Likes Ain't Cash

An exciting update on the $100,000/month profit journey: I found the "skip" button. With the Cash Creator Model, if I want to make $100,000/month in profit I need to make $103,000 in revenue. I made more than that in July, August and September. I'm getting close. But there's the Ryan Situation: Ryan is my former business partner. We built Cash Creators initially at a 50-50 profit split. Back then he was the head of operations. And he's a machine. Incredible at scaling teams and systems. Yet we decided to part ways earlier in the year because I no longer needed teams. It's just me, 1 VA and my Model. All I need to hit $100,000/month in profit. So he sold me his 50% profit share for around $470,000 split over 12 months. Which means that if I want to make $100k in monthly profit I have to make more than $103k. I have to make $142k in monthly revenue to account for that payment. That's ~$39,000 extra per month. (Which I could get rid of if I just sent him the lump sum already.) But I can't because that one payment would put him in another tax bracket. So we had to hold off until Q4 to send the rest because that's when his tax year restarts. That's where the news come in. It's finally Q4. I'll send that money sometime in the next few months. Which means I may even hit the $100,000/month goal earlier than expected. I've hit that amount before. But it wasn't recurring. And it wasn't all profit. This time it's everything I want: It's $100,000 that recurs every month. That hits my bank account and stays there without being spent anywhere else. Money that's mine and nobody else's. Done how I want it: With just 1 VA. Without working more than 4 hours a day. And it allows me to take a break without anything breaking. Within the year I gave myself to achieve it: It's happening. And when it happens it's gonna be special. As of what happens next, I don't know yet. I'll think about what to do next when I get there. I have plans in the offline world that I'm excited to pursue. I don't know the exact details but I know that $100,000/month in profit will make them easier. Now I'm focusing on what's in front of me: Get the last few weeks right and don't mess it up.

People give a follow because they want information. People give an email because they have a problem. You're always going to have an easier time monetizing email subs than followers.

I change my mind a lot because I'm wrong a lot. I used to think giving everything away for free was optimal. Now I believe that giving everything away for free attracts freebie seekers. I used to believe in growing first then monetizing. Now I'm a bigger fan of smaller, profitable audiences. I used to believe in sales teams. Now I sell $1k-3k/month offers with a Google Doc. I change my mind often. Yet my business made $118k in July and $112k August because even though my opinions may change my fundamentals never do. Some of my fundamentals as a Cash Creator: 1. We don't do maybe's. It's either a yes or next. 2. We run a business. Not a show business. 3. We don't chase because the energy required to chase a prospect is double the energy needed to replace them. 4. We know our Freedom Number and the exact number of clients we need to get there. 5. We love money. But we hate making money in a way that doesn't feel true to us. 6. We work 4 hours a day max. We can go over that limit. But it's up to us and not to external circumstances. We control it. I can be flexible with my opinions because I'm inflexible with my fundamentals. So don't take yourself too seriously. It's ok to change it up if it's not working. It's ok to change your mind if you find a better way. And it's ok to ignore the business you were told to build so you can build your own way instead. That's what we do inside Cash Creators. We build. But we build our way.

7 months ago I had to answer my biggest business question so far: Do I believe or do I not believe? I had just transitioned from a big 15-person team operation down to 3: Me, my VA Christian and Ryan (my business partner with which we split profits 50-50). It was a wonderful operation that made wonderful money. But it just wasn't me. I believe in lean businesses. This one required 15 people to run. I believe in profit first. This one had $30,000-$50,000/month in costs. I believe in selling and controlling access to me. This one had virtually zero access to me. I believe in riding solo. But Ryan and I split profits 50-50. When we switched models (from the traditional coaching model to the Cash Creator Model) we shrinked. - From 15 members down to 3. - From 10 hour workdays down to 2. - From $58,000 in costs down to $3k. ... And we were working less hours, selling with half the words and taking triple the amount of profit home. This experience taught me that hustle gets you to 6 figures profit. But your Model gets you to 7 figures profit. The business got to the point where it only needed 1 founder. So then I had a question to answer: Do I believe or do I not believe in this Model? If I don't believe: Then I can remain partners with Ryan. I don't risk anything and I'd have much less responsibility. But I'd have to give up 50% of my profit every month. If I do believe: Then I can buy Ryan out. But I'd have to accomplish with just 1 VA what took 15 people to do. Face my clients and tell them it's just me now. Risk public embarrassment because this might burn to the ground. And incur a $467,824 debt (Ryan's buyout). I chose to believe. It's almost a half a million dollar debt. I'm still paying him $38,985 every month. Yet that fee is smaller than what I would be paying him if we had not split up. Meaning that even though it seemed gigantic at the time, Taking a $467,824 debt was the right move. Believing in the Model was the right move. Believe in yourself and your work. Competence is abundant but confidence is scarce.

What my Cash Creator Business made in October and what the numbers tell me: Successful Payments: 320 I got paid on average 11 times per day. Payments range from $100 to $5,000. I have Slack muted now because if I get the payment notifications I'll get distracted from what brings them: Me out there testing stuff so that I can make the Model better for myself, customers and clients. Revenue: $108,000. Profit: $100,000. I don't believe in big systems or teams. My costs are Christian (my VA) and some software. And they will remain that way. Even though I made $100,000 in profit every month for the last 4 months, the goal is making it recurring. So that's the next stage: Recurring Revenue: $89,000 (82% of total revenue.) And of that recurring revenue: Core Offer Shell Level (69 people) is 69%. Higher Offer Shell Level (13 people) is 31%. These tell me that the Offer Shell is working at a healthy level. The Offer Shell is how I structure my offer: I don't sell different "stuff" with an Offer Suite. I give everyone the same stuff and sell access to me to implement it: 100% of my clients have the Tools. 16% upgrade to a higher level of access to get help with it. (20% would be ideal to keep profit high and time commitment right within my boundaries.) Cash Injections: $12,000 (11% of total revenue) I have different ways to "inject" cash into the business. Like DMs, Calls, Paid In Full's and other Monthly Passes which sell the same thing: Me. But some formats sell better than others for some people. 11% of the revenue comes from these formats that can take from minutes to an hour a week to deliver. I don't "sell" people into them. They're just part of the menu they get once inside Cash Creators. One-Time Revenue: $7,000 (7% of total revenue) This kind of revenue leaves a bittersweet taste. The sweet part is obvious. The bitter part is bitter because one-time revenue does not recur. I'm a big fan of recurring revenue. But I used to be a bigger fan of one-time revenue and that's why I had months like these: Now I have 82% recurring revenue. Back then I had 7% recurring revenue. An $85,000 difference per month. It's common for people with no recurring revenue to make $50,000 one month. And then make $50 the next month because their business depends on what they do THAT month, not on the foundations of all PREVIOUS months. I've been there. It's stressful. So now I'm determined on making as close to 100% of my revenue recurring as I can. What's Next: When you cross a finish line there's no point to keep running. It's time to stop and celebrate. As I'm approaching my Freedom Number of $100,000/month in recurring profit, I'll make some changes. The first one is that I'm closing Cash Creators to outsiders so that I can focus on them. I'm running The Final 2 Intakes before that happens. Will send over my list the details via email. The link to join the list is in my bio.

9) Touch Grass I'll be out there doing and building offline things. Maybe land. Maybe a house. Maybe a new passion. What exactly I can't disclose because I don't know yet. But I know that 2024 will make it easier because it will go down as the year where I built a $100,000/month profit business that supports it. Built My Way. The Cash Creator Way: - We're in business, not in show business. - We deal in profits, not revenue. - It's yes or next. We don't do maybes. - We sell with text. Not 1 hour sales calls. - We value audience efficiency over audience size. - Our business not only serves others. It also serves us. - We post Whale Bait. Not fish bait. - We have more demand than we have supply. - We don't create to get paid. We get paid to create. - We're kind. But we're not nice. - And we know likes are cool. - But likes ain't cash. We really made something happen here. To a strong season finale, JK Molina

The Season Finale: What Happens When I Hit $100,000/Month In Profit? $100,000/month in profit by the end of the year. That's the goal I set for myself in January 1: I've made that amount before but I've never made it in profit. Let alone recurring profit. I'm glad to announce that as of today my Cash Creator Business has made $100,000/month in profit for 4 months in a row and it looks like the dream is becoming the truth. The timing of this Season Finale is perfect because I'm entering a new era of my life. I've done my time as an "up-and-comer". And now I've accepted that I'm just not in the same season. I'm getting married soon. I plan to have kids soon after. Don't plan nor want to become famous. And the business makes more than I could realistically spend. This season is ending. A new one is starting in 8 weeks. And although I will not stop doing business, I will stop doing 9 things so I can give less of myself to the world and more of myself to the Cash Creators and people close to me 1) I'm done taking clients. The magic of Cash Creators is in its size. It’s big enough to help each other get to our $1 million profit goal. But small enough so that I don't lose track of everybody individually. I'm fairly aware of when folks are struggling and when they're doing well and I like it that way. So 100 is going to become the global limit. And the only way to get in after that will be if they invite someone else or if someone decides to leave and their name is next on the Waitlist. 2) The Final 2 Intakes I'm running The Final 2 Cash Creator Intakes this year in November and December. This will be the final 2 chances people get to jump on the train to $1M with us in 2025. 3) I'll pay Ryan $155,941. Ryan is my former business partner. We used to run this business together until it transitioned to the Cash Creator Model that enables me to serve 80 clients with just 1 VA. I bought his share out for $467,824 in March and pay him $39,985 monthly. As of today I've paid him $311,883 and I'll pay off the rest in one lump sum of $155,941 in December. This way I can enter 2025 debt free and a clean $100,000/month profit business with 97% profit margins. 4) Halving My Zoom Time. Zoom calls are my least favorite part of the business. Currently I'm doing them 2 days a week. Since no new clients will be coming in I plan to reduce it to just 1 where I just help you and keep 6 days of blank space. 5) Block people from my list. I don't do maybes. I only do yes or next. Recently I started blocking "Maybe People" from my list if they start taking up too much energy from me. (It's great.) I'll keep doing it because I want to walk the talk: A Cash Creator Business is there to serve others. But it's also there to serve us, the owners. And if it's eating away at our energy then something needs to be fixed. 6) A Lower Level Of Access Most are not at the level to become a Cash Creator. Yet they could make use of some of the Tools. I haven't given them an easy way to access them yet so I'll start a lower tier of access. It will require no extra work from me but also will let others implement the Model that took me here for themselves. 7) The Highest Level Of Access I believe an audience is just a channel to find the 100 people you can make life changing money with. And among those 100 people there's 5 you can make generational changing money with. I'll be partnering up with 5 Cash Creators and consult them indefinitely in exchange for a share of what we create together. I've played long term games. Time to play long term games with long term people. 8) The Art I'm not a businessman. I'm a writer who happens to do business. In this new phase I'm most excited about having time to dedicate to my art. Every time I create a workshop or some kind of material I find things that could be better. I'll refine them with the goal of creating the Model to build $1 million/year in profit client businesses with the least amount of complexity.

Complex vs. Simple Businesses I've done both and found a clear winner. I’ve ran a team of 15 people. Had an infrastructure that cost me $59,000 per month to maintain. Complex. Today I run a $78,000-$100,000 per month business with 3k per month in costs with one philosophy: Simple. This business does not include setters, closers, ads, sales calls or more than two people ever. Not because I don’t want to. But because I don’t need to. I thought I needed complex: "You need the big team." "You need to put out volume." "You need to have the right infrastructure." When in reality Simple suits me much better: Not a big team. But a lean team. Not volume. But signal. Not the right infrastructure. But the right business model. Cash Creators don’t want to be famous. We want to be rich. We want a lean, highly profitable business. And reach our Freedom Number without working more than 3 hours a day. And for that, Simple will do. This simple Model has 5 main components: 1. Build a following of people that can afford you with Whale Bait. Because Fish are for people who want to be famous. We would rather be rich. 2. Turn them into leads with Insight, not Value. Because Insight speeds leads up but Value slows them down. 3. Use The Workshop Funnel to filter the leads willing to pay. 1 customer is worth 50 leads. When you focus on creating customers you're finding both people with a problem AND the willingness to pay for a solution. 4. Turn them into clients with your Proprietary Google Doc Offer. This is an offer that nobody solves the way you solve. It allows you to sell $1k-$3k offers without a sales call and it's how I built my business to $100,000 in July and August with just 1 VA. 5. Upsell them into packages 2-3 times more expensive with your Offer Shell. That doesn't monetize "more" stuff. But gives your favorite clients closer access to you and is easier to sell. You can find the 39 minute walkthrough of it on my YouTube.

There's two kinds of clients: Value Seekers and Answer Seekers. A Value Seeker is all about "more". He's the guy that goes to a buffet and grabs everything because "it's there and he paid for it." Concepts like "boundaries" are foreign to him because he doesn't respect them. If he buys a 1 hour call and his problem is solved in 45 minutes, he will keep you on the call for the other 15 to make sure that he "gets his value". Answer Seekers are different. They go to a buffet and stop eating when they're full. They'll pay you your rate and are almost guaranteed to NOT consume all your stuff. If they buy a 1 hour call and you solve the problem at minute 45 then he'll politely say goodbye and leave at minute 46. They don't seek more like Value Seekers. They just want an answer because they're Answer Seekers. Which one you get is largely based on your offer. You attract Value Seekers with irresistible offers: When your offers are so good that you attract the lowest of the low. But you attract Answer Seekers with Idea-Based Offers: When your offers are based on ideas that Value Seekers don't see value in but Answer Seekers do. I serve Answer Seekers. There's a few Cash Creators that had their 1-on-1 call with me in January and I haven't heard from them since. Yet they're still around because they might need another answer later on. These kinds of clients are rarely attainable with Irresistible Offers. But they appear when you have an Idea-Based Offer.

Sell More By Speaking The Local Language If your clients say stuff like "I need more leads. These leads are broke." Then sell them something with the word "leads" on it. Same with money, time, illnesses... I saw one offer the other day about "helping you save 40 hours per month". I "kind of" understand how much it is but not really. And copy that's "kind of" good doesn't sell. Selling an "hours per month" offer is the equivalent of speaking that person's clients' foreign language. People won't get it. Speaking in the local language (terms that they understand and use in their everyday life) is easier to understand and thus easier to sell. It's not hard. But it requires unlearning some bad habits. Habits instilled in people by gurus who have such a powerful brand that they don't need to speak in the local language. Their brand is so strong that they can say anything and get away with it. Assume that's not you. Be smart and speak the local language. What does your target audience say to themselves, verbatim? What's a term they keep articulating but are not aware of? That's the term you use. Not terms like supercharge, master, revolutionize, game-changer, autopilot, 10x, implement, skyrocket and other "guru-speak" that the eye glances over. Let them speak the foreign language. You speak the local language that everybody understands and makes it easy to do business with you.

Sell More By Speaking The Local Language If your clients say stuff like "I need more leads. These leads are broke." Then sell them something with the word "leads" on it. Same with money, time, illnesses... I saw one offer the other day about "helping you save 40 hours per month". I "kind of" understand how much it is but not really. And copy that's "kind of" good doesn't sell. Selling an "hours per month" offer is the equivalent of speaking that person's clients' foreign language. People won't get it. Speaking in the local language (terms that they understand and use in their everyday life) is easier to understand and thus easier to sell. It's not hard. But it requires unlearning some bad habits. Habits instilled in people by gurus who have such a powerful brand that they don't need to speak in the local language. Their brand is so strong that they can say anything and get away with it. Assume that's not you. Be smart and speak the local language. What does your target audience say to themselves, verbatim? What's a term they keep articulating but are not aware of? That's the term you use. Not terms like supercharge, master, revolutionize, game-changer, autopilot, 10x, implement, skyrocket and other "guru-speak" that the eye glances over. Let them speak the foreign language. You speak the local language that everybody understands and makes it easy to do business with you.

Why Leads Ghost: Leads ghost because they have the roles reversed. They think that they are the ones with the status. That they are the luxury good - yet they have it backwards: There are thousands of people with the problem you solve. But only you can solve it the way you solve it. This makes you, by definition, the luxury good. Yet leads don't see it that way because the way other coaches behave made leads believe that THEY are the luxury good. Open Instagram and you’ll see it: Most coaches hate doing talking head videos. But even though they hate them and look like they're being held hostage, they do talking head videos. Most coaches hate chasing leads and following up. But even though they know they're devaluing themselves and their skills, they keep doing it. It's hard to respect someone with such clear misalignment. Leads think “If you’re a luxury good why do you behave like a tryhard?” The offer was never the problem. It’s the flipped power dynamics that are the problem. The way to flip them right back is to stop the behaviors that flipped them in the first place. And to make the highest status move you can make in a market of copies: To be yourself. To only create what you feel like creating. (I stopped doing most videos, ads and cut my content output by 75%. Yet I take home double the profits.) To not tolerate what you're not willing to tolerate. (I don't chase leads. I don’t do maybe’s. I only do yes or next. I'm 3 $100k months in a row in and the principle has served me well.) To do stuff that feels right to you even though it looks wrong to others. (My design sucks. My automations are often broken. I use my laptop's camera, wired headphones and sell with a Google Doc. It's suboptimal but it works for me and my clients and that's what matters.) Most coaches never build their business their way because they're afraid of what it will do to their income. The irony is that in a world where everyone's a copy, Being yourself is optimal because it creates a cycle that makes leads respond: When someone's getting ghosted it's rarely a skill or offer issue. It's a status issue that's solved by having the courage to be themselves and to build their business their way.

Why Leads Ghost: Leads ghost because they have the roles reversed. They think that they are the ones with the status. That they are the luxury good - yet they have it backwards: There are thousands of people with the problem you solve. But only you can solve it the way you solve it. This makes you, by definition, the luxury good. Yet leads don't see it that way because the way other coaches behave made leads believe that THEY are the luxury good. Open Instagram and you’ll see it: Most coaches hate doing talking head videos. But even though they hate them and look like they're being held hostage, they do talking head videos. Most coaches hate chasing leads and following up. But even though they know they're devaluing themselves and their skills, they keep doing it. It's hard to respect someone with such clear misalignment. Leads think “If you’re a luxury good why do you behave like a tryhard?” The offer was never the problem. It’s the flipped power dynamics that are the problem. The way to flip them right back is to stop the behaviors that flipped them in the first place. And to make the highest status move you can make in a market of copies: To be yourself. To only create what you feel like creating. (I stopped doing most videos, ads and cut my content output by 75%. Yet I take home double the profits.) To not tolerate what you're not willing to tolerate. (I don't chase leads. I don’t do maybe’s. I only do yes or next. I'm 3 $100k months in a row in and the principle has served me well.) To do stuff that feels right to you even though it looks wrong to others. (My design sucks. My automations are often broken. I use my laptop's camera, wired headphones and sell with a Google Doc. It's suboptimal but it works for me and my clients and that's what matters.) Most coaches never build their business their way because they're afraid of what it will do to their income. The irony is that in a world where everyone's a copy, Being yourself is optimal because it creates a cycle that makes leads respond: When someone's getting ghosted it's rarely a skill or offer issue. It's a status issue that's solved by having the courage to be themselves and to build their business their way.

The Whale Theory I have a theory I call the Whale Theory: 10% of buyers are willing to pay 10 times as much. But theories are only valuable if you test them: Last month I opened the Cash Creator Store where anyone could buy a workshop. But I also added an option that was 10 times as expensive to buy ALL workshops. The numbers: - 80 people bought a $100-$300 workshop. - 14 people bought a $1000-$1,500 pass to get all of them (that's 17.5%) - 4 people became clients at $350/week (that's 28%). The percentage of people who paid 10 times as much wasn't 10%. It was more. The Whale Theory was wrong (in a good way): Most people don't buy your stuff because it's too expensive. But some Whales don't buy your stuff because it's too cheap. To them, an offer that's 10 times as expensive isn't a stretch. It's optimal for both parties. Business is more fun when you apply Whale Theory. A thought experiment: Let's say your goal is $1 million per year. It's a big number. For some it's too big. But it only feels that way until you realize that it's not that many people. 168 folks paying you $500/month gets you there. 84 folks paying you $1,000/month also gets you there. Yet you need less. After getting there myself I realized the number is actually 67. 55 Whales paying you $250/week and 12 Whales paying you $750/week. Added up this takes you 94% of the way to the million. You can supplement the other 6% with one-time offers like courses or workshops and you're already there. With just 67 Whales. You don't need 1000 Whales. You don't need 100 or even 84. You just need 67 plus some customer offers. When you take into account that thousands of people follow you, 67 Whales is within your reach if you avoid the distractions and have the right plan.

The Whale Theory I have a theory I call the Whale Theory: 10% of buyers are willing to pay 10 times as much. But theories are only valuable if you test them: Last month I opened the Cash Creator Store where anyone could buy a workshop. But I also added an option that was 10 times as expensive to buy ALL workshops. The numbers: - 80 people bought a $100-$300 workshop. - 14 people bought a $1000-$1,500 pass to get all of them (that's 17.5%) - 4 people became clients at $350/week (that's 28%). The percentage of people who paid 10 times as much wasn't 10%. It was more. The Whale Theory was wrong (in a good way): Most people don't buy your stuff because it's too expensive. But some Whales don't buy your stuff because it's too cheap. To them, an offer that's 10 times as expensive isn't a stretch. It's optimal for both parties. Business is more fun when you apply Whale Theory. A thought experiment: Let's say your goal is $1 million per year. It's a big number. For some it's too big. But it only feels that way until you realize that it's not that many people. 168 folks paying you $500/month gets you there. 84 folks paying you $1,000/month also gets you there. Yet you need less. After getting there myself I realized the number is actually 67. 55 Whales paying you $250/week and 12 Whales paying you $750/week. Added up this takes you 94% of the way to the million. You can supplement the other 6% with one-time offers like courses or workshops and you're already there. With just 67 Whales. You don't need 1000 Whales. You don't need 100 or even 84. You just need 67 plus some customer offers. When you take into account that thousands of people follow you, 67 Whales is within your reach if you avoid the distractions and have the right plan.

A lot of people are scared of it. They avoid it. Try not to touch it. I embrace it. And use it every time I can. The infamous N-Word: Numbers. People are terrible at abstraction. To get them to see the value in your offer you need to make things tangible for them. It's the difference between Lose 10 Pounds (tangible offer) and Transform Your Physique (abstract offer). An offer with a number on it will sell more than an offer without it. In my experience, this is the case most of the time. The problem is that it can feel like limiting. Some people are ahead of that number. Some are behind. So it may feel like picking one means you're closing yourself off to the other. It's a constant back and forth with no right choices. The right move here is to let go of the idea that there is a "right" number. It matters that it's there. But it matters less that it's "right" because people rarely buy because of that number. They buy because of you. The number just needs to be there a logical way to justify the purchase. For example when you go out to eat with a friend you care more about the friend than the food you'll eat. You're really there for your friend. The food is just the logical justification. Offers work like that: When people work with you they don't really mind the exact number on the offer as much as they care about getting your help. They're there for you. The number is important but it's nothing more than the logical justification of working with you. Travis (Cash Creator) told me: "I've been doing this stuff for 20 years man. I like your marketing stuff on that but what I'm really here for is to learn your systems." Travis didn't care about my numerical promise. He makes more than that. Yet it needed to be there to give us both a logical justification to work on what he really needs. The number was wrong. But because people buy you, and not your offer, it still works. Put some numbers on your copy. People buy your stuff for different reasons so you will never get the number right. Yet you'll get more deals than if you didn't have it.

A lot of people are scared of it. They avoid it. Try not to touch it. I embrace it. And use it every time I can. The infamous N-Word: Numbers. People are terrible at abstraction. To get them to see the value in your offer you need to make things tangible for them. It's the difference between Lose 10 Pounds (tangible offer) and Transform Your Physique (abstract offer). An offer with a number on it will sell more than an offer without it. In my experience, this is the case most of the time. The problem is that it can feel like limiting. Some people are ahead of that number. Some are behind. So it may feel like picking one means you're closing yourself off to the other. It's a constant back and forth with no right choices. The right move here is to let go of the idea that there is a "right" number. It matters that it's there. But it matters less that it's "right" because people rarely buy because of that number. They buy because of you. The number just needs to be there a logical way to justify the purchase. For example when you go out to eat with a friend you care more about the friend than the food you'll eat. You're really there for your friend. The food is just the logical justification. Offers work like that: When people work with you they don't really mind the exact number on the offer as much as they care about getting your help. They're there for you. The number is important but it's nothing more than the logical justification of working with you. Travis (Cash Creator) told me: "I've been doing this stuff for 20 years man. I like your marketing stuff on that but what I'm really here for is to learn your systems." Travis didn't care about my numerical promise. He makes more than that. Yet it needed to be there to give us both a logical justification to work on what he really needs. The number was wrong. But because people buy you, and not your offer, it still works. Put some numbers on your copy. People buy your stuff for different reasons so you will never get the number right. Yet you'll get more deals than if you didn't have it.