One of my guilty pleasures, especially back when I started my biz in 2019 and would spend at least 4 hours a day prospecting (work that required time, and close to little brain power), was listening to a YouTube show about movies.
I didn’t like the host so much (who will remain nameless to protect the guilty). He was kinda cringey, but he also kept me plugged into different news stories with movies I’m interested in.
The real star of his show was one of his co-hosts, who, despite being connected to Hollywood (this dude even worked on the production team for the Lord of the Rings movies), he was unapologetically not “woke,” especially for Hollywood standards.
Anyway, this movie news duo created a fairly popular YouTube show about movie news, which even I admit ain’t the most exciting topic. They shot their show from the host’s garage. They accepted SuperChats on YouTube (some of which were upwards of $50 a pop). And from the outside looking in, it seemed like quite a simple, yet successful business that was able to fund rent for multiple people living in Southern California.
But then the downfall happened…
And in fact, the seeds of the downfall were planted long before the actual downfall happened.
Why?
Well, the founder and creator of the show created a business that enslaved him, instead of a business that served him.
For example, even though the gist of the show included reading off news stories from Hollywood publishers, the host would wake up at 5 am every morning and do at least 4 hours of prep before the show started every day.
(Worst part? Nobody even really cared about most of the topics they covered unless they were superhero related. In other words, this dude busted his arse for something his audience didn’t really want, when he could've done a few minutes of prep and created the same level of a show.)
Now, some of these segments got bookoo views. But from my vantage point, the show made the most money from basically holding an AMA after the main show every day.
And instead of doubling down on that, which would’ve cut his workday in half (or more), they doubled down on the main show that nobody really cared about.
And this is where the downfall picked up speed.
Why?
Well, one of the braindead decisions the creator of said made was, instead of doubling down on the AMA content, he doubled down on high-end production value—something that literally nobody cares about on YouTube.
He moved the show from his garage (which cost a whopping $0 in rent) to a M-A-S-S-I-V-E studio, which probably cost around $10 grand in rent each month. (Remember, we’re dealing with Southern California, where the rents are higher than most people make in a month.)
He also made a whole host of other mistakes like:
* Firing the co-host who was a fan favorite because at a certain point he was “hemorrhaging” money because his new and unnecessary studio and production team devoured too much of his budget.
* Leaking Spider-Man photos, which got him banned from going to movie releases (which is the main reason for living in Southern California in your in this bidness)
* Going full woke and talking shit on any of his fans who thinks the new Little Mermaid movie sucks
* Being a complete and utter buffoon
* Telling his audience he was gonna do one thing with his show, then do a 180 the next day without explaining or showing a lick of transparency (including saying that he made enough money to retire, even though a week before he fired the fan favorite co-host because he was “hemorrhaging” money)
* Paying for his wife’s 5th degree because it’s a status symbol for her to get more degrees that she won’t use
The list goes on.
Today, I almost never watch his show. And I know I ain’t the only one who shares this sentiment.
Moral of the story?
Downfalls can happen quickfast in bidness. Especially when the mistakes pile on top of each other in the way I described above.
But one of the best ways to prevent your mistakes from bankrupting your business is by having an email list, and sending it emails consistently.
Not only does it help prevent bankruptcy, but if you decide to work with me, then it can also be the main lynchpin that takes your business from grossing 6 figures a year to 7 figures and beyond.
Of course, this doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why the sooner you hit reply, and the sooner we start working together, the sooner you’ll armor your business with a bankrupt-proof shield and start planting 7-figure seeds in the soil that is your business.
The ball’s in your court now, cully.
John
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