Nikonomics

Sam got fired from Airbnb at 22 because he didn't exactly "tell the truth."

Then he:
- Built The Hustle
- Sold it for $30M
- Built a top 10 business podcast
- Launched Hampton

Talking with Sam was surreal. We discussed: billionaires, AI & the cost of folding your own laundry.

Sam's story isn't about a super genius with one amazing idea. It's about a guy with a midwestern work ethic & an amazing ability to focus.

Tons of gold in here for any entrepreneur.

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 2

Nikonomics

Which best describes your current bottleneck?

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Nikonomics

Have you started using AI in your business yet?

- Not yet
- Experimenting with 1–2 tools
- Using weekly for content/ops
- Integrated into key processes
- Building custom automations/agents

Let me know in the comments!

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

Nikonomics

I’m spending $310/month on simple AI tools (I have others).

They’re worth every penny!

Here’s the breakdown:

OpenAI

ChatGPT - $20/month
My general thought partner. I would like to migrate away, but persistent knowledge keeps it sticky!
- GPTs are underrated
- Top-tier image gen & coding copilot

OpenAI API ~$30/month
My AI under the hood for any applications or automations I run, Anthropic

Anthropic
Claude - $100/month
- Projects are most intuitive here
- Opus is outstanding
- Artifacts are INCREDIBLE. Easy to store, search & update

Claude Code ~$30/month
THE killer feature
- Builds local (MCP-like)
- Smartest coding tool
- Replaces lovable/replit/bolt for me

Others
Perplexity -$20/mo
- Best at deep financial & market deep research

Grok - $20/mo
- Best for real-time info & reasoning IMO

Google 1 (Gemini) - $20/mo
- Best for automations in the Google suite

Google Apps Script + Claude Code = NO need for Zapier/make/n8n (for most people)

Tools
Lovable - $20/mo
- I’m canceling, but my favorite for creating simple web apps

OtterAI - $40/mo
- Meeting recording, transcription & storage. See also: Fireflies & Fathom

Limitless AI - $30/mo
- My beloved pendant! Ever present. Always on. Recording & summarizing my interactions

If you like AI and business, give me a follow and check out my newsletter, where I give weekly SMB AI tips.

Would love to hear what tools you’re using!
nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/

1 month ago | [YT] | 6

Nikonomics

How confident do you feel about using SBA loans?

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Nikonomics

My favorite path into entrepreneurship?

Start an agency.

Here’s why it’s the best first business for first-time entrepreneurs

1. Cash First
Agency businesses are cash first.

You aren’t burning money on software or waiting for scale to start making money.

You sell -> You get paid -> You fulfill
Simple.

2. Speed
You don’t need a cofounder, fancy tech, or any investors.

Just:
- One skill
- One client
- One invoice

You can literally start THIS week.

3. Product
You already have everything you need because YOU are the product!
Design? Writing? Operations? Sales? AI tools?

Package it -> Sell it -> Deliver it

You don’t need to be a genius. You just need to be useful.

4. Land & Expand

Agencies teach you how to:
- Sell
- Retain clients
- Hire (fire)
- Price
- Systematize

And once you land that first client, you can expand into almost ANY adjacent offering:
- Productized services
- SaaS tools
- Other services

It’s an on-ramp to bigger things!

I’ve started, bought & scaled multiple companies, but if I had to start from scratch?

I’d start an agency.

Check out my newsletter for more tips on how to get into entrepreneurship! nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/

1 month ago | [YT] | 3

Nikonomics

Do you currently pay yourself a salary?

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Nikonomics

When I bought my first business, I was terrified I’d lose everything.
So I built a process to protect myself from… myself.

Six years later, it helped me grow $90K → $7.8M.

It’s called the CRAFT Framework, and it’ll help you avoid rookie mistakes that kill most first-time buyers.

Comment “CRAFT” below and I’ll send you the exact tool.

#buyingabusiness #businessadvice #businessowner #framework

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1 month ago | [YT] | 17

Nikonomics

Here's a hard truth I've learned:

Sales skills > Operational skills

I spent years thinking operations was THE (my) competitive advantage:

- Spreadsheet Wizard
- Killer Team Builder
- Systems Implementer

After a few exits, I began hearing that "First-time founders focus on product. Second time founders focus on distribution"

Then I looked at people like Grant Cardone, Nick Huber, and Alex Hormozi, and realized they're not necessarily smarter, they're masters at marketing and branding.

Love them or hate them, they've leveraged distribution into massive businesses.

Great operators achieve moderate success.
Great marketers achieve massive success.

Want to go big? Master sales.

1 month ago | [YT] | 5

Nikonomics

How do you track your numbers?

1 month ago | [YT] | 0