What if your job isn’t to solve a problem, but to cause one?

I know, causing problems sounds like the last thing you want to do in your business or in your life. Most of us were taught to show up and help fix problems.

But in this clip from our fireside chat with Seth Godin at the No BS Agencies Mastery retreat, Seth explains that the people who are really winning in business and in influence know how to create tension.

Tension is what makes someone say, hey, I didn’t know this was a problem and now I need it solved! Which is where you come in.

Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, and most of all, a teacher. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 21 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn), This is Marketing, and This is Strategy. Though renowned for his writing and speaking, Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo!). He is credited as the inventor of email marketing (the good kind) and has given five highly popular TED talks.

By focusing on everything from effective marketing and leadership, to the spread of ideas and changing everything, Seth has motivated and inspired countless people around the world.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How do you introduce tension and then become the source of relief
• Why the real problem is rarely what the client thinks it is
• How the Lead Product fills in the story, clarifies the problems, and positions you as the solution

Learn more about Seth Godin:

• Website
• Seth’s Blog
• Akimbo Podcast
• Facebook: @sethgodin

Resources:

• E. 253: Back to Basics: The Lead Product
• No BS Clients Lab
• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

This month, I am sharing some of my favorite moments from my interview with Seth Godin that took place at our No BS Agencies Mastery retreat in May.

Along with Seth’s incredible expertise and wisdom, I’m adding my reflections on how those truth bombs connect to the core strategies we teach inside Mastery.

In this episode, we dive into why people actually buy (or don’t buy) your services. A lot of us–myself included–come into this business believing that the work should speak for itself. But here, Seth breaks down for us why that just isn’t true. 

Making the sale is about more than the work itself. Let’s talk about what actually closes the deal.

Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, and most of all, a teacher. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 21 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn), This is Marketing, and This is Strategy. Though renowned for his writing and speaking, Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo!). He is credited as the inventor of email marketing (the good kind) and has given five highly popular TED talks.

By focusing on everything from effective marketing and leadership, to the spread of ideas and changing everything, Seth has motivated and inspired countless people around the world.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Seth’s personal experience showing that a product won’t sell just because it’s great
• What creates the best conditions for your customers to say yes
• How the Lead Product creates trust and confidence in you for your prospects

Learn more about Seth Godin:

• Website
• Seth’s Blog
• Akimbo Podcast
• Facebook: @sethgodin

Resources:

• No BS Clients Lab
• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

This month, I am sharing something very special with you.

At our May 2025 No BS Agencies Mastery retreat in Brooklyn, I got the one and only Seth Godin to speak as our expert guest. In our private fireside chat with No BS Agency owners, Seth did what he does best, and dropped wisdom left and right.

It was electrifying. Everyone in the room was furiously taking notes the whole time.

So I’ve gathered some of my favorite moments–and trust me, it was so hard to narrow it down!–to share with you and my reflections on how they connect back to the core strategies we teach inside Mastery.

This episode is all about how we make decisions in our businesses.

Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, and most of all, a teacher. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 21 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn), This is Marketing, and This is Strategy. Though renowned for his writing and speaking, Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo!). He is credited as the inventor of email marketing (the good kind) and has given five highly popular TED talks.

By focusing on everything from effective marketing and leadership, to the spread of ideas and changing everything, Seth has motivated and inspired countless people around the world.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• What you have to remember about good decisions vs have good outcomes
• How to evaluate your decisions 
• A faulty thinking when making or evaluating decisions

Learn more about Seth Godin:

• Website
• Seth’s Blog
• Akimbo Podcast
• Facebook: @sethgodin

Resources:

• No BS Clients Lab
• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Heidi DeCoux is someone I’ve gotten to know pretty well while she’s been growing her AI-powered tech company, Cashflowy. 

We want to improve our business processes so that we can provide more quality and value to our clients in the most efficient manner, and AI tools like Cashflowy can be a huge step toward making that happen.

Heidi DeCoux is a serial entrepreneur who’s built four businesses with 50%+ profit margins and sold three of them, one of which was a 7-figure exit.

Her latest adventure is launching the tech startup, Cashflowy.ai, an elegant AI bookkeeping, client invoicing, and cash-flow management software for small businesses that eliminates the need for a bookkeeper.

She’s appeared in Forbes and other publications and has become known as “The Optimizer” because she’s passionate about helping entrepreneurs optimize their businesses and lives.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why most bookkeeping is only 70% accurate — and how AI is doing it better
• How Cashflowy was designed and trained specifically for solopreneurs
• How Cashflowy helps you make smarter decisions for your business right now
• Cashflowy features that reduces mistakes and allows for more efficient financial reporting
• Why the future belongs to billion-dollar, one-person businesses

Learn more about Heidi DeCoux:

• Cashflowy
• Instagram: @heididecoux, @cashflowy.ai
• Connect with Cashflowy on LinkedIn 
• Connect with Heidi on LinkedIn
• FREE Guides and Templates from Cashflowy

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Jacob Kleinman Phillips is one student of the No BS Master program who I’ve been delighted to watch grow and blossom over the last few years. 

He is a shining example of our community in the way that he shows up full of energy, open and ready to share his wins, his challenges, to ask questions, and to support others. I am so excited for you to hear his story.

Jacob is the founder of Touchpoint, a branding studio helping purpose-driven businesses and nonprofits turn their mission into a movement. Known for his strategic clarity and human-first approach. He blends storytelling with design to craft brands that don’t just look good, they move people.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How Jacob’s own commitment to giving back shows up in the work that he does and fuels his business
• The client experience that taught Jacob to lean in to his niche and good client fits
• How the LP interview has allowed him to incorporate unexpected, highly impactful details that perfectly align with clients
• What dressing up in a chicken suit taught Jacob
• Jacob’s “aha” moment about the difference between a commodity and a transformation

Learn more about Jacob Kleinman Phillips:

• Touchpoint Design
• Instagram: @jacob.kleinmanphillips

Resources:

• FREE GUIDE - Goodbye Generic
• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

It’s every business owner’s dream: An email pops into your inbox from an excited prospect who is just dying to work with you. 

That doesn’t happen by accident.

That only happens when you've put time and effort into building an entire ecosystem dedicated to attracting new people into your orbit. 

It’s called an Authority Machine. It attracts clients to you so that you’re responding to excited prospects who want your services. It’s what allows you to build a truly sustainable business for the long haul.

This month, I’m taking it back to the basics and unpacking the fundamentals of building a No BS Agency. In this episode, we dive into the Authority Machine and how it gets your small agency off the where’re my next client coming from? treadmill.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• How an Authority Machine is different from the social media content treadmill
• Why building your Authority Machine is the “last step” in our No BS model
• The elements of an effective Authority Machine
• The marketing efforts that just don’t make sense without an Authority Machine in place

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Do your projects drag on for weeks or even months longer than you planned? Are you constantly chasing clients for deliverables or feedback so you can move forward?

If you are, I bet you’re pretty sick of it. I was too. So I upended the traditional model.

Now one of the core frameworks I teach in the No BS model is the Intensive. Intensives allow you to make more money, deliver more value to your clients, and reclaim your time and freedom.

No more client limbo. No more endless rounds of revisions. No more scope creep.

In this episode, I talk about why Intensives work and how they create more satisfied clients and give you the life you probably wanted when you started your business.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why traditional branding and web projects often drag on for months—and what to do instead
• How Intensives help you deliver more value in less time (while charging more!)
• The exact structure of our $40,000 two-day Brand Up intensives
• The role of the “lead product” (like our Brand Shrink) in setting up a successful intensive
• Real examples of how Intensives increased client satisfaction and our freedom
• What to consider if you want to implement Intensives in your own agency

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Are you tired of meeting with potential clients, putting time and effort into proposals, and not closing the sale – or worse, getting ghosted? 

Maybe you constantly feel like a glorified order-taker and you’re tired of being a pixel pusher.

Today, we’re getting back to basics and talking about why you shouldn’t be giving away your strategy for free and what you need to do instead to get off the client-chasing hamster wheel.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why pitching with free proposals is BS
• How free proposals enable scope creep
• How the lead product positions you as a trusted advisor
• What makes it easier to land premium priced projects
• How to avoid the salesy free discovery call

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

Carolyn Herfurth is a friend, colleague, and coach of mine who has helped me transform my business multiple times over the years. She is a genius at spotting opportunities and crafting new revenue streams for successful business owners who want to get to the next level, but don’t see a clear path.

For 22 years, Carolyn has been instrumental in launching over 100 businesses and accelerating the growth of thousands more. Outlier entrepreneurs hire her as their strategic thought partner to make sense of “all the things” and re/innovate their business model for tighter alignment with who they've BECOME since they started out — and for greater impact.

As co-founder of Impostor Syndrome Institute, Carolyn has played a key role in scaling Dr. Valerie Young’s groundbreaking work on impostor syndrome. Carolyn also enjoys delivering presentations and workshops to world class companies like EY, Dyson, Bimbo Bakeries USA, and Everest Reinsurance.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• The pivots Carolyn has made in her own career over the last few years 
• Carolyn’s question that changed the trajectory of my business
• How a third party can help you get to the heart of what you want

Learn more about Carolyn Herfurth:

• Website
• BEYOND
• Impostor Syndrome Institute
• Instagram: @carolynherfurth
• Connect on LinkedIn

Mentioned:

• The 5 Pillars: Self-Assessment for the Outlier Entrepreneur

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

One of the hardest parts of being a business owner is that there is no boss. There is nobody to tell you that you’re doing a good job.

When you’re the only person who can pat you on the back and validate that you’re doing the right things, it is so easy to get paralyzed by fear of making the wrong decisions.

This month, I’m sharing key mindset shifts that will help you through the hardest parts of being in business. In this episode, I talk about how indecisiveness thwarts most small business owners, and what you can do to get past the fear and take action.

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why waiting for the “right” decision is secretly stalling your business
• The story of one massive flop that ended up being one of my best business lessons
• How to build confidence when no one’s validating your work but you
• Why decisiveness is the not-so-secret sauce behind our most successful clients

Resources:

• No BS Agencies Mastery
• The Price to Freedom Calculator™
• No BS Launchpad
• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com