRUMBGLUTENFREE.COM
I have loved baking since I was a kid. I grew up spending hours every weekend creating new recipes in my easy bake oven I am self taught in every sense-using cookbooks, blogs, and experimenting in the kitchen to see what works and what doesn't. Experimenting took a huge turn when I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2012 and had to learn to bake gluten free. A decade later I noticed that the things I was baking were being devoured by the gluten-full people in my life
I had no idea how to run a business, but I began researching cottage food laws and took the first step to establish my business. With my research, cottage food bakers seemed to exist only in the realm of making elaborate cakes or beautifully decorated cookies I set up my business in a similar fashion anticipating that I would make custom orders for special occasions
As a self-taught baker, I have excelled. As a self-taught decorator, it showed. I realized very quickly that my skills in creating elaborately decorated baked goods were not going to support a profitable business, and around that time also saw an advertisement for a local market that was looking for regular vendors Without any concept of what that would include, I applied and was accepted.
Abandoning the initial vision for my business has offered me opportunities for growth that I never imaged when I took my first order. My business changed from baking a couple of things each month to producing hundreds of baked goods I am able to connect personally with the customers who visit the market, experience the joy they feel when they see they have options to choose from, and the excitement to see what new items I've baked.
If I could go back in time, I would have let myself know that my business does not have to look like anyone else's My skills and talents are unique and support a business model that runs differently from what seemed to be the norm Understanding my strengths in relation to my business and leveraging them was the only way to grow my business Finding my own path was the only way to success for me
Bold Business Bingo
Check off squares as you make moves that feel brave, scary, or just plain bold Complete a row? You’re officially in breakthrough mode ⚡
Raised your rates (even a little)
Made an investment that made you sweat
Shared a bold opinion
Went live with no script (just vibes)
Looked at your business numbers with curiosity, not fear
Unfollowed accounts that make you second-guess yourself
Tried something new
Let go of an offer or client that no longer aligns with your goals
Sent a pitch or email that make your heart beat fast
Told a story you hadn’t shared before
Paid yourself
Stated the price of your services without overexplaining and justifying
Pitched yourself to a podcast, publication, or collaboration
Posted something different (and didn’t delete it.)
Redefined what success means for YOU
Celebrated a small win instead of brushing past it
Changed something just to see what happens Said yes to something that aligns with your goals even though it’s a little scary
Stopped tweaking and launched
Gave yourself permission to rest without guilt
Asked your audience or clients for direct feedback
Tested a business idea before it felt perfect
Took one action before you felt ready
Re-read old client testimonials and kind messages (look how far you’ve come!)
Thisisit.⚡
