The Two Most Expensive Words in Your Business

I talked on the show this week about what I think are the two most damaging words in small business right now. And they’re not “no money” or “more marketing.” They’re “what if.”

What if the economy gets worse. What if I raise my rates and lose clients. What if I hire somebody and it doesn’t work out. What if I quit this thing I’ve been doing for years and the new thing flops. We make decisions based on a future we can’t predict and we can’t control, and the result is that we hold on to things way too long and we don’t take the risks we know we should be taking.

So I asked everybody on the show a question and I wanna ask you the same thing: if you wake up six months from now and nothing has changed in your business...is that success? Because for most of us, the answer is no. And yet we keep choosing the safe play because we’re afraid of a “what if” that probably won’t happen.

You’ve already proven you can survive. You’ve got years of evidence that you can figure things out and stay in business. So stop letting an imaginary future hold your real business hostage. And if the worst thing actually happened...you’d react, you’d adapt, and you’d figure it out. You always do. That “what if” you keep carrying around isn’t protecting you. It’s the thing keeping you stuck.

Tweet of the week

A great reminder when you’re creating content:

Put the Phone Down

We talked about the Masters on Monday’s show and something that really stuck with me. If you watched any of the coverage, you noticed it...the crowds at Augusta are actually present. Phones are banned on the course, and what you see is people watching golf with their actual eyes instead of through a screen. It’s weirdly inspiring.

It got me thinking about what a “no-phone zone” could look like in your business. Your next client meeting with phones face-down. A networking lunch where everyone is fully in the room. Even just an hour of your own work time where you close every tab and every notification and actually focus on the big-picture stuff that keeps getting pushed to “someday.”

We spend so much energy talking about what tools to add to our business. Sometimes the best move is to take one away for a little while and see what happens when you’re actually present.

Select Sponsor Opportunity:
Stage time, huge promotion, and more

I’m looking for a strategic partner for the 6th Annual SBOC Conference that wants to help lead the discussion, include their clients, and take time on stage to share their story with the attendees. Not every partner fits the bill, but maybe you do: Sells a B-2-B product, targeting the business OWNER not employees, established and growing businesses are a perfect fit, knows that getting in the right room is half the battle you also must showcase why they should do business with you and you have enough “game” to get on stage and share a compelling story about why people should do business with you.

If that sounds like YOU, I want to talk with you about our 6th Annual 2026 SBOC Conference is coming in September 15-17, 2026 in Brookfield, WI. I’m looking for a Platinum Sponsor to help lead this year’s event.

REPLY TO THIS EMAIL and let’s build a special partnership that works for you.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

Be Like Flea and Have More Fun

I watched great new Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary on Netflix this week. And there's this moment where their bass player Flea talks about how he bounced from band to band until everything just clicked. He said he knew the Chili Peppers were going to work as a band because he looked out at the crowd during their first gig and people couldn't help themselves. They were moving. Shaking. Reacting to something they'd never heard before.

He said the guys in the band were having so much fun creating an engaging new sound that the audience came alive. He shared that you can't just tell people to put their hands in the air. You can’t implore people to dance. When it's right... they just do it.

I think there's something here for us. We spend so much time on positioning and messaging and making sure our offer checks all the boxes. Value? Check. Clear transformation? Check. Right audience? Check.

But does your thing make people want to get up and dance?
Is it exciting? Is it fresh? Are you having fun doing it?

On the show, I was calling it “The Flea Filter.” How can you provide a technically sound product but deliver it in a fun and surprising way. Adding the life and joy to the product will get your prospects reacting the first time they hear it.

When those things click...you stop convincing people and start inviting them. That's the difference between selling and being irresistible.

Run your next offer through the Flea Filter. Are you having fun while being technically excellent?

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Tweet of the week

Yikes. Accurate.

Your Vacation Time is Unlimited - Let’s Block it Off

We did something on Tuesday's show that I want you to steal. I asked everyone to open their calendar... right there, live... and block off every holiday, long weekend, and dead period for the rest of 2026.

Here's why: No one is going to notice you're gone. Your clients aren't looking for a website pitch the week of Memorial Day. They're not shopping for consulting over Christmas. They're checked out. You should be too.

But if you don't block it now, what happens? One meeting sneaks in. Then another. And suddenly you worked through an entire week you could've taken off. You didn't lose the week to being busy. You lost it to not being proactive.

Take Memorial Day week. Take a full week in summer because it's the freaking summer. Thanksgiving through Monday. Two weeks at the end of December.

You have unlimited PTO. I'm giving you permission. Block it off right now before someone else fills your calendar with stuff that doesn't matter.

Call for Partners and Sponsors

The 2026 SBOC Conference is coming in September 15-17, 2026 in Brookfield, WI. This is a room full of 200 small business OWNERS meaning they’re actual decision makers and people motivated to solve the problems in their businesses. If you’re running a company that serves this group, you need to be in the room inviting them to buy from you!

Each year, we showcase a handful of companies by giving them the opportunity to present certain segments of the conference - An Idea Slam session, the Happy Hour celebration, and our meals.

All partnerships include your conference ticket, program advertising, and time in front of the group to promote your business. The best ones include sponsorship in this newsletter, my new show Businessing with Pat Miller, and more.

Tickets go on sale for the event on May 13 and in the next two weeks I’m finalizing our partnerships for the conference. If you want to be a part of it and drive demand for your business, REPLY TO THIS EMAIL and let’s build the partnership that works for you.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

The AI Toupee Problem

I'm bald. Devastatingly handsome, but bald. And when I was going bald, for a moment I thought about getting a toupee. But I stopped at the same place every guy stops... everyone would know.

That's exactly where we're at with AI-written content right now.

You've seen it. Those choppy one-line sentences. The "99% of business owners don't understand" hooks. The formulaic structure that screams "a robot wrote this." It's the content toupee. You think you're getting away with it, but nobody's fooled.

Now look... I still use AI every single day. But I fight the toupee by feeding it my raw material, not my polished stuff. I do four hours of live talking every week on the show, and all of that trains my AI on how I actually think and talk. The output sounds more like me every week because the input IS me.

If you're using AI to write... and you should be... try this. Do voice chats with your AI while you're on the treadmill or driving. Talk through your ideas out loud. Then tell it to add that conversation to its knowledge about you. Feed it your emails. Your proposals. Your texts to clients. The more raw, unfiltered you it absorbs, the less your content looks like everyone else's.

Use AI. Use it every day. Just don't let it make you sound like AI or everyone will know.

Tweet of the week

Can you hear me clapping for this one?

Cookie Monster - The World’s Best Spokesperson

When talking about your business you need to approach it like my favorite character from Sesame Street. Cookie Monster does not ask for a “bespoke gluten-free organic dessert.” Cookie Monster says "me like cookie." And everybody knows exactly what he wants.

That's the standard. If Cookie Monster wouldn't say it that way, you're overcomplicating the way you talk about your business.

On the show recently, someone asked me to help name a new group program. They called it a "Deep Dive Mastermind Group." Technically accurate. Completely forgettable. Nobody's telling their friend about the Deep Dive Mastermind Group.

So I asked... what's the transformation? What actually changes? More time, less stress, they get their life back. There it is. "Get Your Life Back Mastermind." That's Cookie Monster language. Clear, simple, lands on the first listen.

I've been naming things for decades in radio and here's the framework that works every time. First, speak in Cookie Monster language. If your audience needs a dictionary, you've already lost them. Second, name the transformation, not the process. Third, use alliteration whenever you can... it always sticks. And fourth, look for culturally familiar phrases you can twist and own. That's how "Seal Team 6" became "Sale Team." (the new, free, sales app for small business owners to make selling a daily habit.)

Your product might be brilliant. But if the name doesn't land on the first listen, you're working against yourself.

2026 SBOC Conference Wait List UPDATE:
2x Standing in Line…

The 2026 SBOC Conference is coming in September 15-17, 2026, and this year we're doing things a little differently. Tickets go on sale to the public on May 13th at $399 (the lowest price we've ever offered), and that includes meals, swag, speakers, the welcome event, everything.

Here’s the problem…our conference holds 200 seats, but only 110 seats are available to the public — the rest are already spoken for by pre-registrations, VIPs, and sponsors.

Because of the growth of the SBOC and the momentum of the wait list, we now have 212 people in line for the 110 seats available.

Here’s how the ticket sales will go:

• May 8 - VIP Tickets will go on sale

• May 11 - SBOC Members will get the opportunity to buy tickets

• May 12 - SBOC WAIT LIST members will get the opportunity to buy tickets

• May 13 - The tickets will go on sale to the general public (if any remain)

If you want to get a ticket to our 6th annual small business event, get on the waitlist now! No financial commitment, just your name and email. Last year, people walked away from this conference with joint ventures, new clients, and business-changing breakthroughs — and this year we're bringing our keynote speaker in person. Click here to get on the waitlist so you get a shot at your seat…we’re already deep in planning, it’s going to be a blockbuster year!

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

You Don’t Have a Pricing Problem…

You wanna raise your rates. I know you do. And you haven't done it.

So let me ask you something. Why not? Is it because you genuinely believe your price is fair? Or is it because you're terrified the clients you have will leave... and new ones won't say yes?

Because if it's the second one, you don't have a pricing problem. You've got a demand problem.

If you had 15 qualified leads sitting in your pipeline right now and you could only take eight of them... would you be scared to raise your rates? No. You'd raise 'em without blinking. You wouldn't even think about it. Because you've got people standing in line.

The fear of charging more is almost always a symptom of not having enough people who want what you sell. You're clinging to every client because you can't afford to lose even one. And when that's the math, of course you're not raising prices.

I worked with coach Erin Marcus a few years ago and she challenged me to identify 50 potential customers for a new program. Fifty. I thought she was out of her mind. But I went through my database, dug into old emails, started posting about the concept on social, and engaged with everyone who responded. By the time I had real demand-side pressure, raising the price felt obvious. Not scary. Obvious.

You don't need permission to charge more. You need a pipeline that makes "no" from one person feel like a shrug... not a crisis.

Quit charging too little. Build demand first.

Tweet of the week

What is the most valuable asset in your business and Life?

Speed is your unfair advantage

Americans have eliminated every possible wait from their lives. Streaming killed the video store. Chatbots killed hold music. Your home internet downloads a movie in 30 seconds.

And yet most of us are still delivering our work on the same timeline we did five years ago.

I connected two stories on the show this week. Airlines are literally begging the government to fix TSA wait times because customers are so fed up. And new research says the number one thing customers want isn't better quality. It's not lower prices. It's speed. Faster delivery of the same transformation.

I tested this in my own business. Two clients got massive amounts of work back in 48 hours...work that would've taken me a week before AI. Their reaction wasn't about the quality, which was great. It was the speed. That's what is helping me get closer to the deal. Speed.

So here's your challenge. Find one thing in your business that takes longer than it needs to in 2026 and fix it this week. One thing. Remove an unnecessary step. Automate something repeatable. Your clients might not be able to name why you're easier to work with...but I'm telling you, it’s not helping to make them wait.

2026 SBOC Conference Wait List - Now Live!

The 2026 SBOC Conference is coming in September 15-17, 2026, and this year we're doing things a little differently. Tickets go on sale to the public on May 13th at $399 (the lowest price we've ever offered), and that includes meals, swag, speakers, the welcome event, everything.

Here’s the problem…our conference holds 200 seats, but only 110 seats are available to the public — the rest are already spoken for by pre-registrations, VIPs, and sponsors.

Because of the growth of the SBOC we have also have 160 members standing by to grab tickets, too.

Here’s how the ticket sales will go:

• May 8 - VIP Tickets will go on sale

• May 11 - SBOC Members will get the opportunity to buy tickets

• May 12 - SBOC WAIT LIST members will get the opportunity to buy tickets

• May 13 - The tickets will go on sale to the general public (if any remain)

If you want to get a ticket to our 6th annual small business event, get on the waitlist now! No financial commitment, just your name and email. Last year, people walked away from this conference with joint ventures, new clients, and business-changing breakthroughs — and this year we're bringing our keynote speaker in person. Click here to get on the waitlist so you get a shot at your seat…we’re already deep in planning, it’s going to be a blockbuster year!

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

Don't Look to the Media for How Small Businesses are Doing

CNN ran a story this week about how gas prices are crushing small businesses. They interviewed a food delivery guy who drives a hundred miles a week and said the economy is killing him.

Here's the thing. I ran the numbers. Gas prices are up about 40 cents a gallon. At a hundred miles a week, that's an extra eight to twenty bucks a month. Total.

If eight dollars breaks your business, gas prices aren't your problem.
You weren't making money before the first bomb dropped on Iran.

And sure enough — later in the interview, the guy admits he hasn't raised his prices in two years. He runs a food business. Grocery costs have been climbing for 24 months straight, and he absorbed all of it. No wonder he isn’t making any money.

But the media doesn't tell that story. They roll up with a camera, find the most sympathetic small business owner they can, and paint us all as victims of whatever the crisis of the week is. Poor small business owners. How will they survive?

Get out of here with that.

You and I know what it takes to run a business. We eat what we kill. No paid vacation, no company match 401k, no safety net. And while it’s hard sometimes we definitely are NOT victims…we’re making it happen every day because failure is not an option.

The next time you hear someone say the economy is crushing small businesses, or look how terrible the economy is and no small business owner can win, ask yourself: Am I charging what I'm worth and am I adjusting when costs change?

Don’t listen to what people say about “all small business owners,” take care of YOUR business and let’s continue showing everyone that small business owners are the smart, dedicated, engines of the American economy.

This was an epic 15-minute rant from my daily show Businessing with Pat Miller. During the rant, I lean into the media-side of this story and, welp, I got a little loud. If you’d like to see it, here it is!

Tweet of the week

Dickie Bush just solved your small business content problem. Mic. Drop.

2026 SBOC Conference Wait List - Now Live!

The 2026 SBOC Conference is coming in September 15-17, 2026, and this year we're doing things a little differently. Tickets go on sale to the public on May 13th at $399 (the lowest price we've ever offered), and that includes meals, swag, speakers, the welcome event, everything.

Here’s the problem…our conference holds 200 seats, but only 110 seats are available to the public — the rest are already spoken for by pre-registrations, VIPs, and sponsors.

Because of the growth of the SBOC we have also have 160 members standing by to grab tickets, too.

Here’s how the ticket sales will go:

• May 11 - SBOC Members will get the opportunity to buy tickets

• May 12 - SBOC WAIT LIST members will get the opportunity to buy tickets

• May 13 - The tickets will go on sale to the general public (if any remain)

If you want to get a ticket to our 6th annual small business event, get on the waitlist now! No financial commitment, just your name and email. Last year, people walked away from this conference with joint ventures, new clients, and business-changing breakthroughs — and this year we're bringing our keynote speaker in person. Click here to get on the waitlist so you get a shot at your seat…we’re already deep in planning, it’s going to be a blockbuster year!

Now Forming: AI Installation Group

My outlook on AI is simple:

• Using it right means treating it like an employee

• The opportunity is to automate as much of your business as possible - as quickly as possible

• The adoption is not optional. Either you’ll embrace the change or be affected by it later

My outlook on growing your small business:

• It’s better to collaborate with smart, driven people around you so you can move faster and make fewer mistakes.

• We are good at what we do but we’ll never see our complete opportunities because of blindspots and bias.

• Our business constantly changes but our mission will not. We must offer outrageous value at the highest rates possible for maximum growth.

I’m launching the AI Installation Group to unite these two belief areas. This six-month mastermind program will lead you through the most transformative six months we may ever see in small business. By October we will all see:

• AI team members taking on tasks, roles, and complete areas in our business

• Automation reducing our daily workflow and obligations

• Research, outreach, and sales funnel management that will explode our opportunity to serve more clients and sell more of our products

This will come through a flood of new tools, an unlimited amount of potential techniques, and a sinking feeling of “where do I even begin.”

That’s why I’m building the AI Installation Group:

• Monthly 2 Hour Mastermind meeting for education and group collaboration

• A new, exclusive “AI Slam” meeting for “show and tell,” and specific problem solving

• A new, exclusive “AI in Small Business” trendsletter for members to stay up to speed on breaking AI news with a focus on what matters and what we can ignore

• And, text and email support from me and the team when you have specific questions or get stuck with your implementation.

You absolutely can try to make this important transition on your own.
Or, you can get the right people around you and do this the right way.

The first group meetings is on March 25 - CLICK HERE if you want to learn more and reserve your seat.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

Where will AI dominate and how can you get there first?

Anthropic just dropped a map that should be taped to your wall.

It shows the theoretical AI coverage across industries…basically, how much of each profession AI could do versus how much it's actually doing right now. The gap between those two lines is enormous. And that gap is your window of opportunity.

If you're in management consulting, office administration, business and finance, or sales, the theoretical coverage is nearly wall-to-wall. AI will soon handle a massive chunk of those tasks. But the red observed coverage area is still just a sliver. Almost nobody is actually using it yet.

We get to read this chart in two ways:

The blue area shows impending doom for your profession.
The space between red and blue shows immense, immediate opportunity.

Because right now, the people who start using AI inside their expertise aren't getting replaced, they're becoming irreplaceable. The management consultant who uses AI to deliver faster insights doesn't lose clients. She takes clients from the consultant who's still doing everything by hand.

Powering up with AI right takes the thing you're already great at and straps a rocket to it. New service lines. Faster deliverables. Premium offerings that weren't possible six months ago.

If you've been thinking "I'll get around to it someday…" someday was last month.
The map is showing you exactly where the opportunity lies.

And, if you need help, I’ll offer you some in the new AI Installation Group (details below)

Tweet of the week

Sometimes I see something beautiful that isn’t business related and I feel called to share. This is SO GOOD:

Kill Your Next Imposter Syndrome Freak Out with Four Simple Words…

We spend a lot of time preparing for bad news. The client canceling. The competitor showing up. The rent going up. But what happens when something GOOD happens and we still panic?

On the show this week, a business owner was panicking about their rent doubling. Turns out, their rent was doubling because they were moving into a massive new space that would explode their revenue.

When good things happen, it’s easy to focus on the negative because imposter syndrome sneaks in and tells you to retreat. Yes, the opportunity was going to grow but the RENT WAS GOING TO DOUBLE AHHHHHHHHH.

Here's the exercise I walked them through: Say It, then Play It.

Say It: get to facts, not feelings. How much is the rent? How big is the space? What will the revenue look like? Put numbers on it.

Play It: model out the new reality. If you wake up with that many more clients and this much more revenue, what does your day actually look like?

By the time we finished, the panic was gone. The math made it obvious: this was the best thing that ever happened to their business because their revenue was about to boom and their rent increase was peanuts in comparison.

Next time something feels too good, intercept the doubt. Say it. Play it.

Now Forming: AI Installation Group

My outlook on AI is simple:

• Using it right means treating it like an employee

• The opportunity is to automate as much of your business as possible - as quickly as possible

• The adoption is not optional. Either you’ll embrace the change or be affected by it later

My outlook on growing your small business:

• It’s better to collaborate with smart, driven people around you so you can move faster and make fewer mistakes.

• We are good at what we do but we’ll never see our complete opportunities because of blindspots and bias.

• Our business constantly changes but our mission will not. We must offer outrageous value at the highest rates possible for maximum growth.

I’m launching the AI Installation Group to unite these two belief areas. This six-month mastermind program will lead you through the most transformative six months we may ever see in small business. By October we will all see:

• AI team members taking on tasks, roles, and complete areas in our business

• Automation reducing our daily workflow and obligations

• Research, outreach, and sales funnel management that will explode our opportunity to serve more clients and sell more of our products

This will come through a flood of new tools, an unlimited amount of potential techniques, and a sinking feeling of “where do I even begin.”

That’s why I’m building the AI Installation Group:

• Monthly 2 Hour Mastermind meeting for education and group collaboration

• A new, exclusive “AI Slam” meeting for “show and tell,” and specific problem solving

• A new, exclusive “AI in Small Business” trendsletter for members to stay up to speed on breaking AI news with a focus on what matters and what we can ignore

• And, text and email support from me and the team when you have specific questions or get stuck with your implementation.

You absolutely can try to make this important transition on your own.
Or, you can get the right people around you and do this the right way.

The first group meetings is on March 16 - CLICK HERE if you want to learn more and reserve your seat.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

Change the Camera Angle to Find Premium Opportunities

You know what you do for your clients. But do you know why they need it?

Those are two very different questions, and the gap between them is where your next premium offer is hiding.

My inspiration for this thought is from Stanford University. They just cracked something that vaccine researchers have been chasing for decades…a way to prevent the common cold. But they didn't do it the way everybody expected. Instead of building a vaccine that was trained to kill a virus, they changed the camera angle. (Meaning, the way they thought about the process) They asked: what if we just supercharge the body's defenses so it defends against ALL viruses? This serves the ultimate transformation desire of the patient. It’s not about beating the Flu, it’s about NOT GETTING SICK.

Same energy applies to your business. Most of us are always optimizing what we deliver. A product that works faster, cheaper or easier. But when you change the camera angle to why they want your transformation, you unlock premium offerings you didn't know you had.

• Your event planner client doesn't just want a smooth event — they want their biggest partners to feel celebrated.

• Your public speaking client doesn’t just want to be on more stages — they want the stages to be a springboard for their book and high-end classes.

Once you’ve thought about your transformation in a different way (change angle) you now have a deeper, richer assignment that could be satisfied with a premium offering. The event planning client could add on documentary-style interviews with their biggest donors so they feel like thought leaders and change makers. Your speaking client could be paired with a ghostwriter or course planning expert to accelerate their thought leadership journey.

This kind of thinking puts you on the same side of the table as the client. You’re becoming indispensable and serving the why with premium versions of your standard offerings. You’re really delivering the outcome! And here's the kicker: the cost of delivering some of those enhanced offerings is plummeting every single day thanks to AI and automation.

This week, try this: write down what your clients buy from you. Then ask why they want that outcome. Then design a premium product that delivers what they’re seeking. It will open new doors for your business.

Tweet of the week

I’m pretty sure Jon Taffer from Bar Rescue is a little crazy, but dang, this way of thinking about customer experience is inspiring. Are you being THIS intentional about winning over your customers?

Twitter tweet

Your Tax Pro Is in the Pain Cave

S-corp filings are due March 15th. Everyone else's is due April 15th. Right now, your bookkeeper, CPA, or tax preparer is in what CrossFitters call "the pain cave." That stretch where you're questioning every life decision while your body screams at you to quit.

And you? You dropped off a folder. C’mon, be honest - it was a hot mess. Receipts flying everywhere and half mangled printouts lovingly stuffed in the folder for someone ELSE to deal with?!?!

Let’s show ‘em some love: send your tax person a thank you note this week. Not a card at the end of the season. Right now, while they're in the pain cave. While they're neck-deep in your receipts and everyone else's.

A two-line email. "Hey, I know this is the hardest stretch. I appreciate you."
That's it. They won't forget it.

Businessing with Pat Miller is now DAILY at 11am CT!

It’s the new daily habit for small business owners. The secret: this show isn’t about business. It’s a show about people who run a business and how we can lead a better small business lifestyle. I’ll keep you up to date on the news, tuned in to the latest strategies and tech, and you need get some interaction with your peers even though you’re crazy busy. Put it on in the background and get some stuff done. Pick a morning this week and join the fun.

Watch or listen:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@patmillerfridaysoff

• Apple Podcasts: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

• Spotify: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

The full show is off this week b/c I’m in LAS VEGAS…Back Live on 3/9 at 11am CT

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

Rethinking the Lead Magnet

Your lead magnet isn't working anymore, and it's not your fault.

For years the playbook was simple. Get their attention, give them a free PDF, build trust through education, make the sale. It worked because knowledge was scarce. If you knew 10 ways to do the thing, that was worth an email address.

But your prospects can now ask any AI bot those same 10 questions and get answers in four seconds. The education you're giving away for free is worth exactly what they're paying for it.

So what builds trust now? Actually doing the work for them.

Instead of "download my 10 ways to identify waste in your business," try this: upload your credit card statements and my tool will find where you're bleeding money, show you the impact, and give you one-click links to cancel what you don't need. One approach takes 10 hours to act on. The other takes 10 minutes.

And here's the thing. You're not doing the work yourself. Your AI tools are. The labor cost of actually solving their problem is approaching zero, so why are you still handing out homework?

Give them a taste of the result, not a lecture about how results happen. If the cost of doing the work is going to zero, we should be solving their problems straight away instead of teaching them how to solve it themselves.

But, Pat, I don’t know how to build a landing page that does that or an app that serves to do work as a lead magnet. That is where AI tools like Claude Cowork come in. The power our AI tools possess is so much greater than a simple chat bot.

Your mission now is not “how do I make an app,” but rather “what problem should I solve for my potential customers.” AI will figure out the rest, build it for you, and make it live - for real.

What would happen to your funnel if you gave away the first transformation instead of trying to teach something in order to build trust?

Tweet of the week

What should I post is as simple as What did I do?

What Won't Change? The Jeff Bezos Question

Everything is moving so fast right now. New tools every week. New platforms. New rules. How do you possibly plan a business when the ground keeps shifting?

Jeff Bezos gets asked the same question constantly: what's going to change in the next 10 years? His answer made me think about this challenge in a new way.

He said he doesn't answer that question. Instead he asks: what's NOT going to change?

Nobody will ever tell Amazon they wish it were more expensive. Nobody will wish delivery were slower. Nobody will want fewer choices. So Bezos builds everything around those certainties.

Apply that to what you do. If you're a fitness coach, nobody will ever call you and say they're too healthy. Nobody will say staying on a diet is easy. Nobody will say they don't need accountability to keep their promises.

Those things won't change. Ever.

So instead of panicking about which tool to learn next, ask yourself: what does my client always need, no matter what the technology does? Use our new capabilities and resources to build there - that’s the foundation.

The businesses that survive the next five years won't be the ones that chased every new tool. They'll be the ones that got crystal clear on what never changes and used the new tools to deliver it faster, cheaper, and better.

What about your business won't change in the next 10 years?

Businessing with Pat Miller is now DAILY at 11am CT!

It’s the new daily habit for small business owners. The secret: this show isn’t about business. It’s a show about people who run a business and how we can lead a better small business lifestyle. I’ll keep you up to date on the news, tuned in to the latest strategies and tech, and you need get some interaction with your peers even though you’re crazy busy. Put it on in the background and get some stuff done. Pick a morning this week and join the fun.

Watch or listen:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@patmillerfridaysoff

• Apple Podcasts: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

• Spotify: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

See you at 11.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

The People Audit You Need

I did something on the show this week that made people uncomfortable.
I asked the audience to write down names.

Not prospects. Not clients. The people in their business life who are dragging them backward.

You know exactly who I'm talking about. The person who talks for 45 minutes about their problems and never once asks about yours. The networking group you've been attending for three years out of loyalty, not results. The "friend" who only calls when they need something…you're not in a relationship, you're a vending machine.

On the show and in this newsletter, I’m constantly talking about building the right systems, finding the right clients, and raising our rates. Today I’m talking about the people tax. The emotional bandwidth you're burning on relationships that stopped paying off a long time ago.

So I want you to run a quick audit right now.

Two questions:

Who makes you better in the first five minutes of a conversation? You hang up and you're already moving. Three ideas are firing. That person is like a power up and you're probably only talking to them once a quarter. That should be monthly. Weekly, if you can swing it.

Who are you still showing up for out of habit? That mastermind. That coffee meetup. That one-sided "mentoring" relationship where nothing ever changes. Sunk cost is real, but loyalty to a room is not the same as loyalty to your goals.

It’s time to take action to empower YOU and your calendar. Today, I’m challenging you to send one email stepping away from what's not working. Then, send another to the person who lights you up. One swap changes your whole year.

If these two questions fired you up, check out four more questions in the full segment on this topic right here from Businessing with Pat Miller.

Tweet of the week

Absolute genius. I’ll be using AI;DR moving forward.

Standing Ovation for this one…

You Might Be In the Top 20% of All Solopreneurs!

A stat crossed my desk this week that I think you need to hear. There are 29.8 million solopreneurs in the United States. Together, we contribute $1.7 trillion to the economy. Of those 29.8 million, only 5.6 million earn over $100,000 annually.

If you're one of them — and I bet a lot of you are — you're already in the top 20% of all small business owners in America. Not the top 20% of income earners generally. The top 20% of people doing exactly what you're doing.

Sure, we want to go further. We want to scale, build more freedom, hit bigger numbers. But before you beat yourself up about not being "there yet," recognize where you actually are. You've built something that most people who try this never pull off.

Keep. Going.

Businessing with Pat Miller is now DAILY at 11am CT!

We had a huge week last week, and we’re back hosting the new daily habit for small business owners.

The angle: This show isn’t about business. It’s a show about people who run a business and how we can lead a better small business lifestyle. I’ll keep you up to date on the news, tuned in to the latest strategies and tech, and you need get some interaction with your peers even though you’re crazy busy. Put it on in the background and get some stuff done. Pick a morning this week and join the fun.

Watch or listen:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@patmillerfridaysoff

• Apple Podcasts: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

• Spotify: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

See you at 11.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

Four Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started

A new QuickBooks study says one in three Americans want to start a business this year. If you're one of them, come sit down with Uncle Pat for a minute. I've watched a lot of people launch. I've watched a lot of people fail.

Here are four things I wish someone had told me before I started.

You're in the sales business. Whatever you think your business is about, you're wrong. You're in the asking for money business. Your success will be directly proportional to the amount of effort you put into asking other people for money. If you're not willing to go out and sell, stay employed by someone who is.

Start lean. You want to open a coffee shop? Don't start with the coffee shop. Start with a farmer's market table. See if anyone cares. Validate before you sign the lease and your expenses explode.

Don't start with a partner. Every choice becomes a negotiation. You lose all your decision making autonomy. As a small business owner you’re making 1,000 calls each day and I cannot even conceive of running all by someone else - especially at startup. If you've got a partner, you've got someone you need to ask permission from.

Don't do it broke. I'm not saying you have to be wealthy. I'm saying be on stable footing. Because when expenses start popping up in the business, you don't want to come home to a pile of bills and a stressed out partner.

Ultimately, becoming an entrepreneur is about building a better LIFE - not building a better business. If you’re going into debt, hiding from sales, and building shaky financial footing at home, you’re not going to enjoy the experience.

Tweet of the week

Get a helmet, Alex Hormozi is coming in HOT!

Now I can’t unhear Beastie Boys “Johnny R’yall” sampling “Who Do You Think You Are…” IYKYK

BONUS Tweet of the week

This is just too funny not to share…

Deep Thought: Who are you NOT for?

There’s a bar in Tokyo called Tori Yaro and it put up a sign: "Under 40 only." Their reasoning? Older customers complain too much about the noise.

They know exactly who they serve - young people who want 55-yen drinks and a loud atmosphere. And they decided the customers who don't fit that profile aren't worth the headache.

Predictably, the internet lost its mind…and the bar is packed every night with exactly the customers they wanted.

I decided a while ago that the Small Business Owners Community would only admit Owners of businesses. I have a ton of respect for sales people, managers, and their employees. I want them all to do well. But, inside the SBOC, I want our members to be surrounded by others that uniquely understand their choices, lifestyle, and stress.

What about you? Who are you NOT for? And, if you stopped working with those people, how much better, lighter, and clearer would your business be?

I’d love to hear it if you’d share. If you don’t know yet, take a minute this week to figure it out.

Help: I’m Addicted to Using AI Agents

This week Claude Cowork optimized my Google My Business page. It researched best practices, logged into my account, analyzed what I had, told me what was wrong, and then fixed it. My GMB page had been a nagging task since 2023. Done in 30 minutes.

It also reorganized my entire YouTube channel. Unlisted hundreds of old videos that didn't make sense anymore, created playlists, updated the description and keywords. I just sat there with my popcorn and watched.

Since I’ve been babbling about AI (since March ‘23) I’ve been waiting for the moment where the AI would DO STUFF on it’s own. It’s finally here and Main Street America needs it. The tech circles are wringing their hands asking who's gonna teach small business owners how to use it all.

I will.

I'm taking on select clients one-on-one to speed run your AI expertise and install AI agents in their business. This isn’t a course or a webinar. This is one on one worok to get you exactly what you need from a “Crawl, Walk, Run,” perspective. We work together and you take a HUGE leap forward in automation to hasten your Fridays Off.

If you're curious, reply to this email and I can loop you in.

Businessing with Pat Miller is now DAILY at 11am CT!

We had a huge week last week, and we’re back hosting the new daily habit for small business owners.

The angle: This show isn’t about business. It’s a show about people who run a business and how we can lead a better small business lifestyle. I’ll keep you up to date on the news, tuned in to the latest strategies and tech, and you need get some interaction with your peers even though you’re crazy busy. Put it on in the background and get some stuff done. Pick a morning this week and join the fun.

Watch or listen:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@patmillerfridaysoff

• Apple Podcasts: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

• Spotify: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

See you at 11.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

Your Customers Are About to GET PAID

Tax Refund season is coming and your customers are about to get a windfall.

Bank of America just released the numbers: Americans will receive $65 billion more in tax returns this year than last. That's an 18% increase. The average return is $3,400.

If you sell to consumers, this is your moment. If you’d like a few ideas on how to cash in on the windfall, here are a few themes you could use:

“Return” to (YOUR BIZ) Pull up everyone who used to be a customer but isn't anymore. Offer them a "return" promotion with an April 15th deadline. They have unexpected money and you're giving them a reason to come back.

Bye Bye Bills. The first thing people do with their return is pay off bills. Go to your monthly payment customers/clients and offer them the chance to convert to an annual plan. Turn twelve payment into one. Bye Bye Bill until ‘27. The big bonus for you is that you get cash locked in for 12 months.

(Product) now Free (Thanks to the IRS). After bills, the stats show that people will splurge a little. Position your product as that splurge. "You've been dreaming about this. You’ve had it on your bucket list for a while. Now it's practically free, paid for by your tax return. Thanks IRS!"

I was taught that it’s our job as marketers to find a 1,000 ways to say the same thing. This theme - or any theme that affects your ideal client - is your chance to put a twist on your offers to try and get their sale.

Tweet of the Week

Tired? Overwhelmed? Challenged? GOOD.

We’re Slowly Escaping the Darkness of Winter

Winter is absolutely doing a number on me this year. I’ve been COLD since November and the lack of daylight is just driving me mad. But, there’s good news on the way. By the end of this short 28 day month, we will have almost 60 more minutes of daylight.

Spring is coming—no matter what that lying groundhog says.

If you’re on “walk the dog after the day is done duties” like me, this gives me much better odds of not being flattened with a bag of dog mess in one hand. Bonus.

And, it won’t be long until we’re swinging golf clubs - is it too early to set tee times?

HANG IN THERE!

Over an hour more sun in just four weeks.

Businessing with Pat Miller is now DAILY at 11am CT!

Starting yesterday, we're live Monday through Thursday at 11am Central.
Same show, same format, four days a week.

Here's the idea: You’ve got a business to run but you still need to stay up to date on the news, tuned in to the latest strategies and tech, and you need get some interaction with your peers even though you’re crazy busy. That’s why I’m hosting the show - it’s a new daily habit to get the latest news, learn something fresh, and connect with others while you’re working. Put it on in the background and get some stuff done.

Pick a morning this week and join us live.

Watch or listen:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@patmillerfridaysoff

• Apple Podcasts: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

• Spotify: "Businessing with Pat Miller"

See you at 11.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

You’ve got 100 tabs open…IN YOUR HEAD

If your to-do list has 100 things on it, you've got 100 browser tabs open in your brain. Each one takes a little cognitive energy. You're carrying all that weight around constantly.

Here's the thing: almost all of those tasks aren't due today.
So why are you looking at them on your list and ultimately thinking about them today?

On Wednesday's show I talked about a fix.
Schedule tasks by due date, not importance.

If something takes 15 minutes and it's due Friday, put it on Thursday. You'll do it in 15 minutes because you have to. Parkinson's Law says work expands to fill the time available. Give yourself two weeks to do a 15-minute task and it'll take two weeks of mental bandwidth even though the actual work takes 15 minutes.

When you schedule by due date, you give yourself permission to forget everything that's not due today. If you’re a planner this may freak you out a bit but don’t worry, the task is captured and it will come up in time for you to complete it.

As a solopreneur you don’t have a boss reminding you what must get done today. And, there’s a small piece in all of us that feels more important and busy if our list is so long we can’t get it done.

You don’t need to make up urgency in your life - schedule today’s tasks and install a system that allows you to focus on the top priorities all the time.

This concept will close some tabs and free your brain space for what actually matters.

I went in depth on this in Episode One of Businessing with Pat Miller: Check it out here.

Look for the show streaming live Wednesday at 11am CT:

Twitter - https://x.com/Businessing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpatmiller/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/smallbusinessownerscommunity
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@SmallBusinessOC

Tweet of the Week

This space is usually reserved for something funny, but I needed to include this tweet because of the naming BRILLIANCE below.
It’s so good, I’m mad I didn’t come up with it. Bravo!

Oh, and Tom Holland is on board - def helps the brand.

The dancing will not stop! TikTok has finalized its deal

Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX now own 45%. ByteDance keeps 19.9%. The algorithm gets retrained on U.S. data only. After years of uncertainty, the platform is staying.

200 million Americans use it. And here's the bigger shift: 24% of people now search TikTok and Instagram instead of Google. Especially for local businesses, restaurants, and products. They want to see results, not read them.

Maybe it’s time I finally get on board?
(Ugh, that makes me feel like a zillion years old to say)

Would you like to FINALLY have an AI Agent that Works?!?

I’ve spent the last 5 days building AI Agents that actually do what they say they’re going to do and it’s, welp, AWESOME. The tech is so bananas that I’m thinking about hosting a workshop to teach you how to do it.

The promise of AI Agents is massive but the delivery has been underwhelming.
Finally, it’s starting to work and I think there’s a real business case for you.

For me, I’ve built and trained these “robot contractors” and they’re crushing it…

• Daily Show Producer for Businessing with Pat Miller

• Daily Post Production for the show (blogs, social, YouTube descriptions, everything)

• Sponsorship Hunter to deliver leads, names, and emails

• (I have a list of 10 or so additional ideas I just haven’t gotten to, yet)

Would you want to attend a workshop where you come into the room curious and leave with an AI Agent doing work for you while you sleep?

If so, what would you want to build for your business?

Join the LinkedIn poll HERE if you’re interested. More soon.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

We've Entered a New Pandemic…
This One Is Social

Six years ago, you were going to lunch with friends and hitting happy hour with the Chamber. Then overnight, you couldn't leave your house. Your entire support system evaporated.

I think we're right back at that exact same moment.

A new study from the Media and Journalism Research Center analyzed 40,000 social media posts on LinkedIn and Facebook. Their finding? Nine out of ten posts are now created using AI.

Nine out of ten.

The short story: most people have stopped trying to be themselves online. You scroll past my show, and 90% odds say the post before me and after me wasn't created by a person.

It all sounds the same. You know that AI voice—the choppy sentences, the "it's not this, it's that" construction. We're all kind of doing it, but I don't think we're fooling anybody.

So here's the question I keep asking myself:

Is it better to be present—or to have presence?

Is it better to fill your customer’s feed with robotic junk, or to actually be real?
To have an opinion? To share what you believe?

I’m doing what I think you should do - get live, get real, get authentic and strip away all of the phoniness from AI aggregation and “best of” social media performance. It’s time to build TRUST and authentically reconnect.

That's why I started Businessing with Pat Miller. We need real conversation again.

Check out episode one…

Look for the show streaming live Wednesday at 11am CT:

Twitter - https://x.com/Businessing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/fridaysoffpodcast
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/smallbusinessownerscommunity
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@SmallBusinessOC

Tweet of the Week

We’re three weeks into the new year and I’ve never resonated with a thought more, ever.

Behind the Scenes…One of the fun trends I’ve seen floating around is to ask your AI Chat Bot to “Generate an Image of How I Treat You.” Are you nice to your robot overlords? I was a little hesitant to do it, but here’s what Chat GPT shared with me…

Chat GPT must be happy with me…FOR NOW.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

If you can overcome more objections, you can make more sales. This week, I want to share five common objections and how you can overcome them without slashing your prices or giving away the farm.

Objection 1 - “Ehhh, the price seems high.”

Your client is reacting to the shock of the number on the page. And, if you’re priced right (not low), it should be a little uncomfortable. One thing that works for me when necessary is to anchor their perception of price to the value of the transformation. If you can ask them the value of the work when done or the value they could create with the product you produce, they often snap back to understand that your work will create significantly MORE value for them than they’re paying to get it done. “What is the impact for you when (work is done?)” Often, getting one more sale or one more stage (etc.) is enough to pay for all of your work.

Objection 2 - “Ehhh, the price still seems high.”

Continuing this objection, the price may not be the problem but the payment terms are oppressive. “While I do need 50% down, what if we did three payments for the last 50% rather than 50% due at delivery?” Flexibility with your payment terms can often get someone over the line.

Objection 3 - “I’m just not sure…”

If you can validate they need the result you offer, they’re just hanging back for the reassurance that they’re doing the right thing. This is where a great client success story comes in CLUTCH. “I hear you, let me tell you about a man named Jed who hired me to provide X. Here is the result we produced in Y amount of time.” You’re offering proof of performance with an avatar that looks like them. Make sure to have those locked and loaded for when you need ‘em.

Objection 4 - “What if it doesn’t work…”

Here’s the atom bomb of objection handling from our friend Carl Gould. Offer them a guarantee on your work. Create conditions and then offer the transformation or the work is free. “If we meet weekly and you enact the changes I suggest and you don’t get X results, the work is free.” While this might seem scary, you’re laying the ground work for success. Weekly meetings and the required change in behavior are the inputs that make their success inevitable. If they don’t do those things, they’ve invalidated the guarantee! You believe in your transformation if they participate…show your confidence to them with a few strings attached.

Objection 5 - “Is this the best price you can offer…”

Nothing will help you hold your price like a busy schedule and plenty of leads in the system. If they’re dead set on haggling your price, you can negotiate confidently if your lead generation game is on point. “This is the best price I can offer to get you into the production line in January. I have two other clients starting in February, so if you want the work to begin now, we need to lock it in.” If you don’t have other leads and other clients, you’ll be tempted to cave on price to get whatever you can. Work your leads!

Closing can be difficult and it’s a race to the bottom if your only way to handle objections is to lower your price. Good Luck and Happy Selling!

Tweet of the Week

What an AWESOME tweet designed to speed up your computer. I went through this process with my machine and wow, what an impact. It’s crazy how clunky and slow our main tool for productivity can become if we don’t care for it. Enjoy!

Twitter tweet

Behind the Scenes…Staying on the theme of cleaning up - I’m challenging you to take five (5) minutes to clean up your workspace. Where you work can make a big impact but what that space feels like can make an even bigger impact. If you have files all over, letters that must be opened, wires and chargers piling up, you’re going to feel cluttered and stressed just because of the WEIGHT surrounding you. I’m challenging you - RIGHT NOW - grab your phone, but five minutes on the time and tidy up your space. The impact is real.

Fridays Off Podcast - Starting 1/19/26

You didn’t launch your small business to be chained to endless days, declining profits, and overwhelming stress. You started with a vision of earning freedom of time and money so you could live a life you love. To help you with that vision, I’m launching a new, DAILY live podcast to connect you with the information, education, and problem solving you need to move forward. The Fridays Off Podcast with Pat Miller will stream live on all of my platforms with weekly recaps and highlights in this newsletter.

As a part of the show, I’m going to host a live Idea Slam feedback session to solve problems and capture opportunities for YOU. To do that, I want to invite you to come on the show and talk about what’s happening in your business and how we could collaborate to move you forward. Would you come on the show? If you’re interested, just click here and share one challenge or opportunity that you’d like to collaborate on. We’ll schedule a day and time that works for you!

Look for the show streaming live in these places beginning 1/19:

Twitter - https://x.com/HeyPatMiller
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/fridaysoffpodcast
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/smallbusinessownerscommunity
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@SmallBusinessOC

I’m SO excited to get on the air and connect with YOU!

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

One year from today there will be no Solopreneurs.

I spent the better part of two weeks thinking about some predictions to make in the first newsletter of the year and this one kept coming back to me.

This isn’t a prediction about business failure or forced hiring. This is a prediction based on how we view technology, AI, and productivity.

I remember seeing SINTRA.AI for the first time and being struck by the novelty that someone had taken AI productivity, given the piles of tasks an avatar-character and positioned their productivity as “coworkers.”

I think that idea will be adopted in a big way in 2026.

Currently, we see our role as a solopreneur to be a one-man band that moves from task area to task area to get all of our responsibilities done within our work week. We must spend X hours per week as an accountant, Y as a sales person, and Z as a marketer.

Soon, we will cast these roles into digital team members in the form of agents who perform tasks, create reports, and oversee automations in their area of responsibility.

When these tools continue to expand their utility to our operations, we will do what we always do with valuable inanimate options in our life: We name them and talk to them like people. We name our cars, we hold conversations with our pets, heck, I even name my golf ball (golfers, back me up on this.)

I don’t believe we’ll get to complete autonomous work by the end of 2026, but I DO believer we will be talking about a “ROBOT RESOURCES (RR)” department much like we see “HR” today.

So, how do you prepare? I’d urge you to consider what team members you would hire and what roles you would delegate if money were no object. And, begin writing out your standard operating procedures and required outcomes so they may be handed off when the technology is ready. Lastly, I’d encourage you to experiment with any AI tool that captures your curiosity. Through experimentation and observation, you just might unlock a huge value for your business and future!

AI team members will become mainstream THIS YEAR.
When that happens, the concept of being a solopreneur will be in name only.

Tweet of the Week

As you build a better mousetrap to conquer 2026…consider these words on SIMPLICITY.

Follow me on Twitter - @heypatmiller

New in 2026…I want to feature your new program, offer, book, event, or business in the Fridays Off Newsletter! From a quick headline to full section, you can showcase your next big thing to our readers. It’s the perfect add on to get your big priority in front of an engaged, focused audience of small business owners. And, because we’re just started, it’s not nearly as expensive as you might think…Just click reply and tell me when you want to be featured!

Fridays Off Podcast - Starting 1/19/26

You didn’t launch your small business to be chained to endless days, declining profits, and overwhelming stress. You started with a vision of earning freedom of time and money so you could live a life you love. To help you with that vision, I’m launching a new, DAILY live podcast to connect you with the information, education, and problem solving you need to move forward. The Fridays Off Podcast with Pat Miller will stream live on all of my platforms with weekly recaps and highlights in this newsletter.

As a part of the show, I’m going to host a live Idea Slam feedback session to solve problems and capture opportunities for YOU. To do that, I want to invite you to come on the show and talk about what’s happening in your business and how we could collaborate to move you forward. Would you come on the show? If you’re interested, just click here and share one challenge or opportunity that you’d like to collaborate on. We’ll schedule a day and time that works for you!

Look for the show streaming live in these places beginning 1/19:

Twitter - https://x.com/HeyPatMiller
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/fridaysoffpodcast
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/smallbusinessownerscommunity
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@SmallBusinessOC

I’m SO excited to get on the air and connect with YOU!

Easy setup, easy money

Making money from your content shouldn’t be complicated. With Google AdSense, it isn’t.

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That’s why WikiHow, the world’s most popular how-to site, keeps it simple with Google AdSense: “All you do is drop a little code on your website and Google AdSense immediately starts working.”

The TL;DR? You focus on creating. Google AdSense handles the rest.

Start earning the easy way with AdSense.

Earn with Google AdSense

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

When you buy a gift for someone you know well, you don’t have to guess. You already know what they like, what matters to them, and what will make them light up when they open it.

That is exactly how you should think about your customers.

Don’t offer products and services that feel generic and fit everyone. It’s safe, but it’s forgettable. The better path is to know the pain, the joy, the hopes, the dreams, and the outcomes your customer is desperate to achieve.

Once you know that you can build a crystal clear audience/product fit.

When you commit to this type of ultra-focus your marketing gets sharper, your referrals get stronger, and your sales get easier.

Action Step: This week, treat your customers like the people on your holiday shopping list. Pick your top three clients and write gift they’d ask for in their business?:

• What problem are they desperately trying to solve?

• How can you solve that problem for them?

• And, how can you do it in a way that offers near-zero friction, worry, or wait?

Stop being a mall gift card. Craft the perfect gift for your client.

Ho, Ho, Holy cow I better start shopping.

Tweet of the Week

Push you beliefs, your work, your words until you’re actually saying something that matters. And, remember, haters are a positive signal for your expression:

Behind the Scenes…Holiday Break is here! I’m sitting on the couch, feet up by the fire, footy pajamas on with a big ‘ol cup of Nog. Really, when you’re reading this, I’m probably doing exactly that because this is THE BREAK of the year. I hope you’re going to wrap up soon and take some meaningful time off over the Holidays…I’ll talk to you in 2026!

SAVE THE DATE - #SBOC26 - September 2026

The 6th Annual Small Business Conference is set for September 15-18, 2026 back in Brookfield, WI.

The 6th Annual SBOC Conference is back for 2026 and it's open for all solopreneurs and entrepreneurs to join us! We are returning to the Brookfield Sheraton for another 2.5 days of education, collaboration, connection and (dare I say it,) FUN as we build our businesses together.

Our keynote speaker for this year is signed and I'm so excited to share that they will be in-person for their talk, co-hosting the Idea Slam Lunch presented by G2 Insurance, and for a special VIP "Ask Me Anything" session.

We're going to build relationships, learn about how to make more money, create better systems, harness AI, delegate, automate, and more.

Tickets won't go on sale until the Spring, but you have a chance to lock in your ticket for 2026 AND secure an extra $100 off your ticket when they go live. https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/annual-connference-2026-discount

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

Real automation is getting better everyday for small business owners like us. More and more stuff can be set up once and then handed off to robots to complete. I’m convinced this is going to be THE #1 TREND OF 2026. Our businesses will look so much different at this time next year.

But, where do we start? What software to we use?

I don’t recommend that you begin with any software.

Before you can delegate the tasks, you have to know what actually happens inside your business. That means writing it all down — every step, every task, every point of friction that slows you down.

When I started mapping out my own work, I realized how much of my week was filled with small, repeatable tasks. Creating content. Setting up events. Sending reminders. Things I did automatically, without thinking, that added up to hours. Putting those steps on paper made it obvious where automation could help and where a human still needed to be involved.

Here’s exactly how to do it for yourself:

• Start with one area of your business — something that drains time every week.

• Write down every single task that must be completed

• Then, detail each step of each task (I know, it’s a LOT)

• Once complete, go through this three set evaluation:
  Does this drive business results? (If not, quit it.)
  Can it be automated or delegated? (Great set it up or hand it off.)
  Am I the only person that CAN perform this task? (Schedule it and get it done.)

Running this three-step evaluation will kill useless tasks, automate what’s possible, delegate as much as you can, and leave you with the parts of your business that only YOU can do.

Automation starts with awareness, and awareness starts with a pen and paper.
That awareness is the first real step toward freedom!

Try it for yourself!

Tweet of the Week

We all run into problems on a daily basis. Unfortunately, most of us are just addressing how we SEE the problem, not necessarily the problem itself. That’s why it’s crucial to have trusted feedback from peers so you can see your challenges clearly. As we say in an SBOC Idea Slam: Feedback is a gift.

Behind the Scenes…You’re not wasting money on stuff you want in your business, you’re “DRIVING DOWN YOUR NET PROFIT FOR TAX PURPOSES!” Am I doing this right, bookkeeper friends?!?!

LAST CALL - 2026 Business Planning Done Right

Imaging walking into the first day of 2026 with a rock solid plan and absolute clarity on what actions to take to build a successful business AND personal life. THAT is the promise of my ‘26 Small Business Planning sessions.

This Thursday, I’m hosting my last Virtual Session where we will walk you through the process:

• ‘25 Review

• Business AND Personal SWOT Analysis (Strengths/Weakness/Opportunity/Threats)

• ‘26 Business Vision

• ‘26 Personal Vision

• Q1 Goal Setting and Key Action Task to unlock the outcome

I’ve led four of these groups so far and the feedback has been incredible. You can feel the energy building for a big 2026, let’s get you focused on the goals and tasks that will help you build a winner.

Click HERE to register for the virtual session on Thursday, 12/18!

Holiday Shutdown is Here…Our next issue will be out on 1/6/26 - Have a great celebration with your family and friends!

Pat

Canceling a meeting is a legal drug. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.

When a meeting disappears from the middle of your day, surrounded by blocks of deep work or creative focus, it feels like you just got your life back. That rush of freedom is real. It’s not about being lazy. It’s about being free to stay in the zone where you do your best work.

Most of us meet far too often. Many of those meetings could become an email, a text, or even a biweekly check-in instead of a weekly one. The joke about “legalized drugs” is an exaggeration, but not by much. Canceling meetings that don’t serve you is a real productivity boost.

For me, that change made a massive difference. Much of my work is writing, creating content, and running brainstorming sessions. When I have to stop for a process meeting or a back-and-forth Q&A, it derails me. My brain runs on two tracks: creative and tactical. Switching back and forth between them costs me 20 or 30 minutes of processing time every time I change gears. Cancelling a meeting that pulls me out of creative flow can save me stress, energy, and real hours.

When I teach this idea, people are often skeptical. They think time with clients or partners always builds relationships, but that isn’t always true. Sometimes the best way to serve someone is to make the problem go away, not to schedule another meeting about it. Your client might love the idea of replacing a weekly check-in with an email summary or a text thread. You respect their time as well as your own.

Here’s a simple way to decide what stays and what goes. Every meeting should have an agenda. If it’s just yes-or-no decisions, confirming dates, or calling balls and strikes, that can be done asynchronously. Save real meetings for real discussion, collaboration, or creation.

Action Step: Audit your calendar. Add up the hours you spend in meetings each month. For most people, it’s a full workweek. Now ask: which ones could become emails? Cancel enough to win back at least eight hours this month. That’s one full Friday you could take off.

Tweet of the Week

Find Motivation in Motion…

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Behind the Scenes…When I worked in corporate we always operated with “zero based budgeting.” Instead of starting our next budget year with last year’s budget and adding what we needed, we would start at zero and have to justify each expense. That mindset has bled over to my small business and right now I’m going through the expense reaping portion…where did I spend money in 2025 and where can I cut back in 2026? I’m already cancelling a handful of AI tools and some other services that I spent (blew) money on in ‘25. Now is the time to go through your list - could you cut out $250 or more per month in expenses?

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

You hate selling because you think you’re trying to convince someone to say yes. You see your job as someone who is trying to change their way of thinking, all in an effort to get their money for your product. That mindset makes every conversation feel uncomfortable and every “no” feel personal.

The truth is that selling is not about convincing anyone of anything. Selling is about understanding people and helping them make progress. When you believe in what you sell and know the impact it creates, selling becomes an act of service.

The best salespeople do not sound like they are selling. They sound like they are listening. They ask questions, explore challenges, and uncover what the other person truly needs. Then they match that need with a solution that makes sense. When there is alignment, the sale happens naturally. No coercion necessary.

Selling from service changes everything about the experience. The buyer feels seen and understood, and you feel proud of how you showed up.

This approach also makes raising your rates easier because you are no longer trading time for money. You are pricing based on transformation and value.

When you see selling as service, the fear fades away. The call becomes a conversation. The proposal becomes an invitation. The close becomes a collaboration. You are not trying to win a deal. You are building a relationship.

When is your next “relationship building” call?
(kind of shifts the energy around sales calls, doesn’t it?)

Tweet of the Week

YUUUUUUP. Which are You?

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Quick Hit Pro Tip (hey that rhymes) Do not buy an annual subscription to any AI tool in order to save 15-20%. I can’t tell you how many annual subscriptions I’ve purchased that in a matter of months their service was duplicated by Chat GPT or another tool. It seems as though we’re in a “rental,” period with AI. Use whatever you like, but don’t get locked into any one platform with an annual subscription so you can stay flexible moving forward.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat

This Thanksgiving Weekend - It’s Time to Rest.

The most valuable business move you can make this Thanksgiving might be the simplest one: close the laptop.

As small business owners, we’re used to powering through whatever comes our way. It seems as though there’s always one more email, one more idea, one more post to write. And even when we finally step away from work, our minds often stay behind the desk.

Thanksgiving is a rare opportunity to stop performing and finally get “out of the office” - especially if that office is in your home.

Newsflash: This weekend no one is expecting you to work. Your clients are with their families. Your partners are doing everything else but thinking about you and your business.

The only person who might judge you for taking time off is you.

So give yourself permission to unplug. Set your out-of-office message and mean it. Is it possible to not check your email until Monday? Take it as a personal challenge and try.

Is it possible to not check your phone once on Thanksgiving? I dare you.

Trust me, the world will still be there on Monday and if you take this break seriously you’ll be clearer, calmer, and ready to meet it head on.

THANK YOU for being a part of my past year and for having the courage to join this discussion on how we could build our small business freedom in a better and more sustainable way.

Now, pass the gravy!

Tweet of the Week

Are you surrounded by peers that are collaborative, supportive, and CHEERING YOU ON? If not, you need to join us in the Small Business Owners Community.

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Behind the Scenes…I could fill the internet with my love of Thanksgiving. It really is the perfect holiday. Surround yourself with your family and friends, make an incredible and bountiful meal and watch some football. That’s the holiday. Nothing else compares in my book - enjoy your time with those you love and celebrate everything your hard work has brought to you!

Quick Hit: Jamie Dimon is on
board with Fridays Off…

JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon is speaking out on the future of work. And, spoiler alert, it’s exactly what we’re talking about in this newsletter. It’s time for you to take responsibility for your behaviors and systems to pare down the amount of time you’re spending in “the seat,” so you can go live a life that matters.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Says AI Could Bring 3-Day Work Weeks And Thinks ‘People Should Stop Sticking Their Heads In The Sand’ (AfroTech)

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon believes AI will eventually shorten the work week and says people should embrace it now, before it transforms every corner of ...

www.smartnews.com/en-us/article/4877648903136095708

Now, GO EAT SOMETHING!

(gobble gobble),
Pat