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If I was starting an online business today, what would I focus on? That's what we're gonna cover in this week's podcast episode, so stay tuned.

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From burnout to breakthrough, we'll rewrite your story with AI strategy. Let's amplify your authority.

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Hello everyone, and welcome to the Amplifier Authority Podcast. I am your host, Marissa Shadrick, AI marketing consultant and certified copywriter. Today we're going to look at what it would take to start an online business. So if I was starting an online business today, I would focus less on tactics and more on strategy. This came about because I was in a group last week and I was talking to some people from all over the world, and many of them were just starting their online business. And so I realized that some of the things that they were planning on doing seemed a little misaligned. So I thought maybe I should create a podcast episode and summarize some of the things that I would have done differently had I known what I know today. So that's what we're going to cover. A lot of times people focus on tactics right away versus strategy. Now, let me give you an example of what tactics means and strategy so you can get a good view of this. My strategy, for example, is to build a sustainable online business by serving solo business owners with a single clear offer and growing my email list as my primary revenue channel, keeping it very, very simple. How I do that, I do not have that in this statement, right? This is all about what I am planning to do as far as strategy. That strategy doesn't change every month. It doesn't change every year. It is pretty much the foundation of what I'm doing: building a sustainable online business and serving solo business owners. Now I have other verticals, but this is the primary thing that I'm doing. Now, the difference between tactic and strategy, I think, is what leads to burnout. Tactics are the specific actions you take to support the strategy. They answer the questions like, what am I doing this week? Or which platform am I posting on? Or what tool or format am I using? All of these things should support your strategy. Tactics are flexible and sometimes temporary because we do a lot of testing and a lot of iteration. So we may try a tactic for 90 days and find that, wow, this is really working well and it's scalable. I'm going to continue. Or you may find this didn't really give me the results I was looking for. Let me see if I can tweak it a little bit, adjust it, or maybe just eliminate it altogether. This is how we begin to make decisions. They will change without changing your direction or your strategy. For example, a tactic would be posting LinkedIn content three times a week. That's a tactic that supports my strategy. And what I put on that platform will support my strategy. And what I say on that platform will support a funnel that would lead them to maybe join my email list. When they are ready, they might look at some of the products and services that I have. Another tactic would be creating a webinar or maybe a workshop. Another tactic would be creating a podcast or a YouTube channel. See, all of these are not strategy in and of themselves. Because if you stopped doing one of these things, it would not change your strategy. It is simply a tactic. They are tools, they are a means to the end. So I often hear people say, Well, my strategy is to show up on Instagram. What they're really saying is Instagram is a tactic that I'm trying. And a lot of times they use things like, well, it'll create brand awareness. But that tool, and let's look at Instagram as a tool, should do its job. What's its primary job? What is it that Instagram is going to do to bring those people onto your email list? Or maybe book a call, or maybe you're going to try to sell some low offer. What is the strategy that led you to choose Instagram as a tactic to grow your business? And by grow your business, I mean revenue. So this is the mindset we need to have, not just do it and think that posting on Instagram is a strategy in and of itself because it isn't. It's incomplete. And what happens is a lot of people start confusing strategy for tactic, and then they're chasing algorithms and they're busy creating more content for more social platforms. They figure, well, if I'm doing it for one, let me do it for five. And they're spreading themselves thin. And here's the sad part when there's no strategy, new tactics always feel urgent. Like I got to get this done, like this is a silver bullet. So you really have to focus on the strategy. So a simple way to tell the difference is to say, now this is a little bit of a mind twist, so I'm going to say it very slowly. If this particular tool stopped working tomorrow, would my business still make sense? If you say yes, of course it'll make sense, because I have a strategy in place, then that particular tool was a tactic. If you say no, my whole business is going to just get ruined, you've mistaken it for a strategy. So you have to be very careful on determining your strategy and then the tactics to make sure that strategy is able to play out in everything that you do month to month, quarter to quarter, year to year. So now that we got that foundation covered, I want to give you nine tips on what I would consider as important if I was starting an online business today. So number one would be being busy doesn't mean you're making progress. So activity doesn't mean productivity. And so we have to be very careful that we're just not working on tactics week after week, month after month, and not really aligning it to strategy. You should have some prospecting calls. You should have a funnel that you're reviewing, seeing maybe where you need to refine and improve to continue to bring in leads. Okay, number two, start with one clear viable offer. Oftentimes when I talk to clients, they want to build a lot of different things. They want to sell a lot of different things. They want to sell maybe a membership, maybe a course, maybe coaching, all of these things. Now they can do all these things eventually. But when you're first starting out, it's best to focus on one. Because let me tell you, as a copywriter, as a marketer, there's a lot of work behind one product, regardless whether it's a service, regardless whether it's a course, regardless whether it's a membership, whatever it might be, there's a lot of work behind it. There's a lot of copy, there's a lot of research. So you want to focus on one and you want to validate the offer, not necessarily have an idea. Oh, I think this is what my audience would absolutely love, and then spend months creating it and find out that it's not really dialed in. So you want to start with the audience needs, not what you want to necessarily teach. Listen to them, right? This is how we validate. We do competitor research, we have real conversations with people, we listen for recurring questions. You can get it from social media as well, because the hidden cost of trying to implement and execute too many offers will lead to decision fatigue, will slow you down, will feel discouraging, will make it difficult to have clear messaging because you're gonna have inconsistent messaging. It can lead to burnout, and I don't want that for you. So iterations always beats reinvention every time. So pick one offer. Okay, number three, doubt will show up, and that is normal. Doubt is a visitor, not a roommate. If it's overstayed, it's time to show it the door. Doubt will show up whispering all kinds of annoying things like what if I fail? Do I seriously think I'll reach my goals? Is anybody really listening? I have no idea how to do this. I'm so bad at technology. I'm older. I don't know if I can keep up with all this, right? All of these questions come up, and this is normal. Everybody goes through this. But here's what I've learned: doubt, fear needs permission to stay. And only you can give it that permission. And you don't need that negative stuff going on in your head. You've got a message, you've got something that you want to share with others, and that's why you're getting on board on this whole journey. It's important to you. You have a mission. So stay true to that and just do not listen to those negative things. If anything, feed your mind with good books or good podcasts or something that will keep you positive. You've come too far to let temporary fear or doubt steal your dreams. So you need to consider, and maybe even on a daily basis, what's one doubt that you're ready to evict this week? What's one doubt, one thing, one fear that you're ready to say no to? And you say no to it. And do not allow it, do not give it permission to exist in your life. And then you learn to move forward with more confidence. Number four, not all advice is meant for you. There's a lot of information online, there's a lot of free information online. Strategy overload and framework hopping is not going to help you. You need to determine your strategy. You need to realize that discernment is a business skill. You'll read books, you'll listen to podcasts, and pull just small nuggets, small takeaways that you say, you know, this really resonates with what I want to do, and create your own framework, your own blueprint, your own strategy that works for you and your audience. Because trying to do what everybody else is doing, you don't know the behind the scenes. And sometimes we try to align ourselves with a business that has a full team, graphic designer, sales team, and we can't do it because we're solo business owners. We're one person wearing many, many hats. So it's going to frustrate us wondering why can't I do it if this person is promising that I can do it because they have a full team. So you have to just pull what works for you and create your own strategy, your own framework. Take what applies and leave what doesn't. Believe me, you're going to be more at peace if you do that. Aligning your decisions with your values and your audience all the time. Number five, visibility without clarity creates noise. Now I'm talking about content creation. More content without a plan just creates a lot of noise. And now, because of AI, people are producing a lot more content online. And oftentimes it is just noise. It's just pulled from the internet and they maybe tweak a word or two, but it there's no customization, there's no personalization, there's no human element in it. And so you have to look at the content you create and consider okay, how is this going to help me? What am I selling? Okay, who is this for? Where should I show up? Not every social platform is right for you. And I can say that without even knowing what your business is because all the social platforms are all very different. Maybe you need to double down on YouTube and that's it. Or maybe you need to double down on LinkedIn if you're B2B. So you need to consider am I B2B, business to business, am I business to consumer? Where should I be? And you need to test also intentionally. I like to test anywhere from minimum of 30 to 90 day window. And then you look at the insights. You consider like, is this going to work for me? So let me give you a tip. If you were creating a podcast, here's where I would have done it differently. I listened to everybody and what they said, creating an audio podcast, and then put the audio on the various uh platforms, podcast platforms, so use it as a distribution, and then take the video and put it on YouTube so it can get more visibility. Well, it sounds right, right? The only thing is if I would have done it the opposite, if I would have really focused on YouTube first, understood YouTube, and created a podcast on YouTube first, YouTube is a search engine. It would have given me a little bit more of a bump if I intentionally created it for YouTube and then took the audio and put it on the podcast platforms for distribution. See the difference? Instead of thinking about audio first, I would have thought video first and then repurpose with audio. That's what I mean about strategy and then using the tactic to really help with the strategy. So a little extra tip in case you're thinking of a podcast. Number six, build an email list earlier than you think. The email list is really the greatest asset you can have. If I were to start over, I would just focus on that. That would be one of the strategies. That is one of my strategies in the one that I read to you. But that would be a strategy that I would not let it dim from my goals. I would stay focused. How is this gonna grow my email list? Okay, I'm gonna use this tactic. How is it gonna grow my email list? What's the call to action gonna be? How is the funnel gonna look like? What am I gonna deliver once they're inside my email list? How often am I gonna promote? How often am I gonna send an email? All of those things need to be worked out, right? So build an email list earlier than you think because this will build trust and they will become familiar with you, your process, your voice, your methods. They will become familiar with you and they will trust you. So when you do send out a promotion, they're more likely, if they're looking for that particular solution, buy from you because they already know you. So it makes selling a little easier by nurturing early on. That's why you have to begin with the offer that I mentioned before, because that's really going to be the plumb line to figure out how everything else is going to work. Number seven, chasing algorithms will exhaust you. So again, I mentioned before discernment is a business skill. You need to figure out when you do decide on a tactic, whether it's YouTube, whether it's LinkedIn, whether it's Instagram, you need to decide how is this tactic, this tool, going to improve my bottom line? Because all of the trends, everything as far as social media and the trends, the algorithm, it changes all the time. For example, LinkedIn. Uh, LinkedIn introduced separate dedicated video tab on your phone to watch videos sometime in 2024. In 2025, we were seeing more videos. And I was creating videos during the spring and the summer of 2025, and they were doing really well. Well, we got a lot of videos on board where people were repurposing TikTok videos onto LinkedIn, and I can tell because when I go to the phone and I tap the app, I can't tell where I'm at. Am I in LinkedIn or am I on TikTok? Because they look just like TikTok. So what happens? You know, all of a sudden the algorithm is favoring videos. And before you know it, the algorithm changes, and now you're not getting as much reach because people are repurposing all these videos that really I don't think they belong on LinkedIn, frankly. I mean, if they give a little clip of a podcast, that's great because it gives good content, but some of these videos were really goofy. You know, they shouldn't even be there. They're LinkedIn is a different platform. It is for connection, for building relationships. It's different than other social media platforms. And so, you know, now I still do videos from time to time, but not as many. I mix up the content because I'm still testing, because the algorithm changes all the time. And so the video now isn't as effective as it was before. Now, maybe that'll change. I don't know. But my point is don't chase the algorithms, it will exhaust you. A lot of these trends, they lose their power once everybody jumps in. So as soon as everybody knows that there's some reach in there, everybody does it. And then what happens? We lose our reach. The long-term cost of chasing what's working right now is exhaustion because creating a lot of these posts takes time. And if you're just trying to hack the system, find the shortcut, game the thing, it's just not gonna work. Quality and relevance is always best, even over volume. Quality and relevance is always best. Okay, number eight, build a business that fits your season of life. For a lot of the people that I serve, it's kind of their second career that they're doing because they have either been displaced from corporate life, right? Or maybe they have retired, but they're not done yet, right? So figure out how much time do I want to commit to this online business? What's the business model? Do some research and look for competitors to see what they are doing. Do I want to do something similar? And if I do, how am I different? And figure out how many hours do I want to work every week, right? What model would fit me? What type of products would serve my clients, but wouldn't be as taxing? In other words, I'm not trading a time for dollars. And so you have to think through all these things. And maybe you're not in your second career, but you have a family and you don't want to be working all the time. You want to be able to have time with your little ones and you want to be able to enjoy your family and go on vacation. You got to figure out what it is that you want to create so that you don't create this monster that becomes just another time-consuming job because there are trade-offs that you don't always see in the beginning. The work always expands a little bit. So make sure you put those guardrails as far as when you're going to work and how often you're going to show up online and what type of speaking opportunities you're going to pursue, all of those things. And it doesn't hurt to define success. What is success for you now? And what does success look like three years from now? Because it's not always monetary. So consider what is success. So every day you can feel successful because you are following your values, your goals. You have predefined what it looks like. So values, goals, and constraints will help shape your decisions. And it will also protect your time, your energy, and your focus. Okay, last but not least, the lessons will become your mentors. One of the things I realize is that everybody goes through the same emotional roller coaster ride. Everyone goes through the same ups and downs and failures and successes. No one is immune to this. So you will experience different things. There is a learning curve that is real and it is normal. So you decide on those small tools, the tactics that you're going to apply. You don't need everything. If you're a solo business owner wearing many, many hats, you don't need a whole heck of a lot. You don't need to be looking at all these AI things that are screaming at everyone. And you don't have to create a ton of workflows. By workflows, I mean AI workflows where you have agents, and with agents, you have to give it all of your login information. I don't think solo business owners need that at this point, unless they grow pretty, pretty big. And by big, I mean you're making $500,000 or more and you need to implement some really clear workflows and stuff. But for most people, I think if you use AI strategically to help you with your content, your ideas, your perspectives, and expertise. Execute it faster, that's a great way to go. Not relying on AI to produce everything for you and just say, write this and then post it, because we need to consider quality control and we need to make sure that the content is true to our brand, to our voice. And when we do this, we can leverage our content in a way that helps us execute much faster. So you don't need perfection, you need simplicity. And that's what AI brings, simplicity. But there is a learning curve. And that's why, you know, I have my AI lab for solopreneurs to shorten that learning curve and help them transition into this AI world that we have now. So if you have one offer, one strategy, right? A tactic that you're going to use and refine, and you're going to focus on iteration rather than reinvention, right? Because the strategy stays the same. The tactics may change, and you can use AI to help you execute faster. So it gives you a little bit more margin. You can learn this without making it harder than it needs to be. Because we learn as we implement, but always be thinking, how am I going to sell? Because that's what's going to help you get the tools and pay for some of the platforms that you're going to be using. Here's what I've noticed: the longer you take to sell, the harder it becomes because you become so accustomed to just working by yourself behind your screen and not really talking to people or hearing objections or concerns. And you need that information. You need that data because all of that data, all that information you have from one-on-one calls or from surveys, or even failures and successes, all of those experiences will become like mentors for you. You will learn from it and you will be able to iterate again in a way that's better. Nothing is perfect right out of the box. You're going to tweak and adjust things, but the longer you take to sell, if you are waiting until this is in place and this is in place and this is in place, I see a pattern that people get a little bit more fearful about selling. And selling is just serving. It's just serving people at a higher capacity. You're providing more value, more resources. You're sharing something that maybe took you a lifetime to learn. And it's a way to serve and get compensated for it. So you can start earlier than you think, but you do need a strategy. And so that's why I opened this podcast with focusing on strategy rather than tactics, because tactics will keep people just chasing their tail and not getting anywhere. So that's why it's really important. So those are some tips for you. If I was starting over my online business, those are some of the things I would focus on and look at. I hope it was helpful for you. And if you're starting an online business, you can always reach out to me. You can go to my website and under the contact tab, you can schedule a call with me. We can have a very simple conversation and I can direct you in maybe some of your first steps or clarify something for you. So if you enjoyed this podcast episode, I would love it if you leave a five star rating and review. Still asking for them. Are people listening? I'm not sure. See, there's those questions. Is anybody listening to this podcast? So if you could do that, I would really, really appreciate it. It'd be like a little Christmas present for me. So I would love it. So anyway, until next time, I will talk to you soon. Take care. Bye bye.