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From Fake CEO to $75M+ in Revenue, Here’s What Changed

Playing to Win

October 28, 2025

newsletter-title

Welcome to the Latest Newsletter
of Playing to Win!

My newsletter is designed specifically to help business owners like you grow your companies with tried & applied bits of business knowledge, all communicated in actionable, bite-sized chunks. I will share insights and advice aimed at enhancing your business operations, boosting your success, and allowing you to focus more on what truly matters. Let's work together to achieve your goals and make your endeavors a reality.

Key Points of the Newsletter

  • Titles can mask insecurity, but growth rewrites identity.
  • Scaling isn’t just about revenue, it’s about internal transformation.
  • Impact is the true metric of leadership, not what’s on your business card.

From Fake CEO to $75M+ in Revenue, Here’s What Changed

 
I still remember the days I called myself a CEO when it was just me, a VA, and maybe one part-time helper doing admin work. Technically, I was the CEO… of a one-man show. I was making seven figures and coaching clients, but let’s be honest, I was insecure as hell.

I needed the title back then. I needed to feel like I was “somebody.” It was a shield. A way to convince myself (and maybe others) that I had it all figured out.

But over time, through hard-earned lessons, late nights, and a hell of a lot of internal work, something shifted.

That title stopped meaning something to me.

Not because I stopped being a CEO, but because I started becoming one. Not in name, but in how I led. In how I thought. In how I showed up for the people around me.

The numbers tell one story. We’ve gone from $3 million in revenue in 2018 to north of $75 million last year. Probably closer to $80M. But the part that hits hardest? That growth wasn’t just financial.

It was personal.

I’m proud of that. Not just because of what it means on paper, but because of what it represents in terms of lives impacted, opportunities created, lessons learned, and teams built.

I used to chase a title. Now I focus on leaving people, businesses, and industries better than I found them.

And when people ask me how I got here, I don’t point to a secret playbook. I point to the work. The reps. The willingness to confront where I was faking it, and do the work to become the real thing.

So if you’re wearing a title you don’t feel worthy of yet, that’s okay. Just don’t stay there. Grow into it.

That’s what leadership is.

Stay tuned for more insights in our next newsletter. Remember, it's the small adjustments that often make the biggest impact on your business's profitability. Here's to your continued success!

Stay driven to push your business forward,
Ryan Niddel