No BS Mastery Podcast

After more than 20 years in corporate roles and two consecutive tech layoffs, Wes Wheless found himself asking a question a lot of new independent consultants face: Without the company name and job title, who am I, what do I do, and where do I fit? Then someone in his network approached him with a problem that matched his experience. Suddenly, Wes wasn’t an employee whose expertise was getting lost among meetings, reviews, and corporate politics. He was the expert in the room. In this conversation, Wes shares the idea behind his new book, The Expert’s Privilege, and explains how to identify the expertise you’ve accumulated throughout your career, find the work that genuinely lights you up, and validate where that expertise is valuable in the market. We also talk about why consultants need to make their invisible expertise easier to understand. Wes explains how “intellectual headshots” and simple visual frameworks can help prospects immediately recognize their problem, understand your point of view, and trust that you can help. Wes is an independent consultant and author who helps experts find their lane, turn their knowledge into intellectual property, and visually communicate what makes their expertise valuable. He holds business degrees from the Wharton School and Kellogg School of Management and is also the founder of Seattle Solos, an in-person community for independent consultants and coaches. Wes’s perspective matters because leaving corporate is about more than replacing your salary. It is an opportunity to decide how you want to deploy your expertise, what kind of life you want your business to support, and what freedom actually looks like for you. Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player. Tune into this episode to hear: How two tech layoffs pushed Wes to reconsider his 20-year corporate career Why your expertise may be inefficiently deployed inside a corporate role How to identify the work that lights you up before worrying about monetizing it Why your warm network can help validate where the market sees your expertise How intellectual headshots make invisible expertise easier for prospects to understand Why your buyer’s personal pain point is often more powerful than the company’s problem The difference between replacing your corporate salary and designing a business around the life you want Learn more about Wes Wheless: Website: weswheless.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/wwheless Book resources: wesbook.com/resources The Expert’s Privilege: theexpertsprivilege.com Mentioned: Wes’s book, The Expert’s Privilege The Expert’s Privilege visual resources Resources: Join the Scale Solo Masterclass Grab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.com The Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/price Grab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your Brand Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.

I was talking to one of my more advanced students recently. She's booked out months in advance, her systems are dialed in, her clients are super happy, she can take vacations without worrying about everything falling apart, and she doesn't work on Fridays. And yet she's convinced her next step is to start hiring people, and maybe go for a million dollars. Why? Somebody had asked her, “What would happen if you got hit by a bus tomorrow? Would your business still exist?” It's such a common (and triggering) question once a solo business is really working, so in this episode I bring those big next steps down to reality. Because it's one thing to say, “I wanna make a million dollars.” It's another thing to say, “What does it take to make a million-dollar business, and what does that functionally need to look like?” In this episode: The questions to answer before you chase a million: what you're selling, how many, at what price point, and who's going to sell it Why 10 projects at $100,000 means no more than 96 hours on each (the 50/25/25 Rule) The million-dollar question: how much are you willing to invest to get there, and how much cushion do you need in case it doesn't go to plan? Why my digital products never ran without me, even when they made sales overnight What a business that runs without you looks like, and how big it has to be What a friend with a six-person agency told me about six to 10 employees I'm not against growing a business, or against teams. I just want you to understand what you're signing up for, and make that choice intentionally. Want to play with the numbers? Grab my free Price to Freedom Calculator™ at nobsmastery.com/price. It'll give you an idea of what you'd need to charge to hit whatever big revenue number you want. Or map out what a million-dollar business would look like for you, and what you'd actually take home, in the No BS HQ: nobsmastery.com/hq. Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player. Resources: Join the Scale Solo Masterclass Grab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.com The Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/price Grab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your Brand Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.

Most experts begin writing a book by thinking about everything they want to say. But according to AJ Harper, that is exactly where authors can go wrong. A book isn’t about something. A book is for someone. In this conversation, AJ explains why the reader’s transformation should guide every decision you make, from which ideas belong in the book to how you organize and market it. We talk about identifying what your reader wants, understanding what they believe is standing in their way, and creating a promise you can actually deliver by the final page. AJ also shares why experts should test their ideas before putting them into a book. It is not enough for your process to have worked for you. You need to know whether it can create change for other people, where they get confused, and what they need to keep moving forward. We also get into how a book can support your business without turning into a giant advertisement. AJ explains how to choose one clear next step for readers and plant subtle seeds through useful stories and examples that serve the book first. AJ Harper is an author, editor, and publishing strategist who helps writers create books people dog-ear, underline, and rave about. She is the author of Write a Must-Read and the longtime writing partner of Mike Michalowicz, collaborating on books including Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, and The Money Habit. Together, they co-host the podcast Don’t Write That Book. AJ’s approach is such an important reminder that writing a great book is not about proving how much you know. It is about choosing the right ideas, delivering a meaningful transformation, and creating something readers will finish, use, and tell other people about. Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player. Tune into this episode to hear: Why a book should be written for someone, not simply about something How to define the transformation your reader should experience Why every nonfiction book needs one clear, achievable promise How surveys and interviews reveal what your readers actually want Why your framework needs to work for other people before it belongs in a book How teaching and writing content can help you test and refine your ideas How to use your book to support your business without making it feel promotional Learn more about AJ Harper: Website: ajharper.com Book: Write a Must-Read Podcast: Don’t Write That Book Top Three Authors Membership and Writing Sprints Top Three Book Workshop Resources: Join the Scale Solo Masterclass Grab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.com The Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/price Grab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your Brand Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.

Being great at what you do is no longer enough to make you stand out. In a world drowning in noise, competition, and AI-generated sameness, your prospects need a reason to notice you, remember you, trust you, and ultimately choose you. David Newman calls that market eminence. It combines visibility, resonance, and brand preference so that you become more than one of many qualified options. You become the obvious choice for the right clients. In this conversation, David explains why he believes the era of how-to content is over and what experts should create instead. We talk about sharing how you think, challenging outdated beliefs in your industry, and using your experience, battle scars, and point of view to create content that no one else can copy. We also go on a very worthwhile sales tangent about treating prospects like clients. David shares how to make sales conversations more human, diagnose problems without giving away the entire solution, and confidently ask someone if they would like to work together. David is a speaker, business strategist, host of The Selling Show, and the author of four books. His latest, Market Eminence, teaches experts, founders, and business leaders how to become the people their markets notice, respect, and prefer. David’s perspective matters because AI can recreate generic information, but it cannot recreate your lived experience or hard-earned point of view. The experts who are willing to think clearly, speak boldly, and stop trying to sound like everyone else will become increasingly valuable. Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player. Tune into this episode to hear: The three elements David believes create market eminence Why experts should stop producing generic how-to content The three kinds of thought leadership content humans are uniquely qualified to create How to uncover the contrarian opinions you already have but may be afraid to share Why treating prospects like clients can make sales conversations feel more natural How to diagnose someone’s problems without solving everything for free Why trying to sound smart and be universally liked makes your work easier to ignore Learn more about David Newman: Get Market Eminence and the companion resources: marketeminence.com Website: Do It! Marketing Listen to The Selling Show Explore David’s books and free resources Connect with David on LinkedIn Resources: Join the Scale Solo Masterclass Grab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.com The Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/price Grab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your Brand

Gross. Pushy. Slimy. A sweaty guy in a cheap blazer. That’s what came back when Pia asked a room full of business owners how selling makes them feel. And here’s the problem: sales is the lifeblood of your business. If the most important thing you do is the thing you dread most, that’s going to cost you. In this episode, Pia digs into why selling feels so icky, and it’s not what you think. It’s not that you’re bad at it. It’s that the only version of selling most of us have ever experienced is the pushy one, the version where someone tries to convince you to buy something you don’t want. Nobody wants to be that person, so we overcorrect: we get on calls, give away free value, prove our worth, and quietly hope the person buys. It feels terrible, and it doesn’t work. Then Pia shares the shift that took selling from the worst part of her business to something that doesn’t even feel like selling: getting paid to diagnose before you prescribe. Using her Advil analogy, she breaks down why you never have to convince anyone who’s genuinely in pain, you just have to find out if they have the headache first. Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player. In this episode: Why “salesy” feels gross, and why that instinct is actually a good one The free-proposal trap that quietly loses you the sale The fit call vs. the free consultation (and why the difference matters) The Advil analogy that reframes selling for good How a paid first step, the Lead Product, removes the ick entirely Mentioned: The No BS Clients Lab: nobsclientslab.comThe DIY program that walks you through the entire process, the fit call script, the diagnostic brief template, and how to turn that first paid step into much bigger projects. The Clients Lab + No BS HQ: nobsmastery.com/bundleWant the Clients Lab bundled with the HQ software (plus the LP bot and three live office-hours sessions)? Get both together at a discount: Resources: Join the Scale Solo Masterclass Grab the first chapter of my new book Scale Solo: scalesolobook.com The Price to Freedom Calculator™: nobsmastery.com/price Grab a copy of my book Badass Your Brand: Badass Your Brand Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.