You’re not broke because you’re lazy. You’re broke because your business model is broken.”
— Tony Shepherd

Let’s be real for a second…

The dream of earning $100K+ online often feels like chasing a mirage. You build a funnel. You write the content. You launch the thing… crickets. Meanwhile, the gurus are shouting “just hustle harder,” while sipping something suspiciously fruity on a yacht you paid for with your affiliate click.

But what if the problem wasn’t your effort… but your model?

The IMMachines Perspective: Systems Over Struggle

At IMMachines, we help 35+ solopreneurs build simple, scalable AI-assisted businesses. Not by guessing. Not by jumping on TikTok trends. But by using systems and processes that fit your skills, life, and mindset.

That’s why Tony Shepherd’s “100K In a Year” training hit home. It’s not just another get-rich pitch. It’s a field-tested blueprint that shows why most businesses fail—and how to fix it fast.

Here’s how the core lessons map directly to digital creators, coaches, and consultants in the IMMachines community.

🧨 Lesson 1: The Model Is More Important Than Your Hustle

Tony’s take is refreshingly blunt: Most people are flogging a dead business model.

He shares how he used to struggle to break $3K/month… until he changed his model. Within 30 days, he hit $10K/month—with no change in skills, hours, or tools. The only difference? The system he used.

❌ High-cost product creation
❌ Tiny price points
❌ Outsourced everything
❌ Relying on affiliate networks to do your selling

If that’s your setup, you’re building on sand.

Instead, focus on:

  • ✅ Low-cost creation (write or record your own stuff)

  • ✅ Mid-to-high price points ($47–$497+)

  • ✅ Direct selling via email

  • ✅ Owning the entire funnel and product

This is what IMMachines calls the Evergreen Creator System. Create once. Sell forever. Use AI and systems to scale—without complexity or burnout.

📊 Lesson 2: Watch the Numbers or Die Trying

Tony’s Rule #1 is simple:

“If your expenses are consistently more than your income… you’re gone.”

So many creators build products based on what “feels good” or what they see others doing—without checking if the numbers work.

Take this example:

  • You outsource a product for $1,000

  • Sell it for $7

  • Give affiliates 100% commission

You’d need to sell 143 copies to break even—and make $0 per sale if an affiliate sends the traffic.

Contrast that with:

  • Creating your own $97 product

  • Selling just 143 copies = $13,871 profit

  • No affiliate commission necessary

Math wins. Every time.

→ IMMachines Tip: Use our $3K GPT or Insight Engine Pro to reverse-engineer your target income and stack your offer, price, and audience size accordingly. You’re not guessing—you’re engineering.

🧠 Lesson 3: You Are the Product (But You Don’t Have to Be an Innovator)

Here’s the kicker:

“Don’t try to be the next Elon Musk. Just be the next ‘you’.”

Tony is crystal clear—your uniqueness lies in your presentation, not your innovation.

That’s why inside the IMMachines Creator Stack, we help solopreneurs:

  • Use existing strategies (like sales funnels, email follow-ups, product stacks)

  • Add their unique voice, stories, and angles

  • Build trust and resonance with a specific audience

Nobody needs another generic “7 Steps to Productivity” PDF. But if you teach those steps through your own journey—your burnout, your recovery, your hard-won truth—that’s gold.

The magic isn’t in the content… it’s in the context you bring.

⚙️ Lesson 4: Build the Journey for “Bob” (Not Everyone)

One of Tony’s most powerful insights?

Build your entire system for ONE customer.

Call him Bob. Your job is to take Bob from curious stranger to loyal buyer.

  • Bob sees your opt-in page

  • Bob gets a useful lead magnet

  • Bob sees one (and only one) relevant upsell

  • Bob enters your email sequence

  • Bob becomes an affiliate, coach client, or buyer of your core offer

Don’t build a funnel for 10,000 random people. Build it for Bob. Then scale the system.

This is exactly how IMMachines GPTs like the Lead Magnet Machine and Email Newsletter Assistant help you automate Bob’s Journey—while keeping it human.

💡 Lesson 5: Exclusivity Equals Leverage

Affiliate marketing is nice… but you’re always one algorithm or commission cut away from broke.

Tony emphasizes:

“Create and sell something only you control. Something only YOU can offer.”

That’s your info product, your coaching program, your newsletter, your GPT stack.

At IMMachines, we show solopreneurs how to:

  • Build exclusive micro-products using ChatGPT + their life experience

  • Own the customer relationship (email list, not Instagram)

  • Position themselves as the only one who can deliver that transformation

Affiliates are the seasoning. Your product is the meal.

🚧 Lesson 6: Fix the Flaws, Don’t Chase Shiny Objects

Every business has flaws. Even Tony’s. Even mine. Even yours.

The key is to diagnose and improve—not restart every 90 days.

This is where most creators fail. They:

  • Launch without a strategy

  • Ignore their numbers

  • Create products no one wants

  • Quit when results don’t come in 2 weeks

  • Blame the tools/platforms instead of improving their model

Sound familiar?

That’s why IMMachines created tools like From Chaos to Clarity GPT—to help you clarify priorities, track progress, and stick with one system long enough to succeed.

🧮 Lesson 7: $100K Is Just $274/Day

Tony breaks it down beautifully:

  • $100,000/year = $274/day

  • That’s:

    • One $97 product sold 3x/day

    • One $497 offer sold every other day

    • A $27/mo membership with 312 members

    • Or a combo of all three

Suddenly, it’s not “how do I become a six-figure marketer?” It’s: “How do I sell 3 of these things per day?”

This reframes the journey into something actionable.

→ Use the IMMachines: Monetisation Ladder Mapper to design your product ecosystem and stack offers logically from free to high-ticket.

📬 Lesson 8: Your Email List = Your Digital Goldmine

Tony doesn’t rely on launches or big JV deals. He focuses on one thing:

“Put people into the top of your funnel. Then show them offers consistently.”

Your list is your business. Period.

That’s why we include tools like:

  • AI List Engine – Build a high-converting lead magnet fast

  • Email Newsletter Assistant – Create trust-building, revenue-driving emails

  • Viral Hooks Machine – Drive organic traffic with curiosity-driven content

You don’t need a huge list—just one that trusts you and buys from you.

🎯 Lesson 9: Set a Goal or Stay Stuck

Tony’s final (and perhaps most powerful) point?

“If you don’t have a goal, you’re already failing.”

He shares how his income tanked when he lost sight of his vision. No goal = no direction = no momentum.

At IMMachines, we call this “operating in the fog.” That’s why every GPT and system starts with clarity:

  • Who are you helping?

  • What problem are you solving?

  • What’s your monetization path?

  • What’s the next product/system you’re building?

Set the vision. Build the system. Then stay the course.

🧭 Final Thoughts: What Would a Lean, $100K Year Look Like for You?

Tony’s system isn’t about hype. It’s about clarity.

  • Clarity on your numbers

  • Clarity on your model

  • Clarity on your customer

  • Clarity on your journey

  • And clarity on YOU—the person behind the business

At IMMachines, we’re not here to promise Lambos. But we are here to help you build a lean, ethical, scalable business that lets you work with purpose, creativity, and peace of mind.

If you take nothing else from this post, remember this:

“You’re not broken. Your system is.”

Fix the system. Fix your income. Fix your freedom.

Let’s build your $100K system—one step, one offer, one ‘Bob’ at a time.

Postscript:

I have been a long-time subscriber to Tony Shepherd because I like his earthy, authentic ‘hippy-style’ of writing.

He has a loyal following of subscribers and he has created a portfolio of digital products and micro-courses.

His strategy is to open up one of his products for two days to his email list with a timer on the sales page which he promotes via his email list and usually he tells an interesting story in his email and then has a promotional link to his product as a ‘P.S.’ in the email.

The main body of the email is purely for entertainment purposes to create a trusted relationship with he subscribers.  They know, like and trust him for his Yorkshire-style bluntness and honesty.

The products he promotes are mostly his products, but occasionally he promotes as an affiliate for one his trusted friends who also promotes Tony to their list.

He has a premium paid newsletter as a product for his best subscribers where he covers strategies he has encountered during the last month prior to publication of the monthly newsletter.

His simple strategy generates an income of over £100k per annum.  Tony has been in internet marketing for many years and is highly consistent with this strategy.

In the past he developed his simple business without AI as he has a very individual writing style.  What we can learn from Tony is that he operates a system that works for him.