Stop throwing spaghetti at the wall: Why you need to test, not copy

"What's Working in 2026" Is the Wrong Question

Everyone's shouting about what's working in 2026 right now. And I'm getting hella frustrated about it. Especially after some big news in our industry (yes, I'm talking about Amy Porterfield closing Digital Course Academy), the doom spirals are in full swing. But before you panic pivot your entire business based on someone else's hot take, I need you to remember something: most of what you're hearing is someone sharing what works for them, with their audience, their costs, and their definition of success. That doesn't make it universal truth. In this episode, I'm breaking down why "what's working" is the wrong question, how to evaluate the advice you're seeing, and what to do instead of spiralling. IN THIS EPISODE: 1. (00:00) Why "what's working in 2026" content is frustrating and often misleading, because people are presenting their personal results as if it's some industry-wide truth 2. (00:35) What Amy Porterfield closing Digital Course Academy actually means for the rest of us (spoiler: courses aren't dead, but her cost structure and business model might not have been working for her anymore) 3. (01:47) Why the same strategies that feel "dead" to established businesses with big teams and ad costs might still be brilliant for someone at a different stage 4. (03:06) Why a $20k launch could be a spectacular success for one person and an absolute disaster for another, and what that tells us about measuring "what works" 5. (05:03) Defining what success actually means for YOU: is it revenue, simplicity, impact, time freedom? Because you can't judge if something works if you don't know what working looks like 6. (07:18) Why the person ditching courses for brand deals isn't proof you should too (hint: they have hundreds of thousands of YouTube subscribers and have been on YouTube for ten years) 7. (09:29) Why your first attempt at a strategy isn't the measure of whether it works for you, and why you might need ten or twenty goes before you can fairly judge it TODAY'S TINY TEST: Before you consume any more "what's working in 2026" content, write down what success actually means for you right now. Is it revenue? Simplicity? Impact? Time freedom? You can't judge whether something "works" if you don't know what working looks like for your business. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: If you want to stop guessing and start testing alongside me, come join The 2026 Experiment. [theunicornadvisory.com/2026] It's a year-long living laboratory where I share every experiment, every clue, and every debrief of the tests I'm running. Join here: theunicornadvisory.com/2026 [theunicornadvisory.com/2026] CONNECT WITH SUE: 1. Instagram: @theunicornadvisory 2. Youtube: youtube.com/@suemclachlan [youtube.com/@suemclachlan] 3. Website: theunicornadvisory.com [theunicornadvisory.com]

Shortcut Marketing Is Our Industry's Biggest Problem

I’m in a bit of a ranty mood today. I spent some time scrolling Facebook recently and it was wall-to-wall "shortcut marketing." I saw ads promising to replace developers in 60 minutes, ads claiming you can make $250k with zero tech skills, and even one claiming your birth date is your $360k business plan. These claims sell, because who doesn't want the shortcut? But I think this is actually the industry's biggest problem. It perpetuates the myth that this is easy, and it sets people up for failure when they don't get the same results as the person with the huge ad budget and the team of ten. In this episode, I’m talking about why you need to stop looking for the magic button and start embracing the process of iterating. In this episode: 1. The ridiculous ads I saw on Facebook (and why they are dangerous). 2. The Creator Growth Loop: Being Seen, Creating Value, and Making Sales. 3. Why copying a "proven blueprint" usually results in throwing spaghetti at the wall because you don't know why it worked for them. 4. Why getting a Minimum Viable Product out there is better than waiting for perfection, because you can't steer a parked car. 5. How to run a proper test by changing just one thing (like price or email style) so you know exactly what made the difference. Mentioned in this episode: The 2026 Experiment: We have already kicked off with the first debrief (all about the lessons from launching this experiment!). If you want to see the real data behind building a business in 2026, come and join us. Join here: theunicornadvisory.com/2026 [https://theunicornadvisory.com/2026] Connect with Sue: 1. Instagram: @theunicornadvisory [https://www.instagram.com/theunicornadvisory/] 2. Voxer: @unicornsue 3. Website: theunicornadvisory.com [https://theunicornadvisory.com/]

Why I Hope I Fail Spectacularly In 2026

How do you feel about failure? Is it something you’re scared of, or something you embrace? It might sound strange, but I am actually hoping I fail really badly in 2026. I hope there are some spectacular disasters. Everyone else is out there planning to win big, but the truth is, the more I fail, the more I learn. While success is awesome, sometimes it’s just blind luck. If you launch something and it works, but you don't know why it worked, you can't repeat it. You just have to cross your fingers and hope the stars align again next time. Failure is different. Failure forces you to learn. It gives you feedback you can't ignore. In this episode, I’m sharing why I’m aiming for failure next year, and why I’m opening up my business so you can watch the disasters unfold in real time. In this episode: 1. Why success can sometimes be a trap because if you don't know why it worked, you can't do it again. 2. The story of my first membership launch disaster where I spent thousands on ads and cried in bed for days. 3. Why the first launch is never a pass or fail test, it is just the first set of data. 4. The problem with most debriefs online is that they are usually humblebrags designed to sell you something, rather than honest breakdowns of what went wrong. 5. Why I’m committed to sharing the autopsy of my flops in 2026, so you can get the lessons without having to make the same expensive mistakes. 6. Mentioned in this episode: The 2026 Experiment: If you want to see the real debriefs—the good, the bad, and the ugly—come join me inside The 2026 Experiment. I’ll be sharing the full breakdown of every experiment (including the disasters) so you can learn what actually works right now. Join now: theunicornadvisory.com/2026 [https://theunicornadvisory.com/2026] Connect with Sue: 1. Instagram: @theunicornadvisory [https://www.instagram.com/theunicornadvisory/] 2. Voxer: @unicornsue 3. Website: theunicornadvisory.com [https://theunicornadvisory.com/]

Just me, or was 2025 a really weird year?

I’m curious, how was 2025 for you? I’ve lost count of the number of people who have told me it was a weird, funky, or just plain shite year. And honestly? It kicked my butt too. I found myself getting stuck way more than normal. I stopped launching things. I ghosted my email list. Even as a strategist who helps other people make decisions, I stopped making them for myself because I felt this immense pressure to get it perfect. In this episode, I’m sharing why I’m done with that pressure, and why I’ve decided to treat 2026 completely differently. We chat about: 1. Why so many of us got stuck in limbo this year, second-guessing every move and worrying about the doom and gloom headlines. 2. The specific question I asked myself that completely shifted my energy from heavy to excited. 3. Why I miss the early days of business where I just tried things to see what happened, and why I’m bringing that energy back. 4. Why relying purely on vibes and emotion led me to burnout, and why I’m bringing logic back into the driver's seat. 5. A sneak peek at the big experiments I’m running next year, including the debate between evergreen and live launching. Mentioned in this episode: The 2026 Experiment: This episode is the origin story of The 2026 Experiment. If you want to stop guessing and start testing alongside me, come and join us. It’s a year-long living laboratory where I share every experiment, every clue, and every honest debrief. Join here: theunicornadvisory.com/2026 [https://theunicornadvisory.com/2026] Connect with Sue: 1. Instagram: @theunicornadvisory [https://www.instagram.com/theunicornadvisory/] 2. Voxer: @unicornsue 3. Website: theunicornadvisory.com [https://theunicornadvisory.com/]

Stop throwing spaghetti at the wall: Why you need to test, not copy

Have you ever seen that Netflix show, Nailed It? It’s the one where amateur bakers try to recreate a masterpiece cake. They have the recipe and the ingredients, but the result is usually a hot mess of sliding cake layers. That is exactly what happens when we buy "shortcuts" and blueprints in online business. We have the template, but we don't have the same team, budget, or experience as the person selling it. In this episode, we’re talking about why copying someone else’s homework is risky, and why you need to stop throwing spaghetti at the wall and start understanding why things work. We chat about: 1. The "Nailed It" reality: Why having the exact recipe doesn't guarantee the result (especially if you don't have the same "kitchen" as the guru). 2. The Highlight Reel: The invisible details you don't see in a blueprint—like their ad budget, their full-time social media staff, or how long they warmed up their audience. 3. Tactics vs. Strategy: Why copying an action (like sending an email at 9am) fails if you don't understand the strategy behind it (creating urgency). 4. The Spaghetti Problem: Why making sales from a random guess is actually dangerous—because if you don't know why it stuck, you can't repeat it. 5. Changing one thing at a time: Why testing a new offer, new price, and new audience all at once makes it impossible to know what worked. Today’s Tiny Test: Write down one thing you are going to change in your business (e.g., your email frequency, your price, or your subject line style). Don't change everything at once. Just change that one variable and compare the results to what you were doing before. That is how you get actual data instead of just guessing. Mentioned in this episode: The 2026 Experiment: If you want to stop guessing and start testing alongside me, come join The 2026 Experiment. It’s a year-long living laboratory where I share every experiment, every clue, and every honest debrief (including the flops). Join for 50% off (Early Access) until midnight Dec 31st: theunicornadvisory.com/2026 [https://theunicornadvisory.com/2026] Connect with Sue: 1. Instagram: @theunicornadvisory [https://www.instagram.com/theunicornadvisory/] 2. Voxer: @unicornsue 3. Website: theunicornadvisory.com [https://theunicornadvisory.com/]