How much help is too much help? When do you go from the actual worker to the visionary? And where does AI fit into all of this? Over on LinkedIn, I said using AI to write your book is like using a car to run a marathon.  People took issue with that. So my friend Alastair MeDermott and I decided to have a good old fashioned debate.  You’ll hear a nuanced discussion around: How to think about AI assistance in writing and content creation Where AI can help versus replace in the creative...

Imagine making $70,000…from your bedroom…in one night.  That’s exactly what Matt “Dappz” McGuckin did with his online trading cards shop. He got his start “breaking” – that is, buying and opening boxes of cards live online, and selling the contents…all on TikTok.  Sounds risky? It is! But today, Dappz Sports is the Live Shopping Company on TikTok in the U.S., making over $20 Million in gross sales. So the risks have paid off.  Now maybe it seems like too far-fetched to say you’ll make $70K in...

Over the years, I’ve published a great many gift guides on my blog. From freelancers, to podcasters, to working from home, and even my hobbies — like pens and cigars. And this year is no different. But given my relatively new focus on helping solopreneurs (and the fact that the “Work from Home” guide is starting to feel a little stale), I’ve decided to change things up in 2023. That's why this year, I'm introducing the Solopreneur's Gift Guide. Enjoy!  Links The 2023 Solopreneur's Gift...

Do you remember the most awkward moments of your life? One for me was definitely the day I was defending my master’s thesis. I was explaining a complex algorithm, when my advisor interrupted me and said, “Well…that’s not really how it works.”  In front of my classmates, other faculty, and a number of friends who showed up out of support. As you can imagine, I was mortified – until recovered, finished the presentation, and said, If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Unless...

A family walks into a talent agency, and says, “Have we got the act for you…” If you’re familiar with this opening to a joke, you may have had a visceral reaction to it — either you think it’s hysterically funny, shamefully disgusting, or both. It’s the opening to the joke, The Aristocrats, and if you have a weak stomach, I don’t suggest you look it up. See, the point of this joke isn’t actually the punchline, which is right in the title. The point is to see how long you can improv a...

In a way, the chaotic start to our interview, followed by a calm, cool conversation, is a metaphor for Jordan’s business journey this year.  See, this isn’t just a story about how to hire good people for your business. It’s a cautionary tale, and proof that running a business is about always learning and adjusting.  Jordan runs an agency of high-level remote assistants.  Today, she’s telling us her own trials and tribulations with making what seemed to be the right hiring call but ended up...

It's podcast swap time! Except I'm telling you about another podcast of mine: Podcast Workflows. It's a daily podcast that focuses on how to help podcasters improve their processes. Every Wednesday, I do a deep dive into someone's process, and that's what I'm bringing you today. Learn more at https://show.podcastworkflows.com/ Arielle Nissenblatt eats, sleeps, and breathes podcasts. Her main job is with a podcast company. Her newsletter is all about podcast curation. She runs a podcast...

If I wanted to cater to the current algorithm gods, I’d probably talk about how this interview is all about what AI can and cannot do for us. But it’s so much more than that.  Much like the problem with leveraging AI to do all of the heavy lifting, me positioning this episode as “about AI,” would be inauthentic. And authenticity…well that’s really what this episode is about.  Tom Schwab is someone who believes at his core that you’re just One Conversation Away from a profitable…and perhaps...

Did you know that Netflix is also a gaming platform now? That Apple make TV shows? That Disney own a number of YouTube channels without the Disney branding? It’s because they know what Steve Woodruff knows.  If you’re a podcaster, you might think the competition is other podcasters. If you make movies, you might think the competition is another movie. You’d be wrong.  See, what Netflix, Apple, Disney, and Steve know, is that the competition is everything. People are assaulted every day by...

Imagine running a high 7-figure business with over 300,000 followers on social media, then launching a podcast. How many downloads would you expect? 100,000? 150,000? What about…10?  We’ve all been there: we spend a TON of time pouring blood, sweat, and tears into a project just to have it launch to crickets. That’s exactly what happened to Yong-Soo Chung with his podcast. Despite the social following, no one cared about his show.  But instead of wallowing in self-pity or shutting the show...

Cohort-based courses are on the decline if the tastemakers are to be believed. And it makes sense. Now that people aren’t stuck at home, they probably don’t want to spend time interacting online when they can interact IRL. But that doesn’t mean that CBCs have no utility.  In fact, I think that there’s a great way we can make CBCs even better, by employing a tactic that has been explored in the K12 and higher education settings: the flipped classroom. In the episode we’ll:  Check out the...

I love Hibachi. I love the food. I love the experience. That seems a lot like building in public, right? After all, the chef is literally cooking in front of us, building our meal. But according to Kevon Cheung – a guy who’s built his entire community by building in public – Hibachi is entertainment.  In order to build in public, you need to take your audience on a journey with you. That’s why he believes building in public is more like Omakase. This is where the chef will choose the foods...

You need to tell a good story, no matter what kind of content you create. This is obvious in fiction, but it’s just as important in non-fiction. Don’t believe me? Take it from Emmy Award-winning producer, Cody Sheehy. He creates documentaries, and today he tells us why storytelling has been crucial to his work, and is crucial to yours too. In the PRO show, I couldn’t resist: I asked what it was like to win an Emmy.  Top Takeaways Everything comes down to having a good character. Your...

If you think about social networks as people, LinkedIn is TikTok’s dorky older, more professional sister…that the younger, more hip sister needs to borrow money from. That’s how Kathleen Celmins sees it, and she’s very effective at selling on LinkedIn. In fact, she says that if you’re just trying to grow your follower count on LinkedIn, you’re doing it wrong. Instead, it’s all about the connections. How do you convert those connections into clients? That’s what we get into during this call....

I used to think that promoting my podcast was a matter of tweeting it (Xeeting it?) and hoping for the best. And while I’ve learned a TON over the years about what to do, and what not to do, Deirdre Tshien still blew my mind as we talked about her traffic pyramid. As the co-founder and CEO of Capsho (an AI tool to help create promotional assets), she knows a thing or two about how to market and grow your podcast. We’ll get into that, plus podcast discoverability tips that change my approach...

It's the summer and I just came off a ton of travel, so this episode is a mishmash of things and a little rambly. Strap in! We’ll talk about a contract position I have, plus some new partnerships I’m excited about. Then we’ll move to my summer of travel and how I’m managing the workload before moving onto the main event: 5 tools I’m trying out this summer.  In the pro show, I talk about what I’m using Notion for, more about my new position, Luma, and seeing a therapist.  Show Notes Arc...

“I don’t need to write it down because I’ll remember” is hopelessly naive. Sorry if that stung, but it’s true. You need to write things down, as Andy Ayim MBE learned when he started his digital journal.  He’s a father, husband, creator, thinker, investor, and founder of The Angel Investing School. He has invested in over 17 gap-closing startups. And he would be completely lost without what he calls his “Tracker” - a digital journal he keeps in Notion. In fact, he believes his Tracker is so...

They say fortune favors the bold, and that’s definitely the case for Brooke Janousek. After decades in the marketing industry, she decided to strike out on her own and needed to take any opportunity she could get to help her business grow. So she took her shot by asking Sara Blakely’s (founder of SPANX) husband, during his talk, in front of 800 people, for a chance to meet her.  According to Brooke, you need to be bold in your own business- “if you don’t have a seat at the table, you need to...

If you’re a parent, you’re probably familiar with something that’s been recently reintroduced into my life. It’s 2 am, and my 7-month-old son wakes up and is in need of a new diaper and bottle. So I get up and head into his room. I’m half asleep, I need to undo his PJs, change the diaper, and redo the PJs. And there is one type of PJ's that are head and shoulders above the rest: the reverse zip PJs. So good in fact, that I’m certain they were designed by parents that had the same exact...

Are you missing the boat on user-generated content? User-Generated Content (UGC) isn’t just for getting testimonials on social media. In fact, today’s guest, Tory Gray, says we can use it for almost anything: SEO, user research, social proof, FAQs, and so much more. And she should know! Tory is a highly experienced digital marketing consultant and the Founder of The Gray Dot Company. With more than 15 years of experience in SEO and growth strategy, Tory has helped numerous businesses achieve...

A few weeks ago Jay Clouse wrote about Experimentality on his blog. This is a concept I love because experimenting is the only way to know if what you're doing works as best as it can. I've been experimenting a lot with my podcast, content, and automation. I like writing about what I'm trying for my members...I think it's a big benefit of the membership. I thought I'd give you a little peek into two experiments I'm running now. Get your FREE copy of my Automations Library ★ Support this...

“I despise social media.” This was my first impression of Tim Stoddart, and I was hooked. If you're feeling frustrated and discouraged by the lack of engagement relying solely on social media posts, you are not alone! But you, like me, might be taking the wrong approach. Tim says long-form content is king, and he should know. He’s the CEO of Copyblogger and writes prolifically. If you’ve been struggling to make an impact through short-form content, this interview is a must-listen. Get the top...

Earlier this month I made two decisions about the newsletter that you may have noticed: I got rid of the “Quick Hits” section (which was mostly my own content) in favor of a 300-500 word section on some top-of-mind topic. I added a monthly digest of all the content I put out during the month, sent on the last weekday of the month. The two are related. I still want a way to let my newsletter subscribers know about the content I’ve put out, in case they missed it. But it also serves 2 other...

What do you get when you follow the pack instead of doing what’s best for you? A bad content strategy. A year ago, I decided to focus on short-form content because I saw all the “thread Bois” doing it and thought it would help my business.  It didn’t. But luckily, you can course-correct your strategies. And thanks to some key talks and inspiration from CEX and Craft+Commerce, I’ve decided that long form is the best strategy for my business (and probably yours, too).  Get the top takeaways,...

Picture this: it's 2020. Your spouse is a nurse. You have one small kid with another on the way. You know child care will fall full to you for at least half the week. Oh, and you're trying to run a business. What would you do if your work week was effectively cut in half? I knew I needed to get help in my business, so I found a VA. Over a few episodes, I'll talk about working with my VA, starting with how I decided I needed one and where I found her. Get your FREE copy of my Automations...