The Get Paid Podcast: The Stark Reality of Entrepreneurship and Being Your Own Boss

Back in Part 1, Jason Zook left us on a cliffhanger — week one of vibe coding his first app felt like "we're going to be millionaires this year," week two was "this is hell." This week, Jason picks up exactly where we left off and walks Claire through everything that happened next: the rescue that came from inside his old Wandering Aimfully community, the pricing experiment Claude mapped in fiftee...

Cathy Mazak just had the biggest launch of her career — $96,000 in two weeks, with 75 students enrolled. But until then, she had been stuck. Same email list. Same launches. Same program. The same 20-to-25 enrollments every time. Whatever you sell, if you've ever felt that flatline-launch frustration where the math just won't math, this episode is for you. In this conversation, Cathy walks Claire t...

Jason Zook and his wife Caroline spent eight years building Wandering Aimfully into a coaching program doing over $30,000 a month in recurring revenue. Then they shut it down — on purpose — at the peak. In Part 1 of this conversation, Jason walks Claire through how he and Caroline started working together (it involves lion makeup), the pricing shift that took them from $5K to $30K a month, the "en...

Claire met Ellen Yin at a conference last year — and despite Ellen's podcast Cubicle to CEO crossing over a million downloads, Claire had never heard of her. Months later, Claire stumbled onto one of Ellen's offers on Instagram and bought it without thinking twice. "Take my money," she said! In this episode, Ellen shares how she built Cubicle to CEO into a media company, the brand partnership stru...

Claire just got back from Miami, where she sponsored Dielle Charon''s Millionaires of Color conference for the first time — and she's sharing the WHOLE story. The stress spiral, the question she asked Dielle that completely changed how she showed up, and the unexpected moment that made every dollar worth it. Plus: her best tips for getting an actual ROI out of any in-person event — whether you're...

Vix Meldrew is one of those people who has actually lived multiple internet lives — and somehow turned all of it into a business that sells memberships and group programs at scale. In this episode, Vix breaks down how she went from being a sex + dating blogger (while teaching primary school!) to building a membership with hundreds of members… and then making the decision to close it when Reels cha...

Joe Sanok started a podcast in 2013, when almost nobody in his niche was doing it. Today, Practice of the Practice generates close to a million dollars a year through podcast sponsorships, a membership community, consulting, and done-for-you podcast launch services. In this episode, Joe breaks down how he validated one of his highest-ticket offers by asking 15 people three questions, then sending...

If you hired an ad agency to save time and make more money… but you're still doing the creative, still managing the process, and still feeling unclear about what's actually working? This episode is for you. In today's episode, Claire shares five warning signs it might be time to cut ties with your ad agency or consultant — even if they've been with you for a while, even if you like them, even if t...

If you've ever looked at one number in your ad dashboard, felt your stomach drop, and turned the whole thing off — this episode might sting a little.  In this solo episode, Claire breaks down what she calls made up funnel math — the sneaky way smart business owners decide their funnel is "dead" or "not profitable" based on vibes, one scary metric, or incomplete tracking. The worst part? It usually...

Chris Donohoe went from blue-collar Florida to Cornell on a diving scholarship — and then into the world of corporate consulting, where he realized the people making great money weren't superhuman. They just had a profitable skillset and a repeatable way to sell it. Now Chris helps consultants, freelancers, and coaches create real cashflow in their businesses. But when he decided to walk away from...

Kathy Cruz is the founder of Savvy Shopkeeper, where she helps brick-and-mortar retail owners grow with stronger systems, clearer decision-making, and real financial confidence. In this episode, Kathy shares what happened when she joined Get Paid Marketing and finally started running ads with a real plan — starting with a time-sensitive planner launch that became her best one yet. We talk about wh...

Lindy Alexander avoided ads for years because they felt "icky"… until she joined Get Paid Marketing and realized her results didn't require more complexity — they required less friction. In this episode, Lindy shares what shifted when she simplified how people bought (including one tiny change that made a bigger difference than she expected), and how GPM is different from any other program she joi...

It's a very good time to be running Facebook and Instagram ads! And if you'd like to replace one of your launches this year — without losing out on the revenue — this episode is for you. Today, I'm breaking down four ways you can generate launch-level income using ads and evergreen funnels. Some require paid traffic. Some don't. All of them work — if you know what you're doing. This Week on the Ge...

Running ads is one thing. Scaling them without freaking out (or breaking what's already working) is another. In this episode, financial coach Gina Knox shares what changed when she stopped dabbling, got serious about her funnel, and used a weekly webinar rhythm to create more consistent revenue—without needing a giant launch every time. This Week on the Get Paid Podcast: What clicked when Gina tre...

Claire was more than a little skeptical about AI for a long time. Now? She's ON BOARD! And for very specific purposes. In this episode, she's sharing the three underused ways she's now using ChatGPT and Claude—and none of them have to do with writing captions or copy. This Week on the Get Paid Podcast: The use case that helped Claire make a major business decision How she cut her monthly software...

It's that time. Claire sat down to look at everything that happened in 2025—the numbers, the team, the launches, the decisions. Some of it was hard to say out loud. 😳 This Week on the Get Paid Podcast: The full breakdown: revenue, expenses, what's left A team change Claire didn't see coming The pattern she finally broke Mentioned in This Episode: Millionaires of Color Conference (Claire is a spea...

Claire has always had a complicated relationship with goal setting, so New Years and all the talk of planning used to make her queasy. But even though she's on board with goal setting now, some advice from her favorite mindset mentor has brought back the wobbles. Listen in to this week's "walk 'n talk" episode with her friend and frequent guest of the podcast, Steph Crowder This Week on the Get Pa...

What happens when an Egyptologist with a PhD decides to stop relying on YouTube and test ads for the first time? In this episode, Egyptologist Melinda Nelson-Hurst shares how she finally tested Facebook ads (after years of relying on YouTube), spent about $1,565 , and generated 1,812 webinar registrants at an average of $0.86/lead —even though she reused the same image ads, skipped video entirely,...

What happens when you take a webinar that's already working… and put real traffic behind it? In this episode, Gina Knox shares the moment she realized she didn't have a launch problem at all. She had a leads problem. And fixing that one bottleneck is what helped her rebuild momentum, grow her list to over 10,000 subscribers, and cross the million-dollar mark in cash collected this year. This Week...

If you've ever thought "I'd love to run ads, but I just don't have the budget," this episode will help you see things differently. I break down a simple, practical way to plan for ads in 2026, especially if consistent visibility has been on your mind but feels out of reach financially. This episode is all about shifting ads from something you hope to afford…into something your business is designed...

If you've wondered whether ads would actually work for your business, today's episode gives you a clear answer. Claire breaks down the six business models that consistently do well with Facebook and Instagram ads — and why they tend to see strong results even at low daily spend. This Week on the Get Paid Podcast: The 6 business models that typically thrive with ads Local businesses 1:1 service pro...

This is the episode you might not want to hear… but absolutely need. Launches aren't getting easier. Warm audiences aren't magically appearing. And the businesses growing in 2026 will be the ones that implement certain strategies now. In this episode, I'm sharing the truth about what launches actually require these days, and how to set yourself up long before cart open. This Week on the Get Paid P...

If ads feel confusing, overwhelming, or like everyone else "gets it" but you… I promise, it's simpler than it looks. In today's episode, I'm breaking down the exact ways ads fit into an online business marketing strategy. I promise, it's way simpler than you think! This is the episode I wish I could put in every beginner's hands. This Week on the Get Paid Podcast: The three places ads belong in yo...

What if one tiny, consistent action completely changed how your business grows next year? In today's episode, I'm sharing how a quiet $5/day ad can do more for your 2026 visibility, confidence, and momentum than any "perfect" piece of organic content. No pressure or overwhelm; just something small that compounds in a big way. This Week on the Get Paid Podcast: Why small, steady ads build more mome...

Everyone talks about lead generation like it's just a sales tool — grow your list, sell your offer, repeat. But what if it's actually the secret to being seen? This week, I'm sharing what really happens when you commit to consistent lead gen — how it quietly builds your reputation, expands your reach, and gets your name showing up in rooms you didn't even know existed. This Week on the Get Paid Po...