The March Inside Scoop: 🚀 Lemon7 Investor Style Update
Lemon7 Monthly Investor Style Update
Hey!
Welcome back to my 8th monthly investor-style update, where I transparently share the highs and lows of running my business and personal development.
This month I really reflected a lot on why I am writing this newsletter, especially after the inclusion of more personal metrics last month. I have to say that creating a forcing function to check in and make public my progress every month is an unbelievable driving force to improve performance. I think about having to write this all month when I am working on projects both work and personal and it’s become a huge momentum pusher.
If you missed any of the past updates, you can catch up here:
In this email, you'll find:
✅ Goals, sales, successes, and challenges.
✅ Financial data.
✅ Behind-the-scenes decisions, strategies, and pivots.
This isn't just a newsletter - it's an open book. Let’s dive in! 👇
TL;DR
Revenue Growth: Revenue in March increased 22% over February so we closed out the month strong and have 14% MoM growth confirmed for April (though I expect this to be a little higher as our pipeline is strong).
Sales Pipeline: Our pipeline continues to perform well, we’ve managed to continue an 80% success rate which is really exciting to see. I have continued to use the tool Pitch for our proposals and now we can get really nice analytics on how people view our proposals and have made a ton of adjustments off the back of it to improve sales. It’s my new favourite sales tool.
Customer Retention: 0% churn from Jan-March which was great news! However, it’s been 4 months since we experienced churn, so I suspect we will experience some soon.
Market Trends: The market feels good but it’s still hard to tell how Q2 will pan out. Especially because we still work with a lot of American clients and things are out of our hands there (politically speaking). The tariffs are also causing some panic amongst our Irish clients selling into the USA.
Team Expansion: We’ve just hired another employee. This will likely be the last of the team expansion until we hit at least €65k MRR. Both to support the margin goals of the business and because we’re really resource strong now.
Scaling Up: Last month I noted that scaling means shifting from being the person who ‘does everything’ to being the person who ‘builds the machine.’ I’ve really tried to hand over as much as possible to my team this month and I am continuing to do so. I am forcing myself to take time off in April to see how folks function without me in the picture.
Key Metrics:
In February we predicted that we would grow 25+% or so going into March but we were actually closer to 22% as I pushed a couple projects into April. We’re coming into the summer season soon which is always quieter than anticipated so April and May is really the last of my selling season. April’s closed MRR already has us on a 500k run rate which feels like this 👇👇
Here’s what the graph panned out to:
Also I want to flag a little bit of a pattern I am seeing as I grow. Below is the graph from last month. And you can see just how much revenue doesn’t get closed when onboarding moves slower than anticipated and revenue gets pushed out. We experienced that a lot on February and March and it made their actual closed revenue lower than we had modelled. This is good to know for cashflow, revenue can often be a lagging metric and we feel some of that lag more as we grow.
Here is what we can predict the business will look like in April 2026 if we continue to grow at 10% month-over-month and have 0% churn.
Projected April 2026 10% Month Over Month Growth:
MRR in April 2026: ~€125,000
ARR in April 2026: ~€1.5 million
Projected April 2026:
Here’s an updated forecast showing projected growth with:
📈 10% Month-over-Month growth but also:
🔻 5% Month-over-Month churn
MRR: ~€70,000
ARR: ~€850,000
Churn will definitely become more of a factor as we grow. I always hated churn but part of me lately is trying to grow to anticipate it and even harder… love it. Why? It’s not much of a secret that I am an unbelievable people pleaser. I panic at the face of confrontation and it’s a problem. I often will hold onto clients that are a bad fit just to keep people happy. Sounds ridiculous even as I type it out - why would anyone do that? Too afraid to face the confrontation. It’s been a problem where I have held onto bad fit hires for too long, bad clients for too long and worked myself into the ground etc. But it’s going to be a key thing to embrace and face moving into the next phase of growth.
Team & Expenditures:
We’ve two new folks starting in April which I am really excited about! And we have lots of new expenses that come with that (wages, subscriptions, office space etc.). As always we aim to work to 40% margins. (In other words revenue - expenditure = profit and that profit should be 40% of the revenue) However, in April and May - that’s going to be 26.7%. But I am placing a bet that with more resources I can close more deals and have more bandwidth. It’s a bet nonetheless but hopefully it pans out.
Diversification of Revenue Streams:
Pipeline:
When it comes to building a sustainable business, few things matter more than pipeline and revenue and just as importantly, where they come from. Relying too heavily on a single channel leaves me vulnerable to market shifts, algorithm changes, or sudden budget cuts. I realised when I got to this section this month that I have been focused too much on diversifying my revenue by looking at alternate sources of revenue rather than looking at alternative pipelines for the agency. A healthy pipeline means I get predictable revenue, less stress, and more control over growth.
It’s critical to weathering the ups and downs of running a business.
This month my pipeline finally diversified in a more tangible way. To date my business has been solely focused on word of mouth, referrals and my Instagram and LinkedIn presence to a lesser degree (yes a large Instagram audiences does not equal strong agency leads). But this month I have put a deeper partnership strategy in place. I’ve partnered with other agencies to provide overflow support, meaning their pipeline becomes my pipeline. This is a strategy I intend to continue.
I’d feel comfortable if there was 5 lead sources that regularly provided pipeline to the agency as we grow into the next phase of growth. Right now I only feel like I have a solid 2 and the others are hit and miss. Word of Mouth and now partnerships. This also explains why my close rate is so high (80% of pitches closed isn’t going to sustain). However, once my revenue from these pipelines go back to 35+% then I will release funds to grow a 3rd avenue, which will be when paid advertising is going to kick off again.
Courses:
As mentioned last month, I’m going to aim to have this account for 15% of the company revenue by the end of the year - that’s the big stretch goal. One of the new employees is going to be spending 1.5 days per week solely dedicated to the next steps on this - so there’s resources allocated to this to at least get started and realign on a growth model from there.
Podcast:
Last month I mentioned that I am still really eager to get back podcasting but I just cannot figure out the best structure for this.
I am doing this for a 3rd time so as mentioned last month, I intend to do it properly with metrics, prep and all the rest so don’t reach out if you want to do a “I just show up and talk” podcast. I’d be treating you as a co-founder on a side hustle which is the podcast if I was to launch another one and really dig into it deeply from research to production to launch.
I am open to ideas. Anyone want to pitch me to co-host a podcast with them? Email jen@lemon7.ie
Marketing Experiment Results:
Email Marketing Evolution:
400+ new subscribers since I sent last months email. I started posting a little bit again on Instagram which is the primary driver of growth for the email. It’s good to see it picking back up again. Almost at 7k!
No other active experiments are live right now. As mentioned above the next real marketing avenue for scale is the paid advertising piece and I will be including that in this growth model as well.
What I feel good about:
Our sales pipeline is stronger and more predictable than it’s ever been. We’re hitting an 80% close rate, which gives me a lot of confidence going into Q2.
I’ve finally started to diversify the pipeline, moving beyond word of mouth and audience-driven referrals into partner-based acquisition, and it’s already showing signs of traction.
We’ve had 0% churn for 3 straight months, which is both a relief and a sign that the work we’re doing is consistently valuable to our clients.
I’m proud of how I’ve continued to shift into a leadership role, delegating more and beginning to truly build the machine instead of being the machine. This is something I really had to work on.
The newsletter itself has become a forcing function for reflection and accountability - and that’s helping me move faster and more intentionally every month.
What I Am Freaked Out About
Churn is coming. We’ve gone 4 months without any, and I can feel it around the corner. That being said I actively build for this not to happen (I strive to have an amazing service for all clients) but the bigger we get, the more inevitable it becomes - and I need to be better prepared to handle it.
Margins are tighter than usual due to new hires and investments, dropping to ~26.7% in April/May. I believe it’s a smart bet - but it’s still a bet.
Time off is coming. I’ve forced myself to step back a little in April as a systems test… but truthfully, that makes me a bit anxious. I know I need to, but it’s hard to watch from the sidelines. Realistically I will inevitably jump in - but I want to see just how much I need to. But I also haven’t taken more than 3 days off in a row since 2020.. so I need to - I’ve never not worked on holiday for the last few years which has been a pain for anyone with me.
There’s still a lot riding on just two lead sources, and while partnerships are growing, I’m not yet at the diversified pipeline I know we’ll need to hit the next level.
Personal & Fun Highlights in March
The days are getting longer here in Ireland again and the sun is starting to come back out. Which means being able to squeeze in more time before and after work for fun moments like this in Lough Hyne. It’s making my personal development goals much easier too to work on!
Health & Wellness Goals & Performance
Ok last month I was absolutely freaking out because my metrics in terms of my personal fitness were falling off a cliff.
Here’s where I was at the start of March and what I sent in last months newsletter.
Here’s where I ended March with my goals for April:
5KM Run Time is improving (38:42 → 30:45), I hadn’t run properly since week 1 of Feb and the best result was last week of March, so 8 weeks of training. I managed to get from really bad to not terrible. It is still not an amazing time by any means, but I’ll take the win. I’m up to 3 runs per week now which is a huge step up from Feb when I was falling off. My only goal for April is to get under 30min.
Bone Mass is holding steady (3.3kg → 3.3kg), which shows strength training is maintaining its impact.
Sleep Performance is still near perfect (99 → 97), so consistency remains solid here.
Weight dropped again (68.85kg → 66.5kg), which is heading in the right direction toward the goal of under 60kg. Still a long way to go but progress is progress.
Recovery is improving slowly (62 → 68), still not ideal but trending upwards.
BMI is down (25.9 → 25), small but noticeable and at least moving in the right direction.
Muscle Mass dipped again (40.8kg → 40.2kg) Muscle mass dipping is also ok for me right now while I focus on fat % as a primary.
Body age is now at 43, down from 46. Still a long way from my real age, but finally trending down rather than up - thank god. I think the goal is to be younger than your age anyway - so I have another decade + to shave off yet!
What’s next and What I need help with:
Clients:
If you know someone looking for paid advertising or social media management we’ve streamlined out pricing and proposal requests. Those can be shared here.
Courses:
We’re ramping up work on the course side of the business in terms of the build. If you’ve taken one of my previous courses - or have thoughts on what you’d love to learn from me next. I’d genuinely love to hear your ideas.
Podcast Co-Host Search:
I’m still open to the idea of launching a new podcast, but I don’t want to do it solo. I’m looking for someone who wants to co-create it from the ground up - someone as obsessed with performance, development, marketing and growth as I am. If that’s you, pitch me your idea: jen@lemon7.ie
Growth Ideas:
If you’ve scaled an agency with paid media and are willing to share lessons (or mistakes), I’d be all ears. Please feel free to send those my way.
March Sign Off:
Thank you for taking the time to follow along on this journey. If you have questions, feedback, or just want to chat, hit reply - your email will land directly in my inbox.
Warm regards,
Jen