Don't Get Caught Up in Someone Else's Flashy

businessmindset

Mar 12

Written By DJ Burr

I've had two conversations recently with therapists who paid thousands to coaching programs that "guaranteed" clients.

Both were struggling to get clients despite doing "all the right things."

I'm not naming names. I'm not here to trash anyone's program. But I am here to say something that needs to be said.

No program works if you don't do the work.

That includes mine.

I've had people go through my content, show up to my workshops, buy my book, and still not build the practice they wanted. Not because the information was wrong. Because building a practice is hard, and no amount of curriculum changes that.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a fantasy.

Guarantees aren't guarantees.

Read the fine print.

Most "guarantees" in this industry say something like "results depend on implementation" or "you must complete all modules and attend all calls."

That's not a guarantee. That's a disclaimer dressed up in marketing language.

If the guarantee has conditions that make it nearly impossible to claim, it's not there to protect you. It's there to close the sale.

Three questions to ask before you hand anyone your money.

Including me.

1. Does this person's success come from doing the thing, or from teaching the thing?

There's a difference between someone who built a thriving practice and someone who built a business selling to people who want to build a practice.

Some people did both. Some people did one and pivoted to the other. And some people skipped straight to selling the dream without ever living it.

Look at what they actually did before they started coaching. How long were they in practice? How did they build? What's the real story, not the Instagram version?

2. Is the marketing about them or about you?

Millionaire lifestyle content is designed to make you feel like you're missing something. The luxury photos, the "I made six figures in three months," the carefully curated success story.

That feeling of lack? That's the product. They're selling you relief from a problem their marketing just created.

Real help doesn't need to make you feel small first.

3. What happens when it doesn't work?

This is the question nobody asks until it's too late.

Do you get support, or do you get blamed for not implementing correctly? Is there a community that actually helps, or just a Slack channel where your questions disappear? Can you talk to people who struggled, or only the ones in the testimonials?

The answer to this question tells you everything about what you're actually buying.

I'm not saying don't invest in yourself.

I'm saying invest with discernment.

The flashy stuff is easy to see. Someone's Instagram grid, their book cover, their testimonials, their "as seen in" logos. That takes five minutes to evaluate.

The substance takes longer to find. You have to dig. Ask for references. Talk to people who didn't get results, not just the ones featured on the sales page. Look for the person behind the brand.

That work is worth doing before you spend thousands of dollars.

Here's the truth nobody wants to say out loud.

Anyone promising to hand you a practice is lying.

You have to build it. Brick by brick. Client by client. Uncomfortable conversation by uncomfortable conversation.

The right support helps you build faster and with fewer mistakes. It gives you frameworks so you're not starting from zero. It gives you community so you're not doing it alone. It gives you accountability so you actually follow through.

But it doesn't do the work for you. Nothing does.