A note from the new owner of Smart Passive Income

Hey, friend! Liz Wilcox here. I’m the one who bought Pat Flynn’s business. Here’s my note to current followers if you’re nosy.

So I bought Smart Passive Income. Holy moly. I can finally say it. 

My palms are literally sweating. And my stomach feels like it’s in knots thinking about how to fill this blank document…not to mention thinking about you reading this right now. Woooo. This is a lot.

Even though I’ve been around, I’m not sure I’ve been properly introduced. 

Hi friend. My name is Liz Wilcox. I’m a single mom of two (one bio, one bonus) girls and I’ve been in the online business arena for 10 years. I started as an RV travel blogger back in August 2016. I sold my first digital product in July 2017, and I’ve been hooked ever since. 

You name a digital product, I’ve tried it. Plus, I’ve even dabbled in ecommerce with a site that sells merch around the state of Texas. No. I’m not from Texas. I’m just a lady who has loads of ideas and jumps on an opportunity when I see it. 

And since April 1st, 2026, I’ve been the sole owner of this website. 

Right now, I’m going back and forth on this page between waxing poetic and trying to get out “the most brilliant piece I’ve ever written” and remembering that brevity is our friend. 

Let’s go with the latter, shall we? (maybe there’s brilliance in that, anyway.)

Okay…so the facts first.

I’m not Pat Flynn.
I’m not from San Diego.
And Back to the Future is not even in my top ten favorite movies of all time. 

But the big thing Pat and I have in common is you. 

Yes…you!

We both love entrepreneurs. Especially the ones just trying to figure out this online thing so they can reap the benefits later. 

And we’re both incredibly transparent about how we’ve built online income.

Another difference between Pat and myself is that (and you may have noticed this if you already started to Google me) I’m just not as successful as him. 

My YouTube channel holds steady at around 2k subscribers. And my videos compared to his are laughable. Unedited. Crappy camera. No transitions. You get the picture. Or maybe not? Feel free to watch a few seconds here to see just how cruddy and cringe they really are.

As for my socials, I have an Instagram account that looks like I have a decent amount of followers, but let me tell you something. I was on a TV show a few years ago and that’s the only reason I have 15k. If you compared it to other people who did that show with me, my “follower count” is embarrassingly low. 

Now, my email list… that’s what I’m most proud of and where I feel like I really shine. With about 13k, I’ve managed to make around half a million dollars a year for the last three years. But even then! When I got SPI, the email list here sat at over 92k!! That’s literally seven times the size of mine. Plus a thousand more.

Wait…why the heck am I pointing out all my flaws to you in an intro post that is supposed to convince you that I’m the right fit to take over this brand?

Well, like I said…I’m transparent over everything else. 

Plus, I want you to know that you and me? 

We’re in this together, friend. 

Like you, I don’t feel like I’ve “made it” the way Pat Flynn has.

Like you, I am still on my learning journey when it comes to building an online business that takes advantage of systems that allow me to make money without being involved in every transaction. (<— aka: how we define smart passive income around here)

And like you (especially now that I bought SPI and have to pay it off), I really need to focus on my WINs.

If I focus on What’s Important Now each and every day, I know I will stack my wins and learn a whole heck of a lot. 

And everything I learn, I’m going to report back to you.

That is exactly what Pat did at the start of this site.  And it’s exactly what I’m going to do now.

In a kinda fun and weird way (with a nod to our founder’s favorite movie of all time), we’re gonna go back to the roots of the site…which is the only way I see us creating a future for SPI. 

I hope you’ll follow along. I’m sure we have a lot to teach one another.

Your new crash test dummy,
Liz Wilcox 

PS. There’s a “where we’re going, we don’t need roads” joke in here somewhere, but I can’t figure it out.

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  • Liz Wilcox

    Hi, I’m Liz, known as the Fresh Princess of Email Marketing. I’m the owner of SPI and host of the Smart Passive Income Podcast.