...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)

On LI, I saw a viral AI system hit 20K impressions and 100+ comments from CEOs. 50K impressions. 200+ comments. CEOs clapping like crazy. Founders loved it. Tech guys asked for the template. But here’s the embarrassing part: It didn’t solve a real business problem. It just looked impressive. And this is exactly where most business owners waste money on AI: Fancy dashboards. Complicated automations. Big shiny “systems” that make you feel like the company is leveling up… …but don’t move a single metric that matters. Meanwhile, the things that actually save you money, time, and headaches? They look boring. Almost too simple to be taken seriously. No “AI magic.” No fancy UI. Just fixing the real bottleneck that’s been draining your team quietly for months. Because the value isn’t in how sexy the system looks. It’s in how effectively it removes a problem. AI didn’t replace designers. It just exposed who actually understood the fundamentals. Same with business owners. The ones getting results aren’t the ones installing every shiny AI toy. They’re the ones who understand what not to build. Here’s the split I keep seeing: If you want applause: - Buy the fanciest “AI solution” - Get a glowing dashboard - Show your team how futuristic it looks - Feel like you're ahead of the curve If you want results: - Go deep into the actual bottleneck - Fix the boring, unsexy stuff - Build the simplest solution that works every day - Let the numbers be the validation, not the likes Most business owners chase the feeling of “modern.” Operators chase the feeling of progress. Be honest: Have you ever spent money on a fancy AI system… that didn’t change anything?

Sales leaders' chat with me (most of the time): “We need an AI lead gen system. Pipeline’s empty. Can you build it fast?” I ask the basics: “How’s your current operation running?” “Operations are great. We just need more leads.” Sure. So I ask for 30 minutes with their sales team. And every time, the same movie plays: 1. Their “leads” aren’t leads. Half the pipeline = • Tire-kickers • Wrong size • Wrong industry • No budget • No authority They “have an ICP”… But it’s basically: “Anyone who might need our thing.” Which means nobody. 2. Their outreach is spray-and-pray. “Hey [Name], saw you’re in [Industry]…” 2% reply rate. Not an AI problem. A “you sound like every other desperate rep” problem. 3. Follow-up? Total chaos. Lead opts in. Sales sees it… 2–3 days later. By then the lead forgot they exist. And they expect AI to “fix the pipeline”? Brother… that’s not a pipeline. That’s a dripping faucet. What they actually needed: 1. A real ICP Not “B2B companies.” Not “SMBs.” A precise definition: Exact size Specific pain Budget Titles Tech stack Half the “lead problem” vanishes instantly. 2. Outreach that deserves a reply AI can write 100 emails in 15 minutes. But without real insights, it’s just faster garbage. I built them a system that pulls: LinkedIn posts Company news Website pain signals Reply rate: 0.2% → 7%. Same list. Better truth. 3. Speed-to-lead automation Lead opts in → Slack ping → AI-personalized email → CRM update. All in under 5 minutes. Conversion doubled from speed alone. Not “AI magic”—just responsiveness. 4. Proposal automation 2-day proposal turnaround became 90 minutes. AI drafts → sales refines → send. Close rate: +18%. Deals stopped dying in the dark. The brutal lesson: Most sales teams don’t have a lead generation problem. They have a: - Targeting problem - Messaging problem - Speed problem - Process problem You can’t automate your way out of a broken sales process. You can only automate a working one faster.

Be honest… what’s the hardest part of starting an online business for you right now — consistency, finding clients, or staying motivated? 👇

Hey everyone! I’ve been deep into dropshipping lately testing product ideas, refining offers, and staying on top of the newest tools and systems that actually help us run profitable stores. While exploring new strategies, I came across a lot of useful insights around product validation, AI tools that speed up research, and examples of what’s working for other operators. Thought I’d share some high-level takeaways that might help others here too.