Growth consultant and author of The Damn Rules, Nick Richtsmeier joined me on Ditching Hourly to talk about why internet-based inbound marketing systems have stopped working, aren't coming back, and what might work instead.

00:27 Nick's Background and Work
01:10 Why the Internet Is Toast
03:09 What Distribution Means Now
04:36 Inbound as Attention Arbitrage
07:56 The Attention Economy Is a Casino
13:37 Five Major Disruptions
22:36 Trust and Attachment as Scarcity
25:34 Friction as a Load-Bearing System
30:10 Restoring Trust Through Human Contact
35:01 Selling When People Are Scrolling
39:19 Notice Meetings and Relationship Networks
41:47 Why Friction Polishes Ideas
50:37 The Damn Rules and Closing Thoughts

Nick's bio:

Nick Richtsmeier is the creator of Trust-Made Growth® and the author of The Damn Rules: How Vulnerability, Inefficiency, and Love Liberate Leaders from the Trustbroken Economy, a strategist and cultural navigator helping founder-led, relationship-driven firms build durable businesses in the age of AI extraction and from the wreckage of the trustbroken economy.

Nick's links:

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Do you know you need to niche down, but keep hesitating because you're afraid of picking the wrong niche, cutting off good opportunities, or boxing yourself in?

You DON'T need more convincing that vague positioning is a problem.

You DO need a way to make positioning feel less risky so you can finally choose a direction, test it in the market, and adjust without blowing up your business.

On Tuesday, September 8th, 2026, at noon Eastern Time, I'm running a live workshop called Positioning For Soloists Having A Hard Time Niching Down.

That's what we'll tackle in this workshop.

It's the second session of my Fall 2026 Soloist Growth Workshop series for expertise-based business owners just like you.

Live attendance is limited to 20, so don't wait.

Learn more at: https://jonathanstark.com/sgs

Enroll in Positioning For Soloists now »

Hope to see you live in Zoom on Tuesday.

Nick Richtsmeier - The Damn Rules

Ditching Hourly

Nick Richtsmeier - The Damn Rules