2023 Recap: Business Wins and Lessons + Future Goals (Our Plan To $10M)

2023 Recap: Business Wins and Lessons + Future Goals (Our Plan To $10M)

Author: Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole December 21, 2023 Duration: 1:19:22

Land your first $5,000 client with Ghostwriting: [https://premiumghostwritingblueprint.com](https://premiumghostwritingblueprint.com/)

In episode 29 of Espresso Hour, Ship 30 for 30 Captains Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole walk through the wins, lessons, and realizations they gained over the course of the year.

(00:00) Intro
(01:13) 2023 Wins
(04:53) Launched a successful group coaching program
(11:37) Built our first asynchronous product in a month
(15:07) Doubled the business profit
(21:07) Hired 7 team members while maintaining performance culture
(28:18) Experimented with different podcast styles
(31:37) Built our V1 dream production studio
(34:59) Built a paid newsletter to $250k in ARR
(38:32) Learned the power of cross-collaborations
(43:49) Learned how to hire & train a sales team
(45:23) Refined our content supply chain
(48:44) 2023 Lessons & Realizations
(50:18) Work in defined sprints of monk or maintenance mode
(54:33) Every reinvestment into the business is positive if…
(55:56) The importance of surrounding yourself with an all-star team
(57:09) You’re a fixed number of hours away from anything
(1:02:38) Every leap of progress came from IRL meetups
(1:03:25) The value of a mastermind is normalizing success
(1:06:04) “Slogs” are necessary
(1:07:36) Audio and video develop more resonance
(1:08:10) Paying for the ideal scene
(1:09:49) We can build anything we want (with constraints)
(1:10:28) 2024 and beyond

---

Write with ChatGPT like a PRO: [https://startwritingwithai.com](https://startwritingwithai.com/)

Subscribe to the Espresso Hour on your favorite podcast app: [http://espressohour.com](http://espressohour.com/)

• Follow Dickie on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dickiebush
• Follow Dickie on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/dickiebush

• Follow Cole on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nicolascole77
• Follow Cole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolascole


Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole are in the trenches, building their writing education company with an ambitious goal in sight. Their The Espresso Hour podcast is a direct line into that process, a weekly conversation where they unpack what’s actually working-and what isn’t-as they navigate the path to scaling a digital business. You’ll hear them dissect real-world tactics, from marketing maneuvers to operational pivots, all framed by their own ongoing lessons. It’s less about abstract theory and more about the granular decisions behind growth. For anyone running an online venture or thinking about starting one, this feels like pulling up a chair with two founders who are generous with their hard-won insights. The focus is squarely on practical, actionable ideas you can apply immediately, delivered in a straightforward, no-fluff style that mirrors the pace of building something meaningful. Tune in for a candid look at the journey to eight figures, one espresso shot of wisdom at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 69

The Espresso Hour
Podcast Episodes
Writing Twitter Threads, 101 with George Mack [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:29
If you've spent any time on Twitter, chances are you've seen some of George Mack's, Dickie Bush, and Nicolas Cole's Twitter threads. And in this epsiode, we are going to share all our frameworks and give you a crash cour…
Marketing and Content Mastery with Amanda Natividad [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:28
In this episode, we sit down with Amanda to discuss: Content marketing and SEO strategy, writing on social platforms versus blogs, common mistakes in the content marketing world, and much more!
Unbundling Reddit (For Digital Writers) With Greg Isenberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:50
In this episode, we sit down with Greg Isenberg to discuss: How writers can leverage Reddit for both idea generation and audience-building, the rise of massive "niche" businesses (and how to use writing to clarify that n…
How to Productize Yourself as a Writer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:17
In this episode, we sit down with the founder and CEO of Gumroad, Sahil Lavingia, to discuss: Using writing to validate product demand, what the best writers and entrepreneurs have in common, how to use specificity to bu…
Viral Writing 101 with Shaan Puri [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:01
In this episode, we sit down with Shaan Puri - who's gained 200K+ Twitter followers over the last year - to workshop three pieces of viral writing, and reverse engineer why they worked and how you can apply the same fram…
Doing Content Right with Steph Smith [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:57
In this episode, we dig into Steph's online writing journey and break down her best frameworks for creating content, building an audience, maximizing distribution, and staying consistent.