This is a very hard post to write, I’ve had to stop and restart several times. I think getting to the point quickly is probably the best way to go.

So here it is:
I have come to the decision to close the business. Both Ignite Video Challenge and Light It Up Video Marketing will officially close on September 1st, and our recently finished August challenge will be our last.

This whole “online marketing thing” has been a pretty wild ride. I first learned about online marketing way back in 2006 when my partner Mike and I found a product teaching magic tricks on an affiliate marketplace, placed an ad on a magic related keyword, and made something like $20 overnight. Of course, we reinvested that money, lost it all and more, and never made another penny on that product. But it still taught us that it was possible, and that was all it took to catch “the bug.”

It would be another six years before I was making a decent income online, and another three after that before I had the guts to stop being an affiliate to others and make my own courses.

And it was as I was creating a course on marketing and business design that I participated in an online challenge. It was a thirty-day challenge on self-reflection and transformation. And it was amazing.

Even more amazing though, was to see how bonded the group became, how inspiring it was to actually USE knowledge as I learned it, and to see how well it worked. At the end the facilitator offered a chance to work with her, and people LEAPT at it.

I was inspired to try a challenge – teaching video making – as an experiment to launch my course.

It was a little challenge in September, 2015. My first challenge had just 30 people, but I was blown away by the powerful responses people had. The second was 100 people and it just got bigger and crazier from there.

I launched the Light It Up Video Marketing membership as a way for people to continue their growth and answer all the questions they had about improving and marketing their videos.

I have loved running both the Ignite Video Challenge and the LIU membership site for the last seven years. What started as a small experiment became more than a business, and more like a family for me and for thousands of others.

There has been astounding support along the way, in the form of “circle leaders” and volunteers, the incredible Emma & Lizzy Buckley-Goddard who helped shape Ignite & LIU, Vanessa Naja our community facilitator, and Holly Jensen who managed the business. I learned so much about how to operate as a team and delegate in a way that has allowed us to grow.

And especially, Terra Milo. She was one of the thirty people in that first ever challenge, and she went on to become a business buddy and true friend. She’s helped me craft business model decisions and new marketing ideas along the way. About a year ago Terra and I announced our partnership in this business. In truth, I asked (begged) Terra to come in and take over a lot of the video trainings and back end support as I was exploring some new spaces and did not have the capacity to manage both (more on that in a bit).

Terra did an amazing job keeping the business going for so much longer than I could support it, allowing for more people to take the challenge, join the community, and get the benefit of what we offer. Without Terra, we would have had to make this decision over a year ago, and I was definitely not ready to say goodbye.

I am so grateful to Terra, Holly, Vanessa, Emma, Lizzy, our volunteer supporters, and every single person who took the challenge and supported others through it.
This dream would not have come true without all the amazing people who made it happen.

And I’m also so grateful for a loving and supportive family: Mike, Darcy, and Tristan, not to mention my mom Susan, and extended family. They put up with a lot of long hours (days) of not seeing me, the intensity of “challenge season”, and keeping the noise level down when I was recording my videos.

To everyone who has been part of this journey: THANK YOU!

When I say we couldn't have done it without you, I don't think it's ever been a more true statement.

Now, on to my reasons for moving on…
I've been pulling away from the business over the last couple of years to pursue my lifelong dream of being an author and storyteller. I took on a part-time job helping a little publishing studio to market their books, in exchange for training as an author. I’ve gotten more than I could ever have imagined from the experience. I have helped to write dozens of books, and I moved into helping to run the company about a year ago. We are growing from books only to full trans-media storytelling: novels, podcasts, films, and even a TV show or two.

I’ve reached a pivotal moment where I have to take a leap of faith and let go of the old to make room for the new.

Terra too has been moving towards big changes in her business. She is transitioning to working on and for sustainable brands and businesses, to help share a message with the world that she deeply believes in. She’ll still be around, especially to this community, but she’s loving exploring new spaces and doing the work she’s always wanted to do.

Life happens in 7 years cycles, and if some astrologists are to be believed, even The Cosmos operates on 7 year cycles.

We are closing exactly 7 years after the very first 30-day video challenge. And there's something poetic about that. It makes it feel even more right.

What Happens Next:
Terra has agreed to keep some availability at a discounted rate to work with anyone who is in a transitional time of their own. She specializes in marketing strategy, website content, email newsletters/sequences, and content planning. You can see her packages, plus join the mailing list for her updates here: https://terramilo.com/liu-special/ 

For the following “active members” means anyone who has paid their August subscription fee.

Your subscription will be automatically canceled for you TODAY (September 1st). If your payment already went through for today, you will be refunded. There is no action for you to take.

The LIU FB group will remain open (but no longer moderated) to active members until the end of the year. It will close Jan 1st, 2023.

The LIU website will remain open to active members for a YEAR. It will close September 1st, 2023.

I’ve always felt that both Ignite and Light It Up are a launching pad, not a landing place. I know change is scary, and it might feel sad to see this business close. But please know that the time is right. Which means, you are ready to take everything you learned here … and fly.

Thank you for the ride of a lifetime!

With all the love in the world,
Niamh (with Terra, Holly, & Vanessa)