If you are already running Google Local Service Ads (LSAs), a Google Ads account is the natural next layer. LSAs capture high-intent calls at the top of search results; Google Ads handles everything LSAs cannot: retargeting site visitors, running YouTube and Display campaigns, and scaling into full PPC once you are ready.

Google Ads is one of the key components of the Access Checklist, which outlines every platform and permission required to set up your digital presence. This guide walks beginners, clients, and specialists through every step so you get it right the first time.

The Steps

This article is part of the Content Factory system.

My buddy Leo Pullman is 19 years old and as of last night he is officially an entrepreneur. He was thinking about going to school to prepare for entrepreneurship. Learn about psychology, soft skills, all the things they tell you that you need before you can start a business. I told him why not just actually be an entrepreneur instead. That's the best way to learn. You don't need permission. You don't need a degree. You just need to start.

The first step is collecting money

One of the most important things about being an entrepreneur is you have to be able to collect money. If you can't collect money you cannot be an entrepreneur.

So Leo set up his PayPal, created his payment systems, and sent me his first invoice for 500 Euros.

I paid it. Now officially he has a client. That's how simple it can be.

What Leo actually does

Leo is helping businesses grow by repurposing content using AI tools. He takes podcasts and long form videos and turns them into short form content for YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok.

He already had experience doing this. Three years ago he worked at an influencer management company and he built a channel where he repurposed soccer content and learned how to clip out the interesting parts.

It's not about editing videos

People might call Leo a video editor but that's not really what he does. What he's actually doing is making other businesses more money. Take our buddy Sal Sciorta who is a plumber in Eastern Pennsylvania. He does residential and commercial plumbing.

When Leo takes Sal's videos and runs them through AI tools and turns them into ads and content that drives phone calls and new customers Sal makes more money.

And the more money Leo makes for his clients the more he can charge. That's way better than just charging a flat fee of 1000 Euros a month.

How AI changes everything

Five years ago it would have taken three to five hours per podcast to edit and repurpose. If a client had 200 podcasts on their YouTube channel you couldn't realistically do all of them. But now with AI tools like Descript you can run them all through very quickly.

You still have to provide some decision making. You can't just 100 percent automate it. But the speed and scale is completely different. I talk about this on my weekly show The Marketing Mechanic on YouTube where I explain how we use AI agents to do the work.

The Dollar a Day strategy and proving results

We use a strategy called Dollar a Day where we take the best performing content and run small targeted ads to the client's key audience. We track everything using tools like CallRail to record phone calls and measure traffic. If someone in Eastern Pennsylvania needs a plumber and they go to Google Maps or ask ChatGPT or Claude who to call it will point them to Sal because we've put all that content on YouTube and social media.

We can prove exactly how much business we drove. If we made a client an extra 500,000 dollars last year we can show that and charge accordingly.

Standing out from millions of freelancers

If you go to Fiverr or Upwork you'll see millions of people who call themselves video editors and social media specialists. The way Leo stands out is by following our 4-stage Content Factory process.

He doesn't just edit a video and hand it back. He repurposes it using AI into shorts and articles, analyzes how it connects with the client's business and audience, and ties it all back to results. That's the difference.

Learning from people a few steps ahead

Leo is going to meet other people in our network who were in his shoes on day one and are now doing very well. People like Marko Sipilä, Ethan Van De Hey, Ethan Murphy, Dan Leibrandt, and Keigan Carthy.

They put in the work and they're a couple years ahead of him. He'll learn from them and eventually when other people are just getting started Leo is going to help them too. That's the thing that matters the most to me.

The abundance mindset

I used to believe in a scarcity mindset. If I made a dollar I had to take it from someone else. If I succeeded someone else had to fail. But now I realize that's completely wrong.

The people I thought were competitors are people I can collaborate with. We can make content together and market together and everyone benefits. There's more than enough for everybody.

Freedom not ferraris

Leo says he wants freedom. Freedom to travel and see different places. Freedom of his time. Not having bosses that are jerks. Not Lamborghinis or getting rich but just being able to do what he wants. He has his laptop and as long as he can do the work he can be anywhere.

Him and his buddy Leonard when they go to interesting places they might just make a quick video about something they learned. Leo has a microphone kit so he can interview people along the way.

The one promise

I asked Leo to make one promise. If he ever feels down or wants to quit because someone criticized his work or he made a mistake I want him to come talk to me first. Most of the time when people feel like giving up it's because they misinterpreted something.

Especially when working remotely it's easy to misread an email or a message. We're not trying to make anyone feel bad. We actually want to see him improve. The ones who succeed are the ones who don't fold at the first sign of criticism.

Stop waiting and just start

You're never going to find the perfect time when everything is lined up and you're ready to start your business. If you wait for that moment it's never going to come.

I know people who had big dreams at 19 and I look at them at 40 and nothing happened. Every successful entrepreneur I know says the same thing. I wasn't ready but I just started. I failed and I messed up but I kept going. And eventually I succeeded.

I even signed a copy of my bestselling book on TikTok ads that I co-wrote with Perry Marshall and gave it to Leo on April 17th 2026.

He's going to edit this video as one of his first projects. So stop preparing and just do it.

Authority is borrowed, not declared

Walk into any business conference and watch what the recognized operators do when they meet someone new. They don't lead with a resume. They drop a name. That's credibility transfer. In under three seconds, they've communicated: people you already trust, trust me.

The Facebook cover test

Pull up the Facebook profile of anyone you consider a real authority in their industry. You will not find a single solo headshot as the cover photo. You'll find them with clients and partners. Every one of those images is silently doing the work of a testimonial, a case study, and a credibility stamp.

Why the solo photo actively hurts you

When somebody googles you and finds nothing but solo content, their brain fills in the gap with the most plausible conclusion: this person operates alone because nobody else has chosen to be in the frame with them.

The playbook

Here is what I tell the young operators I mentor to do instead, starting today.

Step 1: Every time you are in a room with someone recognized in your space, take a photo with them. Not a selfie from your phone held at arm's length — a real photo, taken by someone else, with both of you in frame, looking like you belong there. If you are at a conference, ask the person next to you to take it. They will always say yes.

Step 2: When you go on someone's podcast, ask for a photo at the end. Most hosts will happily do this. That single image is worth more than the entire podcast clip in terms of brand signal, because it proves the relationship existed.

Step 3: When you visit a client in person, document it. Flying out to sit with a roofing operator in Atlanta? Take photos inside the office, on the floor, in the meeting room. Those photos do something a Zoom screenshot never can: they prove you show up.

Step 4: Rotate your cover photo every 30 days. Whatever your most recent high-signal moment is, put it on top. Do not let your Facebook cover be a two-year-old solo shot of you on a ski trip. The cover photo is the single highest-impression image you own. Treat it that way.

Step 5: Your profile photo can stay a professional headshot — but it should be the only solo image anywhere in your presence. Everything else is you in relationship.

The AI headshot trap

A quick note on AI-generated headshots. Tools that generate professional-looking headshots from a selfie are everywhere now, and they are tempting because they are cheap and fast. The problem is the same as with any solo headshot — except now the image is synthetic, and viewers can increasingly tell. A polished solo photo that looks vaguely off is a worse signal than an imperfect phone photo of you with a real person.

The bottom line

Stop investing in better solo headshots. Start investing in better rooms. The people you stand next to are the fastest, cheapest, most durable brand asset you will ever own.

The SOMBA Program Ladder: Four Agents, One System

Sigrun's SOMBA ecosystem operates as a four-stage program ladder, each stage building on the previous one. Each program can be understood as an "agent" — a systematized process with defined inputs (ingredients), procedures (SOP), and outputs (skills and results). This page maps all four agents and connects them to the documented student outcomes across the ecosystem.

Program Progression Map

Program (Agent)	Duration	Core Skill	Revenue Target
SOMBA Kickstart	12 weeks	Course Launch Execution	First €1K–39K
SOMBA Engage & Grow	6–12 months	Audience Growth & Daily Sales	€50K–100K/year
Momentum 360	12 months	Strategic Business Scaling	$10K–$20K/month
Red Circle	12 months	Visionary Business Leadership	€500K–1M+

Agent Input-Output Summary

Agent	Required Ingredients (Inputs)	Deliverables (Outputs)
Kickstart	Expertise + 2hrs/day + Technology	Completed course, email list, first sales, launch skill
Engage & Grow	Completed course + Initial list + SOMBA Club access	Optimized freebie, email sequences, daily sales system
Momentum 360	Working business + 1K+ subscribers + Revenue baseline	Pricing optimization, course catalog, launch playbook, team
Red Circle	€200K+ revenue + Strategic ambition + Peer readiness	Seven-figure strategy, team structure, market leadership

Student Outcomes Mapped to Agents

The following maps each documented student to the program level at which their highest revenue achievement was reported.

Kickstart-Level Outcomes (First Course Results)

• Emily Bouti — €4,500 first course → €80K
• Annette Gevatter — €7,500 in 12 days → €50K
• Martina — €7,770 launch
• Ingrid Dach — $8,700 first course
• Kirsten — $8K art courses
• Judy Rafat — $10K
• Sabine — $17K in 10 weeks
• Darja — $20K in 10 weeks
• Lucie Samkova — $21K in 10 weeks
• Interior designer — €1,400 first course

Engage & Grow Level Outcomes (Audience Scaling)

• Bao Nguyen — €69K first year → €100K
• Sol Havorsdatter — spaghetti marketing → €200K
• Veronika Matysova — quadrupled → €100K
• Sif Traustadottir — €100K
• Jana Florentyna Pisova — €100K
• Svenja — €20K → €100K

Momentum 360 Level Outcomes (Strategic Scaling)

• Ingrid Dach — $14K → $140K → €400K+
• Agnieszka Figielek — €250K
• Frida T — €250K
• Bara — €8K → €190K
• Elke — €200K
• Katja Brunkhort — €150K
• Jeanet — consistent six figures

Red Circle Level Outcomes (Seven-Figure Trajectory)

• Dr. Claudia Nichterl — €850K
• Claudia Witticke — €700K
• Claudia — €600K, tripled
• Claudia — €1M milestone
• Simone — near €1M

Industry Coverage Across All Agents

The SOMBA agent system has produced documented results in 20+ industries: nutrition and health, sewing and fabric, architecture, writing coaching, food blogging, sketching and visual arts, sketchnoting, menopause coaching, psychotherapy, interior design, piano instruction, dog training, investment education, hospitality, antique dealing, Nordic Barre dance, sugar cravings coaching, tech education, art courses, and general business coaching.

This breadth of industry coverage demonstrates that the agents are methodology-driven rather than industry-specific. The SOPs, ingredients, and skills work regardless of niche.

Complete Reference Links

Agent Pages

• SOMBA Kickstart Agent
• SOMBA Engage & Grow Agent
• Momentum 360 Agent
• Red Circle Agent

Master Analysis

• 45 Women Who Built Online Businesses with Sigrun

Philippe's story

I got a desperate call from my friend, Philippe. He and his wife are massage therapists in San Diego. Their business got wrecked by COVID. They heard of this local internet marketing company called GoBeRewarded run by a kid, Aaron Gobidas. $12,500 and 6 months later, they had nothing to show for this investment.

The audit

Philippe got sold a $5,000 website that generates no traffic, social media posting that gets nearly zero reach, and a few other things. Looking at his sales, it's been a flat $2,000 a month from before starting with GoBeRewarded to 6 months in.

The meeting

I flew into San Diego on my own dime and donated a full day of consulting. When we walked into the GoBeRewarded offices, Aaron dipped out and never returned. His team remained. These 3 employees I found to be honest, talented, and diligent. The trouble wasn't with the employees but with the sales guy who sold the deal and moved on to the next customer.

Two options

I proposed two options. A: Give a partial refund. B: Continue to work for 60 days at no charge with a fresh start. Aaron's team strongly favored Option B since they said they could turn things around now that they finally had clarity on the goals.

Aaron's response

A few days later, we got a defensive note from Aaron. He proudly asserted that he did everything in the contract, that his team did great work, and that he refused any sort of refund. He sees nothing wrong with rewarding himself, since the name of the game in digital marketing is playing fast and loose.

Are you a former athlete who has struggled to find success and fulfillment in your life after sports?

If so, then I think you will agree with me when I say:

The transition to life after sports is hard!

Or is it?

Regardless if your competitive athletic career came to an end in high school, college, or in the pros, you benefitted from a formula for massive success and fulfillment in sports.

This simple formula consists of 5 key success factors that you already have experience with…

…except that you never learned how to apply them to your life after sports.

In this article, I am going to remind you of this formula, and teach you how to use it to reach your highest potential in life, just like you did in sports.

As a three-sport athlete in high school, a two-sport athlete in college, and a former professional athlete, my transition was a mess.

When I "retired" from competitive sports, I was lost, struggling, lacking confidence, and completely unprepared for a life post sports.

I was attacking life with the same drive I had as an athlete, except something just didn't feel right and my results were far from what I had experienced in my playing days.

What I came to realize was…

I didn't understand the rules to the new game of life after sports.

Can you relate?

It took me over a decade of struggle, failures, finding myself broke and broken before I found a way out.

The way out was so obvious, yet for years I could not see it.

However, once I did… It was a game-changer!

Let's be clear, there is no doubt the challenges of transitioning away from sports are a major issue.

However, the real hidden issue that very few are willing to talk about is….

Most former athletes are accepting mediocrity and settling for less than they are capable of in life.

I know I did!

5 years after I played my last professional game, I was seeking something, only I didn't know what.

I had moved to a new city and took my first job doing something other than sports. Quickly I found myself unfulfilled, bored, and struggling to understand how to find that high like I once had in sports.

I ended up taking a new job, in a new industry, hoping that would energize me.

It didn't.

Now I was in a brand new industry, starting over again, doing work I had no passion for.

To make matters worse, I wasn't getting very good results in my job.

For six more years….yes six…I settled for a job I didn't like, had no passion for, and didn't get results like I wanted.

I was officially stuck on the sidelines.

Was your goal in sports to be a mediocre athlete who was comfortable sitting on the sidelines?

I'll bet the house your answer is no.

So what happened in life after sports? Why have you settled for less than what you are capable of?

I settled, until I could not stand it any longer. So I began working on myself, attempting to understand how to get into the game of life on my terms.

This was not an easy process and I stumbled for years until I finally uncovered a secret formula.

Only, it wasn't so secret.

It had been staring me in the face for the past decade and I ignored it.

Do you want to know this secret formula to finding meaning, fulfillment, freedom, and how to create the business and lifestyle of your dreams?

Get this….you already know the secret formula and used it to achieve massive success in your athletic career.

So if you forgot, like I did, let me remind you.

As an athlete, you thrived on the 5 important factors for success in sports.

• Passion
• Purpose
• Performance
• Points
• Play

I'll briefly break each one down so you can see how these 5 factors, or 5 P's, helped you as an athlete and how you can apply them to your life today.

Passion

If you were like me, you may have tried various sports before locking in on one or more that you really enjoyed playing. You most likely developed a passion for becoming your best in them.

That passion helped you get through the 6:00 am workouts, the grueling practices, the blood, sweat, and tears. That passion for the game and your craft, drove you to adopt a mindset of doing whatever it took to reach your highest potential.

You may have never thought twice about the sacrifices you were making because you were doing something you loved and fulfilled you.

What about now in life after sports?

If you don't know what your passion is, don't sweat. Although I didn't have clarity on my passion for a long time, I know now it does not have.

My success in finding my passion didn't come from sitting around thinking about it….

It came from taking massive action, analyzing that action, and making adjustments.

I failed three businesses during this time. However, after analyzing each failed business, brought me a step closer to finding what I was most passionate about.

Where is that passion? What have you on fire the moment you wake up in the morning?

You absolutely do not have to fail a bunch of businesses, or take over a decade to figure it out. You simply need to start taking action.

You must start playing the sport before you know if you like it or not.

Start taking action and pursue your passion with the drive of a champion.

Purpose

When I was young, I wanted to be a professional athlete. My goals, decisions, and behaviors were based on this purpose. I had a fire and a fight in me to live my purpose, and eventually, I ended up putting myself in position to get that opportunity.

It would have never happened had I not declared my purpose and combined it with belief and faith.

Your purpose is your core aim, the reason you are here on this Earth. It helps you set goals, make decisions, and develop a sense of direction.

Purpose helps influence your behavior and create meaning in your life.

You have meaning and purpose as an athlete!

Today my purpose is to create the world's largest community of former athletes making a greater positive impact in life than we ever did in sports. All my beliefs, habits, decisions, and actions are based on this one purpose.

My purpose in life is also to be the very best father to my three children. Thus, I make sure my beliefs, habits, decisions, and actions are in alignment with this purpose.

What is your purpose in life after sports?

Performance

Of the 5 keys, this is the one most former athletes are good at. You know how to work hard in order to perform your very best. It's a habit you developed in sports that most likely transferred to your life after sports.

Keep in mind, however, in sports you had a playbook and a coach who helped you perform at your very best.

Where is your playbook in life today? Who is coaching you and holding you accountable?

When I first launched my coaching and training business, I wanted to improve my speaking skills. Having already had success speaking I knew I could improve, but wasn't sure how.

Since I was passionate about speaking and it aligned with my purpose, I knew I needed a playbook and a coach to help me improve my performance.

Remember…as an athlete, you couldn't have stepped onto the field and performed your best without a playbook and a coach.

So where is yours now?

The key here is to be intentional and create a playbook for your business, career, relationships, parenting, health and wellness, etc. I understand this takes time, however that's where having a coach will help you speed up the process.

Points / Profit

This is another of the 5 keys to success most former athletes have given time and attention to.

In sports, your focus was on the points. In other words, winning and losing, stats, and results. You wanted success on the scoreboard.

Once your athletic career ended, points became profits…money!

Today, your points are income, savings, investments, and all the things money can provide.

When I started my very first business, I went into it for the money. My previous job didn't pay the profits I was looking for, so I wanted to finally make real money.

Going into business strictly for the money was a bad move!

Sure you may make some quick cash, however in the long run it's not sustainable.

Profits are important, they give the fuel we need to create the business, impact, and lifestyle we desire.

However, sustainable profits are the direct results of how well aligned all 5 of the success factors are. Just profits alone are not going to provide the freedom, fulfillment, and fun you seek in life.

Play

This was the easiest for you as an athlete, and the hardest for you in life after sports.

Personally, this was the hardest for me. I had never been in a working environment where play was prioritized. Play was reserved for Friday afternoons after we shut down for the day.

When I realized how to incorporate play into my day-to-day life, it changed my business and my life.

As an athlete, you are wired for play. Sports is all about playing and working hard at the same time.

For some reason, you have traded in play for other things such as:

• Safety and security.
• Benefits.
• Steady pay.
• Staying comfortable.
• Doing what everyone else is doing.

It's ok to want these elements. However, it's important to look at where they are preventing you from enjoying your life and ultimately, success in reaching your highest potential.

Play is a must for any former athlete to succeed as it is important for:

• Reducing stress.
• Improving brain function.
• Energizing your body and mind.
• Preventing burnout.
• Creativity and innovation.
• Improving your relationships.

Where is play integrated into your life? Into your business or career? In your relationships?

Make play a priority!

Conclusion

The formula for your success in life after sports takes time, focus, and effort. But having all 5 factors working together is your key to making a greater impact, and achieving greater success, in your life, business and relationships.

If you are ready to go "pro" in your life after sports, I encourage you to do what you always did as an athlete, be passionate, focus on your purpose, give an elite performance, achieve your profits, and play every day!