Why I pay for friends (and you should too)
I know this sounds shallow, but I'm a simple spender.
If something can save me time, improve my health, or generate more money, I'll probably buy it.
When I started my last corporate job, I was already mapping out my exit plan to go full-time as a builder within the first month.
My directory site was steadily turning a profit, sparking the idea that could lead to true freedom.
Boom. I found a solid monetization plan and a way to distribute my ideas.
But I was lacking the confidence to actually take the damn risk.
I've always thought of myself as a risk-taker.
But the psychological risk of quitting my job felt similar to jumping off a cliff, not knowing if my parachute was going to deploy.
And the problem with convincing yourself you're going to take the leap is that if you don’t follow through, it can trap you in a cycle of self-resentment.
So I decided to buy it - the confidence.
How I bought confidence
Confidence is like baking a cake, and I had to get the ingredients.
So my plan was simple:
I needed to meet people who had already made the leap - those who turned their side hustle into a full-time business.
The more you’re exposed to something, the more normal it becomes. I needed to surround myself with risk-takers who had jumped off the cliff and landed on their feet.
But how would I find them? And more importantly, how could I get them to open up and share their hard-earned insights with a total stranger?
Then I remembered a simple ‘podcast’ hack.
The Psychology of the Ask
If you randomly ask someone to meet for a chat, it’s weird. It gives off “What do you want from me?” vibes.
But if you package it as an opportunity to share their story? Now it’s valuable.
I didn't build a podcast.
But I did build a website called HonestHustles.com (now offline, RIP) and made it a blog featuring stories of people who quit their full-time jobs to go all-in on their businesses.
I jumped into Facebook entrepreneurship groups, cold-messaged people, and sent a pitch that went something like this:
"Hey, I noticed we're both in XYZ group. I’m reaching out because I’m looking for people who turned a side hustle into their full-time business. If that's you, I'd love to share your story on my blog, HonestHustles.com. We have a few hundred readers a month. Happy to plug your business and pay you $50 to share your story.”
I based this on Alex Hormozi’s philosophy: An offer so good, it would be dumb to refuse it.
The Offer
- Share your story, from quitting your 9-to-5 to working for yourself, over a 30 minute zoom call
- Let me turn it into a blog article featuring your business (get a backlink)
- Get paid $50 for your time
My thought process: If I invest $1,000, I can meet 20 people who successfully quit their jobs and ask them exactly how they did it.
In many scenarios, people actually did it for free!
And since it was for an article, I could ask anything—how much they were making before they quit, how much was profit, what mistakes they made. Stuff that’s usually gatekept.
What Happened Next
For every 100 people I reached out to, about 5-10 responded and qualified for what I was looking for.
This led to dozens of zoom calls.
One of those calls led to an invite to a private entrepreneur group with 7-figure business owners (including a matchmaker who charges $120k per client) that I’m still active in today.
And naturally, when people asked what I did, I used that moment to pivot into SEO, offering a free consultation.
I quickly realized its value just by watching their microexpressions the moment I mentioned those three letters.
Within a few zoom calls, I had refined the way I explained SEO (despite still being a beginner).
Eventually, this is how I got my first paid client.
Then my second.
Then referrals started happening.
And before I knew it, I was charging $100/hr for SEO consulting, all because I was willing to pay for people’s time at the start.
In the end, the real reward was learning exactly how dozens of people transitioned to a full-time builder successfully.
Plus, I made some cool new friends along the way.
The Takeway
Yes, paying people to talk to you might sound shallow.
But in the right context, it’s a powerful hack to meet people who are in the shoes you want to be in.
And sometimes, all it takes is a little creativity and $50 conversation to change the trajectory of your career.
If you want to connect with like-minded individuals building website directories, I launched the Ship Your Directory community this week.
It's free to join. Hope to see you in there :)
Best,
Frey
