Are You a Traffic Driver or an Operator?
Why understanding your natural business role will 10x your results
There are two types of people who win in business.
Not visionaries and executors. Not creative and analytical. Not leaders and followers.
Traffic drivers and operators.
Most of you won't figure out which one you are until you've wasted months trying to do both.
You'll burn out trying to be good at everything when you could have been exceptional at one thing and found someone to handle the rest.
Let me show you what I mean.
The Attention Architect
Daniel Fazio is one of the best traffic drivers I've ever seen.
Not because he posts a lot.
Not because he follows some guru's content formula.
Because he has a rare combination of intelligence, audience understanding, and authentic self-expression that makes people stop scrolling and actually pay attention.
When Daniel explains something, people listen.
When he recommends something, they buy.
When he posts a video, they watch.
This isn't magic.
Daniel understands his audience at a level most people never reach.
He knows what they struggle with, what keeps them up at night, what they're searching for but can't articulate.
He knows how to frame complex business concepts in ways that make people think "holy shit, that's exactly what I needed to hear."
But the real advantage?
Daniel sounds like Daniel.
If you've watched his YouTube videos, you know what I mean.
There's a specific way he expresses himself that you can't replicate even if you tried.
It's not performative.
I've worked with him for years and can tell you this is how he actually is.
That authenticity combined with genuine competence makes him someone you want to follow.
Traffic drivers like Daniel have one job: get eyes on the offer.
Drive people to the product.
Create enough trust and authority that when they say "this is worth your time," people believe them.
That's a full-time role.
You can't do that and also build a world-class product without some help.
You have to choose.
The Product Obsessive
I'm an operator.
So is Andre Haykal Jr., my other co-founder at The AI-Assisted Agency.
We wake up thinking about the product.
We spend our days making the experience better for people already inside.
While Daniel focuses on getting people in the door, Andre and I focus on what happens once they arrive.
My day doesn't start with "how do we get more attention?"
It starts with "how do we make this dashboard more intuitive?"
"What content module are we missing?"
"How do I make sure everyone in our Slack feels heard?"
I block Mondays and Tuesdays with zero calls.
This is what Alex Hormozi calls maker time, and I stole it directly from him because it works.
From 7 AM to 6 or 7 PM, I'm building.
Recording course content.
Adding features to the dashboard.
Improving the experience for people who've already chosen to be here.
That's the operator mindset.
You're not thinking about the next hundred customers.
You're thinking about the current hundred customers and making sure they get so much value that they'd be stupid to leave.
Both roles matter equally.
A great product with no attention dies in obscurity.
Great traffic to a mediocre product creates refunds and resentment.
But most people try to do both and end up mediocre at everything.
The Unfair Advantage of Complementary Skills
When you combine a world-class traffic driver with a world-class operator, you get something special.
Daniel brings people in.
Andre and I make sure they stay and get results.
Daniel builds trust and authority.
We deliver on that promise with an exceptional product.
That's why I'm bullish on co-founders.
Not just any co-founders.
Co-founders with opposite, complementary skill sets.
If you're great at sales calls and cold email, and your buddy is great at fulfillment and client communication, you should start an agency together.
Not because it sounds fun.
Because it divides the work in a way that plays to both your natural strengths.
You'll do 10x the work by splitting it between two people who are each doing what they're actually good at.
Solo founders can work.
There are examples out there.
But they're rare, and it's brutally hard.
You're forcing yourself to be decent at ten things instead of exceptional at two or three.
What Type Are You?
Most people have never asked themselves this question.
They just assume they need to do everything because they saw some Twitter thread about being a "full-stack entrepreneur."
So they spend half their time trying to drive traffic and half their time trying to build a great product, and both suffer.
Here's how to know:
Do you light up when talking about your work to others?
Do you naturally think in terms of hooks, angles, and how to capture attention?
Do you get energy from being visible and putting yourself out there?
You're probably a traffic driver.
Or do you light up when solving problems inside the product?
Do you naturally think in systems, user experience, and how to make things better?
Do you get energy from deep work sessions where you're building something tangible?
You're probably an operator.
Neither is better. Both are essential.
But you need to choose one and find someone to handle the other.
Stop Fighting Your Nature
The worst business decision you can make is forcing yourself to do work that goes against your natural wiring.
If you're an operator trying to be a traffic driver, you'll create content that feels forced and doesn't resonate.
You'll hate posting. You'll procrastinate. You'll resent the process.
If you're a traffic driver trying to be an operator, you'll get bored with the detail work.
You'll rush the product.
You'll chase the next shiny thing instead of optimizing what you've built.
You'll feel stuck, frustrated, and confused about why business feels so hard when you're doing "all the right things."
Because you're not doing the right things for you.
Play to your strengths.
Fill the gaps with someone whose strengths complement yours.
Build something together that neither of you could build alone.
That's how you win.
Figure out what type of business owner you are.
Own it.
Find someone who fills the skill gaps that you're missing.
You'll feel better doing the work you're wired to do.
You'll get better results doing what you're naturally good at.
And you'll stop wasting time trying to be someone you're not.
Divide the work. Multiply the outcome.