#2: The Russian Doll Method — Escape the Fancy Prison You Built

May 17, 2025
 Read Time: 5 minutes

It was 11:47 PM, and I was sending a Slack message I had no business sending.

I hadn’t eaten dinner. My eyes stung. My calendar looked like a game of Tetris played by a sadist.

All because I was “successful.”

The agency was booming.
We said yes to everything.
Revenue climbed. So did headcount. So did chaos.

And yet—I was making enough, but working way more, and somehow the business needed me more than ever.

I wasn’t building freedom.

I was building a business that looked impressive from the outside but was slowly killing me on the inside.

The Moment It Snapped

It all came to a head during a particularly brutal month. I just ended up counting 14 types of deliverables across 22 clients.

I remember staring at my calendar—not a single hour belonged to me. I had become the most expensive employee in my own company. 

That’s when the truth hit me… and it did hit hard:

I wasn't selling a service. I was selling myself into slavery.

And with that truth came a profound revelation:

Clients don’t want your deliverables.
They want proximity to your expertise.
…a seat near your fire.

Enter: The Russian Doll Method

I didn’t want to build an “agency” anymore. I wanted to build layers of access to my expertise.

I spent the last decade constructing the perfect solution. 

I developed, what I call the Russian Doll Method—a method of layers.

Like those wooden Russian dolls, each layer holds something smaller, rarer, and more valuable.

➡Every layer? Closer to you.
➡Every inner circle? Higher value.
➡Every client? Filtered by proximity—not promises.

Here’s how it works:

 1. The Outer Doll — Free Value (Newsletter / Community)

• Reaches thousands with no time cost

• Builds trust while you sleep

• Scales infinitely

• Fulfillment? Already done

 2. The Second Doll — Self-Paced Program ($)

• Record it once, sell it forever

• Proves your method works

• Filters the serious from the curious

• Evergreen revenue, zero hand-holding

 3. The Third Doll — Group Coaching ($$)

• Small, committed cohorts

• 1-to-many leverage

• Built-in community

• Minimal delivery, maximum transformation

 4. The Fourth Doll — 1:1 Consulting ($$$)

• Your brain, rented by the hour

• Custom solutions, premium price

• Rare slots, deeper access

• Easy to sell once trust is built

5. The Inner Doll — Strategic Partnerships ($$$$)

• Rev-share, equity, deep plays

• You don’t do the work — you direct the vision

• These are your “hell yes” clients

• Not income — assets

Why Most Founders Stay Stuck

Most high-ticket entrepreneurs build what I call an "offer suite" instead of a Russian Doll.

They create multiple different services, each requiring unique fulfillment processes, different skill sets, and separate marketing channels.

Looks impressive. Feels like progress.

But it’s a trap.

The result becomes constant context-switching, team bloat, and the feeling that you're running several businesses instead of one.

Each offer demands a new system.
New processes. New hires.
New problems.

You discover that you’re managing a hydra… or it manages you instead.

Cut one task, two more grow back.

The Russian Doll Method avoids all that.

You sell the same expertise—just at different proximity levels.
Same message. Same audience. Zero reinvention.

How to Start This Week

The beauty of it is the limitless potential you are open to.

Yes, you can start now. No, you don’t need a team or a massive list.

Here’s the move:

1. Start with what you know
   → Launch a free newsletter or community. Share your playbook, unfiltered.
   

2. Create as you go
   → Build your paid program by doing it live first
   → Let clients shape it through real-time feedback
   → Once refined, package it as a self-paced option
   

3. Let each layer fund the next
   → Free subscribers = clients.
   → Clients = coaching candidates.
   → Coaching clients = premium consulting.

Every layer is fuel for the next.
The best part is that every client pays you to strengthen the machine they’re stepping into.

The Lightweight Tools I Use

• Newsletter: Beehiiv

• Free Community: Skool

• Paid Programs: Skool + Zoom

• Leads: Meta ads into the free tier

You don’t need to be super tech-savvy to get these done.

Next week, I'll show you exactly how to price each layer of your Russian Doll for maximum profit without bloating your calendar.

But until then, ask yourself: 👇👇👇

🧨 What if you deleted every offer except one?

👉 Which would stay? Which would break your business?

Your honest answer tells you if you’re building freedom—or just a fancy prison.

See you next week,

– Andrew