If you had access to someone who’s already walked this path, made the mistakes, learned the hard lessons, and actually figured out what works what would you ask them first? Would it be: - “What should I focus on and ignore?” - “What did you wish you knew earlier?” - “How long did it really take before things clicked?” I’m also curious… Do you prefer figuring things out on your own, or would you rather learn directly from someone with experience so you can avoid wasting time (and money)? Everyone’s different, we see from different angles.... Drop your thoughts below, sometimes just saying it out loud is the first step forward.

I gave away 40-50% of my tickets for free on purpose when I started throwing parties. Made MORE money doing this than trying to sell 100% of tickets. Sounds backwards, right? But here's what 22 years organizing San Francisco Nightclub Party events taught me about building ANY business: WHEN I STARTED, I HAD A CHOICE: 1. Try to maximize profit on my first events 2. Focus on packing the venue and building proof I chose option 2. And it changed everything. THE PRINCIPLE (WORKS FOR ANY BUSINESS): Give away value upfront. Building proof matters way more than making money in the beginning. In my world: A packed room with free tickets beats a half-empty room with paid tickets. In your world: Maybe it's free consultations, beta access, sample projects, or discounted first-time offers. Why? Because when you're starting, nobody knows if you can deliver. WHAT THOSE "BREAK-EVEN" EVENTS ACTUALLY GAVE ME: - Social proof (photos of packed rooms) - A list of people who actually showed up (not just expressed interest) - Relationships with key partners (venue owners in my case, could be suppliers/clients in yours) - Word of mouth (my $100K secret: spent $0 on advertising because my results were so good, my customers did the marketing) - Momentum and credibility Your first project isn't your revenue source. It's your PROOF source. Once I had proof I could consistently deliver, everything changed: Better deals. Higher prices. Bigger opportunities. More revenue. THE SAME PATTERN I'VE SEEN ACROSS INDUSTRIES: Consultants who give away their first 3 sessions vs. trying to charge premium immediately Course creators who run a free pilot before selling the full program Freelancers who do one killer project at a discount to build their portfolio Product makers who give beta access to early adopters They all prioritize proof over profit early on. And they all scale faster because of it. THE HARSH TRUTH: People who quit after their first launch because "it didn't make enough money" never build the reputation needed for long-term success.

Most people join Skool to learn and “network” in very specific niches. For others, it's a place for making money and/or building a following. Skool is similar to Facebook and similar to Reddit and yet it's completely different. There's lots of communities (gaming, fitness, business, AI, etc) - some are free, some are paid, some invisible, some public. This makes it an ideal solution for businesses, educators, and influencers who wish to build an audience, monetize content, sell digital products, or offer coaching programs. Guru paradis-🤐 You don't need to have an existing audience - there's SEO possibilities and communities also benefit from getting free users through skools discovery page. Pros of Skool Communities: 1. There's multiple ways to make money, not only for community owner - it's members as well. 2. Thanks to skools 'dicovery' feature, you can get members from existing communities and users, people tend to flock around which means organic growth for those that have an existing group. 3. Skool has features that help improve users interaction with gamification, boards and events. Cons of Skool Communities: 1. While skool has cool features, it comes at a cost - $99/month, or $9/month (free trial) with some features limited. 2. New users might find the platform complex initially, with many features to discover it takes time to learn and navigate effectively. 3. You will have to make updates to keep things engaging and manage the community while keeping out people with ill intentions 🚨🤖 (dropshipping 'experts’). How to make money using Skool? START a paid community: (this is an affiliate link, I'll explain how the system works) This involves charging people for access to your Skool community and courses. For more monetization options you can leverage sponsored content, affiliate marketing, consulting, and one-time course sales. START a free community

...so I found this exercise "What's Cool About YOU" that's going to make you WAY more interesting to talk to. Seriously. I got this from Sean Stephenson (the three-foot-tall giant, may he rest in peace)... ....and it's called "What's Cool About You?" Here's the deal... ...when we meet people in Skool communities, we do the boring stuff: "I'm a course creator" or "I run a marketing agency" or whatever. YAWN. 🥱 But what if you could share the WEIRD, COOL, RANDOM stuff about yourself that actually makes people go "Wait, WHAT? Tell me more about that!" That's what this exercise does. It helps you remember (and share) the stuff you've done or experienced that you normally wouldn't mention... but which opens the door to WAY deeper, more fun, and more intellectual conversations. ...because let's be honest... nobody remembers the person who said "I do Facebook ads." But they DEFINITELY remember the person who said "I once trained myself to become #3 in the world at footbag" or "I have a street dog in India named Scooby who's in charge of 12th Road." 😂 HERE'S THE EXERCISE: Write down everything that's COOL, WEIRD, INTERESTING, or UNIQUE about YOU. Not your business accomplishments (boring). YOUR life accomplishments. YOUR quirks. YOUR stories. Some examples to get you started: - "I was a vegetarian for 25 years" (then went back to eating meat like a savage) - "At twelve years old, I won a silver medal in sailing in the Norwegian championship" - "I became one of the biggest party promoters in San Francisco" - "I pet or talk to ALL dogs I meet on the street... because I know they need love" - "I was in the Army and became the second-best dog handler... with a BRAND NEW dog that had never been trained" (the winner had a dog that had been there for 6 years... just saying 😏) Or maybe you've got stuff like: - "I can solve a Rubik's cube in under 2 minutes" (okay, that's not impressive, but if it's under 30 seconds, NOW we're talking) - "I once ate 47 tacos in one sitting" (don't judge me) - "I taught myself to play ukulele during lockdown and now I annoy everyone at parties" - "I lived in a van for 6 months and loved every second of it" - "I can name every country in the world in under 5 minutes" (nerd alert)

Hey everyone, how's the new week going, hope your are learning and implementing the strategies you are learning from this community in your various businesses? IF NOT, what's stopping you. let's talk and help each other grow?