Hey, Reader,

Welcome to the LAST track of my Summer Mixtape series—where each week we're dusting off an old-school business principle and looking at how it still works in a noisy world full of AI, templates, and automation where everybody is an expert.

Track 01: Everybody talks​

Track 02: Wannabe​

Track 03: I want it that way​

Track 04: I'll be there for you​

Track 05: That's what friends are for​

Track 06: Don't you (forget about me)​

This week:

BONUS TRACK: Oops, I did it again

My pre-internet business lesson for today is this: Good businesses have always had a plan for what happens next.

That part hasn't necessarily changed - we can leave coupons for the next purchase in the bag, we set reminders on our phone to follow up with leads, and check in every quarter with past clients. Easy peasy.

But in 2026, even with our best-laid plans, the internet has given us approximately 47 more places for people to wander off—and it's simply not possible to keep up with all of them on our own.

Without fail, there are certain words that my clients feel a certain way about when they come up in the 'what's next' conversation: Funnels. Automations. Email marketing. I can actually feel the cringe through the phone.

If it sounds like anything involving a webinar, a Lamborghini, or a man yelling from a YouTube ad, they're out. I get it. But here's the thing... funnels are simplifiers and I want to change the way you see them.

Bc last week, I did, in fact, give you a funnel: Person is interested → gives you name/email → gets scheduling link → doesn't book → receives useful follow-up → stays connected.

Instead of letting someone disappear if they don't book, I showed you how to create a path for what happens next.

That's really all a funnel is: a path for what's next. And inquiries aren't the only place in your business that needs one:

• Someone downloads your freebie → then what?
• Someone joins your email list → then what?
• Someone buys a $27 product → then what?
• Someone finishes working with you → then what?
• Someone reads your newsletter every week → then what?

Once you know what you want to happen next, you can build a process around it—so you aren't reinventing it every time, and everyone gets the same thoughtful experience.

And this is where email enters the chat.

No, not everyone with a business needs to become a Content Creator™ and produce a sponsored newsletter every Tuesday. BUT the brilliance of email is that it gives you a way to continue a relationship after someone leaves your website, makes a purchase, or your project together ends.

^^^I cannot overstate the value of that.

People don't have to remember to come back and find you. You have a way to keep showing up, keep being useful, and guide them toward whatever makes sense next.

As always, if you want to talk funnels, email, automations—or figure out what the heck should happen next in your business—just hit reply.

And look at that. You survived an entire email about funnels. 😉🎧

​MADE IN PARADISE​ branding, copy and web design

​

🎟️ ONE LAST BACKSTAGE PASS

Something I didn't expect happened while writing this series. Every week, I've been introducing another piece of my process, and somewhere along the way I went from writing newsletters to rebuilding my entire business.

​BRAND WEEK | COPY WEEK | WEBSITE WEEK​

And since you've made it all the way to the secret track, I have one last offer for you before it hits my website. I'm pulling out one piece of what I normally do as part of my larger projects:
​ the strategy session

This is usually one of the first things we do when someone hires me. We spend an hour together untangling what's happening now, figuring out what should happen, and mapping out a plan to get there.

Bring me your inquiry process, a freebie that doesn't lead anywhere, your email list, your client journey, your past-client follow-up—or just the place where you keep thinking, I know there should be something happening here.

We'll spend 60 minutes figuring out where people enter, where you want them to go, what needs to happen in between, what emails or touch points you need, and what could be automated. Afterward, I'll send you a simple strategy document with the plan we created.

Mixtape price is $99 (will be $250 when it hits website shelves next week). If our session uncovers a bigger project, I'll apply the cost toward it.

​[GRAB A $99 POWER HOUR →]​

One more thing: the entire merch table is closing, too. This is your last chance to use code MIXTAPE20 to save 20% on any 1:1 service or digital product featured during the Summer Mixtape series—including BRAND WEEK, COPY WEEK, WEBSITE WEEK, and my DIY options like the Brand Kit, and the Offer Architect.

Both bonuses disappear in one week, on 9/11. And then I'm officially packing up the cassette tapes and going home. 🎧

BONUS TRACK

🔨 TOOL TIME: Zapier — Make the apps you're already using talk to each other.​
🎧 NOW PLAYING: Optimize to Monetize podcast
🎬 REWIND: Newsletter Ideas for Small Businesses​
🎵 NEXT TRACK: This is the last, last track. ​
📼 FOUND IN THE TAPE DECK: