- Jessie Ginsburg achieved her goal of making a million dollars in revenue after leaving her marriage.
- Her ex-husband’s focus on stability clashed with her entrepreneurial ambitions and values.
- She invested in coaching and pivoted her business, which led to significant financial success.
“I want to make a million dollars,” I said, and my cheeks burned with embarrassment. Did you really just say that out loud? My imposter syndrome flooded in.
It was 2019, and I was at a conference for women CEOs. One of the business coaches had just asked me what my goal was for the next year. That was the first time I had ever spoken it into existence.
I could’ve never imagined that within two years, and after leaving my marriage, I would hit that number. Without anyone holding me back, I could trust my instincts, take bigger risks, and build a business that reflected my vision.
I always wanted to reach the seven-figure revenue mark
I had been running a speech therapy clinic for years while dreaming of ways to make my online business work.
I had gone through a few iterations of an online education program for parents with autistic children, but none had yielded any customers yet.
When I pivoted to an online course for speech therapists, there were rumblings of interest on social media. When the cart opened and no one signed up, I was devastated again.
I had known my ex-husband for most of my life
My then-husband had known me since I was 15 — before I built a successful clinic, before I trusted my instincts, and before I learned to take calculated risks. He believed he needed to steer me away from decisions that felt too risky or ambitious.
Six years ago, as we unfolded the sheets to get into bed, he said my online course would never work. Three days had passed since launching, and not a single credit card had been charged. He insisted I should stick to running my clinic. I had an unshakable belief that I could reach and help even more autistic children worldwide.
“You don’t understand,” I said. “I would do this if I made zero dollars because this is what I’m passionate about.” That was the truth — he didn’t understand. The entrepreneurial spirit I had inherited from my dad was lost on him.
Why would I take time away from a stable, income-generating source to follow an unproven business concept fueled by passion, hopes, and dreams? His argument depressed me.
As the days went on, purchases slowly started rolling in. I closed the doors on the course with 11 therapists and made $4,000. For the first time, I felt validation that this education was needed. He was completely shocked when I told him how much I had made. I finally had some buy-in from him.
I tried to continue the high of my first win
Still riding the high of my first “successful” launch, I went to the conference. Surrounded by brilliant thought leaders, I felt an electric sense of possibility.
On the last day, the hosts pitched their coaching program, and I knew it was exactly what I needed to get to the next level.
I called my husband, eager to share my excitement about an opportunity that I knew would be incredible for my business. His only concern was the price. I swallowed hard when I told him it was $7,000. His response was immediate and firm — there was no room for discussion.
I learned we were fundamentally different
Less than a month later, we were in couple’s therapy. In the first session, the therapist looked at my husband and told him I was like a bird, and he was keeping me in a cage — he had to let me fly.
I learned a transformational concept that changed my life: Our core values were drastically different. Mine were freedom, flexibility, and passion, while my husband’s were safety, security, and comfort. He didn’t oppose my online course because he wanted to control me but because, to him, investing my money and time into an unproven business threatened our family’s financial stability.
Although I now understand, I didn’t agree. Ultimately, the mismatch of core values bled into other aspects of our marriage and parenting. We divorced just a few months later.
The first thing I did was reach back out to the coach
I went back to that business coach and joined her program. It was now $15,000. I was thrilled to give her my money. For the first time, I didn’t need anyone’s approval to make my decisions.
When the pandemic hit, I had to pivot my in-clinic speech sessions to virtual and train my team in their new roles as tele-therapists. This change came with uncertainty, risk, and loads of stress. I now relied on myself financially and didn’t know if I could make it through.
That year, our therapists saw a record number of clients. My clinic was stronger than ever.
Meanwhile, speech-language pathologists around the world were struggling to engage their autistic clients in virtual sessions. I went on social media and offered to go live the next day to share some of my strategies for supporting autistic children. That webinar got thousands of views, and therapists wanted more training. The new version of my online course was born.
My next move was to decrease my direct therapy hours
I went down from five days a week to three. I wanted to focus two full days a week on building my online business, a decision my ex-husband would never have agreed with. I invested in myself, knowing that the ROI would be immeasurable.
I was right. The next year, I hit seven figures in revenue for the first time.
I now spend over $50,000 annually on coaching
I’m in another relationship. When I transfer the funds to my coach yearly, I don’t ask my fiancé what he thinks.
This isn’t a lesson on why everyone needs a business coach or advice to make purchases behind your fiancé’s back. It’s about the importance of trusting yourself.
You show up for your business daily, meaning you should be the ultimate decision-maker. The world will always have opinions, but you will always know what’s best.
