If your Substack recommendations list looks the same as the day you launched, today's 9-to-Thrive issue is for you. I'm walking through the exact 4-step audit I use with my coaching clients to clean up their recommendation network. One creator cut 23 recommendations, pitched 8 new ones, and watched her open rate climb from 31% to 41% in 60 days. Paid subscribers, it's live now → View the Guide on Substack Not a paid subscriber yet? This is the kind of step-by-step breakdown I publish every Tuesday. You can grab 50% off an annual membership and get access to the full archive → GET 50% Off Tell me how many publications you're recommending, how many are recommending you, and how many subscribers you have gotten from recommendations. I'm curious to know. Here are my numbers: Recommending 9-To-Thrive = 235 Publications I'm recommending = 31 Subscribers from Recommendations = 1214

This map shows the full arc of building a portfolio business, from a free newsletter all the way to diversified creator income. Five stages, in order. Each stage shows you the income stream to build, how to know you're in that stage, what the work looks like, and the milestone that tells you you're ready for the next one. Here's how to use it: 1. Download the map below. 2. Find the stage that describes where you are today. Be honest, not aspirational. 3. Look one stage to the right and work towards moving to that stage. If you don't know how, check the classroom for the course that aligns with what you need most. That's it. Don't build ahead, don't build three income streams at once, and don't skip a milestone because the next stage looks more exciting. Skipping stages is how creators end up with five half-built income streams and no paycheck. Once you know your stage, drop the number in the comments and let me know what would help you get to the next stage. Everything I post in this community maps back to these five stages, so knowing yours tells you exactly which lessons and threads to pay attention to first. Which stage of the Portfolio of Paychecks Map are you in right now?

If you're not taking Substack Notes seriously yet, this is your sign. Notes are my #1 growth lever — and this is the tool that runs the whole system. My Notes Tool does the heavy lifting: - Write a month of Notes in one sitting — it pulls from every post I've ever published so the voice stays mine - Show up daily without touching the app — schedule weeks in advance - Keep earning subscribers from old wins — best-performing Notes auto-republish every 4 weeks - Clear every comment in minutes — all engagement in one feed, reply with voice text - Know what's actually converting — Substack analytics in one clean dashboard - Post when your audience is online — it tells you the exact best time If Notes feels like a chore, this turns it into a system. Drop a 🚀 if you want my weekly Notes batching workflow next. -