boege.digital

Architect and Coach

Floodin 

Chief Technology Officer

Evolutionizer

* Responsible for building the core product of the company and the software organization required for that
* Lead Architect for the core product
* Agile Coach for development team and beyond
* Implemented an ISMS based on ISO 27001 and TISAX in the company

Head Of Development

Responsible for Development of SAP Disclosure Management

Development Manager

PricewaterhouseCoopers cundus Aktiengesellschaft

Competence Team Manager

Astroh Küchen GmbH & Co. KG

Software Developer

18 years’ experience in the software industry as developer, architect, coach, and leader.
People like my holistic approach in Software Product Development. From the very first idea to hundreds of Go-Lives: I managed the full product cycle already five times.
My Skillset combines Computer Science, Business Administration und Business Psychology.
I can help your business in the areas of agile coaching, solution/software architecture, team recruiting and development, software development processes.

One of my main USPs is the capability to reduce complex facts and communicate them using storytelling.

My technological home is the world of Microsoft .NET and Azure.

Married, father of three, passionate field hockey coach.

Markus Böge

I don't hire developers who don't use AI tools to code. 

By AI tools, I mean beyond code snippets in ChatGPT. 

I think CTOs need to ask in job interviews, what kind of AI tools the candidates use in their flow.  

In my experience, the majority said : none. 🤔 

This lack of awareness and willingness to adopt is damaging. 

When I need to scale up a tech team fast, efficiency/productivity is my #1 consideration. 

I'm aiming to hire 5, who can use full scale tools like Claude Code or Cursor to speed things up, instead of waiting for 10 people to onboard at the same time. 

If you're hiring tech candidates, making AI tool proficiency a core requirement. Ask what they use, how they use it... 
The answers can tell you everything about their adaptability and potential. 

What about you - is AI adaptability a huge consideration when hiring? 


#CTO #AI #Hiring

I enable CTOs to sync People, Product & Technology - instead of burning 100k/month for 0 new features

"I didn't figure it out fast enough. And I lost the job."

That's what a tech lead told me last month, after being let go from the company he helped to build. 

A few years ago, he was the most trusted engineer in the startup. He was reliable, fast with solutions, and always delivering over and beyond. 

Their DevOps SaaS really took off, with some serious investment, bigger clients and higher expectations. 

The last time we talked, he said, "I'll just push through this next quarter and I'll figure the rest of it out." 

He'd been figuring out how to systematically scale the team and the product for 18 months, during which he also became a dad. 
Meanwhile, the market matured, competitions grew and their now scale-up is losing its edge. 

He tried even harder with firefighting, filling in gaps, reviewing codes, being everyone's safety net, while trying to recruit and scale the team without any prior experience. 

His CEO, whom he considered a friend, had lost patience in his timelines. And the stakeholders decided to bring in someone more experienced. 

🤌 In an ideal world, he did not deserve to be let go. 
But that's the reality. 

If I could turn back time and give him one piece of advice, it'd be this: 

=> Don't wait for that "one day" when things are calmer. They won't. 

Choose to work smarter. Find help. Find someone who has done it before and who can show you clear steps and keep you accountable. 

#CTO #Leadership #CTOCoaching

"They are offering me 10% of the shares in the company to manage the tech side of the company..." 😲 but nobody gets paid until the startup breaks even...

Okay....I have many thoughts....but I'm wondering what your advice would be? 

#TechJob #Promotion

I just built a production-ready prototype in 6 hours

• 1 hour: defining requirements with Claude
• 5 hours: prototype coding with AI

The same work would probably take me 20+ hours in the past. 

So, when non-tech leadership think slow product development is a coding capacity problem & hire more developers...

the real problem lies with requirement engineering. 

When we can code 6x faster with AI, we need much faster (and better) requirements to keep pace. 

Lean companies that can beat bigger competitors with AI aren't throwing more developers at the problems, but they are investing in people who can

1/ engineer requirements with precision
2/ define specs that AI can execute 

This is spec-driven development and IMO it'll become the new competitive advantage. 

Have you tried focusing on speeding up requirement engineering and do you see tangible results? Curious to know! 

#CTO #ProductDevelopment #SaaS #AI

Techies: Tell me your most impressive certification 🤓 
And,has it actually helped you move into leadership positions? 

Probably not. 
Senior devs wanting to move into leadership, don't collect technical skills like Pokemon cards 🤓 

Learning the 47th JS framework, getting certified in yet another cloud platform...

All valuable. All impressive on paper. But the real learning doesn't happen in studying the "theory".

It happens when you pick an idea and start building. 
When you build, you are forced to: 

• Make decisions with incomplete information
• Navigate trade-offs between speed and quality
• Communicate technical choices to non-technical people (a must for CTOs)
• Own outcomes

Theory can only get your that far. Get your hands dirty - there are no shortcuts. 

#TechLeadership #CTO

Who wants to become a fractional CTO instead of full-time? 
Well, read some good news today -> 72% of CEOs plan to hire fractional leadership, including CTOs. 

Some startups are even considering hiring a "virtual CTO" because the average hiring time is about 2-4 weeks and with less commitment. 

Are you interested to hire/become a fractional CTO? 
If yes, why?

#FractionalCTO #CEO #Scaleup

Burnout is real - somebody I know recently stepped down from a leadership position because they just couldn't get up in the morning to do it anymore. 

Difficulty to fall and stay asleep, phantom pain in the chest, and a resting heart rate of 130 beats per minute. 

They were basically living on 6 coffees a day, working in between weekend playdates and relying on 4-5 hours of sleep a night. 

Their mind was buzzing with ideas and ambitions but their body warn them of their limits.  

If you're new as a CTO or CEO, or any leadership position, grasping the balance between challenges and competence is not easy, but it's vital for the long run. 

I take walks in nature when I need to recalibrate. 
It quiets my mind and puts the chaos into perspective. 
Talking to peers also helps. 

What's the thing you love to do to decompress? 

#CTO #Burnout #Leadership

People in Tech are getting fired because of AI spending, not because of AI itself. 

It's not a feeling -> Fast Company actually published an article on it. (I'll share the link the comment) 

They reported that 96% of businesses saw no dramatic improvements in efficiency and 40% of the business people surveyed have received "AI slop" at work; each took ~ 2 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐱. (Don't we know that 🤡) 

Many of today's tech layoffs are results of the financial stress from huge AI spending (that produced no business impacts). 

So when Startup and Scaleup CEOs come to me for advice with "just adding some AI" in the product or tech operations, my response is simple: 

"what for?" 

1/ What business problems are we solving with AI? 

2/ Do we need new hires or adjust current hiring to fit these "AI needs"? 

3/ Are we okay with delays because integrating AI can cause complications and risks? 

These questions usually get them to stop asking for "some AI" :-) 
As the CTO, you shouldn't feel guilty to push back non-sense AI requests. It's actually your job. 


#CTO #AI #TechJob

Got asked in DM often by aspiring devs: What's the next THING to learn if they want to become a CTO. 

Here's my take.

You don't need to be the best coder in the room.

But you better understand what your team is building and why it matters.

I've seen brilliant engineers get promoted to CTO and crash hard because they think like tech leads. 
Because they couldn't translate tech decisions into business impact.

The shift from senior dev to CTO isn't about writing more code.
It's about writing less and thinking more.

Can you explain your architecture choices to a non-technical CEO?
Can you spot when your team is over-engineering something?
Can you hire people smarter than you and not feel threatened?

Easier said then done. 

Stay technical enough to earn respect.
Stay business-savvy enough to keep your seat at the table.

Focus on:
• Building the right team
• Making strategic tech bets
• Connecting engineering to revenue

Your value as CTO isn't in the code you write.
It's in the problems you solve and the people you grow.



#CTO #Leadership #SaaS

CTO: Code or Lead?

Want that promotion to "CTO" in 2026? You have 49 days left to make it happen.

If you want to become a CTO in a startup or scaleup, focus on these:

1. Forget about job boards and start reaching out to your network. 
2. Show your leadership potential, not (only) your tech genius. 
3. Get honest feedback - look for an outsider, not a friend. Find a coach, or someone you admire. Ask them where you're falling short. Then close that gap before 2026 ends. 

49 days left in 2025. If you want to stop talking about the promotion and actually do something about it, start now. 

#CTO #Leadership #Coaching

How to get your first CTO job 

End of year creates a bit of unease and anxiety. Especially if you've just got promoted this year (and haven't got anything amazing to show for it yet) 

I hear that so often from newly promoted CTOs - different industries, but same struggles 🙁 

“𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫… 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐰?”
It’s one thing to write great code and lead a small team.
But when your company closes €1M+ in funding, the weight shifts. 
Suddenly, you have a lot more to lose. 

“𝐈’𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝.”
You built something great with your CEO buddy.
People loved it. Then came investors. 
More money. More hires. 
But somehow the team isn't efficient, had to let go of a few people, wrecked your budget, delayed your deployment, and ....no results. 

“I know where I want to go, but I don't know how?”
You just want one quiet hour to think because: 
𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

The jump from being a smart techie in a startup to becoming a CTO
is very, very unique. 

If you’re in that phase, you won't see quick results with any DIY strategies. 
It's about trial-and-error, learning from others, exchanging with other CTOs who have done it before. 

But nothing would work if you don't snap out of your self-doubts and make a plan.

I have worked in startups, scaleups and big Corps like SAP. 
And now, I'm helping new CTOs in scaleups build clear roadmaps to success. 
📩 DM me if you’d like to talk

Autonomy Agency

Scale your marketing agency to 7 figures in 30-hour workweeks

Founder

Agency Jet - Digital Marketing, SEO, Pay Per Click & Website Design veterans. 

Consultant

Agency Jet is one of the premier providers of all things digital marketing in the United States with a range of services to help companies improve their presence online locally, regionally or nationally. As the SEO Director I:
•Create and facilitate custom plans for each and every client in SEO, Web Development & Design, Social Media and more
•Continuously improve on internal process to provide superb service
•Offer transparency, education and results to each client no matter the scope of the project
•Put the client first, the employee second and the investor third in all business decisions
•Manage multiple projects at any time with flexibility
•Maintain structure with all team members in planning and strategy
•Regularly provide contact with clients via phone or in person meetings to achieve outlined goals
•Manage a team of some of the most talented SEO project managers on earth
•Lead our inbound marketing team and strategy testing

Partner + SEO Director

Colby Wegter Ventures

Owner

Exley Co.

Exley Co. is a boutique digital marketing agency in Milwaukee whose team boasts some of the strongest client retention numbers and results in the United States. As the owner of Exley Co. I:
•Build strategic partnerships with vendors and clients to deliver world-class digital marketing services
•Coordinate free and educational audits by Exley Co.’s talented staff for clients in the United States
•Ensure digital marketing campaigns provide all deliverables, communication expectations and results expected by our incredible clients
•Utilize and organize the talents of some of the most creative and talented professionals the digital marketing industry has to offer
•Offer fully transparent and results-oriented SEO, Digital Advertising and Web Design services
•Maintain some of the highest client retention rates in the United States

A Look Into

Writing the stories of the people behind the products we love is the core belief of A Look Into. Knowing their story takes it from simply a product into a worthwhile experience that needs to be shared. As Founder I:
•Craft relationships with business owners in the Twin Cities
•Develop featured items and posts on alookinto.com
•Expand visibility to local community initiatives and those who foster them
•Photograph, publish and edit all visible content on alookinto.com and corresponding social media

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

Nagios Enterprises is the industry standard in enterprise-grade IT infrastructure monitoring. Our products enable organizations to take their data and make successful business decisions. As a Marketing Specialist I:
•Worked with team members in strategic planning initiatives to increase visibility to the Nagios brand
•Contributed in internal process building to increase workplace efficiency and effectiveness
•Created high-quality digital content for web pages, blogs and video
•Managed the social media department exclusively and created content across all major social platforms

Marketing Specialist

InterActive Circle

InterActive Circle offers development, PPC services, and SEO services for businesses both locally and nationwide.  In the SEO Department I:
•Worked with team members and leaders to execute best practices for communicating and managing the scope of SEO Projects
•Contributed to ongoing improvement of internal processes
•Worked directly with all teams from sales to marketing to IT
•Developed, maintained and executed workable project plans
•Managed multiple projects across multiple clients with flexibility
•Proactively enhanced client relationships
•Coordinated internally and with the client to ensure effective exchange of project requirements, information and deliverables

SEO Project Manager

BrandYourself

BrandYourself provides opportunities for individuals to begin controlling their online presence using professional website design and personalized search engine optimization (SEO) tactics. As a HeadStart Specialist I:
•Educated clientele on SEO terminology and best practices for their personal online reputation
•Designed custom and professional websites to client's specifications
•Created social media properties to enhance client's online presence
•Offered outstanding customer service from introduction to final correspondance

HeadStart Specialist

BrandYourself provides online reputation management (ORM) for a number of clients by creating unique and relevant content on the web. As Concierge Search Representative I:
•Worked directly with the client to glean information and create truthful and unique content
•Built custom websites, web 2.0 profiles, and web applications
•Designed monthly strategies tailored to each client specifically
•Maintained activity across sites and web 2.0 profiles including blogging and social activity
•Worked with clients to achieve their goals

Concierge Search Representative

Bed-Stuy New Beginnings Charter School

Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter School is an elementary and middle school proudly serving the students in our neighborhood, affectionately known worldwide as Bed Stuy. As an Instructional Associate I:
•Designed and conducted differentiated reading, writing, and social studies instruction
•Created Writer's Workshop for over 100 fifth and sixth grade students
•Collaborated with grade level learning coaches in grading, pacing, instruction, and field trip coordination
•Enacted "Whole Brain Teaching" to deliver instruction and manage behavior
•Contacted students' parents on a weekly basis for performance and behavior progress
•Designed visual aids, resources and materials used in the classroom to enhance learning

Instructional Associate

Hills Bank and Trust Company

Hills Bank and Trust Company has grown to become one of Iowa's largest independent banks. As a Bank Teller I:
•Handled between 80-100 transactions a day working directly with the customer
•Employed cash handling skills
•Offered services based on customer's needs
•Ensured drawer was properly balanced every closing time
•Ensured bank vault was properly balanced
•Offered superior customer service at all times

Bank Teller

Solopreneurs making over $10K/mo don't need to add. They need to eliminate. I help with that. • Bootstrapped $3M agency owner • Creating custom (and easy) systems is my love language. ☕

"This is how I die."

👆 Burnout #1 - April 2022

"Will I wake up tomorrow?"

👆 Burnout #2 - December 2022

Here's what the surface looked like:

→ Owner of a Global Top 1000 digital marketing agency
→ Managing over $1M in revenue
→ Inbound leads coming in
→ Hiring and managing

Here's what the inside looked like:

→ Growing workload I couldn't manage
→ Saying yes to "opportunities" that didn't align
→ Believing working more would yield more results

So, I changed everything. No one was coming to save me.

Here's what I did:

→ Eliminated 90% of meetings with one email (saved 75 hours/mo)
→ Stopped saying yes to poor-fits and raised prices
→ Doubled down on existing clients (upselling)
→ Increased client retention (predictability)

I got addicted to systems and removing myself. And got from 70 hours a week down to 8 hours a week...and we increased revenue by 150% in 12 months.

And I networked with 150+ marketing agency owners in 22 months.

→ 50%+ were actively burning out
→ 70%+ had big goals and dreams but were falling short
→ 90%+ were working over 40 hours a week and wanted less stress

I saw my past.

I asked them all, "Do you have someone who's been where you want to go helping you?"

Not one said yes.

So, despite having gotten my challenging agency into an amazing place, I left.

I was in a unique position to help people stuck in six-figures, working over 50 hours a week for their marketing agency, to help them scale revenue without scaling hours.

I created Autonomy Agency with the promise that you'll:

→ Increase revenue
→ Get to a 30-hour (or less) workweek
→ In 16 weeks with 1:1 help and unlimited async access to me with a money-back guarantee if I fail

It on January 1, 2025.

Here's what's happened so far:

→ Brady fired a poor-fit client and signed $16K in new business within a 2 week period
→ Bob added $51K from his existing clients in the first 30 days
→ Kevin added $50K/mo recurring to his agency in 16 weeks

So, if you're a six-figure marketing agency owner working over 50 hours a week

With a desire to get to 7 figures but have no idea how you're going to do that without working more

And want personalized 1:1 help from someone who's been there...

Drop me a DM

If I know I can help, we'll put a customized plan together for you, with a no-risk guarantee.

Not ready yet? Get as much free value from me that you can in these places:

→ https://www.youtube.com/@colby-wegter (I post twice a week)
→ https://colbywegter.com/ (Newsletter: Twice a week)
→ https://autonomyagency.com/ (Select spots available)

Colby Wegter

Your client just emailed they’re pausing.

Here are your next 3 moves [minute-by-minute]

I’ve received this message hundreds of times.

Tools of the trade when you’ve served over 1200 people and businesses.

It’s not sustainable to feel physically ill every time this happens.

So, here’s what you do when it does, so you don’t vomit on your keyboard:

MOVE ONE = Understand

Minute 1
→ Breathe (nose to mouth) 10 times

Minutes 2-5
→ Write a message to yourself going as deep as you can to the prompt: “Was 
this client aligned? Why or why not?”

MOVE TWO = Map

Minutes 6-15
→ Your run rate will change. Map it.
→ Discern: Do I need to adjust expenses? Team? Vendors? My time?

MOVE THREE = Tie the bow

Minutes 16-30
→ Acknowledgement email. You’ll send a full set of instructions within 24 hours.
→ If the pause is your fault, make moves to fix it.
→ If the pause isn’t your fault, acknowledge that’s business.
→ Look at your existing pipeline. Find one person. Send a ‘9-word email.’

Looks like this: “Hey [NAME], Still looking to [RESULT] this year? Looks like we have a spot opening up and I’d love to give you first dibs. Hit reply and we can grab coffee.”

LIKE DON DRAPER SAID:

“The day you start getting clients is the day you start losing them.”

It’s not a death sentence or a time for panic.

Acknowledge it. Tie it up. Create a positive in under an hour.

🍯

P.S. I’ve had dozens of clients who paused refer me to more clients. Want the story? I’m sending it to my email list this morning 👉 colbywegter[dot]com

Helping agency owners & coaches stuck between $20k-$50k/mo // 1200+ clients // $2.5M exit [autonomymodel.com]

Some of my best stuff is on YouTube.

And nobody sees it.

But it’s all good.

Because I subscribe to something the pros use:

The Rule of 100.

I’ve got 15 videos right now and I don’t complain about performance.

The day you take your training wheels off, you don’t go win the Tour de France.

I’m learning.
I’m improving.
I’m growing.

And I’ve got 85 videos to go before I’m even allowed to complain.

So, here’s why you’re reading this 👇

ONE

If you’ve done something fewer than 100 times and you’re frustrated, reframe.

Get to 100 as fast as possible.

TWO

I’ll never pretend to be larger than I am.

I’m a scrappy creator with a small YouTube channel and a lot of value to give.

I haven’t mastered “viral” but I have mastered:

→ Scaling an agency
→ Retaining clients for 5+ years
→ Building 7-figure offers
→ Designing customer journeys that delight
→ And finding flow and autonomy in daily life

I share it all, in detail, on the channel.

If you want to grow with me, follow along as I make (and learn from) every mistake in the book on my way to 100 videos.

https://lnkd.in/eNkVyYTA

- - -
And before the hustle bro thumbnail designers hit my DMs...

I’ve already got a legend helping me out: Matt Stokes

You’re still welcome to subscribe though. 😜

⨀ Lifestyle Scale for high-achieving founders. [autonomymodel.com]

I teach something that most mentors expect you to have.

COMMITMENT

Let’s take Margherita as an example.

Since I can’t teach talent, I find people to work with who already have it.

Marghi’s got it in spades.

And her work ethic is off the charts.

But like any founder, hell any human, commitment can feel seasonal.

It’s easy to feel committed when times are good.

When they’re rougher?

→ Shiny objects
→ A new business model
→ Escape, dopamine, hope

How do I teach it?

I use evidence and remind.

In Marghi’s case, she loves chatting with people and is a nerd about LinkedIn.

When someone challenged her commitment, all I did was remind her of the evidence she’d created.

She books coffee chats that turn into client in her sleep.

She provides value on default mode.

And now, she’s getting clients in the door on a $4K/mo offer.

Her January is looking really good.

And she made my job easy.

She provides the talent + value…I provide the reminders and the lessons.

And it’s gonna be dope when 90 days from now, her clients are raving about their results with her.

But she got all of this because when she was reminded of the evidence she created in her business…she re-committed and made it happen.

Maybe you’re one reminder away from unleashing your talent and value in a whole new way.

P.S. If you want the same sales script that Marghi’s using LMK

POV: You have a tiny audience, algorithms hate you, and you still get clients.

Want the secret?

Let’s set the scene straightaway:

→ I’ve never gone viral
→ I have a combined audience of 10K
→ My average post gets 200 impressions or less

So, before the audience builders come knocking down my door, this post isn’t about that.

It’s to disprove that you need a massive audience to get clients.

High-paying clients. Dream clients. The “my life is easy” clients.

First, algos owe us nothing. So, complaining about it is a waste of time.

I haven’t become the algo’s best friend yet. Fine by me.

The secret?

Use social media to be social…as a human, not as a strategy.

I get clients from caring about the experience first.

Which means, I want to hear about them. What they’re working on. What they’re passionate about.

I ask questions. I don’t see them as opportunities or leads.

They’re people.

Then, as often happens, they’ll say something that I might be able to help with.

I ask permission to explain it.

They say yes, because sadly, I’m one of the few who treats them like a human versus a pipeline category.

Then I explain it in a way that’s specific to them.

Turns out, this gets clients pretty well.

Who do you want to follow?

Someone with 100,000 followers, 1000+ likes per post, and makes six-figures?

Or someone with 10,000 followers, 10+ likes per post, and makes six-figures?

Followers aren’t friends. And big audiences don’t mean big business.

Props to the audience creators.

But I’m here to get clients.

And if you keep it simple, the audience and the algorithm have no bearing on how successful you are.

Enjoy your weekend.

✌️

P.S. If you have a tiny audience and hate writing content into the void for a few likes and no clients…I’m running a 3 clients by Christmas offer and have a couple spots left.

It’s simple, I install client getting campaigns with you, so January becomes about momentum, not fixing.

Drop me an email if you want to learn more → colby@colbywegter.com

2 months ago I bought a car's worth of mentorship.

Butterflies in my stomach. Walking by the river with my wife telling her what I think it’ll do for us.

The latte I just swallowed likely to end up in the water as fish bait with how intense my nerves were.

But her?

Serene. Calm.

She looked me dead in the face and said:

“This family believes in you. You’re going to get a master’s degree in 90 days. I say you do it.”

I’ve taken nothing but risk these last 15 months:

→ Left a 6-figure salary to start at $0
→ Stopped selling an offer that made $54K in 3 months
→ Signed clients to a community that didn’t have a product

But when she said those words…the risk felt different.

All the trust I’d built in myself was infecting other people.

So, as we near the end of the most amazing, failure-ridden, profit-filled, and fun-as-hell year of my life…I’ve got one goal for 2026…

To infect more people with the drug that is self-trust.

When you trust yourself, it all happens, compadre.

But trust isn’t a destination or a result.

It’s an identity. And identities shift, are messy, and get lost.

I’m going to show you all of it in 2026.

It’s not the funnel. It’s not the strategy. It’s not the business model.

It’s trust.

As my brother, Jacob Pegs would say…

“You in, motherflower?”

The biggest scale-move? Become someone who’s easy to root for.

Let’s keep it simple…

Would you rather walk into the room with the mentality of…

I’m the sh*t.

OR

I don’t deserve to be here.

Because whether you deserve to be there or not…SIDEBAR: there’s no such thing…

The person who walks in with confidence will perform.

The one who doesn’t won’t.

And all that negative thinking is doing is delaying progress.

The progress of hitting your potential.

So, here’s the hack:

Root 👏 For 👏 Yourself 👏 First 👏

The feeling will be addictive.

And then, you’ll make a lot more moves and fewer plans.

P.S. Use your power for good. No big ego amigo.

If scaling to $20K/mo was chaotic, I help make +$50K/mo calm. Coaching B2B Founders // 1200+ clients // $2.5M exit [autonomymodel.com]

Most founders aren’t stuck…they’re misaligned.

Here’s what the day-to-day of this person looks like:

→ Wake up, check emails, smash coffee
→ Check slack, answer an urgent email
→ Lower stress from 10 to 8 to start client work
→ Client work for 6 hours
→ Damn! I need to create content.
→ Uninspired creation, gets posted, no love (or business)
→ Do it again, day after day

…

We got the one life and we’re spending it like this.

How did we get here?

Quite simply, we put on everyone else’s mask before our own.

The people pleasers in us believe that we should take care of everyone before we take care of us.

And it’s harmful on all sides.

Giving from a cup that clearly isn’t full means what you give isn’t that helpful.

And because this is the default of 99% of founders, no one is getting what they want.

👇 The simple fix 👇

Reverse it.

Start with you. Get to them.

It’s what I teach all of my clients.

You fill your cup first.

Then, and only then, do you help others.

Because when you get this right, your cup overflows and you’ll have an abundance to give.

And, for the first time, it’ll actually help.

The person you were 2 years ago would commit a felony to be who you are right now.

We're all Chief Wanting Officers. And that's a good thing.

But let's make one thing clear.

Improving 1% everyday and getting 37X better a year from now doesn't actually look like a graph that only goes up and to the right.

It's peaks and valleys.

So, you're in a valley right now? Got it.

Let me be the first to say, "That sucks."

But can I help?

Because if you keep wishing you weren't in the valley, it's gonna last a long time.

Instead, welcome the valley, because they're always coming.

The way to make this fun, light, and worth it?

Focus on making the valley time as short as possible.

And the peak time as long as possible.

That's it.

That's the game.

Sending hugz 🤗

The crisis among high-achieving founders that no one’s talking about.

It’s the third coffee chat this week and it’s going the same way as the other two.

The founder…fidgeting, leaning forward, then back, then forward again.

Rubbing their head and touching their face.

Telling me about the stress. The fire.

And I say:

“I just want to say ‘I see you.’ You’re handling so much.”

And their shoulders relax. Their hands become calm.

Because they actually do feel seen.

I don’t want to sugarcoat it for you.

There is no secret.

No meditation, mindset, or breath work that’ll make this go away permanently.

It’ll always come back.

Because high-achievers don’t know how to slow down.

They have to be told.

And to believe it, they have to trust who’s telling it to them.

And to trust that person…they need to feel seen.

I am you. And you are me.

I see you.

You’re managing so much.

→ Breadwinner
→ Business leader
→ Potential chaser

It doesn’t go away. But it feels better when you’re not alone.

And I don’t care if I’m being repetitive.

This post isn’t for the algorithm.

It won’t get me clients.

F all that.

It’s only here to tell you…it’s not just you.

And that’s a good enough win to have today.

✊

Plans. Goals. Targets.

What if your imagination is limiting you from what you're truly meant for?

Maybe your imagination is undershooting your true potential.

I wasn’t there for my son’s first 2 years.

Physically in the room. Mentally on another planet.

Stress + isolation destroy us.

I can’t regret what happened, because it was a crucial part of who I am now.

But I mourn the moments I missed.

It’s a black hole I have to own.

I let…

→ Performance outweigh presence
→ Being successful outweigh being affectionate
→ Founder anxiety call the shots instead of putting it in a drawer

I could have controlled it. I just felt alone.

And when you feel alone, you don’t make good choices.

But I know better now.

Crossing the street this week, holding his hand, I thought about this.

And I said:

“You know what? You’re getting so big now. And someday you won’t want to hold my hand to cross the street anymore. And I’m thrilled for you for that. But I’m going to enjoy it while I’ve got it today.”

His 5-year-old mind had no idea how deep those words run in me. What they mean.

I hope you can enjoy your kids.

I hope you don’t feel alone.

I hope you can escape the black hole.

It may feel like you can’t survive the next business fire.

But you can. I know you can.

And we both know, business will always provide a new challenge.

The challenges aren’t going anywhere.

So it’s OK to put them in the drawer now and then.

Because those moments we miss with our kids. We don’t get them back.

It’s not about feeling guilty for what we’ve lost.

It’s about deciding to do it differently from now on.

And I know you’ve got it in you.

-C

Hot damn I’m annoyed by this more than anything else.

The reason I was hesitant to become a coach or mentor…

There are a lot of people who care. But there are several who don’t.

And here’s the scene I keep hearing.

I call it the “SHOULD-splain.”

Mostly on calls and in DMs, we’ve got hustle bros making others feel like crap:

→ You SHOULD qualify people before even talking to them.
→ You SHOULD stop what you love and do it THIS way.
→ You SHOULD send 100 DMs a day.

Objectively, that advice will work.

They’re proof. It worked for them.

So I get it.

But here’s my problem with it.

They jump into this SHOULD-splain before they even know the person on the other side.

They think they’re helping. But they’re skipping the fundamentals.

Like asking…

→ Do you want a volume business or a relationship business?
→ Is it about the money or the purpose?
→ Is 20 calls a week hell or heaven?

SHOULD-splaining is advice without responsibility. And it’s harmful.

I only give advice after I truly know the problem and their goal.

If they’re a client, I’ll dive right in. If they’re not, even if I know how to help, I’ll ask: “Is it cool if I share my thoughts?”

Because here’s the truth.

The SHOULD-splainers I’m talking about only care about acquisition. Not retention.

We have fundamentally different values.

So yeah, it annoys me.

Because advice without understanding is a waste of both people’s time.

But I wish them luck.

Just stay away from my type of people haha.

Have you ever experienced a SHOULD-splainer?
Drop your story in the comments. Keep it civil please.

If I needed $10K and had to start from zero, here’s what I’d do (simple edition):

What’s money?

A thank you note for providing value.

You’ve already got value to give, right?

Sweet. That box is ✅.

But you’re starting from zero and need cash quick.

Here’s what I’d do (because I despise complexity):

→ Write a few quick posts that share value in under 30 minutes
→ Schedule them out, one per day
→ While they’re running, check my existing contacts
→ Choose a “Cash Campaign” (scroll to the end) and start sending
→ Don’t rush to the cash. Rush to connection.
→ When my content goes live, DM each person who engaged

My only goal: get a few conversations.

I do (because I ain't a pitch slappin' mofo)

I go Coffee Chat style and learn everything about them.

I just became the most interesting person in the world because I genuinely care what they have to say.

Law of reciprocity says they’ll ask what I do.

I tell them with 100% conviction in 90 seconds or less.

They say, “Tell me more.”

I do.

We both feel “hell yes” energy and move forward.

So, yeah...

That’s how I’d do it.

👇

If you want the Cash Campaign doc I give my clients, drop a ✅ in the comments and I’ll send it to you. Not gatekept.

I’m having a lot of ‘die with zero’ thoughts.

Sitting here, with my wife, trying a lavender cold brew (not bad but bougie as hell).

She’s up for a promotion. I’m here looking back on how successful of a year it’s been.

And I think…

I don’t need it.

As someone who was incredibly scarce for a long time, I’m now making more than ever.

And I have more to make.

Old me, what little money I did earn would get spent on escape:

→ The newest video game
→ Cheap thrills
→ Alcohol

Now, I don’t care about any of that.

But I’m spending plenty…

→ Upskilling
→ Mentorship
→ Hiring experts

The master plan…

→ Get paid to exist
→ Become debt free
→ Donate 60¢ of every dollar anonymously

And when FU money happens…

→ An Audi A7
→ Property in Scotland

No escape required.

Could care less about possessions.

Just want to nail this ‘living life’ thing the best I can.

But saving it all for the feeling of safety…it’s so far away from my mind.

Safety is retractive thinking for me.

Belief. Risk. Evidence. Improvement.

That’s my plan.

Happy Sunday.

P.S. If you’re on earth to treat money as a tool instead of worship its existence…

I’m kicking off a holiday offer in 24 hours to help you make a lot more and help a ton of people.

Big value. Low price. Sending it to my email list if you don’t want to miss it: colbywegter[dot]com

We’ve gone a bit batty inside Autonomy Club.

Building our own little Delulu Kingdoms.

[Check the image]

It reminds me of something somebody told me early in my entrepreneur journey:

“I care about scaling and growth. But I’m just happy to be surrounded by other crazy people eating glass just like me.”

👏 👏 👏

That statement changed my life.

Because before that, I believed I had to figure it all out on my own.

That if I asked for help, they’d somehow respect me less.

Nah, dog.

What were we even thinking?

Hindsight taught me the real cheat code:

Surround yourself with other delusional people willing to eat glass.

It’s a privilege to serve these delusional people every day.

My hope is you find your glass eating tribe soon.

- - -
P.S. I’m also shifting my thoughts on scaling a business as “eating glass.”

At worst, we’re eating foam inside AC. 😄

I don’t manage time. I curate it. Here’s how:

[my 3-year system]

Since 2023, I’ve run my calendar like a top 1% operator.

If you want to curate your time instead of react all the time…

It takes 3 minutes to implement.

STEAL AWAY

👉 The Calendar Curation System

Your current calendar is all one color, right?

How do you know where the leverage is when…

→ Lunch
→ Sales meetings
→ Internal meetings
→ Doctor’s appointments

all look the same?

You don’t.

You curate time after you know where the leverage is.

Here’s how you do that:

[1] Open an event in your calendar

[2] Click tags

[3] Add the following:

→ Blue = meetings
→ Red = tasks
→ Green = personal
→ Yellow = needle movers

[4] Go back the last two weeks and assign a new tag

[It’ll look like the image below 👇]

See what I mean?

You know where the leverage is.

Now you can start doing something about it.

100+ founders are using this every day.

If you want more time systems that give me 20+ hours of flow per week, comment “TIME” and I’ll send you my Quick Time Buys checklist.

Free. Not gatekept. Effective AF.

Doesn’t it suck to be a babysitter?

If you double check your team’s work…read this:

High-achieving founders are in my inbox a lot lately.

The transition from $20K/mo to $50K/mo plus means hiring more people.

It’s a very individual and personality-driven game.

This’ll help you if you’re about to hire or you’re a glorified babysitter with your current people.

The one line you need to actually get the best out of them…

Presume they could care less about your company.

The company’s goals aren’t their goals.

Elbow grease and “can do” attitude don’t come from a company mission statement.

They come from making it clear that the employee’s gets what they want.

The way I got the best out of my staff wasn’t shoving our ideology down their throats.

It was asking them what their personal goals were.

If you don’t know these, no wonder you’re double checking their work.

STEP 1: Know them

How? Ask.

Then, interweave them into your company’s plan.

So you can both win, and you’re not a babysitter to someone who doesn’t care.

People care about themselves, not the company.

Use that knowledge and everybody will hit their goals.

P.S. To solve this, I didn’t do anything fancy. Just a simple Canva template I called ‘The Employee Roadmap’ that kept me from being a babysitter.

👉 Comment ‘ER’ if you want it.

...
[This dude's goals? To wrestle ninja-style every night.]

My stomach’s been churning lately.

People I’ve known over half my life are still in their 18-year-old situation.

And I very nearly got stuck there, too.

The simple truth?

Permission is pointless.

Others are telling you to go for it right now.

But you won’t listen.

That’s because the only permission you need is from yourself.

You’re not lazy.
You’re not stupid.
You’re not behind.

You’re waiting for permission.

You want upward movement? Take a forward step.

Your future is drastically improved from being willing to do a 180 on your current life (the one you’ve been stuck in since childhood) and to look incredibly stupid for 90 days.

90 days.

That’s all it takes.

To turn fear and stagnation into evidence and proof…

—That you had it in you all along
—That you never needed someone’s permission
—That the scary thing is the worthwhile thing

And if you don’t have a f**king clue what the forward step looks like, drop your heart and soul into The Big Idea Vault.

The 180 has never been more accessible.

Grab it here: https://lnkd.in/eSiVg86N

They said it was delusional. Then it worked.

Flashback to January.

Three people in the same week said this:

“Be careful with coffee chats. They’re not scalable.”

Thanks for the advice, I said.

And then I politely ignored them.

You see, I do coffee chats for my business’s most important KPI:

FUN.

Scalable? Hmm.

Do I care if I’m having fun?

In fact, I had so much fun that I turned it into a funnel. 😜

And that funnel turned into six figures in seven months.

Wait. It’s easy? And fun? And it makes money?

Why do I care if it’s scalable again?

But lean in, fellow traveler, because here’s the cool part.

Now my clients are making money with it too. [IMAGE]

If you need a fancy automation or want to act like a 9-figure CEO while struggling to get anyone on the phone right now, feel free to ignore this.

But if you’d rather have fun, love coffee, and make good money, this one’s free.

Drop me a 😜 in the comments and I’ll send you the link to build your own Coffee Chat Funnel in a few minutes.

- - -
P.S. It’s not gatekept or anything. I’m just sending it to the real espresso heads.

You’ll be out of the day-to-day by Christmas if you do this.

And it’s the opposite of how you’ve been told to do it.

THE DREAM:

Only work “on” the business instead of “in” it.

Yet, how you’re supposed to do it is more complex than quantum mechanics.

Let’s keep it simple, and actually get you out of the day-to-day by next Christmas.

WHAT THEY TELL YOU: Hire
WHAT I’M SAYING: Reduce

→ Start with your offer. I guarantee there are unneeded deliverables.
→ Funnels. One high-performer outweighs five average ones. Go all in.
→ People. Several of my clients have cut their teams in half AND made more cash.

WHAT THEY TELL YOU: Create SOPs
WHAT I’M SAYING: Loom to staff

→ When you do a task, record it with Loom.
→ Send the recording to an employee.
→ They create the SOP, not you.

WHAT THEY TELL YOU: Delegate
WHAT I’M SAYING: Timers

→ Delegating isn’t a magic pill. It’s a skill. And it’s not the real problem.
→ The real problem? You take all day to do client work.
→ Humans conform to the constraints we give ourselves.
→ That all day work will take 2 hours if you set a timer. Trust me.

HOW I WENT FROM 70 HOURS/WK TO 8 HOURS/WK

These steps plus:

[1] Employee roadmaps
[2] Zone of Genius mapping

👆 These are the bonuses I’m offering anyone who grabs “3 clients by Christmas.”

If you want 3 clients by this Christmas and out of the day-to-day by next Christmas…

The offer closes in 24 hours.

Email me if you want to learn more 👉 colby@colbywegter.com

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The Battle

Markus Böge

Colby Wegter

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Markus Böge's LinkedIn Performance

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