Have You Stolen a Customer from an Influencer Today?

When I was growing up, my dad loved to tell me about Frankie Alvarez, a first-generation Mexican-American kid who stood about 5'6" and weighed 140 soaking wet.

My dad was on the wrestling team with him, and was always amazed at how someone so compact could be so strong.

The incident happened during junior year.

“Nick” was Frankie's opposite – tall, rich, and captain of the basketball team.

He had a smile that charmed teachers and students alike, but there was always something off putting about him.

The challenge came during lunch.

"Parking lot. After school. Unless you're scared, little man," Nick announced across the cafeteria.

Frankie didn't even look up from his sandwich.

"Cool," he replied, like they were discussing the weather.

By 3:15, the whole school formed a circle in the parking lot.

Nick strutted to the center, muscles rippling under his fitted t-shirt.

"Last chance to back out, pequeño," he taunted, butchering the Spanish.

Frankie walked in with the same unhurried pace he used in the hallways.

When Nick raised his fists in a boxer's stance, Frankie moved like lightning – faking a wild haymaker that made Nick bring his hands up high.

In one fluid motion, he drove his steel-toed boot straight between Nick's legs.

Nick writhed on the asphalt as Frankie straightened his shirt.

"Funny thing about pretenders," he said, looking at the crowd, "they spend so much time looking the part, they forget about being the part. And trust me - being beats looking every time."

Nick never bothered anyone again after that day.

Frankie is my spirit animal.

BE the part, not LOOK the part.

Look - business owners aren't stupid.

They are on the internet - watching, assessing, learning.

We aren't the only "global talent company" out there.

And some of our competitors have hundreds of thousands of more followers than us on social media.

But here's the thing.

Business owners see right through their overproduced HD videos.

They see right through the testimonials & promos from "satisfied customers" who – surprise, surprise – are all investors in the competitors.

They see it, and send me DMs like this every day.

Some people would make the case that calling out our competitors is "unprofessional."

“Gentlemen fight fair!”

“It's a growing market!”

“We can all be friends, come on my podcast!”

You know what changed my mind?

First, Frankie Alvarez.

Second, watching business owners realize they paid $40,000 to someone who shows off their private jet & country club membership on social media… when they could have kept that money in the pocket of a small business owner.

When everyone agrees to “play nice” YOU pay the price - the CUSTOMER.

Generally speaking, I don’t think our competitors are scammers (with one very notable exception).

I’m sure we could get a beer together and be best friends.

But I want to put them out of business!

Last week, a not so small business owner signed with us specifically because they watched me call out these jabronis on Twitter.

They didn't discover us through our "thought leadership" or our perfectly crafted case studies.

They came to us because we were the only ones willing to say what everyone else knows.

The market rewards truth-tellers.

Not everyone.

But the ones who matter.

The ones who've been burned by the empty promises and the pretenders.

So yes, we'll keep calling it out.

We'll keep exposing the game.

We'll keep being the "unprofessional" ones who dare to say the emperor has no clothes.

Don't like our style?

That's fine.

Keep paying 85% more for hot garbage, less support, and second homes for people pretending to be small business owners.

We're not here to make friends with our competitors.

We're here to change how global talent works.

And sometimes, that means being the bad guy and taking a page from Frankie's playbook - hitting them where it hurts, right through their carefully curated image.

You can spend all your time perfecting your stance, filming your highlight reel, and practicing your smile.

But at the end of the day, being beats looking.

Always has.

Always will.

Ask Frankie.

The people who matter get it.

And those are the only ones we care about.

Yallah Habibi,

Jon