491: An Ex-Meta Insider's Guide To Scaling Ads With AI

Ever wondered why every time you reach a new revenue level, the same exhaustion shows up — just dressed differently? In this conversation, Natalie sits down with Julie Santiago — founder of We Are The Women, former Wall Street operator, and one of the rare guests who can break down what high-functioning burnout actually looks like at the 7- and 8-figure mark. Julie walks through the three burnouts that shaped her career: the Wall Street year that put tumors on her ovary at 28, the coaching practice she rebuilt in a San Francisco apartment, and the post-motherhood collapse that brought her to her knees again. The takeaway isn't grit. It isn't quitting. It's something Julie calls evolution and it's the framework most high-achieving women never get taught. This isn't about hustle, balance, or finding your why. It's a brutally honest breakdown of what high-functioning burnout actually looks like at the 7- and 8-figure mark, why the same pattern that builds your success eventually breaks you, and how to evolve past the cycle so you stop ending up in the same place at every new level. Time Stamps: 00:59 The childhood imprint that built an 8-figure business and broke it 05:45 Wall Street, tumors at 28, and the body's verdict 13:10 The 2-path trap: why pushing through OR quitting both fail 20:45 Why clunkiness is a season change, not a failure to optimize 28:40 The match-my-salary moment her therapist shut down 33:22 Safety, surrender, and a new relationship to money 38:18 The metaphor that broke her thinking about money's source 43:30 Going all-in vs. knowing when to evolve Resources + Links: Pre-Order The Freedom-Based Business Method. Follow Julie on Instagram Learn more about We Are the Women Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter & Get Insights From Natalie Every Single Week On All Things Strategy, Motherhood, Business Growth + More.  Drop Us A Review On The Podcast + Send Us A Screenshot & We’ll Send You Natalie’s 7-Figure Operating System Completely FREE (value $1,997).

In this conversation, Natalie sits down with David Bach — the #1 New York Times best-selling author behind The Automatic Millionaire, with 10 books and over 7 million copies sold across 33 years in finance. David walks through the ONE money habit that the majority of America's 24 million millionaires share, why "some day never comes" for most entrepreneurs planning to sell their business, how buying the building your business rents turns operators into accidental millionaires, the 10-day stock-market stat that can cut your long-term returns in half, and the mortgage rule banks don't want you to know.  If you're an entrepreneur wondering what the smart financial move actually is in this economy, this is the playbook built for you. TIMESTAMPS 02:30 How financial groundwork buys you the freedom to choose 14:51 Where to start when your business is actually cash flowing 18:30 The #1 money habit: pay yourself first (before anything else) 19:55 The accidental-millionaire move hiding in your rent check 23:10 The lifestyle-inflation trap (and the "quiet wealth" exit) 33:35 Rent vs buy: the debate that only started 10 years ago 41:23 The two assets behind 24 million American millionaires 45:10 The 10-day stat that should change how you invest 51:30 "If I don't know, I don't owe" — the much needed lesson on money shame 55:00 Always borrow less than the bank offers you RESOURCES + LINKS Pre-Order The Freedom-Based Business Method. Join David's Insider Launch Team To Get Early Access To The 2026 Update Of The Automatic Millionaire — His Step-By-Step Playbook For Building Financial Security On Autopilot, No Budget Required Follow David On Instagram For Daily Money Insights: https://www.instagram.com/davidlbach/ Follow David On Facebook For Long-Form Financial Breakdowns: https://www.facebook.com/DavidBach/ Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter & Get Insights From Natalie Every Single Week On All Things Strategy, Motherhood, Business Growth + More.  Drop Us A Review On The Podcast + Send Us A Screenshot & We’ll Send You Natalie’s 7-Figure Operating System Completely FREE (value $1,997).

What does it actually take to build a 3M+ personal brand while running a $250M company? In this episode, Natalie sits down with Leila Hormozi - COO of Acquisition.com - to break down the playbook for personal brand: how Leila built one of the top personal brands without making it her full-time job, why deprioritizing content was the move that finally made her brand compound, and the practical content systems (including how she really uses AI) that let her ship without burning out. Expect specific numbers, a counter-discourse case for personal brand in the AI era, and a content "double dip" framework you can install this week. If you've ever wondered whether building a personal brand is even worth it in 2026, or you're a founder trying to figure out how to ship content without it taking over your life, this episode is the operating system. Time Stamps: 00:00 - The personal brand strategy that grew 3M+ followers  01:43 - Why content compounded after she stopped trying so hard 06:24 - The mentor's "ham and garlic" rule for packaging 09:35 - Why your niche is "one of one" — the anti-niching case 15:36 - The AI rule that separates real brands from AI slop 18:50 - Why personal brand is MORE valuable in the AI era 24:15 - Inside the first 100% AI-driven sale at Acquisition.com 29:17 - The doubling-constraint scaling lens for personal brand 35:51 - The newsletter she built without writing a single word Resources + Links: Follow Leila Hormozi On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leilahormozi  Leila's Letters Newsletter: leilahormozi.com Pre-Order The Freedom-Based Business Method. Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter & Get Insights From Natalie Every Single Week On All Things Strategy, Motherhood, Business Growth + More. Drop Us A Review On The Podcast + Send Us A Screenshot & We’ll Send You Natalie’s 7-Figure Operating System Completely FREE (value $1,997).

Most coaches scaling past $300K hit a ceiling and assume they need a higher-ticket offer. Maria Wendt did the opposite and built an 8-figure business selling $24 products. In this conversation, Natalie sits down with Maria Wendt — the founder behind an 8-figure business built on low-ticket products. Maria breaks down how she scaled to near-$1M/months working ~10 hours a week, the front-page checkout architecture that turns $1 orders into $100+ carts at a 60% take rate, why she walked away from the $1M/year coaching model after her daughter was born, and how she scaled to 100K YouTube subscribers in seven months with a webcam and no editor. If you've ever wondered whether low-ticket can actually scale past seven figures — without a higher-ticket offer, a bigger team, or longer hours — this episode is the full operating system. Time Stamps: 01:15  -The low-ticket 8-figure model 07:35 - Maria's first two years: $63 → $350 13:18 - The single-mom pivot to low-ticket 16:24 - Pricing, AOV, and lifetime value 21:00 - Checkout architecture and front-page bumps 31:40 - Content strategy: three types 38:25 - The $850K/month math 43:20 - Hiring strategy for mom-founders 49:00 - A typical day in the business Resources and Links:  Follow Maria: @maria.wendt on Instagram Free tutorials, free guides, and the full $24 product library lives at mariawendt.com. Pre-Order The Freedom-Based Business Method. Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter & Get Insights From Natalie Every Single Week On All Things Strategy, Motherhood, Business Growth + More.  Drop Us A Review On The Podcast + Send Us A Screenshot & We’ll Send You Natalie’s 7-Figure Operating System Completely FREE (value $1,997).

Seven months off the podcast. Three of them completely offline. $2.2M in revenue while she wasn't there. Natalie is back and this is the most honest breakdown she's given of what the gap actually taught her. In this episode, she breaks down exactly what happened, why this maternity leave performed when her last one didn't, and the foundational sales engine, team culture, and AI systems that ran the business in her absence. You'll learn what she's pruning from the business going forward, the new direction she's taking the show, and the one question every founder should sit with this week. If you've ever worried that your business runs on you, that if you stepped away, it would all stop, this episode is the operating system you need to start unwinding from being the bottleneck. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - The package that made me ugly cry 02:30 - $2.2M offline in three months — no calls, no coaching, no emails 04:20 - Romy's birth + the no-childcare decision 06:10 - The real reason I didn't bring back the podcast in 3 months 08:00 - Where the $2.2M actually came from (sales engine, team, AI) 12:15 - What I'm pruning from the business going forward 14:00 - Going all in on The Boardroom mastermind + a new direction for the show 16:45 - The 30-day question every founder should sit with this week 18:30 - Pre-order The Freedom-Based Business Book — what's inside the bonuses RESOURCES + LINKS Pre-Order The Freedom-Based Business Method: https://www.bossbabe.com/buythebook-podcast Apply For The Boardroom Mastermind Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter & Get Insights From Natalie Every Single Week On All Things Strategy, Motherhood, Business Growth + More. Drop Us A Review On The Podcast + Send Us A Screenshot & We’ll Send You Natalie’s 7-Figure Operating System Completely FREE (value $1,997).