Affiliate Marketing & Side Hustles on the Doug.Show

Doug and Besmir Bregasi discuss SaaS, affiliate marketing, and tracking brand visibility in AI-generated results.

At its peak, Affiliate World held events in Barcelona, Dubai, and Bangkok, with roughly 5,000 to 5,500 attendees per event.

Follow Besmir

• ZeroRank
• LinkedIn

I talk about online courses, what makes them useful or questionable, and how creators earn money. Then, I get off track and rant about AI and slop.

I chat with Chris Pantelli, the founder of Linkify and Total Authority, about using AI inside a business.

Chris says they started with early AI writing tools, then moved heavily into Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok for coding, analysis, automation, and content workflows. He describes building custom internal tools with AI for pitch operations, journalist data, transcript analysis, and other tasks.

• Linkifi
• Total Authority
• Total Authority on YouTube

I talk about what real passive income, and a few things that aren't. It's just my opinion, of course, and not financial, legal, or tax advice. Then, I talk about my stand up comedy class.

Contact me. Ask Questions!

Send me an email here:

feedback@doug.show

Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613

Elliott and I geek out on personal finance, saving, and early retirement. Not financial or legal advice, talk to professionals.

Connect with Elliott Zelinskas

• https://builderclub.ai/
• YouTube
• Instagram
• X

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• https://nichesiteproject.com

00:00 Personal Finance Kickoff

01:06 Early Money Lessons

03:53 First Investing Wins

07:29 Accounts and Simple Portfolio

10:22 Work Versus Jobbing

17:03 Spending Money Struggles

Elliott joins me for an update on 2026 and why it’s never been a better time to build an online business. He was the guest on episode 610 and things have been going great.

Connect with Elliott Zelinskas

• https://builderclub.ai/
• YouTube
• Instagram
• X

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• https://nichesiteproject.com

00:00 Welcome Back Elliot

00:51 From Teacher to Builder

02:35 Career Products Framework

04:39 Focus and Revenue Milestones

07:48 Churn and Market Demand

12:31 Marketing Channels That Work

20:09 Start Simple With AI

24:17 Own Your Platform and Next Steps

I talk about an AI project I might work on, upcoming episodes, and the silliness of getting rich quickly.

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 Show Updates Intro

00:34 AI Curiosity and Burnout

02:08 Elliot Interview Preview

03:28 Chris Linkify and PR

04:51 AI Tools and Data Limits

09:40 Ditching WordPress Plans

21:21 Amazon Influencer Callout

25:12 Anti Spam AI Video Wrap

I talk to Ben, a successful entrepreneur with a SaaS making about $20k+ per month, about how my wife and I retired early. Check out the last episode with Ben if you missed it.

Disclaimer: None of the content is advice for Ben or you or anyone. These are just stories. So go to your own professionals for advice if needed.

Connect with Ben Bozzay

DNS Filtering / Device Management company: https://www.techlockdown.com/

iPhone monitoring app for parents: https://livingroomapp.com/

• https://bbozzay.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbozzay

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 Intro: FIRE & Entrepreneurship

02:29 The 4 Percent Rule

05:03 Track Spending Basics

09:07 Accounts Taxes and Exits

29:40 Selling Your Agency

35:44 Valuation and Multiples

41:35 Housing Plans and Mortgages

48:09 Retirement Number and Wrap Up

I talk to Ben Bozzay, founder of Tech Lockdown, and co-founder of LivingRoom, and his Saas journey. He started dabbling early, and even found his early success with content websites.

We get into a ton of details and Ben shares a lot about his journey.

Connect with Ben Bozzay

DNS Filtering / Device Management company: https://www.techlockdown.com/

iPhone monitoring app for parents: https://livingroomapp.com/

• https://bbozzay.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbozzay

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 Intro

01:13 MRR and Products

06:11 Early Hustles and College

16:59 SEO Freelancing to Cybersecurity

28:24 Corporate Success Unhappy

31:11 COVID Habits Side Project

36:14 Paid Membership Layoff Leap

49:58 AI Copycats Growth Wrap

So what do I actually use AI for? Only a couple things. I’m way to skeptical to accept advice based on morons from reddit. However, you can obviously focus on things that AI can do well.

Have suggestions about what I can vibe code?

We’re talking a personal tool, not a saas or anything like that. If you have an idea, please let me know.

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 AI Skeptic Origins

02:52 Tool Not Crutch

03:55 Writing Aid Workflows

09:49 Debate Partner Pitfalls

17:03 Summaries And Organization

21:33 Learning And Project Planning

26:13 Personal Tools And Amp Update

I talk about finishing projects and dealing with distractions.

• Is AI Ruining Guitar (on AJ De Vera’s YouTube channel)

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list
•

00:00 Welcome and Productivity Theme

00:23 Guitar Goals and Distractions

02:08 Business Focus Analogy

04:50 Finishing Projects Mindset

09:43 Clarify Goals and Cut Options

15:56 Define Done Exit Criteria

20:54 Amp Mishaps and Wrap Up

I talk to Paul about how he covers AI and teaches on his youtube channel.

Follow Paul:

• https://www.youtube.com/@PaulJLipsky
• https://pauljlipsky.com/

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 Welcome and AI Focus

01:18 Skepticism and AI Hype

02:56 Data Poisoning Amp Story

07:35 AI YouTube Saturation Myth

11:41 Tracking News with X Agents

17:25 Titles Formats and Viewing Habits

24:02 Bubble Talk Vibe Coding Wrap

I talk to Paul Lipsky about pivoting his channel on YouTube and growing like crazy! It’s part one of two. Next time we talk about AI specifically.

Follow Paul:

• https://www.youtube.com/@PaulJLipsky
• https://pauljlipsky.com/

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 Meet Paul and the Pivot

03:23 From Ecommerce to AI

10:10 AI Aha and Tool Choices

14:15 Monetization and Topic Strategy

20:53 Avoiding AI Hype

24:22 ChatGPT Voice Workflow

26:48 Publishing Rhythm

32:43 Monetization Choices

I talk about the pitfalls of over optimizing and why “good enough” is good enough. I prefer good enough most of the time.

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 Welcome and Topic 02:12 Semi Retired Creator Life 03:11 Camp FI and Monetization 04:55 Productivity Obsession Origins 07:11 Metrics and Fun Balance 09:18 Eight Over Optimizing Traps 11:05 AI Outline Fail and Gear 15:53 Trade Offs Not Perfection 18:52 Tool Switching Overhead 23:23 Keep It Simple 24:00 Analysis Paralysis 24:38 Good Enough and Choice 30:16 Hobbies and Product Research 37:11 Maintenance and Opportunity Cost 42:24 Manual First Then Automate 46:16 Wrap Up and Whats Next

I talk about tokenmaxxing, backlash against AI, how I actually use AI, and echo chambers.

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 AI Backlash Update 01:26 New Mic Gear Test 03:31 Walmart Pulls Back 05:35 How Doug Uses AI 07:59 Copywriter Pushback 10:52 Poisoning Search Results 14:54 Echo Chambers and Hype 17:58 Sandbox Escape Scare 20:26 Creativity and Copyright 23:58 Avoiding Negativity Trap 29:23 Wrap Up and Next Steps

I got to chat with a Guitar YouTuber that I really enjoy, AJ De Vera. He’s a talented guitarist and song writer, plus he’s a fellow Filipino.

We chat about starting on YouTube, planning videos, and of course, guitars! We have a similar taste in music and influences. We talked for another 30 minutes after we finished up with the recording and identified a few other commonalities.

Connect with AJ

• YouTube
• Spotify:

• Villain Heart
• The Dark Horses

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

I talk with Justin Peters about how his hobby podcast led to co-founding SimplePod Studios with his brother, including their team setup, early clients, pricing and package evolution, and why they focus on high-ROI finance-adjacent creators. We also get into his sabbatical and FI journey, what it takes to produce an episode consistently, keeping the agency as a lifestyle business, and how he sees platforms and video trending.

​Connect with Justin Peters

• SimplePod Studios
• Podcast Playbook
• FI Minded – Financial Independence Without the Extremes
• Doug’s appearance on FI Minded

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 Meet Justin Peters

00:57 SimplePod Origin Story

05:49 Sabbatical to Podcasting

17:56 Agency Growth and Niching

31:40 Anatomy of One Episode

34:30 Consistency Over Perfection

39:46 Co-Founder Communication Rules

49:13 Industry Trends

I talk about pizza, beer, and FB Marketplace tales and tips.

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 Welcome and Topics 00:48 Marketplace Camera Sale 02:32 Georgie Health Update 03:46 Pizza Obsession Returns 07:29 Gear and Grill Experiments 10:04 Pizza Boom Meets Business 24:21 Marketplace Pricing Tactics 43:47 Listings Tips and Wrap Up

I chat with my friend, Cody Berman, about retiring as soon as possible. It’s basically talking through the ideas in his book, Retire By 30.

Contact me. Ask Questions!

• Send me an email here: feedback@doug.show
• Leave a voicemail: (406) 813-0613
• Join My Email list

00:00 Meet Cody and the Book 02:33 Quitting Corporate for FI 10:35 Side Hustle Framework and Lessons 19:19 Nest Egg vs Cash Flow FI 23:27 Finding Deals Today 25:10 Designing Your Ideal Life 28:37 Spending Tests and Buying Time 42:44 Side Hustles and Final Wrap