“I thought you were a snake oil salesman.”

Roughly a month ago at my live event, someone said something to me that I genuinely don’t think I’ll forget.

“I thought you were a snake oil salesman.”

I was pretty blown away. WTF could I have said 3 years ago to give off this impression?!

Vulnerability as a Business Advantage

Three years ago, I met an up-and-coming agency owner in Los Angeles. At the time, he was on the verge of breaking seven figures. We almost ended up doing business together, but things fizzled out, and nothing really happened.

Still, he stayed in the back of my mind. He was talented. Sharp. Someone I respected from a distance.

Then, a few weeks ago, we reconnected at my event. We ended up having a genuine heart-to-heart conversation about life, business, and what we actually want moving forward.

At one point, he asked me what I’m optimizing for in this next chapter of my life.

And my answer was really simple:

“I just want to spend time with my family.”

And it’s the honest truth.

I told him that I constantly feel conflicted as an entrepreneur.

I’ll see my son playing in the backyard and think:

“I want to be with him today.”

But at the same time, there’s still a part of me that deeply wants to build something meaningful. There’s still that entrepreneurial instinct that wants to create, grow, win, and provide.

Those two realities constantly compete with each other.

And honestly, I think a lot of founders feel this way, even if they never say it out loud.

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The Perception Shift

A few days after that conversation, he admitted something to me:

Back in 2023, he genuinely thought I was a snake oil salesman. But after meeting in person and hearing me talk about being a dad, he realized I was being sincere.

That moment hit me harder than he probably realized.

Because the truth is, most of us are building opinions about people through tiny fragments of information that we see online.

In digital culture, perception gets shaped incredibly fast, and usually with very little actual context.

Which is why I think one of the most powerful things we can do as leaders is share something honest and human once in a while.

Because the truth is, people don’t connect deeply with perfection–they connect with sincerity.

And ironically, I think these moments often create better businesses too.

Because underneath all the systems, sales processes, and workflows we’re building, we’re still humans trying to connect with other humans.

If you’re trying to scale your agency without losing yourself in the process, we’re helping founders build custom AI workflows and operational systems that create more leverage without sacrificing their life outside of work.

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