[Transcript starts at 0:40]
Hello, hello, hello, my podcast people, thank you for joining me for yet another episode of my favorite online business podcast. I'm emphasizing online business because we're talking about online business specifically today. If you are listening, watching, tuning in on the day that it drops, it is Monday, October 19th.
October be flying just like every other fucking month. Winter did poke its head out. Ugly.
I don't want it. Y'all know I live in South Bay, I live in Southern California. It was 55 degrees the other morning.
That is too cold for me. Why? Because I'm out on the beach playing volleyball. It's like objectively not too cold, but to be with no shoes on, with your feet in the cold sand, it's not fun.
So don't want it. But it was 71 degrees by the evening, and I'm not mad about that. That is what we pay for.
So let's jump into the episode. Today, we were talking about online business, specifically the online business window and whether or not it is closing. So I went back and forth with the title or went back and forth on the title for this episode.
So my process for these episodes is that I typically pick a title first, at least now. I didn't always do it that way, but now I pick a title first, and then I write the outline for the episode, and that keeps things contained. Otherwise, I would just talk for like a million hours.
But in trying to come up with a title, I was looking for one that would allow for some discussion while not assuming too many things while also planting a seed that I want to get planted. And so I landed on, is the online business window closing? Now, full transparency, I have not received this question specifically. And the topic is largely inspired by my own musings and a few questions around AI that I received and how AI will change the industry or if it's going to change the industry at all.
And so that's what I want to talk about. As it relates to AI, I don't think that there's going to be a radical shift. I have many thoughts.
I probably will do an episode about this. But at the end of the day, people pay for accountability, people pay for implementation, they pay for the execution of something. This can vary, but if touch is a big part of what you do in your profession, you're obviously going to be totally fine with AI.
But for my folks who are in the information space at all, remember, people don't pay for information. They pay for someone who they trust to tell them information that they could go look up, do, execute whatever on their own. This way, they have a guarantee that it's actually correct.
So keep that in mind as we continue to move further into the age of AI. But yes, AI can make workout plans, it can make meal plans for sure. But like I said earlier, people pay for the accountability, they pay for the implementation.
I think that there could be a disruption moving forward at the lower levels of things where people do go to AI first before looking for a cheap program, they go to AI because it's free. And AI is very capable. If you're one of those people that hides behind the narrative of like, well, AI can't do it, that is very shortly, if not already, not true.
So don't discount AI. But again, it cannot replace the accountability piece and a human holding other human accountable and people wanting that feeling that they get from making someone proud and from doing, you know, it's the spectrum of, I call it the spectrum of the, I kept thinking of the word, the spectrum of going from external motivation or extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation, that spectrum there. But honestly, what is going to disrupt the space, and yes, I'm going to circle back to AI, not to AI, to online business, but because this, what I'm talking about, what I'm about to say does reference online business.
But what has really disrupted the space and is going to continue disrupting the space, and the space that I'm very tangentially in, which is nutrition, weight loss, body recom, things like that, is GLP wants. Right. Folks are asking me about how AI is going to change the game.
Meanwhile, GLP ones are literally creating competition that trainers can't keep up with. Like you cannot compete against GLP ones. So yeah, you know, just putting that out there for folks that are like, how's the, what's the future going to look like? Hey, like we already got things competing.
So let's look at that as opposed to kind of just like hypothesizing about other things, especially like AI, but that brings us back to the main topic for today, which is, is the online business window closing? And I share this topic because as with all things, change is inevitable. Like I was just talking about with the GLP ones, right. And the online business space is changing for sure.
As we move farther away from the, the boom that came along with COVID, right. The main thing I want to share is that success in the online business space is absolutely still possible. So if any part of you is still wondering that the answer is yes.
But I also want to make sure that you're not using B2B businesses and their success stories as your litmus test, particularly B2B businesses that are a white woman teaching other white women how to use social media to make money and making it look easy, right? I am fully aware that the huge part of my business is teaching people how to use Instagram for online business, AKA how to use social media to make money. And that is why I can and will stand 10 toes down behind my previous statement, right? It is easier to sell things that help people make money. If you want to make money, help people make money.
It's the, it's going to be the easiest thing to do, right? So we have Jessie Jean, if you don't know who that is, don't worry about it, but her and other people, especially her having these multimillion dollar launches, and that is great for them. I just want to make sure that they are thrown out of the data set when you're thinking about how online business is doing and what is actually possible. Like there is still plenty that's possible, but I just, I don't want people to come in with this like false sense of reality.
It's kind of like, you know, the average person, the average kid being like, I could go professional. And you're like, no, you can't, like, you're not going to. Am I here to squash your dreams yet? I'm here to bring you back to fucking reality.
You're a 5'3″, you're not going to play professional basketball, but could you still go and play at high levels and do these things? Yes. I just want to throw it out of the data set. That's all right.
But overall, I do think that there is still opportunity to be had regarding online business, right? Again, monetizing the platform or in this case, monetizing Instagram is not my zone of genius, meaning like being an influencer, getting brand deals and things like that, trying to get paid by the platform for views. I am way too like risk averse for that to be my zone of genius. You have to open yourself up to the worst fucking people on social media if that's the play, because you want virality, right? You're looking for eyes.
That is the game. And when you're, that's the game, you don't get to choose the eyes for the most part that you get put in front of. And someone always going to have some shit to say.
I want the least amount of that as possible. So that is not my zone of genius. I obviously teach people how to monetize their audience, right? And monetize their audience directly, meaning that you provide a service and your audience pays you.
But to that end, when we're talking about monetizing your audience and selling directly to people, I think it's very easy to get siloed and forget that there is life outside of your bubble, especially your immediate social media bubble. And this is why I do believe that there continues to be a future. We haven't by any means, you know, gotten all the juice, squeezed all the juice from that orange there.
Because there are new people that have these problems that you solve, right? There are new people that are looking for solutions. For those of you that are a little bit more advanced, you might hear the phrase like life outside of your bubble and wonder if that means that, like, well, then do I need to run ads to get outside of my bubble? Because like, you know, Instagram really does silo you. And honestly, that's not my jam.
Running ads is not my thing. I don't judge people that run ads. And I think certain niches lend themselves more to it because it doesn't detract as much from their trustworthiness in the same way.
Like, I'm very much obviously in the physical therapy world and I'm doing more stuff with Lex and PT clinics and PT clinics that run meta ads. To me, it is a little bit more sus, right? I've bought clothes from ads, but like the thought of like going to a doctor because I saw a Facebook ad, I'm kind of like, I don't know about that. So there's just my push when it comes to the online business space and using social media is more volume.
Again, I'm not talking about Google ads. I'm talking about meta ads. I would rather make content like crazy and exhaust myself and exhaust that option first.
Again, I'm not anti-ad. I have run ads in the past. I've had them run for me twice, but this is not my jam.
I'm like, this is not what I want. And I think that having run them, it like gives me more of a leg to stand on to be like, yeah, I've tried it. It's not really what I want.
In terms of the possibility, the potential, what's left of the runway with online business, I think more than anything, the economy is having the biggest impact on things, right? People were fucking willing to spend money during COVID, right? Well, at least once things were like out of that initial scary period of like, what the fuck's happening? People were willing to spend money. I built out a whole ass gym. Peloton was booming.
You couldn't find dumbbells anywhere. You literally couldn't buy any. People bought everything.
Online fitness memberships were having their glory. And that really COVID really fueled that fire of people thinking memberships were a good idea because at the time it was a really good idea, right? But we compared to now, like we weren't at war. We're at a fucking war right now, right? The easiest metric here is looking at gas.
Gas where I live in a village on the street is $6.45. I know I live in a high cost of living area and this is like some of the highest gas, but if I look at a state average and I went and went and like did a little searching for this, average now is between $5, $5.09 and $5.40. That's like average for California. Gas then during COVID, right? Which was a crazy time, was $2.99 with the highest being $3.50. It's fucking $5 on average, $6.45 where I live. That one factor alone, I know we want to take a bunch of things, but like that one factor alone, you cannot fucking ignore that and be like things are the same.
People are going to be willing to spend money in the same way. They're not. People really do like spending money.
People love buying things. I'm in a bunch of forums. You guys know that I'm all up in Harbor Freight and that's one of my favorite Reddits, subreddits is Harbor Freight.
People be buying stuff. They do go and buy tools. They do go and just buy stuff to have.
People like spending money, but people are holding on to it more now, less discretionary income because shit is more expensive. So even if people have a job and their wages haven't gone down, let's say their wages have stayed the same, the cost of everything has gone up, which means that discretionary income, that fun money gets cut. You have less of it.
And what we do, we are luxury services. Physical therapy is a luxury purchase. Personal training is a luxury purchase, a luxury service.
So that's what will get cut. And I think I want people to understand that and whether it's hit your specific business yet or not, it's coming. It's just a matter of time here.
As I say that, I also, in the same breath, I'm like, I am very annoyed by people online who play fortune tellers. And if I had to stop watching a lot of the fintech podcasts I was watching because it was literally these bros just being like, here's what I think might happen. And I'm like, that's it.
That's a whole fucking podcast. You're like, this is not helpful, actually. Here's what's happening.
The worst people continue to do the worst things and have no repercussions. And here's what I think is going to happen just in perpetuity. That's all it is.
So to that end, I don't want to sit here and try to forecast online business and the online business direction and whether the window is closing or not, but I do want to speak about what I am feeling, what I'm seeing. To that end, I do think that there is lots more life to be had with online business, but I don't know what it's going to look like. Spirality is real.
Seasonality is real. Things come and go and they come back again. We have to absolutely consider the variables that are shaping how fast things come and go.
What will the sentiment be after midterms? What happens with the economy next year? What happens in 2028? Jesus fucking Christ, that man better fucking leave the office. Those factors to me are going to have the biggest influence on what online business looks like and how fruitful it is, because it speaks to whether or not people have money, have a discretionary income. Again, people do like buying things.
People like being a part of things. People like supporting things that they believe in. People like learning things.
People like convenience. They will pay for these things. These things will endure.
What kind of experiences that these people want, how they want these services delivered, will change. It will shift. It will evolve.
It will circle back. People are signing up for High Rocks like crazy, and that shit is not cheap. So it's like, okay, but maybe it makes sense.
I have a little bit of discretionary income, but I can go train on my own. I can use AI to make a program as opposed to hiring a coach right now. I still need this outlet.
I still want to have this dopamine hit. I still want to have some fun in my life, so I'm going to sign up for High Rocks and be part of something. But maybe the economy gets better, and suddenly now I am still doing High Rocks, I want to get better at it, and I have more time, a little bit more money, and so now I hire a coach.
There's just so many factors at play. I would love to also say that audiences are wising up, but I don't know if that's the silo effect or a silo belief. People stay fucking getting scammed, and people stay wanting to believe that shortcuts exist, and a new sucker is born every fucking day.
So I don't know. And where I'm going with that is that saying that the online business space is changing, and that people are kind of wising up, and they're less likely to buy things, or they're more hesitant to buy things. And I'm like, yes, they are.
Maybe because they've wised up, or maybe it's just because they've already seen it, and they just want something new. I throw that out there because I think it is a talking point worth highlighting, but I don't know how true it is that I want to believe that people are wising up, but I also think that a sucker is born every day. So the difference here being that if it's your specific audience that you've been with, and you've brought them along across many years, then yeah, I think they have wised up, and there's a more mature audience versus brand new eyes and people that are new to the space.
Again, it's just a reminder to get out of the silo that other people do exist. You think everyone's into fitness, and then you go to the airport, and you're like, oh, wow, I am very wrong with that. So I'm speaking to the fact that demand you may feel that demand has been exhausted, but it's like, okay, I also want to consider what's outside of this silo that the algorithm does create.
But I think the biggest thing to take away from this is staying in the game long enough for things to come back around and spiral your way so that you can win, whatever winning may look like. Is it going to be a $7 million launch? Probably not. But I do think that there is, my thoughts on is the online business window closing is no, I do not think so.
I think that there's more competition, both from other people in the space where people have moved into the space, and definitely from things outside of the space, like the economy and the current political climate. I think that that is probably having a bigger impact than people are letting on. But in and of itself, I do believe there's still plenty of life in the online business space.
So I will probably do an episode about how to get started in the online business space, mainly because I had someone in my DMs who has had some really well-earned success on Instagram and is like, what do I do? And she's a service provider. And so I'll probably do an episode about that. I'm like, well, here's the first steps of like, if you go viral, if you're like, not necessarily go viral, but like your accounts getting traction, people are asking for things, here's how you start if you're a brick and mortar business owner.
But for those specific to this episode, for those of you wondering, should you keep going? Or if you're wondering, should you get started? To me, the answer is yes, there is more runway left, right? In my opinion, the online business window isn't closing anytime soon. I'm not just saying that because I'm an online business coach. Like, y'all know, if I could just be in my house and like fix shit all day, I would do that.
I wouldn't do online business coaching. It's fun. I can do it.
I'm good at it. I like helping people that way. But like, I'd love to just go fix stuff and be a handy gay.
I am literally very truly just answering the question for those of you that may be wondering. I'm just giving you my two pennies based on my expertise, my experience and what I'm seeing in this space. So that's all I got for you for today.
If you've got questions, we'd love to hear from you. I know I stay asking because it's a very unidirectional medium. Shoot me a DM at The Movement Maestro.
Shoot me a text 310-737-2345. It will be green. It's my sideline.
But that is all for today. As always, my friends, endlessly, endlessly, one more time, endlessly appreciative for every single one of you. Until next time, friends.
Maestro, out.
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