Speeeeeecial announcements, milestones, and business lessons learned to share with you! This is a fun and personal quick episode.   #1: Big Big Announcement: I’m preggo! I actually found out that I was pregnant in mid-January. Thank god I had just gotten my new podcast audio editor and shownotes person up and running with a great system, or this show would have stopped in its tracks!   My first trimester was miserable.   I never threw up, but I felt like I had 2 solid months of mild food poisoning. Not so bad that I had to barf, but bad enough that I couldn’t get much done each day.   I’d sleep 10-12 hours a night (getting up to pee 3-4 times), have just a couple of hours to work on helping my book writing and bestseller launch clients before the nausea hit me like a ton of bricks and send me running back to bed for a 3 hour nap or just general day-long unproductive malaise.   My respect for all mothers has skyrocketed.     Now, I’m in the second trimester and feeling a lot better. I’m not 100% back to my old energy, but at least able to get more done in a day.     #2: Special Milestone!   This month, April of 2019, we crossed the 3-year anniversary of this podcast!    I first launched Copy That Pops while living in Regensburg, Germany. Episode 000 released on April 22, 2016. Can you believe it?   [April 26th was also Devin and my 5-year wedding anniversary].   Having a podcast has been an interesting undertaking in that it’s forced me to produce consistent content for longer than I ever have before. And I don’t want to stop now!   In fact, I am bouncing around the idea of a Book That Pops podcast just on books specifically...it’s just a matter of getting my energy back to produce the material for you all!   Would love to hear your feedback on if you would listen to a show just about writing, self-publishing, marketing, and launching a bestselling book on Amazon with me!?     #3: Thank you for the podcast reviews!   Every time I look at my show on a podcast player like iTunes (though this show is on many, many other channels!) it makes me feel so good to see reviews!   The most recent ones I see are from Keselea and Wade Galt.     Thank you both so much for taking the time to leave a rating and review! It’s super easy from your smartphone and it helps tell the podcast player it's on that the show is worth putting in front of more eyeballs.   So, your reviews not only make me feel good, they help more people find us!     #4: Business Lessons Learned   Never in my entrepreneurial life have I been so slammed, down and out, like I have felt being pregnant this year in 2019.   My capacity to do things has tanked. I am so behind on FB messages that I feel physically horrible and guilty. I am saying ‘no’ to opportunities I’d normally jump at.   But, in a way, this is a good thing.   It’s forced me to reflect a lot. It’s forced me to analyze how I used to fill my days.   Always busy, was I working on the right things?   Going forward, especially in late September and after when I have a crying baby that needs me, what do I WANT to be doing? What realistically CAN I actually manage?   I am still figuring it all out, but I’m focusing hard on: - More systems - Automation - Elimination of things that aren’t really essential - Delegation - Repurposing - Growing sales of my products and group programs and saying ‘no’ to private client work - Getting my digital funnels and email nurturing really on point instead of relying so much on networking and referrals   To be continued...but it’s certainly an inflection point for me in business.   If you have navigated something similar...with the birth of a child, adoption of a child, an illness, a family commitment, etc...I’d love to hear about it!   ---------   And thank you for being a listener of the show! I am honored you choose to spend time with me each week. 3 years running now! Talk to you next week with more ways to write copy that pops! xo   Laura     Take Action Now! TRAINING on hitt