Paul Conley

Start a Side Business Not a Side Hustle

I was doing fine.

Good actually. About 71 out of 100.

I lived in a great city, had just gotten married, bought a house, and had a good career. On paper, everything worked.

But I kept asking myself, is this it?
Go to work. Come home. Eat dinner. Do it again. Nothing was wrong, but something was missing.

So I started exploring. I hired a coach. We focused on my career because surely that was the problem.

It wasn’t.

What I wanted was freedom. To do what I wanted, when I wanted to do it.

So I started building on the side using the skills I already had, working with clients. It stayed small because I was scared, so I played small.

Then my son was born. January 23rd 2024. 

I knew one day I would tell him to live up to his potential. I also knew the question he’d ask me back:

"Why didn’t you?"

So we made real decisions. We chose the life first and then figured out the revenue.

Now almost daily the version of me from 4 years ago reaches out to me. 
Successful dads. Comfortable. Doing well. Knowing and wanting more.

⚡️ Here’s what I know

71% isn’t failure. It’s postponement.

The work you actually want.
The business you keep thinking about.
The time you want back.
The dad your kid grows up watching.

I help high-achieving dads stop postponing, ask the real questions, and take action on the thing they’ve been putting off.

🔥 I’d love for you to join High Achievers, our community but I’d rather you start for free.
Check out the featured section and see what happens.

People usually message me a week or two later and say,
“I didn't know I was the only one and that this is possible"

Paul

P.S. If something here hit, DM me, the stories are the reason I show up on LinkedIn everyday

District Executive Director

Effectively lead a diverse team of 130+ associates and 100+ volunteers in leading a $2.8M operation. 
•	Led the Tampa market in sales in 2019 and improved sales by 15% YTD.
•	Fundraising of $300K cumulatively and highest fundraising year in 2021. 
•	Increased revenue by 10% in 2019 and improved net margin position by 8% YTD.

Hours worked do not matter.

Curt Cignetti is leading Indiana to unprecedented success.

And they practice 6 hours a week.
The maximum is 20.

Because no one cares if you win practice.

There are no parades for working the hardest.

Did you succeed or did you fail?

His job is to get his team ready to win games.

That’s how every role is measured in the end.

And he does it.

Executive Coach | Founder, The Conley Group

I want to lose followers in February.

Dude who connects just to raise his connections---Bye.
Cold pitch as soon as we connect? Cya.
Bots from some random country — Hasta La Vista, Baby.

When I started on LinkedIn, I truly cared about the follower and connection metrics.

I accepted every invitation.

I worried that if I said something that pissed someone off, or if someone disagreed with me, I’d look dumb.

So I didn’t do much.
I said vanilla things.

My feed got bigger.
It didn’t get better.

We’re doing something cool all of February.

If you’re here to actually connect as humans, with humans, build, and think bigger, stick around.

If not, peace out, you won’t like February.

You’re Successful. You’re Comfortable. You’re at 71%. Building Community for High Achieving Dads Who Want More

“Why? Because our name is Indiana?”

That was Cignetti’s response when asked if the moment would be too big.

Defined.
Judged.
Limited by history.

But we do the same thing to ourselves.

People from my town aren’t successful.
People like me don’t get lucky.
People like me can’t do that.

We inherit a story and treat it like a truth.
 
Your past explains you.
It doesn’t decide you.

My son will ask me one day if I chased my dreams.

I need to have an answer.

Cooper turns 2 today. 
When he was born, I made myself a promise:

I'd never tell him to go after the life he wants while I played it safe.

For 34 years, I thought wanting more was selfish. Irresponsible. Something to grow out of.

So I aimed for security. Comfort. The responsible path.

Then I held my son for the first time and thought: What am I going to say when he asks why I settled?

I didn't have an answer.

So I stopped building a life I could defend and started building one I wanted.

For me, that looks like: Training for HYROX with Jenna on a Monday. Golf on a Friday. Saying yes to a last-minute trip. Being there every day after school. Coaching Leaders. Writing books. Speaking to rooms full of people. Building a community around people who refuse to settle.

Are there days I have no idea what I'm doing? Absolutely.

Days I wonder what would've happened if I'd played it safer? Yep.

But when Cooper's old enough to watch how I live, I don't want him to see comfort.

I want him to see courage.

Happy birthday, Coop. This is for you.

I talked to 103 new people in 2025. 

Here’s what actually happened: 

– 47 conversations went nowhere.
– 30 were good conversations, and that was it.
– 11 turned into clients.
– 3 helped me enough that I became a client of theirs.
– 2 became real friends.

In 2026, we have a real opportunity.

In a world that keeps getting more digital,
we can choose to be connectors.

Because every positive relationship in your life
started the same way.

Someone initiated the conversation.
Let it be you in 2026.

This might be my least engaged post ever.

The haters will call it cringey.

But it’s meant to serve as a reminder to you. 

So here we go.

 I’m probably in the top 1% in the world at:
• Ice cream consumed
• Paid coaching clients
• LinkedIn conversations
• Dollars fundraised
• Dad communities built
• Miami Dolphins games watched
• Miles run
• Petty debates had
• Businesses Built
• Losing and gaining the same 10 lbs.
• Big questions asked
• Goals set

The list of things I’m bad at is way longer.

But here’s the truth

It’s not arrogant to admit what you’re good at.

It’s useful.

Because if you’re in the top 1% at anything
someone else is trying to figure out how to get there.

So I’ll ask you. 

You. 
Yes, you.

What are you in the top 1% at?

I lied yesterday.

Colin Weatherwax even politely corrected me. 

I said I want to lose followers in February, that's not true. 

I want to gain the right followers, the human ones. 

The High Achieving Dads at about 71% of their potential.

The ones who, 29 minutes into conversation, finally say:

“Actually, you know what I really want…”

Thinking they’re the only ones who feel this way.

They’re not.

That’s who I want to be here. 

That’s who February is for.

If you’re that High Achieving Dad

The one who feels selfish for even wanting more.

Join us in February.

PS. I do still really really want to get rid of the cold pitches from randos--is there a setting for that?

This is one of the worst pieces of advice we got as kids.

“Don’t brag.”

I took that advice seriously.

Get an A in middle school. Keep it to yourself.
Graduate college with honors. Anyone can do that. 
Become an executive at 25. They’ll say you got lucky. 

It didn’t make me more humble.

It made me quiet.
It made me think everything I was good at was easy.
It made me think I couldn’t impact lives on a large scale.

Bragging to make others feel bad makes you a jerk.

But being honest about your wins and  talents matters.

Because everyone has top 1% talents. 

And hiding those is the most selfish thing we can do.

We are connected to people we don’t know.

Thousands of “connections.”
And we aren’t actually connected to half.

Almost every meaningful problem we face
is solvable. 

By a person. 

Not a post.
Not a comment.
Not a like.

A real conversation.

That’s how jobs change.
That’s how businesses grow.
That’s how ideas get unstuck.

Not through boring networking events.

Through actual, intentional connection.

Am I alone in this?
Or are you trying to actually connect in 2026?

The Surgeon General says loneliness is an epidemic.

If you work for yourself, you already know this.

No watercooler.
No team lunch.
No one who gets what you're building.

Just you, your laptop, and a growing list of problems you can't talk through with anyone.

I've felt it. I'm tired of it.

So I'm starting something called High Achievers Connected.

It's simple:

People with big goals get matched 1:1.
You talk honestly. Share challenges. Share wins.
Actually connect with someone who gets it.

Not a networking group.
Not a community with 47 people.
Just two people helping each other.

We start Monday.

If you're one of the 97% who reads LinkedIn but never comments, never reaches out, never asks for help:

This is me inviting you.

DM me or drop a comment. I'll send you the details

7 Steps to Solve Almost Any Challenge You Face:

1. Talk to a friend.
2. Talk to a mentor or coach.
3. Talk to a potential new friend.
4. Talk to someone you can help.
5. Talk to someone who can help you.
6. Talk to a professional.
7. Talk to literally any human.

Replace overthinking and overanalyzing
with conversation and connection.

Because people solve problems.
For people.

Who pushes you?

I have a goal this week.
Pilot High Achievers Connected with 20 people.

Last night, I told Jenna Conley I was at 14.

I was happy with the group.
It’s a great group of people.

She could’ve said “great job.”

Instead, she said:
“I thought your goal was 20?”

“Yeah, but it starts Monday. This is good.”

She paused.

“Sounds like you’ve got more work to do.”

She was right.
I was being comfortable.

Instead of connecting six more people, I was ready to stop.

Not because I couldn’t do it.
Because I had decided this was good enough.

Thankfully, I got pushed.

Who’s your Jenna,  the person in your life that won’t let you settle?

WeAssist.io

Chief Executive Officer

Shopify Subscribers Push Notification

- Outbound prospecting and sales, with a focus on attracting and retaining high growth transaction-centric companies (e-commerce, lead gen, etc..)
- Hunting for sales opportunities directly with companies and/or through channel partners
- Developing prospecting/target lists 
- Evangelizing conversion rate optimization best practices in the market to help strengthen the company’s brand and lead to more high ticket sales

Director of Business Development

HelloBar

Director Of Business Development

Raised Marketing

- Implemented skills from previous marketing jobs and achievements to create a revolutionized Digital Marketing agency to optimize and increase sales/revenue for local businesses.
- Clients range from small, local businesses to Fortune 500 companies. 
- Increased sales in restaurant vertical by +40% with basic Digital Marketing packages.
- Increased sales in other local businesses by up to 700% with top Digital Marketing packages.

Founder

Accredited Debt Relief

- Incorporated personalized videos to emails for clients and optimized time.
- Created and optimized training module for training new employees and enhancing productivity of existing employees.
- Helped optimize employee productivity and multiply sales successes which led to increases in monthly sales.

Senior Account Executive

Jersey Mike's Subs

- Directly managed 79 Jersey Mikes stores.
- Directly opened 49 Jersey Mikes stores.
- Created and implemented Grand Opening campaigns for 79 stores and took them from negative.(-)$20,000 gross revenue to positive (+)$40,000-$60,000 gross revenue in the first 11 days.
- Implemented these marketing and fundraising campaign strategies in every store across the United States.

Marketing Director

Domino's Pizza

- Operated 17 franchises.
- Created successful marketing campaigns and fundraising campaigns which increased sales.
- Marketing strategies were so successful that corporate executives visited the franchises I managed to congratulate and implement my methods into more franchises.

Marketing Manager

Big Bear Mountain Resorts

- Level 2 world certified snowboard instructor.
- Level 1 world certified ski instructor.
- Most requested instructor for private lessons which increased sales and gross profit, and improved mountain safety for guests.

Instructor

💼 WHAT I DO: I help Business Owners/Coaches scale their business through our vast Virtual Assistant services.

🤝 WHOM I WORK WITH: I partner with High-Ticket Coaches, Consultants, and Service-Based Entrepreneurs to help them get more inquiries, book calls, and land new clients using Instagram. 

👩‍💻 SERVICES WE PROVIDE:
• Virtual Assistance
• Lead Generation
• Appointment-setting
• Bookkeeping
• Payroll
• Executive Assistants
• Shopify Store Managers
• Project Managers
• Accountants
• Customer Service Reps
• Billing Services
• Admins
• Email Managers
• SMM
• Graphic Designers
Name it, We find it! 

👩‍🔧 HOW IT WORKS:
• We will meet via Zoom to discuss your specific situation and what you're trying to achieve.
• If it's a good fit, I'll create a plan of action for you that will include the campaign focus, strategy, proposed timeline, deliverables, and a skilled Virtual Assistant, hand-picked by you.

💁 WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT: I, together with my awesome team of skilled Virtual Assistants, who are experts in this field, help our clients optimize their business by attracting, engaging and nurturing interested prospects and convert them into leads.

We love details and are always curious, energetic, and relentless at finding innovative solutions and streamlined processes. Our priority is to form great partnerships with our clients.

With a highly-trained team who have an in-depth knowledge of Lead Generation and Appointment setting, we are entirely transparent with our clients regarding our business operations.

🗣️ WHAT OTHERS SAY
"I was referred to Reef and WeAssist by a mutual friend — Reef, his team, and WeAssist's Virtual Assistants have been *extremely* valuable! I plan to continue growing my relationship and business with WeAssist.io and have already been referring and sharing WeAssist to every business owner I know. If you have a business and want, need, or could use extra hands, message Reef. As Reef shared with me: it's better to have your brain + 8 hands than 2 hands. I'd be more than happy to chat with you briefly to share my experience with Reef, his team, and WeAssist.io. They're helping me take my business to the next level (and more!)." - Jamie Carlstedt,
Professional Coach for High Achievers 

Check out my LinkedIn Recommendations for more client testimonials.


☎️ READY TO TALK?
• Book a Call: 626-344-8519
• Visit My Website: https://weassist.io/

Let's have a chat so I'd know exactly how I can help you. That way, I can give you a customized plan of action that matches your needs and goals.

taplio

The Battle

Paul Conley

Reef Colman

Followers

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Performance ScorePaul Conley's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Paul Conley

Reef Colman

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

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);}Paul Conley's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScorePaul Conley's LinkedIn Performance