In this must-listen for small business owners, Dusti sits down with Laura Sprinkle—affiliate strategist and founder of Rootabl, an affiliate platform built for modern online businesses. Laura lays out why we're not in a "trust recession"…we're in a trust revolution—and how SMBs can capitalize by designing referral worthy experiences and smarter affiliate programs.

In this episode

• Trust > tactics: Why buyers are choosier (and how to earn referrals that stick).

• Keystone partners, not "affiliate armies": Go deeper with 5–20 aligned partners while still empowering your customer "pollinators."

• Affiliate UX matters: Make it stupid-easy for partners to share and get paid (assets, links, attribution—no friction).

• Micro-influencers win: Smaller creators + genuine stories = higher conversion and brand lift.

• For newer owners: Start building relationships now. The sale may come later—the network equity compounds today.

• Personal growth: The hardest lesson Laura learned (asking for help) and why it changes everything.

Who's the guest

Laura Sprinkle is an affiliate strategist and the founder of Rootabl, lightweight affiliate software purpose-built for creators and online businesses. She's helped run and advise some of the biggest partner campaigns in the space and is on a mission to make sharing what you love (and getting paid for it) radically simpler.