You know how every entrepreneur has that one business purchase they look back on and think:
“Wow. I really thought that was the move, huh?”
Mine cost $685…and played before every single presentation in my summit.
Not a Facebook ad. Not a promo reel. Not a brand video.
A literal movie-trailer-style commercial for my digital course.
But before I get into the cinematic chaos, let me take you back to where this decision really came from—because (shockingly!) it wasn’t strategy. It was burnout wearing a trench coat and calling itself industry disruption.
When Momentum Meets Exhaustion
A year before this infamous commercial incident, I hosted my first summit—and it blew up.
Biggest (internal) launch of my career. Biggest year of my business. The kind of momentum that makes you feel like you’ve discovered the cheat code to entrepreneurship. I rode that high straight into planning Summit #2.
Except this time? I was so freaking exhausted. Not “I need a weekend away” exhausted… but “my nervous system is filing HR complaints” exhausted.
And when you’re building something from that level of depletion, every shiny idea looks like a lifeline.
So when I saw my summit mentor using a commercial the year before—a polished, cinematic, high-production-value intro before each presentation—I thought:
“That’s it. That’s how I make this next summit feel bigger. That’s how I increase offer awareness.
That’s how I recreate last year’s magic.”
This is how tired brains justify chaos.
The Commercial Arrives… and So Does the Realization
I hired someone on Fiverr. Sent over my script. Paid the $685 invoice. Waited patiently.
When the final file landed in my inbox, I hit play and immediately laughed.
Not a delighted laugh. Not a “this is amazing!” laugh.
A “…oh. This is… something” laugh.
The commercial was intense. Dramatic text animations. Stock footage of Serious Business People™ looking at their phones like they were singlehandedly preventing economic collapse. Music that screamed “coming soon to theaters.”
And because I had already emotionally committed to “this is the big idea,” I convinced myself to use it.
So before every single presentation—including my own—this cinematic fever dream played on loop. All 30-something seconds of it.
The first time I watched it precede a presentation, I felt my stomach drop and thought:
“Well… we’re in too deep now. What the hell have I done?”
Ah yes. A classic entrepreneurial moment of clarity.
But we’re not done yet.
The Audience Was the Real Plot Twist
Here’s the part of the story that really matters: My course—the thing being advertised in this Hollywood-adjacent commercial—was designed for established business owners.
But the summit attracted early-stage entrepreneurs. People who were curious, newer, exploring. People who were nowhere near ready for the transformation I was selling.
And there is nothing wrong with that audience! I do work with them and I do serve them, but my launch was being set up for established course creators with verified ideas.
This was the moment everything clicked into place:
A movie trailer won’t fix a messaging mismatch. Aesthetic upgrades don’t create alignment. And production value is not a strategy.
My commercial didn’t flop because it was cringe (though… it was). It flopped because it wasn’t built for the people watching it.
The Expensive Lesson: You Can’t Outsource Clarity
That $685 didn’t buy me legitimacy. It didn’t buy me conversions. It didn’t buy me awareness.
It bought me a front-row seat to a truth I now teach everywhere:
When you’re overwhelmed, shiny solutions look like strategy.
When your message is misaligned, no amount of polish will compensate. And when you’re burnt out, you’ll invest in things that feel like shortcuts instead of systems.
I didn’t need a commercial. I needed a system. One that took work off my plate instead of adding to it. One that moved things forward when my capacity was low. One that helped me see the bigger picture instead of distracting me with nice-looking details.
Funny enough, that realization ended up shaping the next chapter of my business entirely.
What I Actually Needed (and What Most Business Owners Need)
I didn’t need sound effects, stock footage, or transitions. I needed infrastructure. And that’s exactly why I build Custom AI Agents now.
Not because they’re trendy or flashy, but because when they’re paired with a solid marketing strategy they solve the real problems:
- the bottlenecks
- the mental load
- the content that never gets completed
- the tasks you’re constantly rescheduling
- the lead-up work that drains your capacity
- the admin that steals your creativity
- the operational weight you’re tired of carrying alone
AI Agents don’t make your business look better. They make it run better.
And that’s the difference that actually moves revenue.
If you’re ready for a marketing strategy with an AI backbone that actually moves your business forward…
A system.
A strategy.
A digital co-worker that helps you execute the plan instead of adding more noise.
If that’s the combination you’ve been craving:
