Digital Social Hour | DSH #1664

Guest: Maria Wendt
Host: Sean Kelly
Date: December 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Sean Kelly sits down with Maria Wendt, an entrepreneur who grew from being a single mom to building a $10 million business empire selling primarily $300 digital products. The conversation dives deep into Maria’s philosophies on radical transparency, her transition from high-ticket to low-ticket offers, scaling a business as a single parent, and her mission-driven approach to helping others—especially women and mothers—achieve financial independence. The two also touch on homeschooling, family business dynamics, overcoming personal adversity, and practical digital marketing tactics. Maria’s candor, energy, and dedication to service are front and center throughout.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mission & Radical Transparency

• Maria’s Purpose:
  • Maria believes she was put on this planet "to help people make money" ([00:00], [04:58]).
  • Her full transparency (sharing not just income, but bank statements, business expenses, and even tax returns) is about building trust in an industry often tainted by false claims ([03:19], [04:17], [17:46]).

    “I share bank statements to prove it... our industry, like the business marketing industry, is filled with a lot of people who make a lot of big business income claims and don’t back it up and are kind of fibbing a little bit...” — Maria [03:27]

2. Transition from High-Ticket to Low-Ticket Offers

• Origin of the Pivot:
  • Sparked by Maria’s desire to spend more time with her daughter after becoming a single mom ([05:32]).
  • She moved from time-intensive, high-ticket offerings to scalable $300 products ([06:08]).
  • Result: Scaled from $1M/year to $4M, now tracking toward $10M—demonstrating low-ticket offers are not dead ([06:52]).

    “The year I pivoted, I went from about a million dollars a year to $4 million in a year. And now we're on track for $10 million, all low ticket, like $300...” — Maria [06:32]

  • Stresses the underserved market in affordable business courses for beginners ([06:59]).

    “...there's such a blue ocean there right now that smart marketers are just not tapping into.” — Maria [07:01]

3. Customer Success & Product Quality

• Repeat Customers & Product Testing:
  • 60% repeat customer rate, compared to 15% industry average ([07:56]).
  • Focus on rigorous product testing before launch, anticipating and resolving user sticking points, so customers are empowered and not overly dependent ([08:46]).

    “I don't want to be your crutch. I want to give you the information... step by step tutorials that you need... so you don’t need me.” — Maria [09:53]

• Love as a Business Strategy:
  • Maria attributes her success to a genuine love for helping her customers ([07:59]).

    “When you are operating from that true love of someone, you do good things and it’s a good business move almost as an afterthought.” — Maria [08:00]

4. Balancing Motherhood & Business

• Daily Life:
  • Still spends most of her time as a stay-at-home mom; highly values time with her daughter ([11:09], [12:06]).

    “If you want to think about what my life is like, imagine a stay at home mom potty training a three year old. That's literally me.” — Maria [11:09]

• Sacrifice & Fulfillment:
  • Chooses to prioritize motherhood now, embracing the long-term game ([12:06]).

    “Ellie’s only gonna be three once and the business is always there for me... this time with her as a child, I’m only gonna get once.” — Maria [12:11]

5. Homeschooling & Childhood Reflections

• Maria’s Homeschool Experience:
  • Homeschooled all 12 years, credits it for critical thinking and entrepreneurial foundations ([12:58], [13:33]).

    “I have a deep appreciation for... who we are as a culture and where we came from. I love reading, which has been such a gift to me as an entrepreneur.” — Maria [13:03]

• Plans for Daughter:
  • Intends to homeschool her own child, weighing socialization concerns but confident with experience ([12:58], [13:33]).

6. Audience & Community

• Student Base:
  • Nearly 100,000 students; strong rapport and direct connections ([08:26], [08:37]).
• Demographics:
  • 60% women, 40% men; includes many moms and single moms ([15:14]).

    “My whole vibe is interest. I’m so feminine, and yet I’m talking about improving your conversion rate and all this, like, nerdy data... it breaks a lot of limiting beliefs women have about themselves.” — Maria [15:23]

• High Engagement:
  • Massive comments and engagement on posts due to value-packed freebies and practical tutorials ([16:02]).

7. Lead Generation & Marketing Tactics

• Social Media & Email:
  • Advanced use of Instagram DMs, ManyChat automations; collecting ~1,000 emails/day ([16:45]).

    “We make a ton of money from my email list... every month, we have 30,000 new email addresses added to my list.” — Maria [17:04]

• Paid Ads:
  • Spending up to $300,000/month, with her sister running ads self-taught ([18:33], [18:53]).

    “We’re spending almost $300,000 a month on paid ads.” — Maria [18:33]

8. Family, Team, and Entrepreneurship

• Family Business:
  • Employs several sisters; Maria is the eldest of nine children—"The Catholic Kardashians" ([19:16], [22:20]).
  • Parents are entrepreneurs—dad started his own business, mom is an event planner ([22:29], [22:38]).
• Entrepreneurial DNA:
  • Never had a traditional job; learned business and sales by osmosis from her dad ([22:40], [26:36]).

9. Personal Healing, Faith, and Integrity

• Growth after Divorce:
  • Maria’s business pivot and spiritual journey were deeply intertwined with overcoming adversity after her marriage ended ([05:32], [29:00]).
• Return to Faith:
  • Rediscovered her relationship with God; credits it for giving her peace and grounding ([32:16], [33:29]).

    “The thing that brought me peace was rediscovering my relationship with God. In a way that's actually a relationship that brings comfort.” — Maria [33:01]

• Deliberate Integrity:
  • Chose to fully close previous relationship chapters before considering dating again, as a matter of self-respect and integrity ([28:34], [29:15]).

10. Mindset, Pressure, and Self-Compassion

• Handling Pressure:
  • Acknowledges the weight of supporting team, family, and audience, but doesn't let pressure dictate her outlook ([34:55], [35:35]).

    “Pressure is as much as you make it pressure. You like this big, or it can be this big, and I just don't let it worry me.” — Maria [35:34]

11. Fun, Personal Anecdotes, and Authenticity

• Pets:
  • Maria and her daughter Ellie care for a giant rabbit named Rick and feed stray cats—adds a personal, relatable dimension ([35:47], [37:09]).
• Nostalgia & Humor:
  • Shares stories about being homeschooled, having a unibrow in high school, and her Lord of the Rings-themed email address ([13:57]).

12. Parting Advice & Resources

• Emphasis on Free Content:
  • Urges listeners to start with her free YouTube and Instagram tutorials; many have made tens of thousands by following just these ([39:35]).

    “People email me and this is like, not a joke. They email me saying, like, I made $40,000 just by implementing what you teach your YouTube videos...” — Maria [39:35]

• Democratizing Financial Success:
  • Passion is not about helping a few get rich, but about millions making a sustainable, real difference ([40:21]).

    “I'm not in the business of making a few people millions and millions of dollars. I'm in the business of helping millions of people make a little bit of extra consistent money every single month.” — Maria [40:57]

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• "I truly believe I was put on this planet to help people make money. Like, I really believe that's the reason God made me..." — Maria [00:00], [04:58]
• "The year I pivoted, I went from about a million dollars a year to $4 million in a year. And now we're on track for $10 million, all low ticket, like $300..." — Maria [06:32]
• "Our customer repeat rate is 60%. So 60% of our customers come back for more. Our industry average is 15%." — Maria [07:40]
• "If you want to think about what my life is like, imagine a stay at home mom potty training a three year old. That's literally me... And then there's this 2% of time where I'm very leveraged. You know, being on a podcast like this is very leveraged time for me." — Maria [11:09]
• "I've never even had a job interview. Like, I don't even know what that's like." — Maria [22:40]
• "We’re spending almost $300,000 a month on paid ads." — Maria [18:33]
• "Pressure is as much as you make it... I just don't let it worry me." — Maria [35:34]
• "People email me and this is like, not a joke. They email me saying, like, I made $40,000 just by implementing what you teach your YouTube videos." — Maria [39:35]
• "I'm not in the business of making a few people millions and millions of dollars. I'm in the business of helping millions of people make a little bit of extra consistent money every single month." — Maria [40:57]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Maria’s Mission and Radical Transparency: [00:00] – [04:55]
• Starting as a Single Mom and Business Pivot: [05:29] – [07:38]
• Low-Ticket Business Model Success: [06:52] – [08:46]
• Balancing Family and Scaling a Business: [11:06] – [12:55]
• Homeschooling & Family Entrepreneurial Roots: [12:55] – [15:14], [19:16] – [23:40]
• Lead Generation & Social Media Tactics: [16:45] – [17:29]
• Paid Ads Strategy & Family Team: [18:33] – [19:16]
• Integrity in Personal Life & Relationships: [28:34] – [33:01]
• Handling Pressure & Parenting: [34:55] – [35:47]
• Authenticity, Pets, and Personal Stories: [35:47] – [39:10]
• Final Advice & Free Resources: [39:35] – [41:00]

Conclusion

This episode highlights Maria Wendt as a refreshingly transparent and mission-driven entrepreneur who balances multimillion-dollar success with a steadfast commitment to motherhood and ethics. Her approach—democratizing financial progress, empowering beginners, and building trust through radical transparency—defies prevailing narratives in the online business world. Whether discussing advanced email marketing techniques or the spiritual aftermath of personal upheaval, Maria’s openness and practical insight offer inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs, parents, and digital creators alike.