In today’s episode of The Lindsey Anderson Show, I’m diving into the topic of bro marketing and why it’s no longer serving service-based businesses. If you're unfamiliar with the term, don’t worry–I’ll break it down for you. Bro marketing refers to aggressive, get-rich-quick tactics that have become increasingly ineffective as audiences have become more discerning.

This style of marketing isn’t aligned with most businesses anymore, leaving many entrepreneurs and online business owners frustrated and disconnected from their ideal customers. The pressure-filled sales tactics of fake scarcity and high-pressure pitches just aren’t working like they used to, especially with today’s online consumers who are more skeptical than ever.

Today’s guest is here to give us the scoop on what’s actually working now–and spoiler alert: it’s not another new trend or hack. Instead, we’re talking about going back to the basics and making those core strategies work for your business. If you're looking to grow your visibility, attract more leads, and close clients in a way that feels authentic and sustainable, this episode is for you.

My guest today is Leslie Hassler, an author, speaker, and strategic business advisor who helps service-based business owners grow with predictable profits and less overwhelm. She’s the founder of Your Biz Rules, a fractional C-suite firm that helps businesses scale through hands-on strategy and leadership. Leslie is also the author of Scaling Rich, a book that’s all about growing your business without burning out, while ditching bro marketing for strategies that actually work. I’m so excited to have her on the show today, and I know you're going to walk away with some actionable insights on how to grow your business the right way.

• Bro Marketing: This approach relies on aggressive tactics that make the customer feel smaller, often using fake scarcity and high-pressure sales. While it may work for some, it’s misaligned with entrepreneurs and online business owners focused on sustainable growth and healthy customer relationships.
• Post-Pandemic Trust Issues: With bad actors online and the rise of AI, customers have become more skeptical. Marketing needs to evolve to align with a more cautious and informed audience.
• Customer Acquisition Through Aggressive Tactics: While bro marketing can bring in quick leads, those leads often aren’t the best fit for your business. The emotional, pressure-filled approach leaves customers unaligned, leading to poor long-term relationships.
• The Valley of Despair: This concept describes the lowest point customers can hit when they feel desperate, which compromises their ability to make rational decisions and makes it harder for businesses to provide effective solutions.
• Alignment is Key: Real success comes from aligning your marketing strategy with your values, your ideal customers’ needs, and long-term business goals. Misalignment leads to stress, burnout, and unsustainable growth.

Bro Marketing relies on putting customers down and using fear tactics to push them into making a decision. It often feels manipulative and misaligned with values. Authentic Marketing, on the other hand, focuses on understanding the customer’s real needs and offering solutions that build long-term value and trust. It calls people forward to be the best versions of themselves, while bro marketing thrives on fear and scarcity.

Leslie explains the importance of hope and belief in business. When clients are in the "valley of despair," they’ve often lost hope, which makes it hard to engage them meaningfully. Restoring hope is key for success. Clients...

Welcome to another episode of The Lindsey Anderson Show! Today, I’m diving into a topic that I’m sure many of you haven’t thought much about: legal protections for your online content. As entrepreneurs and online business owners, we show up online every day—creating content, generating sales, and building our brands. But here’s the real question: Is your business actually protected?

The truth is, many entrepreneurs are losing money, missing opportunities, and even getting taken advantage of because they haven’t protected their intellectual property. Whether you’re posting on social media, creating content, or launching offers, you need to ensure that your work is legally protected. Today’s guest, Robert Thony, is here to help us navigate this crucial area of business. He’ll be sharing how to protect your intellectual property before it’s too late. I’m so excited for you to hear this!

Robert Thony is the founder of Tony Law and Entertainment, a firm that specializes in IP law and business law. With over a decade of experience, Robert has been helping entrepreneurs, creators, and online business owners protect their work and secure better deals.

He’s an expert in trademarks, copyrights, contracts, and negotiation strategies. Robert has worked with countless brands to ensure they’re legally protected while continuing to grow. His goal is simple: to help businesses not only survive but thrive, all while being legally secure. Robert provides guidance on everything from brand protection to navigating the complexities of the digital world with legal insight. Let’s dive into the conversation with Robert!

• Protect Your Brand Early: It’s critical to get your business structure right from the start. Whether you’re a consultant, or running a tech startup, choosing the right legal entity is key to protecting your business in the long run.
• Trademark Protection: Your brand name and logo should be protected from day one. Register them with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to prevent infringement and legal issues down the line.
• Trademark Search: Always conduct a comprehensive trademark search to make sure no one else is using a name or logo that’s too similar to yours.
• Legal Structure Matters: The legal structure you choose for your business affects the kind of protection you need. For example, a service-based business will have different legal needs than a product-based business.
• Investment in Protection: While it costs $350 per mark to file a trademark application with the USPTO, it’s a worthwhile investment to secure your brand’s future. The process can take 9-12 months, but it’s worth the wait for the protection it provides.
• Why Entrepreneurs Wait Too Long: Entrepreneurs often delay legal protection due to budget constraints or the desire to focus on marketing. However, failing to protect your brand early could lead to costly rebranding or legal disputes in the future.

We share a common example that happens way too often. A business owner starts using a name that’s similar to another trademarked brand. At first, everything seems fine, but then, the clients start getting confused—some even reach out to the wrong business thinking they’re contacting the right one.

In these situations, the client may have to rebrand entirely, which is a huge financial and logistical burden. And sometimes, the other business already owns the trademark, which means they have the legal right to shut you down. This happens all the time, and it can set you back months, if not years, in your business journey.

• "If you're serious about business, you need to get this protection so that you're not wasting...

In this episode, I dive into one of the smartest ways to scale your business as an entrepreneur or online business owner—outsourcing your marketing and sales tasks to virtual assistants. If you’ve ever felt stretched thin doing everything yourself, or you’ve struggled to find high-quality help without blowing your budget, this episode is going to give you real clarity.

I walk through what tasks you should actually be outsourcing, how to do it the right way, and why looking globally—especially to Africa—might just be the most strategic move you can make.

I’m joined by outsourcing expert Valerie Bowden, and together we talk about how to build a lean, effective, and ethical remote team that supports your growth without the burnout.

Valerie Bowden is the founder of CRDLE, a company that connects entrepreneurs and business owners with top-tier remote sales and marketing talent from Africa. After living in Ethiopia for years and witnessing firsthand how major corporations were quietly outsourcing to Africa without fair wages or growth paths, she launched CRDLE to offer a better, more ethical alternative. Today, Valerie helps online businesses and growing companies build cost-effective, high-performance teams that scale sustainably and responsibly.

• Strategic outsourcing helps you scale affordably without compromising on quality
• Many online business owners wait too long to delegate and end up burned out
• Tasks like cold calling, lead generation, and podcast booking are perfect for virtual assistants
• The #1 outsourcing mistake is failing to train your team properly
• Daily check-ins, clear SOPs, and a strong onboarding process drive success
• Freelance platforms like Upwork are great for one-off projects, but building a long-term team requires deeper integration
• Focus your time on what only you can do—and outsource everything else to free up capacity

• Record initial trainings to onboard future hires more efficiently
• Schedule short daily check-ins during the first couple of weeks to build momentum
• Include VAs in team meetings—they’re part of your team, not a side resource
• You should always own the voice, strategy, and messaging
• Don’t expect perfection immediately—give space for growth

• Marketing tasks: social media scheduling, video editing, content uploading, podcast booking, engagement
• Sales tasks: cold calling, lead scraping, CRM maintenance, appointment setting
• Combine LinkedIn outreach with cold calls to warm up your sales funnel
• Tools like Apollo.io make it easy to gather verified lead data

• Africa has a large, highly skilled talent pool with strong English and solid education
• It’s far less saturated than traditional outsourcing countries, so you find better candidates faster
• Hiring from Africa also supports a powerful social mission—especially for young women
• CRDLE connects you with pre-vetted, highly motivated professionals ready to contribute

• AI tools like ChatGPT help VAs generate content, match tone, and stay on-brand
• VAs can research and test AI tools to streamline your workflows
• AI + outsourcing = more leverage for your business, less time doing the heavy lifting yourself
• This combination empowers you to stay agile and competitive as you scale

• "If someone’s spending all day cold calling, they shouldn’t be doing it at a U.S. salary. That’s the kind of job that should be outsourced."
• "The biggest mistake I see is...