243: The $100 Event That Changed Everything

Yesterday I asked a group of motivated entrepreneurs one question: "What is the voice in your head telling you about why you shouldn't move forward right now?" The chat blew up. I'm too young. I'm too old. My audience isn't big enough. Who am I to talk on this? Nobody's gonna buy from me. I don't have time. These aren't excuses. They are real beliefs that real people carry every single day. And here's what I've learned in 22 years of being online: you cannot out market a belief that says you're not worthy of success. So today is not about tactics. Today is about the thing underneath all of it. I break down the three ways I protect my own confidence as an entrepreneur, share the story of getting cut from my soccer team at 16 (and how my dad got me back on the field), and give you a simple challenge you can start this week. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why higher self-confidence boosts venture success by 27% (even after controlling for funding and experience) • How to "borrow belief" from a mentor when your own tank runs dry • Why founders in weekly peer groups double their revenue growth vs. working alone • The two Slack channels we use to capture wins and kill self-doubt in real time • The 90-day wins challenge: one win a week and see what happens to your confidence   📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me    🎟️ FREE EVENT: Join me at the Audience to Income Summit free at https://membership.io/summit    CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io  Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

We sent one email to our alumni students. No pitch, no offer, just one question: "What's been happening? Give us an update." What came back blew us away. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of our signature course (originally called Tribe, now The Membership Experience). Tens of thousands of students have gone through the program, and we realized we had no idea what most of them were up to. So we sent a simple check-in email. The replies started pouring in. Jamie had built 600 members at $30 a month. Cindy hit a million dollars in revenue. Julie was running 10 different memberships. Shannon had built eight memberships serving thousands of elementary school teachers. All of this was happening in silence, and we had no clue until we asked. In this episode, I break down the three lessons (plus a bonus) from that experience, and I give you a challenge to try this week. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why your past customers are your most underused asset (and how one email can change that) • How to build a system for collecting stories, from the $18,000/month wins to the 250-member wins • Why products with customer stories have a 270% higher purchase likelihood • The bonus lesson: why sharing your progress back to mentors and creators matters more than you think   📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me  🎟️ FREE EVENT: Join me at the Audience to Income Summit. Register free at https://membership.io/summit     CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io  Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

Mike went from frustrated course launches to a $197/month coaching membership where members stay for YEARS. Here's exactly how he did it - including the borrowed influence strategy that got him 7 cent leads.   Mike Indovina started as a drummer chasing rockstar dreams. Today he runs masteryourmix.com - a membership helping rock musicians create professional recordings from home.   In this conversation, Mike reveals:   • The emotional moment that changed everything (fans telling him his music helped them choose to live)   • The "borrowed influence" strategy that built his email list with 7 cent leads   • Why he got frustrated with course launches and discovered memberships   • How he structures his $197/month coaching membership   • The email from a veteran's wife that put it all in perspective   • His advice for anyone sitting on expertise they could monetize   📚 FREE RESOURCE: Get Mike's Borrowed Influence Strategy + Membership Pricing Framework → https://podcast.stu.me   CONNECT WITH MIKE: • Website: https://masteryourmix.com  • Coaching Program: https://masteryourmix.com/amplitude    CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe for new episodes every week.

I almost asked for a refund on a $100 event ticket. I didn't think I could afford it. That one decision led to a $15,000 training paid for by a stranger, a job offer, a free house, a free car, and a career I never could have planned for. In this episode, I'm sharing a story I've never really told publicly before. It starts in 2002 when I was 22, living in my parents' basement, and barely making money as a speaker. I signed up for a $100 event in Toronto, almost backed out the night before, and what happened next set off a chain of events that shaped the rest of my career. Along the way, I break down three lessons about opportunity that I still come back to today, backed by research on why being in the room actually works. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why I almost skipped a $100 event (and how my girlfriend pushed me to go) • How a stranger named Vern Martin offered to pay $3,000 so I could attend an advanced training • The pizza-for-every-meal story from my first trip to Las Vegas • What happened when I brainstormed 10 ideas for a multi-millionaire speaker • Three lessons: put yourself in the room, say yes when opportunity shows up, and make it so the right people know who you are • Research on the "serendipity mindset" and why proximity creates opportunity 🎟️ FREE EVENT: Join me at the Audience to Income Summit, April 8-10. Register free at https://membership.io/summit  📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me    CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io  Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

There is a massive hundred-billion-dollar battle happening right now. And the biggest companies in the world (YouTube, Meta, and legacy media giants like CNN, ESPN, and the Washington Post) are fighting over you. This is the biggest power shift in media history. Creators who understand what's happening right now and take action on it will win long term. In this episode, Stu breaks down exactly what's going on, why it matters to your business, and the three specific moves you can make this week to take advantage of it. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why YouTube has outspent Netflix by $20B over the last five years — paying creators, not Hollywood • How Meta's new Creator Fast Track program pays you $1,000/month just to repost content you're already making • Why 70% of major publishers are worried creators are stealing their audience (and what that means for you) • The three action steps to make yourself findable when a brand or publisher comes looking • Why platform income is fuel, not your engine... and what to build instead   📥 RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me    CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

Matt Diamante's first video was him sitting on a toilet. Three years later, he has a 19-person SEO agency - all from content that makes the "driest topic in marketing" go viral. Matt runs an SEO agency that went from 3 to 19 employees in 3 years - all thanks to social media content. In this conversation, Matt reveals: • Why his first video was him sitting on a toilet (and what happened after) • The "visual hook" strategy that stops the scroll • Why he "tricks" people into learning about SEO • The truth about AI content: "Google doesn't care who wrote it" • How he got 300 people to pay him before he built anything • The founding member launch that changed everything 📚 FREE RESOURCE: Get Matt's Visual Hook Framework + AI Content Strategy Guide → https://podcast.stu.me   CONNECT WITH MATT: • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heytony.agency  • Website: https://heytony.ca  • Get Matt's SEO Book, Get Found, here: https://www.amazon.com/Get-Found-No-Fluff-Becoming-Customers/dp/1068826401  CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io  Subscribe for new episodes every week.

Have you ever wondered if your message is actually getting through? You keep saying the same things over and over, and you look around thinking... is anyone actually hearing this? I want to share a moment that completely changed how I think about that question.   I was driving my daughter and her friend to school, and I overheard my daughter tell her friend, "Sleep makes your brain smarter." That's something I've said to her dozens of times. But she wasn't quoting me. She said it like it was hers, like it was just something she knew to be true. And it hit me: the message had gotten through. I just didn't see it happening.   The same thing is happening in your business right now. Your values, your beliefs, the things you keep saying over and over to your audience and your team, they're landing even when you can't see it. In this episode, I break down three reasons why repetition matters more than you think, and why that urge to switch things up might be the exact signal to keep going.   In this episode, you'll learn: - Why repetition is how people learn (and the research behind 7-10 exposures) - Why your boredom with your own message is actually a good sign - How this applies to your team just as much as your audience - A 10-minute exercise to clarify your three core messages   REGISTER: Grab your FREE seat at the Audience to Income Summit (April 8-10): https://links.membership.io/summit2026    RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me    CONNECT WITH STU: - Website: https://stu.me  - Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  - Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  - Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  - Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

What if one event could build your email list, create months of content, AND generate revenue? That's exactly what we're about to try. And in this episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes.   Register for the FREE Audience to Income Summit (April 8-10): https://links.membership.io/summit2026   A lot has changed in the creator space. Strategies that used to work really well aren't working anymore. AI has disrupted everything. Algorithms have shifted. And it's left a lot of people confused and unsure of what to do next. So I want to share a strategy that's been quietly producing massive results for creators who are paying attention: summits.   I first got inspired by Tara Phillips, a member of my Impact Mastermind. Tara spent 25 years as an educator working with kids with autism, started selling resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, then built a membership. Two and a half years after leaving her teaching job, her membership has grown into a multi-million dollar a year business. She's added tens of thousands of people to her email list and attracted sponsors like Sesame Street and Melissa and Doug Toys. All from running summits.   In this episode, you'll learn: - Why summits solve three business problems at once (list building, content, revenue) - How we built the Audience to Income Summit step by step - The business model behind a free summit with a VIP upgrade - Two big takeaways every business owner should act on this year   REGISTER: Grab your FREE seat at the Audience to Income Summit (April 8-10): https://links.membership.io/summit2026    RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me    CONNECT WITH STU: - Website: https://stu.me  - Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  - Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  - Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  - Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.

Rachel Rodgers ran a $155K Kickstarter campaign in public... where everyone could watch the numbers. For 19 days, it looked like she was going to fail. What she said next changed how I think about entrepreneurship. Rachel Rodgers is the founder of Hello Seven, a multi-million dollar coaching company helping women build wealth through entrepreneurship. In this conversation, Rachel reveals: • The shower breakdown before her DC internship (and what her mom said) • Why she calls herself "ungovernable" and "unemployable" • The $155K Kickstarter that almost failed in front of everyone • Why she LOVES the opportunity to fail publicly • The permission slip: "I'm allowed to make mistakes" • The telethon pivot   📚 FREE RESOURCE: Get Rachel's Permission Slip Worksheet + Public Launch Mindset Guide → https://podcast.stu.me  CONNECT WITH RACHEL: • Website: https://helloseven.co • Instagram: https://instagram.com/rachrodgersesq  • Book "We Should All Be Millionaires": https://a.co/d/hYpZHnF    CONNECT WITH STU: • Website: https://stu.me  • Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  • Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  • Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe for new episodes every week.

If your marketing feels like it's not cutting through the noise right now, this episode is going to open your eyes. I just got back from a family trip to Japan and I walked away with three marketing lessons that every business owner needs to hear.   My kids planned their entire Japan itinerary from short-form video. The strawberry sandwich from 7-Eleven, the Ichiran Ramen restaurant, the bamboo forest -- all of it came from 15-second clips on Instagram and TikTok. And it wasn't just them. I saw a 30-second reel of the Nike running lab in Tokyo, booked it in advance, and walked in the door as a lifelong Adidas guy. That's how powerful this stuff is. But the lessons go deeper than just short-form content. Japan showed me that the experience you create IS your marketing strategy, and that genuine scarcity and exclusivity pull people in instead of pushing them away.   In this episode, you'll learn: - Why short-form content drives real-world action (and the stats that prove it) - How to think about your customer experience as your best marketing strategy - Why genuine scarcity increases desire and how to use it without faking it - The one question to ask yourself this week that can transform a touchpoint in your business   RESOURCE: Grab the resources from this episode at https://podcast.stu.me    CONNECT WITH STU: - Website: https://stu.me  - Book "Predictable Profits": https://a.co/d/4GIi1uz  - Instagram: https://instagram.com/stumclaren  - Podcast: https://podcast.stu.me  - Membership.io: https://membership.io    Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you.