u/KAZKALZ

Hi, guys. I just wanted to ask: is it even possible to use Google Search as a channel to grow a business these days?

Name almost any product, and Amazon, Temu, Shein, or one of the other big players is probably already selling it. It’s becoming incredibly difficult to find a product that the major marketplaces don’t carry or can’t offer.

And when it comes to Search Ads, it feels like these companies are already so massive and are spending billions on paid advertising. Pick almost anything that someone is selling, type it into Google, and the majority of the results are the big players. Your small business is barely visible.

So how is it even possible to use Google Ads these days to generate sales and leads? It honestly seems almost impossible.

What have you guys been doing? Am I missing something?

Because when I look at the majority of products being sold on Amazon, Shein, Temu, etc., it seems like there’s almost no room for a smaller player to gain market share.

And even if you find a product they aren’t selling today, they could probably start selling it tomorrow.

So, is there still room for small businesses to compete with Google Search Ads, or has the game fundamentally changed?

I’d genuinely love to hear from people who are actually running Google Ads and getting results. How are you doing it in the midst of these massive players?

Hi, guys. I just wanted to ask: is it even possible to use Google Search as a channel to grow a business these days?

Name almost any product, and Amazon, Temu, Shein, or one of the other big players is probably already selling it. It’s becoming incredibly difficult to find a product that the major marketplaces don’t carry or can’t offer.

And when it comes to Search Ads, it feels like these companies are already so massive and are spending billions on paid advertising. Pick almost anything that someone is selling, type it into Google, and the majority of the results are the big players. Your small business is barely visible.

So how is it even possible to use Google Ads these days to generate sales and leads? It honestly seems almost impossible.

What have you guys been doing? Am I missing something?

Because when I look at the majority of products being sold on Amazon, Shein, Temu, etc., it seems like there’s almost no room for a smaller player to gain market share.

And even if you find a product they aren’t selling today, they could probably start selling it tomorrow.

So, is there still room for small businesses to compete with Google Search Ads, or has the game fundamentally changed?

I’d genuinely love to hear from people who are actually running Google Ads and getting results. How are you doing it in the midst of these massive players?

Hi, guys. I just wanted to ask: is it even possible to use Google Search as a channel to grow a business these days?

Name almost any product, and Amazon, Temu, Shein, or one of the other big players is probably already selling it. It’s becoming incredibly difficult to find a product that the major marketplaces don’t carry or can’t offer.

And when it comes to Search Ads, it feels like these companies are already so massive and are spending billions on paid advertising. Pick almost anything that someone is selling, type it into Google, and the majority of the results are the big players. Your small business is barely visible.

So how is it even possible to use Google Ads these days to generate sales and leads? It honestly seems almost impossible.

What have you guys been doing? Am I missing something?

Because when I look at the majority of products being sold on Amazon, Shein, Temu, etc., it seems like there’s almost no room for a smaller player to gain market share.

And even if you find a product they aren’t selling today, they could probably start selling it tomorrow.

So, is there still room for small businesses to compete with Google Search Ads, or has the game fundamentally changed?

I’d genuinely love to hear from people who are actually running Google Ads and getting results. How are you doing it in the midst of these massive players?

Doctors, lawyers, and the changing meaning of professional prestige in South Africa.

I'm a millennial, so I've been around long enough to see how perceptions of certain careers have changed in South Africa.

One thing that genuinely surprises me is what has happened to medicine.

When I was in primary school and even when I was in my first few years of high school, being a doctor seemed almost untouchable. It was prestigious, highly respected and, more importantly, it seemed like one of those careers where, if you managed to get in and qualify, you were basically set for life.

Fast-forward to today and we have unemployed doctors, doctors struggling to find posts, doctors striking and doctors earning salaries that, while still decent compared with many professions, aren't necessarily what people imagine when they hear "doctor."

I know there are major government and healthcare-system problems behind this, and I'm not trying to blame doctors for that. But I also wonder whether supply is starting to change the economics of the profession.

South Africa has added more medical schools over the years, including Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha, and another medical school is planned for North West. Obviously, I think this is a good thing. We need more doctors, and restricting access to medicine simply to preserve its exclusivity would be ridiculous.

It seems to me that if a doctor wants to become genuinely wealthy nowadays, simply being a GP may no longer be enough. You probably need to become a specialist, build a very successful private practice, own a healthcare business, or find some other way to leverage your medical qualification. In some parts of South Africa, there seem to be GP practices everywhere, often within a relatively small geographical area.

Again, I'm not saying doctors are poor or that medicine is a bad career. I'm talking specifically about the economic scarcity and prestige that used to surround the profession.

And then there's law.

I find it fascinating how many people I know have LLB degrees but aren't actually practising law. There seem to be huge numbers of LLB graduates competing for articles, and then even after articles, there's another struggle to actually build a successful career and rise through the profession.

At the same time, we obviously have lawyers who make serious money. But they tend to be concentrated in particular areas of law, firms, positions or business environments.

So my question is: Would you still recommend an LLB to a young person in South Africa today?

Is the LLB genuinely oversaturated, or is that perception exaggerated? And does the fact that so many universities and private institutions offer the degree fundamentally change its value?

I'm also wondering whether medicine could eventually follow a similar trajectory.

If South Africa somehow went from having a relatively small number of medical schools to having, say, 20 medical schools over the next couple of decades, would being a doctor eventually lose some of its prestige and economic advantage simply because the supply of doctors increased?

Obviously, medicine will always require specialised knowledge and training, so I'm not suggesting doctors would suddenly become an ordinary profession. I'm more interested in whether the scarcity premium attached to certain professions disappears as access expands.

Maybe I'm completely wrong about this, though.

For those working in medicine, law, or other professions that were traditionally considered highly prestigious: has the economic reality actually changed, or am I just looking at this through a millennial lens?

I'm just going to talk about one of the so-called modern legends of copywriting, Stefan Georgi.

He's a modern-day copywriter who had the Copy Accelerator Mastermind, which cost, I believe, around $30,000 to get into. Does he still write copy? Because I remember a couple of years ago, pre-COVID, he was considered one of the best copywriters, and a lot of people in the space used to vouch for him. I remember hearing that he would charge around $50,000 for a sales letter.

I've also had his RMBC course, which teaches copywriters how to write sales letters. It doesn't necessarily teach you how to write good copy, but it teaches you how to produce sales letters very quickly. The process is very formulaic, though. I understand that sometimes you do need some sort of template when writing copy, but I have to give him credit: the course itself is an insane research tool.

The research component is really good. It teaches you how to structure your research and how to go through comments, Facebook groups, YouTube comments, and other sources to identify your customers' pain points and understand what they actually care about. I can't deny that part of the course is excellent.

But back to Stefan himself: I recently saw that he's promoting something called StefanBrain.com and AI video generation. How arrogant is it to call your AI tool "Stefan Brain"? It almost feels like he's implying that the tool has some special capability simply because it incorporates his name😂 .

He comes across as a bit arrogant and narcissistic to me, especially with the branding around "Stefan Brain." And I think this is his second AI-generation tool. Two or three years ago, I remember he had an AI copywriting tool, although I can't remember what it was called. Now his latest product seems to be Stefan Brain.

I'm not necessarily trying to promote him here. I'm more interested in calling him out and understanding his reputation. For those who know him, have studied his work, or have actually used his copy, how good was he really as a copywriter?

Was he genuinely one of the great copywriters of his generation?

I've heard that he was getting paid around $50,000 per sales letter. But how good was the copy actually? More importantly, did the return on investment justify a $50,000 fee for a long-form sales letter?

I don't know if there is any publicly available information showing exactly how much revenue or how many conversions his sales letters generated. But I find it difficult to believe that someone could consistently justify a $50,000 fee for a single sales letter, especially considering some of the copy I've seen from him.

I know he did a lot of work in the health niche, particularly around diabetes and similar health-related offers. So I'm curious whether anyone has actual data on how well those campaigns performed.

And finally, what happened to his business partner, Justin Goff?

They had the Copy Accelerator/Copy Mastermind together, and I believe Justin eventually sold his share or the business to Stefan. I used to follow Justin Goff on social media, but I don't really see much from him anymore.

Did he simply disappear from the copywriting world, or did he move on to something else?

I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseam, but I'd like to dig a little deeper into the rise of AI and its impact on web development.

I was experimenting recently because I haven't built simple landing pages in a while. My assumption is that this market has largely been swallowed by AI.

For example, I used Claude this week and gave it a prompt like this:

"Create a website for a family-owned construction company. Use orange as the primary color, black as the secondary color, and white as the tertiary color. Follow a 60/30/10 color distribution. Use a serif font for the hero section with a font weight of 200, and use a clean sans-serif font for the body copy with appropriate line spacing. Make the design modern, trustworthy, and conversion-focused."

Claude generated a surprisingly usable landing page from that single prompt. A few years ago, I would have had to write all of the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript myself, and it would have taken considerably longer.

That got me thinking: has AI effectively taken over the market for simple landing pages?

It seems that someone with a basic understanding of UX/UI principles, perhaps after reading a few good books, can now use AI to generate a website that's more than good enough to launch a business. In other words, AI has enabled people with very little technical knowledge to build websites without hiring a developer.

Before AI, there were already website builders like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace that reduced the need for coding. Has AI become the final iceberg that sank the market for simple freelance website development? Are platforms like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace still doing well, or has AI significantly disrupted their business as well?

I understand that websites can become much more complex than simple landing pages. However, I'm specifically referring to freelancers who build brochure websites, portfolios, and landing pages for small businesses.

It feels like AI has dramatically lowered the barrier to entry. Tasks like writing HTML, CSS, and even basic JavaScript can now be handled by AI. While there will always be business owners who lack the time or confidence to do it themselves, the required skill level has certainly dropped a lot.

So my question is this:

Where does the value of the human web developer now lie? What can freelance web designers and developers still offer that AI cannot? Conversely, which parts of web development have already seen a significant decline in demand because AI now performs them so well?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who have firsthand experience in the industry. Has AI fundamentally changed the economics of freelance web design, or is there still a strong market for human developers? If so, where is that value being created today?

As an outsider looking at American sports, I'm curious to hear from Americans or anyone that follows American sports: how has private investment and capitalism improved your sports and franchises, and how has it made them worse?

I don't follow the NBA or the NFL as closely as I follow football (soccer), but I've noticed that when American investors become heavily involved in football, the game can start to feel devalued.

One example, in my opinion, was the most recent FIFA World Cup. We saw enforced cooling breaks, which were presented as being for the players' "welfare" . However, many fans felt they also conveniently created additional opportunities for ads. Whether or not that was the primary reason, it certainly gave the impression that commercial interests were influencing the game.

More recently, there has also been discussion about private investment in FIFA and the World Cup, including reports involving Jared Kushner and other investors. There have even been suggestions over the years of holding the FIFA World Cup every two years instead of every four. As a football fan, I think that would take away what makes the tournament so special. The fact that it only happens once every four years creates anticipation, scarcity, and prestige. That rarity is part of what makes winning the World Cup so meaningful.

Looking at the NBA, I notice a different issue. There are so many regular games that, from the outside, many of them don't seem particularly meaningful. On top of that, there are frequent commercial breaks. I'm not saying the NBA is a bad product it's not. Commercialization has helped the league grow globally, generate enormous revenues, improve facilities, and invest in grassroots basketball.

At the same time, I can't help but wonder whether there comes a point where commercial interests begin to reduce the value of the product. In my view, the more games there are, the more "dead rubber" games you create, and the less important each individual game feels. It sometimes seems as though the long regular season exists primarily because it generates more television revenue and advertising income.

Another thing I appreciate about football is promotion and relegation. Every match matters because clubs are fighting for titles, European qualification, survival, or promotion. That level of consequence doesn't really exist in the major American sports leagues, where teams are guaranteed their place regardless of performance.

So I'd genuinely like to hear from people who follow American sports closely. How has corporate investment and commercialization improved your leagues? Has it made the fan experience better, or do you think it has gone too far? Where do you think the balance should be between growing the business and preserving the integrity and competitiveness of the sport?

As an outsider looking at American sports, I'm curious to hear from Americans or anyone that follows American sports: how has private investment and capitalism improved your sports and franchises, and how has it made them worse?

I don't follow the NBA or the NFL as closely as I follow football (soccer), but I've noticed that when American investors become heavily involved in football, the game can start to feel devalued.

One example, in my opinion, was the most recent FIFA World Cup. We saw enforced cooling breaks, which were presented as being for the players' "welfare" . However, many fans felt they also conveniently created additional opportunities for ads. Whether or not that was the primary reason, it certainly gave the impression that commercial interests were influencing the game.

More recently, there has also been discussion about private investment in FIFA and the World Cup, including reports involving Jared Kushner and other investors. There have even been suggestions over the years of holding the FIFA World Cup every two years instead of every four. As a football fan, I think that would take away what makes the tournament so special. The fact that it only happens once every four years creates anticipation, scarcity, and prestige. That rarity is part of what makes winning the World Cup so meaningful.

Looking at the NBA, I notice a different issue. There are so many regular games that, from the outside, many of them don't seem particularly meaningful. On top of that, there are frequent commercial breaks. I'm not saying the NBA is a bad product it's not. Commercialization has helped the league grow globally, generate enormous revenues, improve facilities, and invest in grassroots basketball.

At the same time, I can't help but wonder whether there comes a point where commercial interests begin to reduce the value of the product. In my view, the more games there are, the more "dead rubber" games you create, and the less important each individual game feels. It sometimes seems as though the long regular season exists primarily because it generates more television revenue and advertising income.

Another thing I appreciate about football is promotion and relegation. Every match matters because clubs are fighting for titles, European qualification, survival, or promotion. That level of consequence doesn't really exist in the major American sports leagues, where teams are guaranteed their place regardless of performance.

So I'd genuinely like to hear from people who follow American sports closely. How has corporate investment and commercialization improved your leagues? Has it made the fan experience better, or do you think it has gone too far? Where do you think the balance should be between growing the business and preserving the integrity and competitiveness of the sport?

I've seen people, particularly women, complain that women's sports are not as well supported as men's sports. I know that some women's sports, such as gymnastics, receive strong support, but I'm mainly referring to women's soccer, women's basketball, and many other women's team sports.

When I look at it, it seems that one of the simplest ways to help solve the problem would be for more women to attend women's sporting events. It doesn't have to be all women, but if a large proportion of women regularly filled stadiums and arenas for women's sports, that would naturally increase interest in those sports. Higher attendance would generate more revenue through ticket sales, sponsorships, broadcasting rights, and merchandise, which could help reduce the revenue gap.

If you look at the early history of many men's sports, they weren't making a lot of money in their early stages either. Yet people still went to the games. You can watch old footage showing stadiums full of supporters long before those sports became the global commercial successes they are today.

So I don't fully understand why more women don't consistently support women's sports in the same way. From my perspective, that seems like one of the most straightforward ways to increase the popularity and financial success of women's leagues.

Of course, this is just my personal view, and I realize there are likely other factors involved. Also, by and large, women make up slightly more than half of the population in many countries, so there is potentially a very large audience that could support women's sports if more of them chose to attend.

Hi everyone,

I'm posting this on behalf of my brother, who is currently going through a divorce and is looking for some legal advice.

He and his wife have three children. The youngest is under a year old, and he has doubts about whether he is the biological father. This is based solely on the child's appearance, as we know you can't determine paternity that way. However, during the period when the child was conceived, they were not in a sexually active marriage, so the pregnancy came as a surprise. In addition, the child looks very different from the other two children resembles someone his wife allegedly had an affair with.

His wife is planning on filing for divorce.

What would be the best way for him to proceed?

Should he try to resolve the paternity issue before the divorce is finalised, even if it could delay the proceedings? Or should he allow the divorce to go through, accept any maintenance order, and then challenge paternity afterwards if necessary?

From what we understand, he can obtain a private "peace of mind" DNA test, but that would not be admissible in court or automatically allow him to challenge a maintenance order. We also don't believe his wife would voluntarily consent to a DNA test, as she would likely take offence to the request.

If paternity is disputed during the divorce, how much longer could the divorce realistically take? They have very few joint assets, so the only significant issue is the youngest child's paternity.

Alternatively, if he waits until after the divorce and later proves that he is not the biological father, how difficult is it to have the maintenance order varied or set aside? I understand that timelines vary from case to case, but I'd appreciate any general guidance from people who have experience with similar situations or who are familiar with South African family law.

Thank you in advance.

Today was kind of weird.

There was this girl who didn't have any way to communicate with people.

She was a complete stranger, and she needed to make a few phone calls. I was sitting at McDonald's doing some work when she came in. She asked a couple of people if she could use their phone, but most of them turned her down.

When she got to me, I let her use my phone. She stayed close to me the whole time while making the calls. From what I could tell, the calls were related to employment. I think she was looking for a job or returning calls about a job opportunity.

She made most of the calls she needed to, but there was one more call she had to make. I had to leave, so I told her, "I'll be back at 6:30." It was around 4:00 p.m., and I needed to go run a few errands. I said, "If you're still here at 6:30 and you haven't managed to make that last call, I'll let you use my phone again."

I ended up getting back at about 6:31 p.m. When she saw me walking in, she was so happy because I'd kept my word. She had been waiting to return a call from someone who had told her, "I've got a job for you. Just call me back at 6:30 so we can iron out the details."

She told me she didn't think I would actually come back an hour and a half later to help her. I handed her my phone, and she made the call. It sounded like she got some good news.

She was so happy that she started crying a little and thanked me. She said she never expected a complete stranger to come back just to help her make that phone call.

​

I'm a CA(SA) currently working as a manager at one of the Big Four. I won't mention which firm because I'm actively looking for new opportunities.

I've been in my current role for about five years with little progression, and while the compensation is good, the work-life balance has become unsustainable. I've worked incredibly hard to get where I am, but I think it's time for a change.

I have SAP experience and would like to move into a more finance-focused role in industry.

For those of you in recruitment, how is the job market right now? Should I just stay and be grateful for what I have?

° What roles should I be applying for?

°Are there any recruiters or recruitment agencies you'd recommend?

°How is the current job market for a CA(SA) with five years' experience at manager level?

°Does having SAP experience broaden my opportunities, or does it tend to limit me to SAP-related roles?

My goal is to start the new year at a different company, so any guidance or insights would be greatly appreciated.

I'd just like to know what your tipping etiquette is. Personally, I tend to tip when I can see that the person providing the service has gone the extra mile and genuinely wanted to help. I don't usually tip when I sense a feeling of entitlement.

When it comes to restaurants, I tend to tip regardless because I know many waiters and the cooking staff rely heavily on tips due to their low base salaries. That said, I don't eat out very often. I mostly use Uber, Uber Eats, and other delivery services.

One thing I've always found interesting is that we don't usually tip courier drivers when they deliver our parcels, yet we're much more likely to tip someone delivering our food. What's the difference between tipping an Uber driver or an Uber Eats delivery person and tipping someone delivering your DHL or courier parcel?

For me, when it comes to food delivery, I'm happy to tip if the person has made an effort. If they arrive on time, follow the delivery instructions I've left and provide good service, I'm more than willing to reward that.

Oh, I think you need to tip when they deliver your food in crap weather. Please, don't be a prick and not tip the driver'.

So, South Africans, what's your tipping criteria? What makes you decide whether someone deserves a tip? And, just out of curiosity, what's the biggest tip you've ever left? You don't have to answer that last question if you don't want to, but I think it would be interesting to hear.

Here in Port Elizabeth, we are getting 22 units for R100.

Has the rise of AI largely replaced the need for programming courses on platforms like Udemy and YouTube?

To be clear, I'm not talking about using AI to write code for you.

Before AI became mainstream, I learned JavaScript through courses by instructors like Jonas Schmedtmann and a few other excellent creators. I found that structured, step-by-step approach incredibly helpful.

These days, though, if I don't understand a concept or run into a bug, I usually ask an AI to explain it instead of searching for a YouTube tutorial or going back to a course. I still write the code myself. I'm just using AI as a tutor to improve my understanding.

So I'm curious: has AI significantly reduced the demand for programming courses, or do you still find structured courses valuable?

Has the rise of AI largely replaced the need for programming courses on platforms like Udemy and YouTube?

To be clear, I'm not talking about using AI to write code for you.

Before AI became mainstream, I learned JavaScript through courses by instructors like Jonas Schmedtmann and a few other excellent creators. I found that structured, step-by-step approach incredibly helpful.

These days, though, if I don't understand a concept or run into a bug, I usually ask an AI to explain it instead of searching for a YouTube tutorial or going back to a course. I still write the code myself. I'm just using AI as a tutor to improve my understanding.

So I'm curious: has AI significantly reduced the demand for programming courses, or do you still find structured courses valuable?

Also, are there any up-to-date JavaScript courses in 2026 that you'd genuinely recommend?