The Only Diet Your Business Needs

Congrats! You made it this far into the year without quitting. But if you're anything like the entrepreneurs I've coached and pitched to over the last 40 years, you're already deep in decision-making mode. Truth be told, we never leave that mode. I've been thinking about client positioning and headline angles since before most of these "gurus" learned to walk, and I still catch myself scribbling ideas on napkins at Christmas dinner.

Every new year, it's worth taking stock of what's actually working and cutting what isn't. Here's my one resolution worth stealing for your business: stop following the advice of Douchey Bro Influencers, or what I call "DBIs." Unfollow them. Mute them. Get them out of your feed and out of your head. Call it the DBI Diet.

What the Hell is a DBI?

What exactly do I mean by "douchey bro influencers"?

These are people, typically guys, who present themselves as experts or gurus in a particular field, mostly through Instagram or YouTube. They usually have a big following and use it to sell products or "systems" they claim will 10X your earnings or fix your business overnight. I've sat across the table from agency owners who blew five figures on one of these "masterminds" and walked away with a PDF and a Slack channel full of strangers hyping each other up. That's not mentorship. That's a pyramid with better lighting.

Unfortunately, most DBIs are more interested in making a quick buck than in actually helping their followers. They offer "secret hacks" that are nothing more than repackaged common sense, or they push products that are overpriced and thin on substance. Most of them are more concerned with their personal brand than with whether you ever actually grow your business.

Why You Need to Cut These Clowns Out

So why am I telling you to go on the DBI diet? Here are the reasons, straight from four decades of watching trends come and go:

-Their advice is generic and not built for your business.

DBIs give advice that's broad by design, because broad advice scales to a million followers. What works for a dropshipping kid in his twenties won't work for a 15-person agency with real payroll to make. I learned this the hard way early in my career, chasing a "proven formula" a well-known ad guy swore by, only to watch it flop with a client because it never accounted for our actual audience or budget. There is no universal playbook. There's only the work you do to understand your specific business, your specific customer, and the headline or offer that actually moves them.

Instead of following influencers, take the time to understand your own goals, strengths, and challenges, and seek advice that's actually tailored to where you are.

-They often have ulterior motives.

Some influencers genuinely want to help. Most DBIs are profiting off your desire to hack your way to the top. They promote products they have a financial stake in, or sell overpriced courses that offer little real value once you're past the sales page.

-They may not have the expertise they claim to have.

DBIs present themselves as authorities, but plenty of them have never run a P&L, never sat in a client review that went sideways, never had to make payroll during a slow quarter. Do your own research. Get advice from people with a track record you can actually verify, not just a big follower count.

What to Do Instead (Actual Useful Stuff)

So what should you do instead of following DBIs this year? Glad you asked:

-Experiment and test things out for yourself.

I've written somewhere north of 100,000 ads over my career, and I still test. One of the best ways to figure out what works for your business is to try it yourself, on a small scale, and measure the result. That might mean testing two different offers, or two different headlines on the same ad. The point is to be willing to learn from what flops as much as what wins.

-Find diverse sources of information.

Instead of relying on one or two influencers, build a real library: books, trade publications, podcasts, and courses from people who've actually done the work you want to do. Look for multiple perspectives before you commit to one approach.

-Find a mentor or accountability partner.

Having someone to guide you matters more than any course. Find a mentor or accountability partner who can give you advice based on real experience, not a highlight reel. This could be a colleague, a friend, or a professional in your field. Don't expect them to do the work for you. They're there to give guidance, not do your job. This is the same principle behind why your agency's client relationships work better on trust than on constant check-ins -- good guidance is about earned confidence, not hand-holding.

-Trust your judgment and instincts.

You are the expert on your own business. Trust your gut, even when it goes against the advice of a DBI with a bigger following than you. It's fine to seek advice and guidance from others, but evaluate what you hear critically and make the call that's right for your business, not theirs.

So as this year moves forward, consider leaving the douchey bro influencers behind and putting your energy into your own path to success. That's the only diet that's ever actually worked for anybody I've coached.