TDW #047: Falling For The Digital Mirage

Issue At-A-Glance:

• Quote: (Jimmy) Buffett on business
• Tweet: invest something
• Thought: $50,000 down the drain
• Surprise: RI-Pee-Wee

Read Time: 4 minutes

Different Quote

If you're an artist, if you want to have control of your life . . . then you gotta be a businessman, like it or not.

via Jimmy Buffett

Different Tweet

The juice without the squeeze. The connection without the commitment. The rewards without the investment. It just doesn't work that way. Don't have money? Invest time. Don't have time? Invest money. Either way, you gotta pony up.

For more thoughts like this, follow me on Twitter here >>

Different Thought

Falling For The Digital Mirage

One of the worst days in my business was when Becca, my CFO, sat me down and told me I needed to leave my mastermind.

(The one, btw, I’d paid $50k to be a part of!)

She told me it wasn’t showing up on my P&L. Meaning: it wasn’t making me any money.

My $50,000 had gone down the drain.

I’d joined the mastermind during a really rough time in business. I felt scatterbrained, confused, and exhausted.

I didn’t know how to get my offer in front of the right people, and my business was mostly serving broke, cheap, ungrateful clients (who often asked for refunds, even after hitting their goals with us).

I was desperate to get out of the “desert” of agency start-up life.

And the mastermind leaders told me they had the unicorn formula for turning my broken business into a magical cash machine:

• Hundreds of cheap leads would discover my business and offer to pay anything to work with me!
• My calendar would always be full of perfect-fit prospects!
• My clients would love me & fulfillment would be a breeze!
• My agonzing work would be over—I’d just sit around eating grapes and closing $10,000 clients!

Easy.

Turns out I should’ve recognized their sales pitch for what it was: a mirage.

I was wandering in the desert and I got sucked in by the sight of an oasis on the horizon.

When really, I didn’t need a magical oasis.

I needed to invest in things that would actually help me survive and get out of the desert: better shoes, a bigger water bottle, sunscreen, maybe even a camel.

I could’ve spent that $50,000 on a project manager’s salary, or a copywriter for my sales pages, or a systems uplevel, or paid traffic.

But I fell for the mirage.

And at the end, I was still in the desert. The only difference was a (much) lighter wallet.

Lesson learned: don't let the digital mirage fool you into thinking success is easy.

It's tempting to believe in a quick fix, but building a successful business takes time, dedication, and hard work.

Instead of chasing after mirages, focus on the real stuff that will help your biz grow and thrive. Whether it's hiring the right team members, refining your systems and processes, or investing in marketing and advertising, there are many concrete steps you can take to move your business forward.

So don't get duped by the mirage. Keep your eyes on the prize and stay grounded. Build a business that lasts. Be in it for the long-haul.

Have you ever fell for the mirage? How did you sober up and find shelter? Hit reply and let me know!

Different Surprise

 RIP Pee-Wee. Here's a nostalgic trip down memory lane—the intro to Pee-Wee's Playhouse. This was the soundtrack to my Saturday mornings growing up!

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