Podcast Summary: Shiny New Clients!
Episode: Recovering From a Major Launch Mishap 🤦🏼♀️
Host: Jenna Harding (Warriner)
Date: October 6, 2025
Duration: ~25 minutes
Overview
In this candid and relatable episode, host Jenna Harding (Warriner) walks listeners through a major mishap during her highly anticipated launch event. Despite meticulous planning and over 1100 registrants for her live webinar, a critical tech error prevented hundreds of would-be participants from joining due to an unexpected Zoom capacity issue. Jenna shares how she handled the disappointment, the support she leaned on, practical lessons learned, and how she turned the setback into an opportunity to connect deeper with her audience. The episode is a masterclass in resilience, mindset, and the everyday realities of launching in the online business world.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Build-Up and the Unexpected Problem
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Jenna’s Build-Up and Excitement
- Spent months refining the webinar, adding value and engaging elements (live reel reviews, prizes, raffle).
“I've edited these slides 400,000 times to make sure that there's lots of goodies right up at the beginning.” [02:30] - Over 1100 people registered, ready to go with high expectations.
- Spent months refining the webinar, adding value and engaging elements (live reel reviews, prizes, raffle).
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The Zoom Cap Hit
- When the event started, only about 300 people could join.
- Initially thought it was typical attendance drop-off but soon learned about capacity lockout.
- Realized some people couldn’t join despite registering, due to a technical misconfiguration.
“I get a message from someone that says, ‘Jenna, I saved my seat for this training 10 days ago, and I'm being told the room is at capacity.’ My heart sank…” [05:18]
2. Human Response: Freeze, Support, and Processing
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Jenna's Reaction
- Admits she defaulted to "freeze mode", feeling momentarily defeated.
“You know, fight, flight, freeze. I hate it, but I'm a freeze. …I paused, I took a breath, I basically froze.” [07:20]
- Quick personal tangent about freezing in a crisis (with a funny story about losing her puppy inside the house) to illustrate her reaction style.
- Admits she defaulted to "freeze mode", feeling momentarily defeated.
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Allowing Disappointment
- Jenna emphasizes permission to feel disappointment, a lesson from her mindset coach.
“You're allowed to be disappointed. That might sound stupid, but I think a lot of people, especially women, need to hear that you're allowed to be disappointed.” [10:36]
- Jenna emphasizes permission to feel disappointment, a lesson from her mindset coach.
3. Team, Family, and Support System
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Team & Family Reactions
- Husband Jordan was deeply invested and supportive, even preparing Jenna’s office.
“He cleaned the office. …I saw him carrying plants upstairs. And he decorated the office.” [12:10]
- Clarifies Jordan was disappointed, not angry.
- Husband Jordan was deeply invested and supportive, even preparing Jenna’s office.
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Reaching Out for Support
- Tried to call intuition and mindset coach Alicia Wood for guidance; reached out to colleague Jenna from her team instead.
“She stayed very calm and measured. She's a much more measured person than I am. She told me what had happened, and I was actually like, you know what? It doesn't matter how it happened. What are we going to do now?” [14:09]
- Tried to call intuition and mindset coach Alicia Wood for guidance; reached out to colleague Jenna from her team instead.
4. Decision Making & Solution
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Exploring Options
- Debated between redoing the webinar immediately, adjusting another event, or rescheduling.
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Practical Solution Chosen
- Decided to rerun the entire event on October 9th, same content and energy, inviting everyone who missed or wanted to attend again.
“We're going to redo the whole thing October 9th. …Same prizes, same raffle, same energy, same presentation, and we're gonna do it all over again.” [16:55]
- Decided to rerun the entire event on October 9th, same content and energy, inviting everyone who missed or wanted to attend again.
5. Mindset & Opportunity in Mistakes
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Flipping the Script
- Referenced Amy Porterfield on deliberately reframing setbacks as opportunities.
“Take the thing that just happened that sucks. How can we make it into a good thing? There's an opportunity hidden here…” [18:23]
- Drew a parallel to the classic “oopsie email” scenario, noting how error follow-ups often get higher engagement.
- Referenced Amy Porterfield on deliberately reframing setbacks as opportunities.
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Avoiding Toxic Positivity
- Stressed that it’s not about instantly finding the good, but rather allowing space for disappointment and growth.
“Let things be disappointing for a minute… but also find those hidden opportunities.” [19:53]
- Stressed that it’s not about instantly finding the good, but rather allowing space for disappointment and growth.
6. Lessons Learned & Ongoing Growth
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Technical Lesson
- Shared that even after adjusting Zoom capacity, an extra step (“Apply” button) was missed—a learning point for next time.
“You have to go to the account that you want the capacity on, and you have to click Apply. It was one silly little button.” [22:10]
- Shared that even after adjusting Zoom capacity, an extra step (“Apply” button) was missed—a learning point for next time.
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Personal Lesson: Timing & Self-Care
- Humorous debrief on not launching “on your period” due to low energy and physical discomfort impacting launch efforts.
“Don't do that again. …I lost an entire morning because I was bedridden with really bad cramps.” [22:53]
- Humorous debrief on not launching “on your period” due to low energy and physical discomfort impacting launch efforts.
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Big Picture Perspective
- Encourages reframing mistakes as learning, nurturing attendees who did show up, and building for the long haul.
“This launch is not your last launch. This sale is not your last chance to grow your business. …If you start solely focusing on the thing that goes wrong, you're risking not focusing on the thing that went right.” [20:56]
- Encourages reframing mistakes as learning, nurturing attendees who did show up, and building for the long haul.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On Allowing Disappointment:
“You're allowed to be disappointed. That might sound stupid, but I think a lot of people, especially women, need to hear that you're allowed to be disappointed.” — Jenna [10:36] -
On Opportunity in Mistakes:
“Take the thing that just happened that sucks. How can we make it into a good thing? There's an opportunity hidden here…” — Jenna, paraphrasing Amy Porterfield [18:23] -
On Zoom Tech Failures:
“You have to go to the account that you want the capacity on and you have to click Apply. It was one silly little button. None of us had ever done it before. …No one is in trouble. Everybody did their best. It was just a crappy situation.” — Jenna [22:10] -
On Longer-term Perspective:
“We're going to keep going. We're going to keep learning. We're going to keep getting better. …That's the name of the game, my friend.” — Jenna [24:14]
Important Timestamps
- [02:30] — Jenna details her meticulous preparation and the initial joy of launch.
- [05:18] — First realization of the Zoom capacity lockout from a participant’s message.
- [07:20] — Jenna describes her freeze response in a crisis.
- [10:36] — Discusses learning to sit with disappointment.
- [12:10] — Touching moment on husband Jordan’s overwhelming support.
- [14:09] — Team response and focusing on solutions over blame.
- [16:55] — Decision to repeat the event for locked-out registrants.
- [18:23] — Mindset strategies for reframing setbacks, referencing Amy Porterfield.
- [22:10] — The technical “silly little button” lesson with Zoom capacity.
- [22:53] — The importance of launch timing and personal health.
- [24:14] — Encouragement for ongoing growth and resilience.
Tone & Delivery
Jenna delivers the episode with warmth, humor, and self-reflection. Her storytelling is conversational and approachable, filled with relatable analogies and genuine moments of vulnerability. The tone is supportive, encouraging listeners to treat their missteps with grace—and see every mishap as a step toward marketing mastery.
Takeaways for Listeners
- Launch mishaps happen to everyone, even seasoned professionals.
- Allow room for disappointment, but focus on solutions and opportunities.
- Technical details matter—always double-check and learn from every new experience.
- Support from your team and loved ones is invaluable, especially during setbacks.
- Every mistake is a chance to hone your craft and better serve your audience.
- Stay in it for the long haul—a single launch does not define your business success.
