Holy shitballs.

I’ve officially been publishing Drunk Business Advice for a year.

In that time, I’ve personally written 52 issues totaling 81,196 words. 

(Yes, I counted.)

To celebrate this bizarre achievement, I could share some super tactical takeaways for those of you who may be nibbling on a newsletter idea, or happen to work the space.

And I will — at some point in the near future. 

This is a business advice newsletter, after all. And it will stay that way.

But for today, I want to get up-close-and-personal about what the last year has really been like for me.

Just writing this in the privacy of my living room hits like standing naked in front of a crowd… I can’t imagine how hitting “send” is going to feel. 😬 

Nonetheless, it’s time for my confessions.

P.S. — I gotta shout out Christina Nicholson from Media Maven for referring 20 new subscribers to Drunk Business Advice in the last month! You’re 🔥!

I used to think… 👇

◼️ I used to think writing was about sharing what I know. But over the last year, I’ve realized that it’s more about challenging what I know.

◼️ I used to think I'd run out of stories. I never do. I continue to live. I continue to work. I continue to f*ck up. So I’ll never run out. A blessing and a curse, I guess.

◼️ I used to think I wouldn’t be able to write if I wasn’t “in the mood”. But like any skill that one works diligently to master, I can force myself to do it — even when I don’t want to. And y’all can’t tell the difference.

◼️ I used to think this newsletter needed to overflow with practical value. And while I still work my ass off to deliver value, I feel like sometimes the real job of Drunk Business Advice is to just make readers feel… lighter.

◼️ I used to think people would unsubscribe if I got too personal. And some did. But most leaned in.

◼️ I used to think that being vulnerable made me weak. It doesn’t — it makes me trustworthy. And there’s nothing in the world harder to earn than trust. I’m pissed at myself for only just now figuring this out.

This has been challenging in ways I never dreamed it would be 👇

◼️ I feel physically ill every time I hit “send”, and that feeling doesn’t fade until someone replies positively. (Seriously, if you ever want to make a newsletter publisher’s day, hit reply and tell them you like it. There’s no better relief.)

◼️ There’s a difference between being relatable and being performatively self-deprecating. I’m still learning where that line is.

◼️ I’ve cried writing these stories. More than once. And more during the happy parts than the sad parts.

◼️ I’ve accidentally written about things I hadn’t even admitted to myself yet. This has become the most unencumbered form of personal discovery I’ve ever experienced.

◼️ There’s a cost to being visible. People have said really shitty things to me. People have also shown admiration in inappropriate ways that make me cringingly uncomfortable. I can’t even imagine what real public figures have to endure.

◼️ Publishing Drunk Business Advice has forced me to examine the impact I want to leave on this world far more than any other job ever has. It’s wildly confronting.

◼️ While I don’t care about audience size as much as I care about connection, I’m dramatically behind the pace I thought I’d grow. I’d love a bigger audience of people who connect with my writing. But I’m trying to be patient.

◼️ I’ve declined many offers to work on interesting projects that pay a shit-ton of money so I could focus on publishing Drunk Business Advice for free — long before I ever earned a cent from this newsletter…

…But thanks to my dear friend Jesus Vargas, I’m now actually earning some cents. He has taken a huge risk bringing on his badass software agency as Drunk Business Advice’s first sponsor. 👇

Jesus was also brave enough to share his absolutely bonkers life story with us last week. He’s a fascinating dude, and if you’re considering any kind of software implementation for your business, go chat with him.

You have my word that Jesus and his team at LowCode Agency will take excellent care of you.

But it’s also been profoundly gratifying

◼️ Every time someone replies to an email and says “this helped me,” it fills me with the energy of a thousand suns.

◼️ Saying “I f*cked up” –in public– is weirdly powerful.

◼️ There are super successful people who look forward to this newsletter every week. That blows my mind.

◼️ There’s a deep, surprising peace in doing something that aligns with your values every damn week. It recalibrates everything.

◼️ I’ve met some of the most interesting, thoughtful, supportive, and funny people I’ve ever known through this scrappy little newsletter.

◼️ I’ve also reconnected with incredible people I hadn’t spoken to in years — all because they saw an issue of Drunk Business Advice, and reached out to say hello.

◼️ I’ve had strangers quote my own words back to me in conversations, and refer to Drunk Business Advice as “DBA”. Being quoted and acronymized makes me feel like a god.

◼️ My inbox has become a sanctuary for other people’s confessions. People have poured their souls out to me after reading issues that resonated with them. That feels sacred. And I’m deeply honored.

So what’s next?

I’m fixin’ to embark on a pretty chaotic few months. 

In nine days, I’ll be undergoing a major surgery which will leave me immobile for most of the summer, and will take a year to fully recover from.

(This surgery is a very good thing for me, and is correcting a cocktail of painful orthopedic conditions that my years of competitive figure skating have plagued me with).

But don’t worry! Drunk Business Advice will still be landing in your inbox every Sunday — still written 100% by me. 

I just have a shit-ton of writing to finish before getting sawed in half by two of the finest surgeons at the top-rated orthopedic hospital in the country. 🤞

But after a few weeks of oxy-induced haze restful recovery, I'll be back at my laptop, charging into year two of Drunk Business Advice with enough vigor to power the Empire State Building.

So what does year two look like?

• More writing courses like Rebel Scribes

• More community building like Stealth Mastermind

• A new (bonus) newsletter about business storytelling

• And maybe even…

Don’t get too excited. I mocked this up in Canva. 

But yes, I’m working on a book. ♥️

(And yes, I’m probably jinxing myself into oblivion by putting “WSJ Bestseller” on my silly mockup. But hey, I can dream.)

Whether you’ve been with me since the beginning, or you’ve only recently joined the Drunk Business Advice party — thank you. 🙏 

Thank you for trusting me with a coveted place in your overcrowded inbox. I’ll never take that for granted.

Here’s to another year of:

Cheers! 🍻

-Kristin :-)

And don’t forget, this newsletter is FREE because of Jesus Vargas, and his team at LowCode Agency — so show ‘em some love!

Follow @lowcodeagency on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

Whether you need help building an MVP, creating software to run your business, or even just a badass website, I highly recommend the savvy team over at LowCode!