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Welcome to the Win with Paid Ads podcast for small business owners, entrepreneurs and really anyone who has anything you want more people to find. Whether you're starting from ground zero or scaling an eight figure business, you are exactly who this podcast was created for. Because you being the best kept secret helps no one. Right? That's why in every episode I'll show you how you can use paid ads to hit your goals 10 times sooner. It's time you finally learn how to win with paid ads. You or someone on your team can do this. I'll show you how to score and be known by more. Let's get started. Welcome back to the Win with Paid Ads podcast. I am stoked to kind of share with you, almost as if you were a fly on the wall for this 184 million dollar room that I got invited to be a part of. So let me explain because you're like, what the heck? So I got invited to this group event that we had in Nashville. It was probably about 20 of us and everyone was an eight figure entrepreneur. And number one, when I got invited, I did cry. And the person that invited me, I don't know if she knows this, but basically someone like, I mean the truth is someone advocated for me to the person hosting it. And then I met the person hosting it, whose name was Natasha, and we connected. And then I was like, wait, are we best friends now? Like, we really, I mean, we spoke almost every single week leading up to this event. And she's such an incredible human. She actually teaches on mini chat. She's actually doing a training for my mastermind coming up here in a little bit. But incredible business and it's all about automation and, you know, really getting messages, turning them into clients. Great gal. So, like, so impressed with her, but she curated this room and I was in the room with people who I legitimately was inspired by when I created my business in the first place. So I would say like the OGs, like the, the originals, the greatest. I got to be in the room with them and I absolutely freaked out when I got that text message. I was like, I don't know, I just. It was this simultaneous thing where I was like, I'm so. I'm so undeserving and I've earned it. It was like both, right? I was like, man, do I even belong? Am I even qualified to be in this room? And then like, I had that because that's like our default, right? It's like questioning it. And then I was like, no, I know that I have value. I can bring to this room, and I can't wait to meet them. Everybody has their specialty, but I really just told myself, and that's. That's why I cannot wait to share with you what I'm gonna do in this episode. I'm gonna tell you some of the. The. What is it? I think it's like, seven different things that I found that were consistent between every person, because every person was very different, but there were seven things that were consistent, and so I'm gonna break all that down for you. But it was really just so special being able to realize that so many of the things that I've struggled with, they all struggled with, too. And I cannot wait to kind of share with you exactly what it looked like. But just being invited alone, I told the person. I told the person who advocated for me. I told the person know Tasha who hosted it. I was. I just. I was in awe of the moment. I was so grateful just to be invited because I paid a lot of money to be in a lot of rooms. And I am convicted that had I not done that, I wouldn't have gotten invited in this place because I wouldn't be the person who I was, because I wouldn't have developed myself and my identity. And if I hadn't developed my identity through actions like those scary ones, I wouldn't have been able to be in a room where one of the things that was similar between all of us was the risks that we've taken. And so everything is a domino. And you just never know where that one connection and that relationship you built with that one person pays off down the line for you, because one person advocates for you in an opportunity where they. Where they had to pick a name, and they picked you. So that is why it's one of those things where it's like, it's what you know, and it's who you know. Because what I know helped so many people that allowed me to pay to be in these doors that then allowed me to open doors. And so it was a what you know and a who you know, not an either or. But I felt so grateful. And this year has truly just been the year of doors opening for the work that I had done in the last decade of doing ads and running my business. So, yeah, I got to go to Nashville, and then I was invited by Julie Solomon onto her incredible podcast. It was Julie Solomon, Amy Porterfield, Stacy Tushel, Leanne Mosley, Adley Kinsman, and I did a podcast together, and then I got to meet Jen Gottlieb I got to meet Jamie. Ca. I got to meet. Gosh, who else was it? I mean, Jasmine Star and I had connected earlier this year, but Stacy Tushel, I mean, absolutely. Just incredible, incredible humans. The list goes on. And I was in that podcast. I was sitting here in the room and one of the things I mentioned on Julie's podcast, which you're going to have to tune into, so we'll link to it below. This. This episode, it was so good. It was a. It was like a really. It's kind of like a one to two hour roundtable with all six of us for Julie's episode. So I will link to it. Like I said, so, so good. But I was sitting there and I'm going to share with you these seven things. In fact, I'm going to say the story I was about to tell. I'm going to wrap it up into these seven things so we can jump right into it today. So the seven things are the things that I found that were similar across all these people who, like, like I said, the commonality was we are all business owners, we are all women who started and grew something all the way to eight figures. And what I noticed is everybody has a specialty. Everybody is the person where you're like, oh, Excel, that's Cat. Oh, AI, that's Callan. Oh, courses. That was Amy, right? So it was like everybody had a. You're known for this thing, personal brand. Jasmine Star, right? So it was all these different things. So one of the moments that I had when I sat down for that podcast episode is Amy Porterfield posted this reel years ago where she took her team and their spouses, I believe, to Costa Rica or Mexico somewhere. And I remember saving the post, sending it to Meredith, our creative director. And I was like, meredith, oh my God. Like, this is what I want to build. Like, how much money did it take to send their spouses to this place? My God, she paid for that from her business. What in the heck? I. It literally changed my reality. I was like, that's possible. I'm like, at the time, I was like, I can't even go on vacation with me. And she just took herself, her spouse and their whole team and their spouses. I was like, what is like, I. It froze me. I started crying when I watched that. I was so moved. I was like, look at what she has done. And so that, if anything, is your reminder. Post the freaking win, y'. All. Like, when you have a big win, you change someone's life. Post it. Posting is not boasting. Okay. It is giving someone an opportunity to change their reality of what's possible for them and the opportunity that they could create for themselves and their people, too. So freaking post it. God, it changed my life. So I told Amy on the podcast. I was like, you know, like, I saw your ads. That's how I found you. I listened to your podcast, some of it, and I saw that post, and it changed my life. And so I was able to kind of share with her that perspective. And what we were talking about is how sharing is not bragging. It is proving possibility. Someone is making a decision about their future based on what you post. Doesn't that make posting on Instagram so much more impactful? I'll say it again. Someone is making a decision on their future based on what you choose to post on Instagram, which is really exciting. And so when Julie invited me to the podcast, she was also someone who. I had also, like, heard of her before, and I had followed her. She has hundreds of thousands in her audience. And I realized that you will never get invited to the table. When you feel ready, you will get invited because you kept building even when you were uncomfortable. That is what is true for me. I did not feel ready to be in the room with the other five of them. I truly felt like I was the weakest link and the newest. I had the smallest audience for sure. Granted the results I've had in my business right now. And what in doing seven figure months, like, I don't even know if I've shared this. We have done consistent second seven figure months for quite a while now. And so I. Even though I felt like the little newbie, I knew that I belonged in the room. I knew I could add value. I just had to tell my side to rewire some thoughts of, like, you don't belong. You are the weakest link. To be like, no, you're the newest in business from all these people, and you still belong here. Right? You still have value. And so I want you to know that, too. That that's the reason I invested in every investment I've made, is because someone who I was investing in was further ahead than me. That's the whole point, right? You. The whole point is to get uncomfortable. The whole point is to feel like you don't belong. That is the point. And that is what creates the turning point in your life and your business and your trajectory and your identity and your actions you take and everything. So it was a really special moment. So as I reflect on that podcast and this event here are the seven things that I learned. And by the way, if you have not clicked the link below this podcast or this video to register for the Win with Paid Ads challenge, you are missing out on an opportunity to rewire your brain and to get in the room with people who likely, even if you have a seven or eight figure business, are further ahead than you in some way or another. And if anything, if there's a part, I'm, I, I'm likely further ahead than you in the advertising game only. And I say that only because I've done it all day, every day for a decade. So even if you're listening to this and you're like, yeah, I know ads, if you haven't worked in an ad agency and managed $200 million, I'm. I'm certain that you're going to find a nugget that is helpful. And oftentimes we just need one thing to be the thing that changes our trajectory, our life and business. So, number one, everybody in that room either advertises themselves or is married to an entrepreneur who advertises. Like, advertising is a common thread. They all are pro advertising. Like, you know how there's people in there. Some are pro one thing, some are pro another thing. Everybody's got opinions. You know, people lean one way or the other. We were all leaning on advertising. No one was like, yeah, I think it's crazy how people pay money to like, target people so people can like find their business. It's like no one was bashing that. In fact, everyone was like, ashley, how are you advertising and getting that level of return? And I was like, let's talk about it. And I gave a few people some ads advice right there. And they were like, sold. Like, they, A few of them were like, what can I give you back in return? Like, I'm not kidding. They were like, this was invaluable. Help me. And so it was just that reminder that even people that are eight figures, I think they, I think they literally someone came up to me, one of the ones, and I don't want to put anybody on the spot. I want to respect their privacy. So. So I'm not going to say who said these things specifically, but people were like, I just didn't realize you really could have that level of return. My ad agency told me X, Y and Z. I'm like, yeah, your ad agency is probably not even doing that on purpose. They literally just have not experienced what my team and I have. And so they're advising based on their experience, whereas our experience is different. And so that's all it is. No one. And so that's all it is. No one is ever intentionally typically trying to hurt you. They just don't have the experience or the depth that my team team and I do. So there was a lot of. I mean, I gave, I gave a little mini ad audit to a couple of people, I'm not kidding you. And they were eating it up. They're like, this is better than Christmas. Like a little ad audit, which was awesome. So every one of them runs as to grow. No one got eight figures completely by themselves. And some of them are actually spending 150 to $250,000 a week on ads. And they're not debating whether to run them, they're debating how much more to spend. Like, that was legitimately the conversation. And all of them have had ads that made them mad that were frustrating and didn't work as well. So if you are one of the people like, well, it didn't work over here, right? You have to know, like, what is the next move? And they just didn't stop when it didn't work. They like said, no, if I had to change everything to make this work, what would that be? And they pivoted and advertised, which is really cool. The second thing is they made massive uncomfortable investments to be in that room. So no one grew their business by enduring no pain and being financially stable prior to starting the business. And almost everyone was like, yeah, I made a huge investment in this mastermind in this room. Like, they paid to open the door to skills and information. These people are obsessed with acquisition, the acquisition of information. They do not like having gaps in sales. They do not like having gaps in ads. They do not like having gaps in communication. They pay to have access to those skills. And they, they. They actively seek people that are further ahead than them. And it's what creates the speed to catch up to those people so quickly. So number two, they made massive, uncomfortable investments. Number three, every single one of them had a lonely or hard season. So one of them said that she had not talked about the things that she was struggling with behind the scenes for two years straight. She just held it all in. Another one said that she had some mental health stuff that she was struggling with and she didn't know where to turn. There were some hard things that were going on in their lives that people do not see on the outside. So if this is just your friendly reminder that you absolutely do not know what is going on behind the scenes of anyone's life, this is your reminder Everyone is human. We're all crying behind the scenes occasionally. We're all having to balance the, the, you know, marriage, kid, entrepreneur, team challenges. No one's doing it perfectly, including me, especially me. So just know that if you feel like it's easy for other people and they're not having to struggle with xyz, I'm telling you, it is not the case. And I got an up, up front, close up picture that. Honestly, I was like, man, okay, we're all going through the same stuff. Okay, it's not just me. I'm not crazy. And it really was very comforting. And that's why actually rooms like that matter. And having legitimate friends that are where you want to be or further along are so valuable. I'm not kidding. 2026 was the year I have really established real deep friendships. And I already had, like, I know some of my friends are listening right now. And yes, Hannah and Emily and all my other friends that I have so many. I love you. And it's also been cool that I've had, I've been able to develop what I would say actual deep friendships. Like people like Callan. We call each other multiple times a week. I have my group that I went to Costa Rica with, we text every week. Like, I have people that actually care about me and I care about them. And it's. There's no guilt around talking about business because that's what lights us up. And we just encourage each other. We're so honest. Like, how are your ads doing? What's going on? It's really great. And so, yeah, I've got friendships. And that's why it's so important that you put yourself in the room. Because the room that you're investing in is likely the room where you could find your best friends. And it's been the very same thing for me. And if anything, being in that room will open up the doors to other people that you could find that you just might align with better than anybody before, which is really special. Number four is they all had to fire people that they cared about. So good people, loyal people, but not the right people anymore. And so when I came back to Costa Rica, I realized that there were areas of my life, in my team and in my relationships, business and personal, that I was tolerating good and not great. And for the first time, I drew a line in the sand and I said, here are the non negotiables for this team, for this company, for this relationship, for how we communicate. And I knew that not everyone would be down for raising a standard and putting the pressure on and challenging you to take where you are to the next level. And so it was really interesting that in the room, like, people had to fire some of their best friends. And what I'm not saying on this episode, for anybody on my team listening, is that that's happening. What I am saying is there have been challenges. I have had to let people go in the company, Multiple people, and it's hard, but that is normal, right? It is absolutely normal to say, hey, this was the perfect time for this season. And not every single person, as you grow. I was in denial of this. I was like, no, I'll be the company where 100% of people stay forever. I was like, it'll be me. I don't have to let anybody go. Everyone's amazing. And that was really just proves my lack of business ownership experience, because I was in for three years, and I was like, man, we haven't had anybody leave, and I let anybody go. And then, really, as we've scaled, we have. And it's interesting, at the ad agency, it happened all the time. Everywhere I worked, it happened. People came, people left, you know, and I was like, maybe I'll be immune to that, and it's not true. And especially these people, they. They have had to make really hard decisions, and they have had to be willing to be misunderstood and for. And that's, like, a really hard thing for me. Oh, I cannot stand when I feel like someone does not understand me. But now I'm at this place where I understand me. I know my heart, I know my intentions. And the people who love me, who are closest to me, they know that, too. And they don't have to question it because they know my heart and my integrity. And so there are people where I've had to go from friend zone to leader zone, and it's not that we're not friends, but I've had to, like, put myself in. I've had to become a different leader. Like, I know that the leader that I was at a million versus five versus 15 versus 50, is going to have to be different. And not everyone is going to love that. And it's just because I'm going to hold people accountable. I'm going to make hard decisions. But it's fun over here, and we love it. We're hitting big goals, and we travel and we're going on trips. It's like an incredible place. We're changing lives. Like, it's a great place to be. I just know that I am going to be misunderstood by some people. And you freaking will too. Someone will misinterpret your post. They'll misinterpret your, you know, email. They will go to your training and just look for the negative. There's going to be negative Nancy's. There's going to be people that are like, this is terrible. It's going to happen. And especially as you grow, you've got to be able to be willing to tolerate the pain of letting people go, letting people and that don't like you. Just bless and release, praying for them, being like, I love you. I hope your life's amazing. We're just not meant to, you know, be together, you know, or they're not meant to follow or whatever it is like just those hard relationship stuff. That's what I realized was consistent. So one of the things that was one of the quotes in the room was, don't add anything new until you get these few things in place. A lot of us who are in that room tried to do way too many things at once. And so actually slowing down to speed up is how many of them grew. And so let me look at a few of the notes I had. So one of the women said she had someone on her team. This is crazy. Who. She was paying $85,000 a year for 15 hours a week of work part time, just in customer service. And she was like, I really never stopped to evaluate that. That math was really, really bad. And so I'm having to change that. Like, I can't keep paying that. I have to, I have to just be like, undo. And she's like, I'm, I'm going to lose her. And again, someone that's been with her for years, that's a hard conversation to have. The difference is these people in the room are willing to have those hard conversations. And so at the end of the day, you're not a bad leader if you are outgrowing people. You're a bad leader if you let them stay in a seat that no longer fits them or the company because you, your eight players and your clients will be negatively impacted from it. Number five, they all are actively evolving their identity, not just their business. So one of them said, I feel widely known, but not deeply seen. And she was like, so I'm having to work on the actions that she has that cast a vote for who she actually is and who she knows she wants to be. Another one says that she, like, she's like, here's my specialty, but I have so much more depth. How do I communicate both. And one of the things like, like, for me, it's like, hey, I have ads, and there's so much more with business strategy and messaging and team that I've learned along the way. And it's like, how do you explain that you have so much more value to add? And the perspective that we all realize is we need to be known for the thing that we do. And then all that other on the inside is the delight. It's the cherry on top. It's the extra. It's. We'll tell you about that later. So. So if I could encourage you, be known for one thing, and then everything else that you have to offer can be the delight on the inside, the cherry on top. So the other thing about your identity is, for me, it has been reading a lot of books, listening to a lot of podcasts, and also journaling and taking time for me to decide who I am versus saying who does everybody else say I am? And not only who I am, but who I want to be. And journaling is really helped me with that. But I make decisions in advance of when I should. It's like, I'm hiring more people right now than ever before because I'm preparing for us to grow. And so I'm getting comfortable again. I'm like, ooh, this is going to be a lot to do to add seven or eight people to the team. A lot. And I'm just like, well, I'm just anticipating that's going to happen. And I'm like, well, how would the $50 million CEO Ashley act? Well, she would hire in advance, not wait till the team is stress to the max. And there's times where that's really been the case. And so I'm trying to change my behavior because I know that the behavior and how I operated and the identity I held about myself up until this, you know, eight figure Mark was one person, and I'm having to become and develop into a different one. And so my identity is always changing, and theirs was too. And it was so evident how self awareness. I think I said this on one of the podcasts recently. It's like their self awareness and their self control. And I found that all of these women had, like, self awareness and the ability to, like, take action on that self awareness versus, like, I'm aware of this, but I don't do anything about it. It's like, I'm aware of this and I'm acting on it right now. And they loved feedback. Like, they just. They just know who they are. They know what they're about, and they're confident in it and they stand in it, and it's a hard thing to do. That was really special. So the sixth thing was they all simplified to scale. Nobody has 14 different, completely different offers. In fact, the biggest numbers were from the simplest businesses. One woman does the same thing every single month. One of them does the same thing every single week. It has for four and a half years. One of them is removing things from what she sells and it's selling more. And so I want you to stop adding, start repeating. And the fewest moving parts will create the most profit. I'll say that one more time. The fewest moving parts will create the most profit. So remember, simplicity, scales, complexity fails. If you can't very quickly be like, here's what we sell and it and say it clearly, no one else will get it either. Now, I know it's a little bit more simple for those of you that sell product, but even just like describing your product can be complex too. So just remember, how simple can you be, number seven? And then I'm actually gonna give you a little surprise. There are a few, like, unspoken things. And so I had AI take the transcript from the meeting and just pull out what were the things that weren't being sent, what were the, like, unspoken things from the room. And so I'll share that with you. So the last one is number seven. They are all building and prioritizing AI in their companies right now. We were. No one was AI Shy and AI Denial. They were all in AI adaptation in ultimate speed mode. And so I am going to link below this video to one of my best friends. Her name is Callan Faulkner, and she owns the. Just like we own the Number One advertising training company, she actually owns the Number One AI training company. And so I have a link below this that will take you to Callan's next training. So I'll link to it below. She's absolutely incredible. She's who I went to Costa Rica with. She was in this room together, and we have become really good friends. There's no one who teaches AI like she does. So here are the four levels of value. And so I want to incorporate these. Okay, so level one is implementation. That's just doing the tasks, letting AI handle it. Number two is unification. So that's organizing and communicating. Again, you can let AI handle this. Then there's influence, which is speaking, podcasting, visibility. This is where your people should experience you live. Then there is imagination. That's creative problem solving. That is the Most valuable, that is what happens when people have space to create versus spending that time in waste doing duplication that AI could do, because you can delegate. So those are the four levels of human value. Implementation, unification, influence, and imagination. And so what I am on a mission to do is to get my team to be able to live more in the imagination and creation mode. And so we are investing heavily actually in Collins program to be able to really just speed up our results, not only for ourselves, but our clients, which is really exciting. So I'll link to her below. Like I said, but every person is prioritizing AI in that room. And I think we were all, I was a little like, AI, like, oh, no. And so what I've realized is AI can be the introduction and give you the flag of when human interaction needs to be there, if that makes sense. It's like we're not taking away humans, we're having our humans be able to think, to delegate, to communicate to AI. And so I told shared this with my team, and I might have already shared it with you, I can't remember, but I told my team that in the next six to 12 months, if they haven't automated 70 to 80, 80% of their role, they likely wouldn't have one. And the only reason I say that is because the whole point of this investment in our company and being AI forward is that they get to be strategic and think and implement. And so people often think, well, if I get AI to do my job, then I won't have one. It's actually the opposite here. It's like, you will hold one because there's never going to be work that you don't need to do that, that you can't think about and create better systems and solutions. And that's what I want to create here. And I'm really excited because our clients are already winning from all the ways we're using AI. And I have an episode coming up about that very soon, actually. So every person in that room knows that their companies are responsible for automating parts of their jobs, and they're leaning into it. It's actually the standard. Okay, so last few things as we wrap up today. So here are some of the unspoken themes. So, number one, you have permission to charge more if you're great at what you do, and supply and demand would support it. Number two, document the journey. So many of them were like, God, I wish I had documented more of, like, being on the way to where I am that we could have shared today. Number three, teaching and giving value is very 2024. What's more, 2026 is doing the same. Doing it but entertaining while doing it. Not silly but something interesting, something bingeable, something that's like I'm learning and it makes me want to buy versus just like teaching and selling even though it can all be wrapped up into one, it's more of the entertainment versus the education. Next was simplicity is the weapon. And just that is where like every area in your life you could probably be more specific. And so just even saying my client got an 8 to 1 row as it's like they got an 8.35 to 1 row ad just being so dang specific. And then last but not least was every person had self doubt but they just acted anyway. And so I want to encourage you to adopt these eight figure beliefs, these mentalities and you too could speed up your results and just encouraging you to invest in the room. And I'd love for you to be a part of my mastermind if you qualify and have at least a six, seven or eight figure business. And the really best first step is the Women Paid ads challenge that you can click below this video. I'd love the opportunity to get to meet you and give you some perspective on your business. And so as we wrap up, these entrepreneurs did not have to figure it out or sorry, these entrepreneurs did not have it all figured out. They just kept going when it wasn't working, they hired when they were scared, they fired. When it broke their heart, they invested. When it stretched them, they posted when nobody was watching. Being uncomfortable was the price of admission. Not once, but over and over and over. And if you're in the hard middle right now, you're in the right place. It's not a sign to stop. It's a sign that you are growing. Amy Porterfield did not know that her Cozumel post changed my life. And I didn't know that my work would put me in the room with other eight figure entrepreneurs, including her. But I would get to share that story directly too. So share the thing, prove the possibility. Keep going. They'll advertise your name, make it rain and I'll see you on the next episode.