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⏳ The Biggest Mistake I Made As An Entrepreneur
T.I.N.Y Blog, Time Billionaires #036
T.I.N.Y newsletter (read time: 3 minutes):
Thought: The biggest mistake I made - not investing in myself
Interesting: Superbowl ad aftereffect
Not to be missed: AI tech improves eye contact on video calls
Yes: Sell something online
The biggest mistake I made: Not investing in myself
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I have a confession to make: not paying for access is one of the biggest mistakes I've made in my entrepreneurial journey. I made this mistake early on when I had some money but not the wisdom to invest in myself. Instead, I spent months learning things that I could have learned in a week if I had the right guidance or access. It was a frustrating and time-consuming process.
As Alex Hormozi says…
“We pay for every lesson with either time or money. And we use the currency we value least.”
I valued my time the least. Which is why I spent months learning something that would take me weeks with a $200 course.
But then I had a realization: investing in myself and my business was the key to getting ahead. Now that I value my time more, I’d rather invest more money in a higher-quality course than spend months learning something the wrong way.
Since then, I've probably spent over $10,000 on courses, communities, coaching, and access. And you know what? I don't regret a single penny. In fact, I see it as an investment, not a cost.
Paying for access has allowed me to connect with like-minded individuals, learn from experts, and accelerate my growth. I've avoided costly mistakes, gained clarity on my vision and direction, and gotten support when I needed it most. And the return on my investment has already been more than the S&P500.
Of course, I'm not saying that you should go out and spend all your money on every course or community out there. It's important to be strategic and choose resources that align with your goals and values. But what I am suggesting is that paying for access is one of the best investments you can make in yourself and your business.
Talking about communities, my Compound community is turning into a paid community soon.
It’s still free for now. So if you want to get access to a high-quality group of entrepreneurs growing an audience online (Twitter, LinkedIn, and newsletter), apply here: skool.com/compound.
The aftereffect of a SuperBowl ad
Let’s run the math of a SuperBowl ad.
It costs $7m. It’s watched by about 100 million people. The CPM is $70. That’s not too bad.
Rihanna performed at the Superbowl.
Look at the increase in interest (via Google Trends) in Fenty Beauty (Rihanna’s brand):
![Image](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/26fbf6f7-769d-4f15-9cb9-148d05c6fcb5/8b02bd6c-69a3-4e79-8f9d-6582dd451dd5_800x1009.jpg)
But the problem is…
It’s almost back to normal 2 days after the event.
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/fa340291-dc0b-4fa4-b5f1-862e9d158f13/5dc53522-57b1-48a2-92f6-4735f071d65a_2428x1248.png)
She didn’t sponsor the event though. So the only cost is her time and having to be there (which she probably wanted to anyway).
But it’s worth saying that there are better places to get a CPM lower than $70. If you’re looking for it, get in touch 😉
A short break…
Let’s take a short break to talk about our sponsor, Starter Story.
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/40b0dce7-be6c-4758-af3e-463ec9761eeb/0e84eeaf-b968-4f36-939b-384ddd9cd640_1248x768.png)
Founders of successful businesses have done the hard work to document the process for you.
Instead of figuring everything out on your own, it’s time to learn from them and accelerate your building process.
Let’s get back to the newsletter!
AI tech improves eye contact on video calls
Just in:
NVIDIA releases tech (powered by AI) to make sure it seems like you're always looking at the camera (even when you're not).
This is nuts.
— Aadit Sheth (@aaditsh)
6:22 PM • Feb 9, 2023
Sell something online
Even if you don’t have a large audience, build something and try to sell it online.
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/a8c04ad8-c2c8-47e2-95d3-e16e5b4f6a68/fac09815-18e7-497e-a3cf-71198f6d0c9f_1182x260.jpg)
We were talking about this very thing in my private community and this is what Katherine said: “The first stripe email was the BEST”.
Having a random person on the internet pay you online has to be one of the nicest feelings ever.
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/ff066e95-7bb8-42f2-9c71-1c513a3c1837/0b6c76ee-7eba-45c5-af0f-384d09bdbe7e_1478x392.jpg)
Aadit’s picks of the week:
🔗 Update: I’m working on a cool little AI project that I think you might enjoy. It’s an AI wallpaper-generation tool.
🔗 Thread: The fastest way that Joe believes you can get to $50k/mo. Hint: it’s e-commerce. I’m more of an internet business guy (digital products, consulting, communities, newsletters) but cool thread regardless (link)
🔗 Content creation tool: Tribescaler has been super useful in my content creation process to come up with hook ideas ideas specifically. Just like Youtube titles and thumbnails, hooks are crucial for success in online writing (link).