Show notes

What if the reason so many entrepreneurs quit isn’t because they’re failing…

But because they only know how to handle success?

Most business owners spend hours visualizing the win.

They know exactly what they’ll do when they hit their revenue goal. They know how they’ll celebrate, what they’ll buy, and how proud they’ll feel.

But ask them what they’ll do if they miss the goal?

Silence.

That’s the problem.

In this powerful episode of For the 23%, Dielle McMillan introduces a game-changing concept: every entrepreneur needs both a celebration plan and a disappointment plan.

Because sustainable business growth isn’t built on avoiding disappointment. It’s built on learning how to navigate it.

Why Most Entrepreneurs Only Plan for Success

When entrepreneurs set goals, they naturally focus on winning.

They imagine:

• Hitting the revenue target
• Filling the launch
• Signing the client
• Growing the audience
• Having their best month ever

The problem is that business isn’t 100% wins.

It’s 50/50.

According to Dielle, every business—whether it’s a startup, a coaching company, or a billion-dollar corporation—experiences both celebration and disappointment. The difference between entrepreneurs who stay and entrepreneurs who quit is their ability to handle both.

When there is no disappointment plan, a missed goal can quickly spiral into:

• Wanting to shut down an offer
• Questioning your entire business
• Feeling like a failure
• Losing confidence
• Considering quitting altogether

Not because the setback is catastrophic.

But because there was never a plan for it.

The Right Way to Celebrate Business Success

Most entrepreneurs celebrate incorrectly.

They treat success like proof they’ll never struggle again.

Dielle calls this “Cinderella Syndrome.”

The belief sounds something like:

• “I finally figured it out.”
• “I’ll never have this problem again.”
• “Everything is fixed now.”

But that’s not how entrepreneurship works.

Your next launch starts at zero.

Your next month starts at zero.

Your next sales cycle starts at zero.

The goal of celebration isn’t to create false certainty.

The goal is to create awareness.

Step 1: Do a Success Dump

Whenever you experience a win, document exactly what created it.

Don’t settle for vague answers like:

“My content worked.”

Instead ask:

• Which content worked?
• Which messaging resonated?
• Which collaborations drove leads?
• Which sales activities moved people forward?

Success leaves clues.

But if you don’t document those clues, you’ll struggle to recreate the result.

Step 2: Celebrate With Your Body and Relationships

One of the most powerful insights from the episode is that success needs to be physically experienced.

Dielle recommends:

• Going out for tacos
• Taking your family to dinner
• Celebrating with your partner
• Going for coffee with a friend

The goal isn’t spending money.

The goal is teaching your brain:

“This mattered.”

What we don’t celebrate, we don’t repeat.

Step 3: Assume You’re Back at Zero

After celebrating, reset.

Not emotionally.

Strategically.

The entrepreneurs who build long-term success don’t operate from entitlement.

They don’t assume future wins are guaranteed.

They stay curious.

They study their industry.

They watch trends.

They keep improving.

They act like every launch matters.

Because it does.

Why You Need a Disappointment Plan

Most entrepreneurs do one of two things when they experience disappointment:

1. They quit.
2. They pretend they’re fine.

Neither strategy works.

Instead, Dielle teaches entrepreneurs to intentionally plan for disappointment before it happens.

Step 1: Give Yourself Permission to Feel Bad

One of the most practical frameworks from the episode is this:

Process disappointment for half the amount of time you spent creating the goal.

Examples:

• One month preparing a launch = two weeks processing disappointment
• One hour creating content = thirty minutes processing disappointment

This creates healthy emotional boundaries.

You’re allowed to be disappointed.

You’re not allowed to live there forever.

Step 2: Figure Out What Actually Went Wrong

Most business problems fall into one of five categories:

1. Offer
2. Niche
3. Content
4. Lead Generation
5. Conversion

That’s it.

Instead of staying emotionally stuck, identify which area broke down.

Then ask:

• What skill is missing?
• What information am I lacking?
• What belief is getting in the way?

This transforms disappointment into data.

The Entrepreneurs Who Last Fall in Love With the Work

Perhaps the biggest lesson in the episode is this:

Stop putting the goal on a pedestal.

Fall in love with the process.

Many entrepreneurs become obsessed with outcomes:

• Revenue goals
• Follower counts
• Client numbers
• Launch results

But sustainable success comes from mastering the daily actions.

For Dielle, that currently looks like creating five trial Instagram reels per day.

Not obsessing over follower counts.

Not chasing validation.

Simply committing to the work.

The entrepreneurs who stay in business aren’t necessarily the most talented.

They’re the ones who learn how to keep showing up.

The Truth About Entrepreneurship: It’s Always 50/50

One of the most refreshing moments in the episode was hearing Dielle share both her wins and disappointments from the year.

Celebrations included:

• A successful mastermind launch
• A powerful live event
• Over 100 new membership enrollments
• Improved ad funnel performance
• Stronger Instagram results

Disappointments included:

• Inconsistency on TikTok
• Customer dissatisfaction from program changes
• Missing sponsorship goals
• Realizing she had been underselling her membership

And yet she views both experiences the same way:

Celebration shows you what to repeat.

Disappointment shows you what to improve.

Final Takeaway: Build a Plan for Both

Most entrepreneurs know how to dream.

Few know how to recover.

The goal isn’t to avoid disappointment.

The goal is to become the kind of business owner who can handle it.

Because when you know how to process both wins and losses, you stop treating setbacks like emergencies.

You stop questioning your business every time something doesn’t go perfectly.

And you finally build the emotional resilience required to create sustainable success.

Create a celebration plan.

Create a disappointment plan.

And give yourself permission to experience both.

Join the membership: https://forthe23percent.com/everything-sales

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