Dopamine purchases that almost cost me $10K

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Some people are suckers for skincare. Some can’t resist the hot new tech device.

Me? I’m afraid my husband will find out how many books I’ve purchased because I couldn’t wait for my number to come up on Libby.

→ 20% off Create Academy (the Masterclass for creatives)? Say less.

→ Tickets to a public lecture at Brown? Sold.

Look, I was a PBS kid, but I’m not the smartest person in the room when it comes to money.

Turns out, being a magpie for information doesn't make you immune to impulse purchases—they're just more embarrassing to admit at parties.

Enter, spending territory we’re all familiar with: Online Business Courses & Digital Products. (A.K.A. Business crack for learning enthusiasts.)

Black Friday is upon us, and if there's a promise of learning something new wrapped in compelling copy with a countdown timer, my credit card practically levitates out of my wallet.💸

But that "deal" costs way more than the purchase price.

Last week, Jessica Lackey published an article that had me nodding my head at practically every line.

There are three real costs of buying anything for your business:

Cost 1: The Financial Cost (the actual price)
​Cost 2: The Learning/Implementation Cost (the time and energy to actually do the thing)
​Cost 3: The Run/Tend Cost (the ongoing effort to maintain it for at least 3-6 months)

Most of us only consider Cost 1. We think about whether we can afford the $997. But Costs 2 and 3? Those are the silent budget killers.

As Jessica puts it, "If you can't pay all three costs, you're wasting your money—no matter how good the deal is."

My dopamine receptors don’t want to hear it.

But this is exactly the kind of clear-eyed, no-BS thinking that's helped me sustain a real business this year, instead of performing business theatre.

I'm on track to generate an extra $10K in profit compared to last year.

And I slashed my business expenses by 55% because I finally tracked which business activities and tools generate revenue and which don't.

Most of us are stuck in "authority building" mode (churning out content, obsessing over broadcast marketing) when what we actually need is a season to focus on "business foundations."

• Clear pricing that covers your costs and pays you well.
• Building relationships that lead to referrals and sales.
• Making sure your marketing matches your business model.
• Knowing your numbers and how to use them to make decisions.
• Aligning your daily, weekly, and monthly schedules to match your capacity.
• Building systems that don't drain you, but empower you to do your best work.

I was drawn to Jessica after literally years of searching for a coach. She built her early career on the ops side of offline businesses before diving deep into the online business world. (Obtaining a Harvard business degree, along the way.)

She legit studied all the major creators and coaches you know to unpack what the hell they were selling and how they are getting away with it.

She knows how real businesses work and how the online space often...doesn't.

All of this wisdom is packed into her new book, Leaving the Casino: Stop Betting on Tactics and Start Building a Business that Works.​

If you want to know exactly what our 📢Voxer rants📢 sound like, they’re in the book:

• What's wrong with the Profit First model if you're a solopreneur
• Why teaching creator model tactics to service-based businesses is rampant malpractice.
• Telling people making under $100K in revenue to hire sooner when they can barely afford to pay themselves is bonkers.
• How you can't outsource the core way your business makes money.

Jessica’s rants evolved into an actionable field guide full of frameworks, “I’m going to hold your hand when I say this” tough love, and the kind of grounded perspective that makes you think, "Oh. So that's why nothing's working."

Some more gems from the book? 💎

• Why most business advice is designed to sell you more business advice.
• How to know if you're actually building a business or just playing entrepreneur.
• The real reason why "more content" isn't solving your revenue problem.
• How to make decisions when everyone's selling you a different "proven path".

If you've been feeling like you're gambling on every shiny tactic and strategy, hoping this next one will finally pay off, this book is your exit strategy.

​Make this book your fall reading challenge.

(Available on Amazon, too.)

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Now, off to see if a countertop espresso machine counts as a business expense,

(Kiddddding. Kind of.)

​Copywriting Services→ Portfoli​o→ Template Shop→

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Thank you to Convertkit for letting me use their address so I don't have to waste money on a P.O. Box.
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