How I Became the #1 Kajabi Expert (And Why I Left)

January 28th, 2023. That's when Kajabi accepted me into their expert program.

I was excited. Proud, even. It felt like validation for years of work.

By the end of 2024, I was the #1 ranked expert on their platform. Most reviews. Most completed projects. Top of the list.

Then I walked away.

Not because I was angry. Not because I didn't like the program. But because the incentives changed in a way that didn't align with how I wanted to work.

Kajabi changed their commission structure. Started taking a bigger cut. Made it less worthwhile to bring in new clients through their platform.

I had a choice: Keep playing by their rules, or focus on the clients I'd already built relationships with.

I chose the clients.

Here's the thing about being #1 at anything: It doesn't mean as much as you think it will.

Sure, it was great for credibility. The badge looked nice. It brought in leads. But you know what brought in more leads? Doing excellent work for people who then told other people about it.

The ranking was a nice-to-have. The relationships were everything.

When I left the official program, I lost the badge. The ranking. The official stamp of approval from Kajabi. But I kept what mattered: The skills. The experience. The clients who trusted me.

And honestly? My business got better.

I stopped chasing projects just to maintain my ranking. I stopped worrying about what Kajabi's algorithm thought of me. I focused on the work that mattered.

Being #1 taught me something important: External validation is temporary. Your actual work is what lasts.

I still get messages from people who saw my reviews on Contra, where they were transferred. They still want to work with me. The difference is that now I'm working with them on my terms, not Kajabi's.

This isn't a criticism of Kajabi. They're running a business. They made a decision that made sense for them. And I made a decision that made sense for me.

That's how it should work.

The ranking was never the point anyway. The point was always building things that work. Solving problems. Helping businesses grow.

I'm still doing that. Just without the badge.

And you know what? The work is exactly the same. The clients don't care about the ranking. They care about results.

That's what I learned from being #1: The number doesn't matter nearly as much as what you do to earn it.

And once you've earned it, you don't need the number anymore.

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