Ina Coveney
The wonderful Meg Holiday.

Ina Coveney
Also known as Meg Witt. Don't worry. We're going to explain.

Ina Coveney
Hi, Meg, I am so excited to talk to you today.

Meg Holiday
I'm so excited to talk to you.

Ina Coveney
We have so much to cover. But before we get into it, can you please tell everyone—what do you do? And who do you help right now?

Meg Holiday
Okay. So I am a business coach for feminists. And I help them have their biggest month yet in their service business first, and then I help them create their first six-figure year.

Ina Coveney
Love it! Okay, why don't we start with the name? Because I feel like that's going to be the question on everybody's mind. You have a podcast—can you please tell everybody what your podcast is? Plug it right here.

Meg Holiday
For sure. My podcast is Six Figs, which is short for six figures. But I love the idea of figs as an abundance kind of metaphor, which is perfect for sales coaching and for women who are growing their businesses. So Six Figs is the name of my company and also my podcast.

Ina Coveney
And in your podcast, I noticed that you go by Meg. However, when we booked this interview, you went by Meg Holiday. And I feel like this would be a great opportunity, a great platform for you to explain the difference. You know, when you first came on, I was like, I don’t know how to ask about it—was there a sad story that I shouldn’t approach? You never know how to ask. So this is your chance to come clean about the name.

Meg Holiday
Okay! So Witt is my maiden name. I am married, but I never took my husband's last name. About a year ago, I decided—I'd been thinking about it for quite a while—but it was about a year ago that I decided to start going by Holiday instead of Witt because it's a name that I chose.
I decided I didn't want to carry a man's last name, whether one I had inherited from my father or one from my husband. I felt really empowered to choose my own last name. And I thought about it quite a bit—what should I choose?
But to be honest with you, Holiday was there from the beginning. I'm a big fan of Billie Holiday. I also just love, obviously, the vacation vibes that holiday evokes. I think it’s a very classic word, and I just—I don’t know. It felt like mine. As soon as I said "Meg Holiday," I thought, That's what it is.

Ina Coveney
I like to start before we get into your business—and there are so many places to check in on your story—but I like to start way back. Can you tell us where you were born? What was it like growing up being you?

Meg Holiday
Oh, way back. Okay. So I was born in the 80s. I was actually born here in Northeast Ohio, where I live right now. And then, the summer before I started high school—which is a pretty tricky time to make a big move—my parents moved us back to the Cleveland area in Northeast Ohio.
That was a big transition in my little life. I was 15 years old, a freshman in high school, going to a new school and also in a new country.

Ina Coveney
When you were in high school, what did you think you were going to be when you grew up?

Meg Holiday
An English teacher.

Ina Coveney
What happened? Did the plan go a different way?

Meg Holiday
Let's see. I entered college as an English major, and I think I claimed English as my major most of the way through. And then I switched it to business in my third year.
Wait. Well, to be honest with you, I went to school in my early twenties—community college—as an English major. And then I dropped out.

Ina Coveney
Wait, wait, wait. You were just going to yadda yadda your way out of ten years of story right there!

Meg Holiday
I'm trying to, you know, synthesize everything and make it as short as possible! But yeah, yeah, I did sort of yadda yadda my way through a decade there.
So I dropped out because, like I said, I was never a really happy or good student. So I dropped out, and then I traveled. I spent time in Scotland for a few months. I spent time in Egypt for a couple of months when I was 19.
Came home. Married my high school sweetheart at 19 years old—it was one month before I turned 20.
That marriage only lasted for a few years, unfortunately. I left when I was 23. And yeah, I was kind of single and partying and doing all the things you do in your twenties. And I had dropped out of college.
Then, I got pregnant with my son at 29.
And my son’s father’s family offered to pay for me to go back to school. He came from a really affluent, supportive family—I love them so much. His mom, actually, who owned a company—she’s retired now—was a true matriarch. She had a couple of master’s degrees, and she had this very successful multimillion-dollar business that she had built over two decades.
She offered to pay for me to go back to school, and I will be forever indebted and grateful to her for that. So I went back when my son was six months old, and my goal was to graduate with my bachelor’s before he went to preschool.

Ina Coveney
I would love to know—because I want to start talking about 2018, right? When the business actually came into play, when the coaching and The Dream Weaver podcast—when all these things started. So what can you tell us to help us jump from you got your bachelor’s to 2018?
If you can just build a bridge for us—because we’re about to start talking business.

Meg Holiday
Okay, I like this. So this is the bridge: I got my bachelor’s. My son went to preschool. He was three. I was 33—something like that.
And just for context, I’m going to be 40 this summer. So that’s where we are now. In 2022, I’m going to be 40.

Ina Coveney
Thank you!

Meg Holiday
I’m going to Italy for my birthday—I’m very excited!
So he went to preschool. I finished my undergrad. I was working for Cleveland Yoga full-time—teaching yoga and managing. I left Cleveland Yoga after four years of working there—I’d been in the yoga world for eight—to work for Starbucks.
And I did that because it felt like one of those secure career moves. I was going to manage a Starbucks store, and I wanted the 401(k), the health insurance. I wanted a salary increase and an opportunity to move up, potentially, to become a district manager.
Because I heard district managers made like $80,000, and that was more money than I had ever considered making. I thought, Well, gosh! If I could become a district manager at Starbucks, I’d really be rolling in the dough.

Meg Holiday
So, I left Cleveland Yoga, and I got into Starbucks. And lo and behold—I hated it. I realized I don’t like corporate culture at all.
And you know, it’s like, I don’t like school. Managing a Starbucks store is very much for people who are good at school, in my opinion. Because it’s very structured. There is a way to do everything. They have it down to a science. And if you can nail that and then train people to nail it, you’re good.
But I think outside the box. I’m an entrepreneur at heart—I just didn’t know it yet. And so the creative side of me, the part of me that loves variety and gets bored very quickly, was not having Starbucks. Nor did I really find it interesting to wake up at 4 AM every day to open a store downtown.
So I actually left Starbucks for The Cleveland Flea, which is a very important piece of the story. Because The Cleveland Flea—which is now closed, sadly—was this beautiful, mythical organization in Cleveland that acted like a business incubator for small businesses.

Ina Coveney
Ooooh!

Meg Holiday
So, every month they would meet in a big parking lot. Sometimes up to 200 small businesses would be there. And it was like a giant party, and all of these small businesses would make all kinds of money on a random Saturday in Cleveland. Because they had exposure, and sometimes those parking lots would have up to 10,000 visitors in one day.
And I became the director of that organization. I became friends with the owner. And The Cleveland Flea was the company I was with when I started my business in 2018.
So I think The Cleveland Flea was that mind-blowing exposure to small business owners that made me realize—okay, corporate’s not for me.
But this—this is for me. These women who own cotton candy stands, little clothing boutiques, who make their own candles—this I like.
So I started my company a few months into working for The Cleveland Flea, I think because I was surrounded by so much entrepreneurship and creativity. I wanted to be a part of it. I felt like I was missing out. So I wanted to start something.
And then, I left The Flea a few months later after my business started taking off.

Ina Coveney
What is your "quitting your job" story?

Meg Holiday
My "quitting my job" story, to be honest with you, is that my boss came to me and said, "It’s either me or your business."
And I said, "It’s my business."

Ina Coveney
Oh, wow.

Meg Holiday
I mean, I wish it was a sexier tale, but that’s the story.

Ina Coveney
That is crazy! Where was she coming from? What was—?

Meg Holiday
Yeah, she—she was actually a she. And I said to her, "Am I not doing my job?"
And she said, "No, the opposite—you are."
But I think she started to get worried she was going to lose me, to be honest. Because I was working very hard and becoming integral at The Flea. And now I had this new business on the side.
I think the writing was sort of on the wall. So I think it was maybe a little fear, a little of that "You're cheating on me with your business" kind of feeling.
And yeah, the ultimatum was given. And I thought—well, it was that first moment when I was very clear that it wasn’t a hard decision.
You know, I was going to leave for my business.
For sure.

Ina Coveney
Here is where I want to get into the pivots that have happened—because it’s been four years. And actually, I started my business around the same time. And in ten years, I’ve basically been at a different evolution of my business every single year.
One of my clients asked me the other day, "Who here has changed their ideal client? And why did you change it?"
And I’m like, Okay, let me count the ways.
So I’d love to know your list. Who have you served in the past four years, and how has it changed?

Meg Holiday
Oh my gosh. Year one—it was anyone who would give me money to help them in their business in any way.
So I was doing inventory. I have quite a background in retail, from managing the boutiques at Cleveland Yoga and Starbucks. And I didn’t go into it, but I also worked retail jobs in high school and my early twenties. So I have a long history in retail.
I was helping a lot of brick-and-mortar businesses with inventory, visual displays, sales training. And I love photography—that’s been a hobby of mine since my son was born. So I was helping people with branding.
You name it—building their Squarespace websites, helping them create business plans. Anything I had learned from business school, I threw in there.
I would make an offer out of anything. I was like, "I’m your girl. I’m your unofficial business partner who’s going to help you with whatever you don’t know how to do in your small business."
Never mind that I had just started my own small business. But if I had taught myself how to do it, I would teach you and help you.
So that was year one—I was a small business consultant. I think I used to say, for women-owned businesses. And it wasn’t more specific than that.
Then, in year two, I actually opened an agency aspect of my business where we did business management, production—everything. So I had an agency within my business.
And then, after that season of my business, I realized I really wanted to coach on sales.
That’s when I changed my business name to Six Figs.
I realized I loved coaching on sales. Because in every conversation I had with a small business owner, we would always end up talking about money.
It just kept happening.
Like, okay, we’re talking about marketing, customer service, programming—all of that. And then I would go, "But are you making money?"
And they would go, "Kinda..."

Ina Coveney
Haha!

Meg Holiday
And I’d say, "Are you paying yourself yet?"
And they’d go, "Uh... a little."
And I’d say, "Have you had a 10K month yet?"
And they’d go, "No... I haven’t had a 10K month yet."
And I’d go, "Okay, now we’re gonna talk. Because this—this is my area."
So over the past two years, I have niched into helping people make more money.
And I specifically target feminist-based businesses. So not as much the brick-and-mortar businesses or product-based businesses anymore.

Ina Coveney
Okay. There’s a story in there that I really want to hear about. But first—
The next 60 seconds are your "toot my own horn" moment.
I want everyone to know about the success you’ve achieved over the past four years. This is your moment.
Tell us—what are your proudest accomplishments?

Meg Holiday
Okay, my proudest accomplishment is that 84% of the women who join my programs have their biggest month yet while they’re working with us—which is so exciting.
And the average growth percentage—meaning how much they grew in their biggest month yet compared to their second biggest month—is over 400%. Which is wild.
So that’s exciting. Also, my mastermind that I hosted last year—it ended at the start of this year, and I’m doing it again right now—every single woman in that mastermind had her first six-figure year while working with me.
Which is insanely exciting.
So those are the two things I’m most proud of.
And then, I would say if I had to add a third thing—it’s how much my mind has changed in the past four years.
I don’t think the same way that I used to think. And I’m proud of that because I’ve done a lot of work to get there—through coaching, through having my own life coaches and business coaches, and so much self-coaching as well.
I’m very, very dedicated to that. And I’m mostly proud of how much I’ve grown my thinking since I started the business.
So those are my big three.

Ina Coveney
Thank you so much for sharing that, because I want everyone to understand what a kick-ass entrepreneur you are and how far you’ve come.
And everything that you’ve done has been through blood, sweat, and tears. Like, this is—you know—this is sacrifice.
Putting yourself out there is not easy. And from everything you’ve shared, everything you’ve gone through, and all my research—it just shows that you are such an amazing woman.
And I want everybody to know that right now.
Because the next story I want you to tell us about is one that I know a lot of people are going to relate to—especially when they’re thinking about, or experimenting with, changing their niche.
So you just mentioned that there was a period in your business where you went full agency.
Now, this was around the pandemic time, right? When the impression was, Okay, people aren’t going to be paying for a lot of high-ticket coaching programs, so how can we adjust? And the solution was, Let’s just do what we can do for everybody.
From the moment you decided, I need to close down this agency and focus on something else, you mentioned in your podcast that there were mistakes made. That there was a lot to learn—from letting go of people, to fulfilling your obligations, to how it was communicated with actual clients.
And I would love to hear that story.
So everybody knows exactly what went on—and what we can learn from that.

Meg Holiday
It’s so interesting because as you’re asking me this, I can already feel the tears.
And thankfully, it’s not because of how challenging that season was—though it was very challenging.
If I had to point to the top two most challenging seasons in my business, that would be one of them—when I decided to close the agency.
But the tears, I think, are coming from how proud I am of myself and of my company, honestly, for getting through that season and being reborn in a way—when I thought maybe I had really screwed it all up.
You know, I thought, Maybe if I close the agency, I won’t have a business anymore.
And I really had to sit with that. I had to lay awake at night with the possibility.
I had all these clients who were paying me monthly for these services that I didn’t want to offer anymore. I had to let go of all these people—all these contractors—because I didn’t want to pay them anymore. This was getting out of hand.
And then, I was going to lose all these clients.
So what if I made zero dollars next month?
And I couldn’t afford to make zero dollars. Most people can’t.
And it was very scary.
I think you probably heard this on my podcast—I had to pay off $40,000 to $50,000 in expenses.
And I didn’t put it on a credit card or take out a business loan. I actually asked everyone to be patient with me while I paid every invoice, gave every client the refund I needed to, and paid every invoice I needed to pay for my contractors.
It was between $40,000 and $50,000—and I did it in six weeks, in cash.
And what was hard was that, of course, I didn’t have any money. Because every dollar that came into the company had to go right back out.
So it was a very draining season.
But I was able to walk away with it being clean and complete—and learning the lessons I needed to learn.
I think the biggest lesson is that when you make decisions in your business that aren’t rooted in desire—your own desire, not your clients', not what society tells you, not what your niche is telling you—it’s a slippery slope.
Because then you start making decisions based on:
What will make me the most money?
What are people asking for?
What’s trending in the market right now?
At the time, it felt like a wise decision because COVID had just happened, and I quickly fell into the fear-based belief that people wouldn’t pay for coaching.
And I started the agency based on that.
And I think it was a hard lesson, but it was a needed one for me. Because I think if I hadn’t gone through it, I would have continued making decisions based on external factors instead of what I actually wanted to do.
And now? I do not make decisions like that anymore.

Ina Coveney
That is such a powerful way of making decisions. And what I want everybody to walk away from this episode with is knowing how to make decisions from now on.
So if someone listening is in a tough spot, how should they make a decision? What’s the right way to do it?

Meg Holiday
So I teach in my programs that the only filter you should use to make decisions in your life and business is:
What do I desire here?
That’s it.
And I can tell you—especially for women—that is a hard one.
Women, and people who identify as women, are not used to prioritizing their own desires.
So sometimes I ask women, "What do you desire?" And they don’t know.
It’s very common not to be able to respond to that question with certainty.
So then we have to figure out: How do we know what we desire?
How does a person even know what they want, if they’ve gone their whole life doing what other people want?
And a good place to start is:
If there were no consequences, what would I choose?

Ina Coveney
That is such a hard question. Because you know, one thing I’m curious about—and I would love to hear this—is when you made that decision...
I want to know, because this is everyone’s first concern, and I know everybody listening wants to know—
What were the worst reactions that you encountered from clients when you decided to close down?

Meg Holiday
Oh, such a good question. You ask the best questions.
Oh man, I could talk to you all day. You really ask the best questions.
Okay. So, the worst reaction I got—well, it probably wasn’t even the worst reaction if we were to look at it objectively.
But the one that stuck with me the most as painful was this:
I called one of my elite clients. We called them elite clients if they were spending—I think—$4,000 a month on retainer with us.
So I called her to let her know that I was closing the agency. And I said to her, "What this means is either: A) We can continue through the end of your contract, and I will personally be taking over your account; B) You can work directly with your contractor moving forward—I can set you up with them; or C) I can refund you for your remaining time."
And her response was, "I just... I just can’t talk to you about this right now. This is right before my launch, and I can’t handle this."
And you could feel the emotional overwhelm coming from her.
It just came crashing down on me. It felt like such an abrupt conversation, and you could tell she was very upset.
And I respected her a lot. She was one of my favorite clients.
I looked up to her.
And I think, for me, even though she didn’t respond in a horrible way—she didn’t cuss me out, she didn’t leave me a terrible review—it still felt awful.
Because it’s so painful to disappoint someone you care about.
To know that someone is saying to you, "You’re not giving me what I want, and I’m disappointed."
I had to sit with that feeling. And it’s uncomfortable.
It’s an uncomfortable feeling to know that a decision you made is affecting someone emotionally in that way.
And I had to do a lot of coaching around this.
Because her emotions and her response were her responsibility.
Not mine.
My responsibility was to show up with integrity. To deliver what I said I would. Or, if I couldn’t, to refund.
To give all the options.
To be in integrity as a service provider.
And to have an open conversation with her.
That’s my responsibility.
Her responsibility? That’s her own reaction.
And it was hard for me to not internalize everybody’s disappointment.

Ina Coveney
I think that’s probably the biggest fear that we all have when we ask ourselves that question—
"What would I do if there were no negative consequences?"
And then the fear kicks in: But wait. There could be negative consequences. And someone could react like that.
So, what’s the next step?
Let’s say we’ve decided—Okay, I’m going to make this really hard decision in my business.
Everybody listening—you know what that hard decision is. Because you already know what you’re avoiding.
So, think about that. Think about how hard it’s going to be.
And now, decide: Okay. I’m going to do it.
But then the fear kicks in.
"What if people react badly?"
Let’s say they do react badly.
Meg, what would be your next tip for how to move past that—so that we can continue to make decisions based on our desires?

Meg Holiday
Yeah. So, the next step is to ask yourself:
"How would I want to be approached in this situation?"
If it’s something where you’re dealing with another human, right?
If that’s not the case—if it’s just you taking this step, like quitting your job and going full-time in your business—then the question still applies:
"If I were on the receiving end, how would I want this information to be presented to me?"
That classic Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
But really take the time to process the nuance of it.
Would I want this information in person?
Would I want a phone call?
Would I prefer an email?
Would I want the person to just say, "Here’s the decision, bye!"—or would I want them to sit down with me, have a conversation, and walk me through my options?
Would I want to be given choices for how to move forward?
"How do I want this person to feel?"
And here’s the hard part:
You can’t control how they feel.
They are going to choose their reaction.
Even if you nail the conversation. Even if you do everything right.
You still don’t get to choose how that person reacts.
And that is leadership.
That is emotional maturity.
That is allowing other people to have their own feelings.
So, you show up in the way you would want someone to show up for you.
And then—here’s step three. And this is the hardest part.
You have to have your own back.
Once you make the decision, you can’t backtrack.
You can’t go, "Oh no, maybe I should change my mind! Maybe I should keep offering this thing I don’t want to do! Maybe I should stay part-time in my job even though I’m miserable!"
No.
Now is when you hold your ground.
Now is when you have your own back.

Ina Coveney
Oof.
I know everybody listening just felt that as much as I did.
We all have that decision we need to make.
Thank you so much for giving us the tools to handle it and take it from there.
By the way, if anybody actually takes action on this decision—come and contact us!
I’ll leave Meg’s information in the show notes so you can tell her how much this conversation impacted you and how it changed your life.
Okay, we would love to hear that.
Meg, this has been wonderful. I just have a couple more questions for you.
What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have about you as a successful businesswoman?

Meg Holiday
That it was easier for me.
I think I get that sometimes. You know, people will say, "Oh, well, you had a business degree," or "You had experience in management," or "You worked at The Cleveland Flea."
Well... I worked at The Flea for seven months.
And my business degree? It was really more about corporate business strategy. I didn’t learn anything about entrepreneurship in school.
But there’s sometimes this perception that because it’s working for me—because I love my business, because we’re doing well—that somehow, it was just easier for Meg.
And I’ve actually had people say that to me.
I think it’s a common thought—if you see someone who has something you desire, it’s easy to excuse their success.
It’s easy to think, "Oh, well, they had access to something I didn’t have access to."

Ina Coveney
Yep.

Meg Holiday
And the truth is... no.
You know, in year one, we made $67K.
In year two, we hit our first six-figure year.
In year three, we did over $300K.
And then last year, we did over $500K—our first half-a-million-dollar year.
And this year, we’re projecting $750K.
And yet, people will still think, "Well, it was just easier for her."

Ina Coveney
If everyone listening had to do what you’re about to tell them to do—like, they have no choice, they have to do it in the next 24 hours—what would that one thing be?

Meg Holiday
They would go to their nearest local bookstore, and they would buy a copy of Loving What Is by Byron Katie.
And they would read it.
And they would start implementing the Four Questions in their life.
And they would do that work—not just for the next 24 hours, but every single day for the rest of their lives.

Ina Coveney
I love that. I will put the link in the show notes.
Meg, you are amazing. Seriously.
Thank you so much for being so generous with your stories, your insights, and your wisdom today.
Can you please tell everyone what you have going on right now? Where can people find you? Where should we follow you?

Meg Holiday
Absolutely!
You can find me at @sixfigscoaching on Instagram. That’s also my website—sixfigscoaching.com.
And my podcast is called Six Figs—two separate words, spelled out: SIX FIGS.
We have new episodes every Wednesday morning, and I would love to have you join us over there.
We also run two programs:
The Room—for newer business owners who want to have their biggest month yet and really learn how to make more money doing what they love. It’s a five-month mini-mastermind offered twice a year.
The Table Mastermind—for graduates of The Room who have reached certain financial milestones and are ready to scale to six- and multiple six-figure years.
Those are the two programs we offer, and I would love to support anyone who is ready to take their business to the next level.

Ina Coveney
Thank you so much! We’re going to put all of that in the show notes.
Meg, this has been wonderful.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Meg Holiday
Thank you so much for having me.