If you want to start a business, this is the book you should read. I've read a lot of business books, and a lot of them are blah blah blah—a lot of yapping, not a lot of actionable bits. This one is not like that. I read "Million Dollar Weekend" in about 4 hours while our internet was down, so here are four of the biggest money-making lessons from this book if you are looking to start a business or you're already starting a business.

So, the first quote from this book I want to read you is: "You will never sell a thing if you can't face another person and ask for what you want." So, the first lesson from this book is to set a rejection goal. In this book, Noah says most people don't ask for what they want; they wish for it; they make suggestions and drop hints; they hope. But the simple fact of business is that only by asking do you receive what you want. No ask, no get. And I agree, times a thousand.

If you've sent five cold pitches, I'm really proud of you. I know it's really scary, but we've got to do more; we've got to play the numbers game. So, imagine you have a 4 to 5% conversion rate when you're just getting started. That means of the 100 people you talk to, 4 to 5 of them become clients. So, you need to try to talk to at least 100 people, try 100 times, and set a rejection goal of 100 to get those 4 to 5 clients. I know it's a lot, but you can do it if you break it down and take it just one percent at a time.

We rework how we think of the concept of rejection. We kind of have to reframe it into something that is super cool and super exciting to get. And I know this is really hard. I'm really speaking as a mega-rejection-averse human. But in this book, Noah's dad actually says you should love rejections, so you should collect them like treasure and set rejection goals. He shoots for 100 rejections every single week because if you work that hard to get so many "noes," you will find a few "yeses" too.

100 rejections a week is unreal to me. That's nuts to me. I think I would be truly unstoppable if I tried to get rejected a hundred times a week. And if that's too wild for you as well, just shoot for one rejection this week. Can you try to get one rejection this week? If you get rejected once this week, come tell us in the comments, and you will win my respect. I'll cheer you on. I'll be so excited for you. And it could be rejection for anything. You can go to a coffee shop and ask for a 10% discount; you can send out a cold pitch; and you can ask somebody if they'd be interested in buying your product. It doesn't matter. You're trying to get rejected.

If you've gotten 20 rejections, 30 rejections, or 40 rejections, that is really a huge win. And we really have to start seeing it that way because you're 20, 30, or 40 rejections ahead of someone who hasn't even started yet. Also, Noah says that when you get rejected, here are a couple of useful questions you can ask: Why not? So, figure out why someone is saying no, like, why exactly are they rejecting the offer? What's the reason? Getting that feedback is how we can improve our offer. It's how we will increase our conversion rate and reduce our rejection rate. The second question is: Who is one person you know who would really like this? So maybe it's not for them, but maybe they can think of somebody who it would be a good fit for. And that gives you more data on, okay, here's the type of person that could potentially be interested in my offer. Third: What would make this a no-brainer for you? This is such a great question that Alex Heros also talks about, like, What would make someone say yes? You want to figure that out because that would obviously be the most precious gold feedback that you could possibly get for your next question. And fourth: What would you pay for that? The feedback to these questions, and I know it's like, "Oh, this is kind of uncomfortable to ask these questions," the feedback to these questions, that is what will make you rich.

Finally, I really want to leave you with this quote, which I highlighted and read like three times because it's so good: "The illusion of eventual pain that you associate with taking that risk, what if you're judged or look foolish or it doesn't work, is a straightjacket on your potential." And this is really a callout to me as much as it is to you, because I always hold myself back from trying scary things because I'm like, "Oh no, but what if they… what if…" It does not matter. You're the person who has to live your life. You're the one that has to get out there. You're the one that's going to win. Nobody else matters. Nobody else's thoughts and opinions matter. I know it's easy to say but kind of hard to put into practice. But just please, if you get rejected, come tell us. I'll hold you accountable. Alright, right next, a related lesson.

Let me read you this quote: "Whatever you put yourself to do, do it a hundred times before you even think about stopping." So, this lesson is that business equals experimentation. You have to be able to experiment, and I forget that always. My brain always comes to the conclusion that business is like a step-by-step, foolproof, 100% success-guaranteed strategy where if I just do the right things, the perfect things, then I'm guaranteed success. And I find that that is why experimenting feels very scary and very risky to me, because experimenting means this may not work out; the wrong decision is better than no decision, because the wrong decision at least redirects you, gives you data, and gives you feedback so that you can make the right decision in the future. No decision, no momentum. I don't know if you've ever been stuck and felt stuck; it is one of the worst feelings in my opinion when it comes to building a business because you feel like nothing is happening, and it's just because you're not getting out there, talking to people, and getting that momentum that you need to take the right next steps. Even if the steps you're taking right now are not correct, they will lead you to the right steps if you just keep taking them. I know this is kind of a crazy dress; I thrifted it and I've never worn it, and I was like, Let me bust it out for YouTube. So, the inevitable truth is that if you can't experiment, you can't do business. AKA, if you can't try a lot of times, you just cannot do business.

And the second part to the experimentation is to give the experiment enough of a chance before declaring it a total failure. That means not just running your business for 5 weeks and then declaring it a failure if you haven't made a sale, or pitching 5 potential freelance clients and then declaring it a total waste of time when you don't hear back from those 5 people. Whatever you put yourself to do it a hundred times before you even think about stopping. And that's actually exactly how I began the experiment of this YouTube channel. I was thinking so much, way too much, about whether I should or shouldn't start it or this or that or what if, and thinking about whether I should quit every single week, after every single video, whether the views are there. All of that rumination and overthinking is such a waste of energy when you are just trying an experiment. So eventually, I just made a commitment to make a hundred YouTube videos before I could even think about quitting. I didn't let myself overthink. I said, "DEA, you're committing to a hundred videos, then you will decide what's going on." And that is why we now have over a hundred videos on YouTube. You cannot evaluate progress after every single tiny task you do. That isn't enough time for progress and results to materialize. It's like planting a seed and then checking every hour if it's sprouted. Like, "Have you sprouted? Have you sprouted?" And if it hasn't sprouted yet, then, like, we're going to throw the plant out, right? Like, that's so unfair. You're not giving yourself enough time to bloom.

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Here's the next lesson and quote: "It is deadly to build a business without first verifying that there are paying customers." Market validation, which I talk about all the time, is non-negotiable. Do not launch products or services without checking that people will actually give you money for it. And I think sometimes, as freelancers or business owners, we forget that market validation also applies to us. Not validating your product or service before you launch it is almost a guaranteed path to failure. So what is validation? I love the definition of validation that Noah gives in this book. Validation is finding three customers in 48 hours who will give you money for your idea. That is quick, simple, and fast; I love it. There's no time for overthinking. Can you find three people who will give you money for your idea, whatever it is you're thinking about creating, offering, making? As a freelancer, small business owner, Etsy shop owner, artist, content creator, it doesn't matter. He talks about how you should just create the simplest possible version of what you're thinking and then try to sell that immediately. So, for example, let's say you want to be a freelance copywriter. So, do not go and build a website, a logo, a branding package, etc. Just go ask three people if you can help them write a Facebook ad for $20. For your friend who runs an Etsy shop and desperately needs a project management tool. When is the smallest version of the business that you are dreaming about, and how can you take action on that this week? Again, not the grand vision, but the smallest possible version, as small as possible. Tell me what it is below, and it better be teeny-tiny because I want to know and I'm really proud of you.

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Taking a page out of Noah's book, which says no asks, no get,. So, if you want more of these lessons, I'm actually putting together a little business book club Notion database full of all of my favorite lessons from business books plus how to actually implement them in your business with examples. It's going to be a paid product because I'm spending a lot of time making it, but I'll drop the link in the description box if you would be interested. And if you've made it this far into the video, I have got a secret bonus favorite quote for you: "Time value, not to mention the lifelong joy generated by a community of a hundred high-value, attentive fans who know, like, and trust you, will dwarf whatever short-term satisfaction you may get from having ten thousand low-value, inattentive followers." This quote was so good for me to read, especially as we hit ten thousand YouTube subscribers a couple of months ago. So first of all, thank you so much for all of you who actually watched the videos this long. It means a lot to me and our retention. But this quote just reminds me that I want to focus on quality over quantity here on YouTube as well.

After a lot of soul-searching, I realized that my goal here on YouTube isn't to get to one million subscribers. That's not really what it's about for me. My goal is to have a hundred attentive subscribers who comment thoughtful insights under each video, and we have like a conversation and we become business friends, essentially. That's my goal. So, if you've made it this far in the video, you're being so attentive. I see you. I appreciate you. I do not take your attention for granted. Thank you so much. And as always, thanks so much for watching, and I really hope to catch you in the next one. Okay, bye.