The other day I was with a stone mason—UM, HIS HANDS ARE HUGE—chatting about business. ​ Stone mason: This one guy doesn’t even get out of his truck for less than $1500 a day. ​ Me: So, why don’t you do that? ​ Stone mason: I don’t have as much experience. ​ Me: How long you been doing this? ​ Stone mason: Twenty years. ​ And all I could think was: imposter syndrome is robbing the fuck out of us all. Case in point: you’re probably excellent at your craft. In fact, you’re probably better than most people, and definitely better than you give yourself credit for. But, you aren’t charging w ..read more

HEY, KITTY CAT—and welcome to Middle Finger Fridays! I’m featuring a new creator every Friday who’s out there SMOKIN’ it—and highlighting what I think they’re doing really, really right—as well as one or two things they can do even better to make that money. Today, we’re hollering at a fine line tattoo artist whose work makes me drool on the daily—but (!) how do you grow if you're already fully booked and overwhelmed? (It's almost like: go away, clients! ) The name of this game: Smart, sexy systems—coupled with creative scaling strategies, of course! (MY FAVORITE.) This one’s for you if you ..read more

So you know how you get that client and literally feels like you’re prancing through a field of daffodils that have been sprayed with CK One from the year 1998? (This might sound horrifying unless you wore CK One in 1998 like every other millennial who was alive in 1998, in which case you will immediately be transported back to the time in your life when YOU STILL HAD ABS AND DREAMS.) The client is in . to . you. and now comes time for the fun part: pay your fucking bill, Barb! Except, just kidding, because first Barb has got to sign your agreement. The agreement that you are so proud to have ..read more

HEY, KITTY CAT—and welcome to Middle Finger Fridays! I’m featuring a new creator every Friday who’s out there SMOKIN’ it—and highlighting what I think they’re doing really, really right—as well as one or two things they can do even better to make that money. Today, we’re hollering at a tour guide in London who gives the cooooolest walking tours—but (!) how do you scale your business if your clients need to be in person to see you? The name of this game: Turn. Your. Knowledge. Into. Intellectual. Property. You. Can. Sell. 24/7. This one’s for you if you've been wanting to transition more to an ..read more

HEY, KITTY CAT—and welcome to Middle Finger Fridays! I’m featuring a new creator every Friday who’s out there SMOKIN’ it—and highlighting what I think they’re doing really, really right—as well as one or two things they can do even better to make that money. Today, we’re hollering at a coach for creatives who is a delicious red-hot smoke show on Instagram—but (!) I know we can do even more to help her convert clients. The name of this game? Figure. Out. Your. Big. Message. This one’s for you if you feel like your work isn’t standing out from the crowd and you’re not sure what to do. Your mess ..read more

So……………………..taxes kick your ass this year? *lights cigar* *plunks boot heel up on old steamer trunk* If you’re in business for yourself, you were prooooobably scrambling around for an extra ten, fifteen, twenty grand or so of loose change, come the beginning of April. Real neat surprise, particularly for new creators who didn’t exactly plan for taxes.  (You’re like, shoot Ash, I can hardly plan my grocery lists.) ALAS, I thought it might be worth mentioning a liiiiiittle money hack you should probably know about, especially if you’ve got digital nomad dreams on the brain. (I mean, who do ..read more

HEY, KITTY CAT—and welcome to Middle Finger Fridays! I’m featuring a new creator every Friday who’s out there smokin' it—and highlighting what I think they’re doing really, really right. (You know, so you can replicate that magic without banging your head against the wall.) And also what I'd love to see them do in the future. Today, we’re hollering at someone who’s got the potential to be making millions of dollar bills because of her INCREDIBLE flower bloom cakes—but who, right now, is still stuck in 1:1 service land. Let’s take a peek! Meet: 10 Bloom Cakes Who: Miri Nadler Gig: Cake Designe ..read more

HEY, KITTY CAT—welcome to Middle Finger Fridays! I’m featuring a new creator every Friday who’s out there SMOKIN’ it—and I'm highlighting one thing I think they’re doing really, really right. (You know, so you can replicate that magic. ?) To kick things off, I’m starting with someone who’s slaughtering on both IG and TikTok—so much so, she recently quit her job as a nurse to pursue the creator life full-time. Meet: @biabeible What She Does Gig: Content creator & pose coach helping you not look like an awkward asshole in photos—my words. (Also, great example of a profession that defi ..read more

SOUND THE ALARM —the moment we have all been waiting for has arrived! No, I’m not talking about the moment in which I finally accepted the fact that my stomach pooch is never, ever going away (thanks, Italian grandma!), but rather, the moment where your wildest email marketing dreams have suddenly just materialized in front of your eyes and all you can see are big, voluptuous, happy readers bobbing around a river with signs that say “I love this bitch’s email list! I love this bitch’s email list!” God, I hope you have a weird dream about that tonight. ANYWAY! This email serves two raison d'êtr ..read more

Here’s a cliché pile of vomit to start your day : “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” Despite the fact that my eyeballs just got whiplash, I gotta tell you: I used to think this was why most people had a hard time with FoLLoWinG ThEir DrEaMs (you know that’s the sarcastic way to write it, right?). I used to think most people were afraid of failure, but you know what I’ve learned in 13 years of online entrepreneurship, helping thousands of people build their own mini empires here on the blog? It ain’t fear. It’s indecision. Most people simply don’t know what to do. They know t ..read more