The Laidback Business Bulletin
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Inbox Insider #10 - Sun Apr 6, 2025Welcome to Issue #10 of "Inbox Insiders": Your Email List-Building Backstage PassIn this issue:
Welcome to Issue #10"Inbox Insider" is my Sunday newsletter sharing the behind-the-scenes of what I'm doing to grow my email list to 100,000. I share what works, what doesn't, and how I'm growing. Thanks for reading. Let's dive in: By The Numbers:My Email List
My Ad Account - Lead Magnets:
Instagram (@emailschool): Started Feb 1st
βEmail School (Email-Focused Membership):
Other Audiences:
Deep Dive: A New IdentityMY FIRST SPEAKING GIGWhen I quit my job in 2017, I had to close out a contract with an old client. I was building their funnels and emails for a live event they were hosting in Phoenix. As part of the marketing deal, they asked me to speak at their conference. I was so green. I blabbered on about marketing to my breakout room of 12 people and was too nervous to make an offer. After the event, I chatted with other, more experienced speakers. They were excitedly making dinner plans for a place called "Mastro's" and twittering on about their "butter cake." I'd never been. In fact, I'd never even heard of it. I discretely pulled up the menu online and immediately decided this place was not for people like me. ...The new entrepreneur too chicken to make an offer to a captive audience. While they dined on lobster, steak, and butter cake...I ate Chipotle. UNEMPLOYED IN SANTORINIA few years later, I was back on the entrepreneurial hunt. This time, though, I was unemployed. I took a 6 month gig with one of my favorite clients. It didn't work out, and I was fired right before Christmas. I remember trying to navigate the choppy waters of unemployment and trying to hotwire my old clunker of an online business... Meanwhile, my luxury event planner wife was booking a trip for a site visit in Santorini. I wanted to go. I had never been to Europe. My passport was crisply sitting, unused, in my nightstand. She booked her flight and told me the cost: $2,200. At the time I was selling VIP Days for $1,500. So, I raised my price to $2,500 and sold a few more than usual. Santorini, here I come. When we took the long haul flight (DEN --> LHR), we walked through these MANSIONS of luxury flight accommodations. What celebrity could afford to fly in sux lavish, lie-flat opulence? What brain surgeon, rapper, or professional athlete could ever afford such a perk? (Yes, I now know this is called "Business Class" π). I hunkered down in premium economy and planned my world domination. No more Chipotle. No more Economy class. No more sitting on hold hoping the unemployment office would save me. Time for a new identity. SHEDDING THE OLD IDENTITYMoney's a weird thing. I didn't grow up poor, per se. My dad was a cop. My mom mainly stayed at home with me, my brother, and my sister. I just don't remember having a lot of extra money. We didn't travel much and rarely ate out. I struggled financially in my 20s and 30s. My first entrepreneurial attempt was in the mortgage industry (2004-2009). I shut the doors during the recession. It always felt like 2 steps forward and 1 step back. It was discount shopping, coupon clipping, and vacationing to see my in-laws... I spent the 6 months of salaried employ in 2022 digging out of a credit-card crater. ...which meant when I was fired I only had 1 month's expenses on hand. THE FORK IN THE ROADWell, what now, then? Do I adopt the old identity of a miserly, miserable entrepreneur who lived paycheck to paycheck? Or would I create a new identity of abundance and freedom? I made it to Santorini. One night, after an epic wine tasting and lovely dinner, my wife and I retired to our private plunge pool. (Room upgrades are a perk of her career). We talked and laughed and looked at the moon. I decided then and there that this was the life I wanted to live. More travel. More freedom. More abundance. And something snapped. I wish I could bottle it and give it to you, friend, but everything changed. A year later, we flew to Italy with my parents in Business Class. Four months after Italy, I flew to Fiji. Business Class. I just returned from Portugal. You guessed it... Business Class. A NEW IDENTITYI got back from Portugal on Friday. I sat on the couch with my wife and my dog and chatted about the trip. "Did you learn anything?" "No" I replied. "It wasn't really that kind of trip." However... It was a confirmation of my new(ish) identity. When my Mastermind hosts an event in Portugal, I will attend. I will fly Business Class and eat at the best restaurants. And I will reverse engineer the income I need to generate in my business to make that vision a reality. MASTRO'S REDEMPTIONI'm back in Scottsdale for a 2-day intensive with my own Mastermind. When I got here this morning, I looked around the hotel for a place to eat dinner. And I saw it: Mastro's. I booked a table for 1. I got a filet, mushrooms with truffle butter, broccolini, and a great glass of wine. I even splurged on the butter cake. The old me is gone. The new me is here to stay. Thanks for reading. ~ Cody What's Next:Here's what's on my radar this week:
It's gonna be a great week. Thanks for reading this issue of "Inbox Insiders." See you next week, ~ Cody β β β |
The Laidback Business Bulletin
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