Ever met someone online and immediately thought, “Finally—someone’s saying what we’re all thinking”? That’s Maggie Patterson: writer, podcaster, BS-buster, and founder of BS-Free Business. In this week’s episode of The Digital Junk Drawer, Maggie joins me for a no-holds-barred conversation on ethical business, pricing manipulation, and why the online business world is more culty than most people realize. She’s been in the game for 20 years, seen the shady marketing tactics up close, and built a sustainable, boring-on-purpose business that actually pays her. If you’ve ever felt gaslit by girlboss culture, manipulated by fake six-figure claims, or just tired of the grind-for-visibility hamster wheel, this conversation is your exit ramp. We talked about the cost of doing business with integrity, the real math behind “scaling,” and why staying solo might just be the most rebellious move of all.
This one’s for the entrepreneurs who’ve been burned by bro marketing, sick of spiritual scams, and done with "boss babe" energy.
Maggie (she/her) is the founder of BS-Free Business, co-host of the Duped podcast, and author of Staying Solo. She’s a 20-year business veteran who has seen the inside of $50k masterminds, watched the online coaching boom turn culty, and lived to tell the tale—with a spreadsheet in one hand and a middle finger in the other.
We talked about:
🧩 Why income claims are a scammy tactic
🧮 The danger of angel number pricing and fake math
🛑 Why ethical marketing means not coercing people into debt
📉 How online business is just MLMs, cults, and self-help in a trench coat
🤯 The myth of six-figure months and what people are actually making
🛠️ Why solid delivery and boring systems are the new flex
🧘 The power of staying small, staying paid, and sleeping well at night
✔️ Why “scaling” isn’t mandatory (or always ethical)
✔️ How to tell if you’re pricing with integrity—or just copying shady coaches
✔️ What a real solo business looks like (and why 80% of businesses are solo)
✔️ The difference between a culty brand and a community-driven one
✔️ Why referral-based businesses can work—and how to make them sustainable
✔️ How to build a business that actually pays you, feels good, and doesn’t implode
Ready to stop drinking the digital Kool-Aid and build something honest, sustainable, and actually yours?
👉 Hit play, then grab Maggie’s Reverse Salary Calculator at bsfreebusiness.com/kit
📖 And pick up her book Staying Solo at stayingsolobook.com