If your goal is to make more money, you're in the right place. We've built our careers on being useful to some of your favorite creators, while staying widely unknown to the public.
Leave a message to be featured on the show! https://call.show/usefulnotfamous
If usefulness, not fame, is the precursor to revenue, why do so many people seek fame first?
Assumptions.
They assume that big fame equals big money.
They assume that big views equals big wallets.
That couldn't be further from the truth.
While everyone else is chasing fame, we're here to show you how being useful is the "shortcut" to build the life of your dreams.
Useful Not Famous is the podcast for people who care more about revenue than ego.
Hosted by Jeff Sarris and Amara Andrew.
We've found a way to use worry to improve our lives.
Worry, problem solving, attacking constraints, whatever you call it, it's what we do before going all in on an idea. By taking this approach, we've found it's given us a superpower:
Conviction.
Leave us a voicemail to be featured on the show: call.show/usefulnotfamous (https://call.show/usefulnotfamous)
Chapters
(00:00) - Worry Before Betting
(00:27) - Psycho Cybernetics Intro
(01:25) - Mindset Without Gurus
(03:34) - Perspective Shapes Days
(05:46) - Opportunity Looks Like Work
(07:48) - Define Worry As Planning
(10:49) - Business Prep And Runway
(12:40) - Cool Cucumber Confidence
(15:22) - Life Has No Finish Line
(19:42) - Assessing People Risks
(22:04) - Hard Now Easy Later
(25:21) - Run Toward Hard Things
(27:03) - Final Takeaway And Wrap
---
Useful Not Famous is the podcast for people who care more about making money than getting likes and subscribers.
Join our useful family at usefulnotfamous.com (https://usefulnotfamous.com/) to get one actionable tip delivered to your inbox every Monday morning.
Follow us! Jeff Sarris (https://sarr.is/) | Amara Andrew (https://amaraandrew.com/)
Support the Show
Readwise is the way to get the most out of what you read and is the only subscription that we find so valuable that we can imagine keeping it until the end of time. Sign up for Readwise using our special link, readwise.io/maven/ (https://readwise.io/maven/), and get 60 days free!
29 Apr 2026
500K Followers. $323 a Month.
Half a million followers. $323 a month. That's the average.
In this episode, we break down why fame is one of the worst goals you can chase — and why the people getting rich aren't the ones you see on your feed. They're the ones solving hard problems you'll never hear about.
We get into:
• Why the right tools in the wrong hands are worthless
• The "aspiring entrepreneur" trap (and how to escape it)
• Why your phone is enough to start — and proof from creators doing it
• The real reason famous people spiral while engineers thrive
• What a study of nuns' brains taught us about staying sharp
• Why hiding behind the camera is killing your content
• How constraints (not gear) actually make you better
If you've been waiting for the right setup, the right camera, the right moment — this one's for you. Stop buying. Start making.
Leave us a voicemail to be featured on the show: call.show/usefulnotfamous (https://call.show/usefulnotfamous)
Chapters
(00:00) - The right tools in the wrong hands
(01:15) - We built a call-in platform (call.show)
(03:30) - Infinite tools, zero skill
(05:45) - Why "aspiring entrepreneur" is a trap
(07:20) - 500K followers, $323/month
(09:40) - Hiding behind the camera kills content
(12:15) - Wrong tools, right hands beats the opposite
(14:30) - The gear is the easy part
(17:00) - Why most people get stuck on the wrong problem
(19:45) - The nun study and why you need other people
(23:00) - Why famous people spiral and engineers don't
---
Useful Not Famous is the podcast for people who care more about making money than getting likes and subscribers.
Join our useful family at usefulnotfamous.com (https://usefulnotfamous.com/) to get one actionable tip delivered to your inbox every Monday morning.
Follow us! Jeff Sarris (https://sarr.is/) | Amara Andrew (https://amaraandrew.com/)
Support the Show
Readwise is the way to get the most out of what you read and is the only subscription that we find so valuable that we can imagine keeping it until the end of time. Sign up for Readwise using our special link, readwise.io/maven/ (https://readwise.io/maven/), and get 60 days free!
20 Apr 2026
You failed because you chased "what" instead of "when"
Change doesn't fail because you're too early. It almost always fails because you're too late.
In this episode, we explain why chasing views, followers, and “fame” won’t pay the bills without a real business behind it, and how to flip the whole game by becoming genuinely useful to a specific group of people.
We break down usefulness as a chain (audience → business owners → advertisers/customers), why we evolve offerings instead of constantly restarting, and how patience beats high-risk hype.
We also share a real hyperlocal case study: two simple videos helped a brand-new coffee shop with no marketing open to a slammed weekend and why that only works when the product is actually good.
If you don’t feel useful, it’s time to change...before it’s too late.
Chapters
(00:00) - Change Too Late
(00:05) - Meet The Hosts
(00:36) - Useful Not Famous
(01:22) - Fame Vs Business
(04:37) - Define Being Useful
(07:07) - Change And Trends
(08:41) - Evolving Revenue Mix
(11:47) - Sunk Cost Trap
(14:27) - Low Risk Long Game
(17:55) - Patience And Passion
(20:42) - Make Them Feel Something
(21:06) - Every Post Is Marketing
(21:30) - Be Useful With Content
(22:12) - New Coffee Shop Pivot
(23:09) - The Bold DM Ask
(23:55) - Not An Imposition
(25:38) - Hyperlocal Reach Proof
(27:11) - Opening Day Chaos
(30:34) - Turning Crowds Into Regulars
(33:20) - Usefulness Connects Everyone
(34:04) - Passion And Sustainability
(35:48) - Final Call To Change
---
Useful Not Famous is the podcast for people who care more about making money than getting likes and subscribers.
Join our useful family at usefulnotfamous.com (https://usefulnotfamous.com/) to get one actionable tip delivered to your inbox every Monday morning.
Follow us! Jeff Sarris (https://sarr.is/) | Amara Andrew (https://amaraandrew.com/)
Support the Show
Readwise is the way to get the most out of what you read and is the only subscription that we find so valuable that we can imagine keeping it until the end of time. Sign up for Readwise using our special link, readwise.io/maven/ (https://readwise.io/maven/), and get 60 days free!
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
141,689
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
63
Social presence
0
YouTube
82
Engagement
60
Contact What is MAVEN?
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of What is MAVEN??
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
