Podcast Summary: Courage & Clarity with Steph Crowder

Episode 169: Hustle-Free Visibility – How I Filled a Paid Workshop With 150 Buyers While Overseas
Release Date: December 11, 2025
Host: Steph Crowder

Overview

In this episode, Steph Crowder takes listeners “behind the scenes” of her wildly successful Year on the Wall workshop launch. Conducted entirely while Steph was overseas on a coaching retreat, the launch saw over 150 paid participants attend live, without her having to employ her usual high-effort, hustle-based tactics. Steph candidly shares how she overcame her resistance to using ads, the strategy she implemented, her launch results (including real numbers), and reflects on visibility, growth, and lessons learned. The episode’s theme is clear: sustainable, hustle-free visibility is possible—ads can fill your stage and solve bottlenecks, often for less than you think.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene: What is Year on the Wall? (00:49)

• Annual Paid Workshop: Taught every December, Year on the Wall is a live (and replay-accessible) workshop using giant calendar pages and color-coded sticky notes to help entrepreneurs visually plan their upcoming year.
• Community & Tradition: Over 2,000 people have taken the training since 2018. The workshop is “not really about the ticket sales anymore,” says Steph. Its main value? Lead generation.

“Year on the Wall for me is what I would call primarily a lead generation tool.”
— Steph Crowder (02:45)

• Workshop as a Magnet: Steph notes that many clients buy into her premium programs after first connecting with her via Year on the Wall.

The Launch Challenge: Limited Bandwidth, Overseas Logistics (05:15)

• Timing Crunch: Steph’s mastermind group launch ran later in the year than usual. Immediately after, she boarded a transatlantic flight to England.
• Minimal Hands-on Promotion: “I really don’t have time or space or bandwidth to muscle my way to getting lots of Year on the Wall tickets.” Instead, Steph looked for a smarter, more scalable way.

The Result: 150+ Paid Live Attendees—Without Hustle (08:00)

• The “Lecture Hall” Analogy: Steph is “blown away” seeing 150+ actual paid faces on Zoom.
• Reflection: “Even though I’ve been a business coach for 10 years now… I refuse to stop being in awe… Every single one of these people has a busy life and they’ve taken the time to come be in my room.” (08:41)

The Secret Weapon: ADVERTISING (09:30)

• First-Time Full Commitment: Steph reveals that—despite previous resistance—Facebook and Instagram ads powered the workshop’s visibility and success.
• Listener Pushback Acknowledged: “Some of you are like, I don’t want to hear that. Just hear me out, okay? … No one is more resistant to ads than me or has been in the past. I think it’s. If you are someone who's trying to increase your visibility and you want to have a bigger stage, you need to know about this strategy.” (12:00)

Breaking Down the Resistance to Ads (12:15)

• Common Fears: Ads are complicated, only for advanced entrepreneurs, or "aren't for me".
• Myth-Busting:
  • You don’t need a “ginormous budget.”
  • You can start with as little as $5/day (thanks to Claire Pelletreau’s Absolute FB Ads framework).
  • “There’s no medal for never using ads… What’s the shame in using ads?” (14:12)

“Maybe I even had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder… like, maybe I’ve prided myself on being able to do things the hard way. There’s no medal.”
— Steph Crowder (14:12)

• Life on the Other Side: Ads let Steph “pack my room with new people that I would not have reached otherwise.” (15:44)

Turning Point: Ads as a “Grown-up Company” Tool (16:15)

• Steph wanted “predictability, stability, and growth—not another heroic effort.”
• She reframed ads as simply a mature, neutral tool for visibility: “Visibility is my bottleneck… ads solve that, right?”

The Numbers: Real Results From This Launch (19:07)

Ad Spend & Immediate Return

• Spent on Ads: $9,519 (rounded to $9,500)
• Workshop Sales: $7,614 (162 tickets at $47)
• Net Out-of-Pocket: ~$1,900 for 162 brand-new quality leads

Back-End Sales

• Post-workshop Revenue: $11,000 (from programs like Mastermind and Same Day Sales) within two days
• Highly-Qualified Leads Still Considering Programs: At least two prospects eyeing the $8,000 Mastermind

Spillover Benefits

• Instagram & Email Growth: Ongoing organic list/follower growth, residual attention for future launches.
• Bottom-line Summary:

  “Ads didn’t just help my launch… they expanded the surface area of my whole business, right? It’s like just pouring gasoline on something that already was working so well.” (20:11)

Lessons Learned & Mindset Shifts (22:24)

1. Ads Are Not Hard—They’re Just New

• “Ads are just like anything else in your business… Think about something you learned that was new and now it’s second nature.”

2. Ads Don’t Replace; They Amplify

• “Your ads are not gonna fix a bad offer or poor messaging… but they will skyrocket your results.”
• “It’s not a battle between [organic and paid]; they actually work together.” (21:59)

3. You Don’t Have to Know Everything (to benefit)

“I still don’t really understand the ads manager, and I just spent $10,000 in there. … You don’t have to understand electricity in order to flip on a light switch.”
— Steph Crowder (25:17)

4. Visibility Is A Solvable Problem

• “If you’re having visibility challenges and you’re like, gosh, I just feel like a best-kept secret, you can solve this problem.”

5. The Right Teacher Makes All the Difference

• Absolute Facebook Ads by Claire Pelletreau is the only ads program Steph recommends, both as an affiliate and a paying client.

Memorable Stories & Quotes

• On “Doing It the Hard Way”
  Steph recounts wrestling with the idea of accepting “help” and not insisting on unnecessary hardship, both in business and even childbirth:

  “My OB looked at me and said, there’s no medal. You’re not going to receive a medal for doing it this way.” (14:03)

Steph’s Final Thoughts: A Hustle-Free, Sustainable Path (29:45)

• On the Power of Ads:

  “Being able to call in and attract people without feeling like I had to hustle my butt off for it… This is a possibility for you, right? Ads personally gave me my stage, and I can tell you that I’m not going back.”
  — Steph Crowder

Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• On the workshop as a lead generator:
  “Year on the Wall for me is what I would call primarily a lead generation tool.” (02:45)

• On visibility being the bottleneck:
  “Visibility is my bottleneck… ads solve that, right?” (17:30)

• On ads not being a magic bullet, but an amplifier:
  “They’re just a way of amplifying something that’s already amazing.” (22:42)

• On not needing to know everything:
  “You don’t have to understand electricity in order to flip on a light switch in your bedroom.” (25:57)

• On moving past hustle:
  “Being able to call in and attract people without feeling like I had to hustle my butt off for it… This is a possibility for you.” (29:45)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:49: Introduction to Year on the Wall & why it’s different from a typical launch
• 05:15: The challenge: Launching while overseas, time & bandwidth constraints
• 08:00: The live event turnout—The “lecture hall” metaphor, reflection
• 09:30: “How did I do it? Ads!” Steph’s confession and intro to paid ads strategy
• 12:15: The mindset shift—Why Steph avoided ads for so long
• 14:12: “There’s no medal…”: Letting go of pride & organic-only selling
• 15:44: Life (and business) after letting go of hustle
• 19:07: The math: What Steph actually spent and earned—lead acquisition and backend revenue
• 22:24: Top lessons learned from running ads for the first time wholeheartedly
• 25:17: “Electricity” metaphor for not knowing all the technicals
• 29:45: Closing reflections on building a bigger stage with ease

Actionable Takeaways for Listeners

• Ads are accessible to everyone, not just advanced or techy business owners.
• You can start with a small budget—as little as $5/day can build meaningful visibility.
• Organic and paid strategies work together. Ads are not cheating or a shortcut—they amplify what already works.
• The right teacher can demystify ads. Find someone with a clear, patient, and strategic teaching style (Steph’s top pick: Claire Pelletreau).

Links Mentioned

• Claire Pelletreau’s Absolute Facebook Ads: stephcrowder.com/afa

Summary Tone

The episode is warm, encouraging, honest, and practical—combining Steph’s trademark candor with inspiration and tactical advice. She “keeps it real” about her own resistance and growth, urging listeners to let go of limiting beliefs around visibility and step into a more sustainable way of growing their audience and business.