Duped: The Dark Side of Online Business

We're back! And a lot has happened since our last season. In this episode, we're digging into the world of business coaching and how things have gone seriously off the rails. Welcome to Season 4 of Duped. We're back, and we couldn't be more excited about what we have planned, as this season, we'll be diving into the world of online business scams. In our first episode, we want to talk about how bu...

Season 4 of Duped will be kicking off in January, but in the meantime, we're giving you a sneak peek. In this special episode, we're going to look at the impending recession and how celebrity entrepreneurs are now using that to mess with us and try to get our money. Learn more at duped.online

How do you decide if a program is worth investing in? If it will get you the results? How do you even know if the business owner is credible to run that program?  Too many times a slick sales page and manipulative marketing tactics can prevent you from doing your due diligence on a program before you invest. In this season finale of Duped, we are going to talk about how you can be vet coaches, con...

You just need to share your story is a common refrain in online business. It sounds good on the surface, as every one of us are humans who love a good story. But what happens when those stories are shared so that they manipulate or even harm our audience?  In this episode of Duped, we're diving into the business practice of sharing stories and the seedy, harmful underbelly of when storytelling goe...

Everywhere you look people are selling certifications. There are certifications for life coaching, business coaching, marketing, messaging, oracle cards, and more. But are certifications the real deal that can help you build your business or just another money-making grift?  You're about to find out on this episode of Duped. Learn more at duped.online

Over the last 10 years, there have been countless ways that celebrity entrepreneurs have sold to us: courses, masterminds, memberships, and many more. These trends come and go, and one of the big ones right now is group programs. In this episode of Duped, we're digging into all things group programs including the potential grifts of these programs that you need to know about right now. Learn more...

Have you ever looked at your biz and thought the only way you'll ever grow is if you start hiring? If so, you aren't the only one.  What you may be surprised to hear is that part of why you're thinking like this is because in the world of online biz celebs, we're told hiring is THE way to do it.   We're told we can't possibly expand and thrive without a whole team of people to help us chase the dr...

Have you ever heard some celeb entrepreneur say that you need to build a big audience to have online business success?  While that advice doesn't necessarily sounds terrible… it kind of is. Because once again, we're being encouraged to chase a carrot (the huge audience) that won't necessarily give us what we want (a sustainable business).  And let's not forget that nobody mentions that high cost a...

If there's one area in online business that is rife with bad advice, it's pricing.  We're told we need to charge what we're worth. That we need to "play big". That we just need to raise our prices. As though it's a quick push of the button and everything comes together. What that line of thinking ignores is that the world of online business has been set up to take something complex and highly nuan...

While the words "best practices" are heard again and again in online business, do you ever take time to actually think about what they mean? Some of the best practices we're being sold in the online space have been so normalized that they're now business as usual —  Which would be fine if they weren't so damn SHADY. And that's why now is the time to start asking questions. In this episode of Duped...

Hands up if you've ever been swept up in the moment and made a purchase, but then later wondered what the heck you were thinking.  Been there, done that… and got the crappy product or service we didn't actually need.  But why does this happen? Why do we get all excited and seemingly throw our critical thinking skills out the window? Well, friends, it's because this is what the online business worl...

Stop us if you've heard these ones before — "You just need this one trick to get people to buy from you." "Use the power of language to make your copy impossible to resist."  "Create raving fans who buy from you on autopilot." These are just a few of the claims you see on the internet designed to get you buying whatever someone else is selling.  Now, selling isn't inherently bad.  It's the tactics...

Have you ever read a sales page and by the time you've gotten to the end you don't even know what the person is actually selling you? Sure, it all sounded great, they used lots of keywords that appealed to you, and you're even considering buying…. but what is or isn't included is still kind of ambiguous.  This is called the word salad — and it's just one of the shady sales practices running rampan...

When you started your business, were you dreaming of freedom? Freedom from your boss, freedom with your time, freedom with your money, freedom to do things on your terms? That promise of freedom can be incredibly seductive, so it's no wonder budding entrepreneurs run towards this idea.  But there's a dark side to the promise of freedom where freedom comes at a high cost. That's exactly what we are...

Do you ever get the feeling that a lot of people think owning a business is easy? Or that owning a business is THE thing to do right now? If these thoughts have crossed your mind, it's likely (in part) because there's actually an entire industry devoted to selling us things that "help" us build an even bigger business.  We're being sold the dream of entrepreneurship day in, day out. And like so ma...

Hands up if you've ever experienced business FOMO at an event. You know how it goes… You're taking it all in, starting to feel overwhelmed by everything being thrown at you and the next thing you know you're being told that the X, Y or Z they are offering is only going to be available TODAY.  And of course, they tell you that you DESERVE to make this investment. Next thing you know people are lini...

Have you ever assumed that just because something is high ticket, it must be good? We've certainly been there, but here's the problem -  What exactly IS "high ticket", anyway?  A certain dollar amount? A specific level of service? A high return on investment? The reality is that one person's high ticket could be loose change for another, and the big price tag really means nothing in terms of actua...

Stop us if you've heard these ones before - "Make money while you sleep!" "Never trade dollars for hours again!" "Create it once and set it on autopilot!" We all know celebrity entrepreneurs make BIG promises when selling us a course that teaches us how to create… another course. But do courses actually live up to the hype? Are they the passive income dream they claim to be?  On this episode of Du...

The online business world is rife with shenanigans — from cult tactics to bait and switch to bro marketing.  And while it's important to identify and unpack these issues, you know what else we need to talk about? The very real cost to ALL of us. These tactics rob us of our time. Our energy. Our money. And that's just the beginning.  In this episode, we're wrapping up season one of Duped by breakin...

Have you ever seen something online and felt like it looked awfully familiar?  Then comes the sinking feeling that you've been copied. Without citation or credit.  The unfortunate reality is that in an industry that rewards people for simply being one step ahead, it's zero percent surprising that people would engage in some shady practices. That said, knowing it happens all the time doesn't make y...

Want to buy a Ferrari? Use a private jet? Stay in 5-star hotels?  According to the aspirational luxury lifestyle we're constantly being sold in the online business world, "you too can easily have these things if you just do X, Y or Z!". But after running your biz for a hot minute, it's probably become increasingly clear that attaining these things is not anywhere as easy as the people selling us t...

The seven-figure income. The passive income dream. You have to spend money to make money. If I can do it, so can you! Any of those sound familiar? You've probably heard all of those and more when it comes to the world of online business, and most of us can probably agree on one thing: I'm totally over it, and I bet you are too! These tired internet marketing tropes are pushed in our faces repeated...

If you've ever looked closely at the tactics used in the online business world, you may have been shocked to notice some parallels with something completely unexpected — a cult. The power dynamics. The focus on mindset. The endless investing in yourself. The worry that if you speak up against the status quo you may find yourself completely ostracized. But then you think….that will never happen to...

If you've been in the online biz world for a hot minute, you've probably experienced what's called bro marketing. Bro marketing is the use of psychological triggers and other persuasive hacks to shut down critical thinking without our consent. The goal is to sell more products through manipulation and coercion.  Sounds pretty shady, right? Even if you don't look like a bro, or think you're doing a...

Remember when the word expert next to someone's name actually meant that they were, in fact, an expert in their field? Yeah, so do we. Now, in a world where people can literally create any persona they want on the internet, the designation of "expert" can be incredibly misleading. These self-declared experts are out there, giving advice, selling you products and in many cases, they're influencers...