When thinking of productivity, the usual way to go is about quantity. How much of X you could produce. Or, as an indie consultant, a creator or expertise-based business, what

Choosing to go blind* into a meeting. Not fully prepared. Not over prepared. Maybe —just maybe— unprepared. As if you’re going blind. So you can better listen. So you can

They say they’re worthless. That without execution, ideas are pointless. That they’re just a thought. Actually… “Ideas are shit, execution is the game.” Gary Vaynerchuk And that’s why most indie

But if you’ll have to, your clients have to go through the thinking work first. Make that a policy. Unless you want to only sell your hands work. Which is

Why pitching (and elevator pitches) hurts you and your expertise: Because you’re presenting instead of having open, honest conversations. Because you’re operating without diagnosing. Because you go in convince-mode. Because

Stuck? Try these proven formulas. Here are 28 Secret Hacks to Increase Traction (SHIT) to fit right into your market and get quick market share (part 1): The best product

Here are the last 14 of 28 Secret Hacks to Increase Traction (SHIT) to fit right in and get quick market share: [You can read the first 14 here] 15.

That’s all you hear: “You need to scale up” as the way to grow your business. What do they even mean by that? That you “must grow”. You can scale

Everything is seen as a competition. Winners. Losers. Who’s the best —and everyone else can’t be the best too. There needs to be only one. It’s about winning. In business.

Ethan Garofolo’s lovely email about “What’s faster: Land Rover or F1 Racer?” set up the stage for a different path. While he talks about how at early stages of business,

Coming full range in what you do. To explore and apply a high level of imagination to a high level of knowledge. Originality. Here’s the paradox though The deeper you

“Rod — Why haven’t you started referring your network to […..] yet?Hit reply and let me know. I want to hear from you.” While the intention of this message is

Your price is not a response to the market. It’s a provocation. Push them to consider. Think. Wonder. It’ll change the conversation from: → “Could this expert help me?” (and

Transaction. Its root comes from transactio “an agreement, accomplishment”. Relationships are agreements between parties. They can be written or unwritten. But you know what makes these transactions more solid? Trust.

“Since you’ve been one of this cohort’s most-consistent members, we would be inviting you to join The Cohort’s Behind The Scenes first.” Want to make your sales not sleazy? Stop

Friend of the list James Turner replied to yesterday’s email with this interesting fact (bold mine): “Funnily enough, getting invited to a Japanese wedding is code for “you have to

Lessons learned from saying Yes to “free work”, “show/prove your worth before charging” and “let’s start with this small/insignificant amount of money that will hopefully turn into a larger gig”.

The advocates of working for free to “prove your worth” and then “close” deals/gigs keep something important out from you: That you have to be extremely picky of who you’ll

Comes in many shapes, sizes and forms. Almost closing this deal.Almost moving forward on a project. Almost getting the gig. Until we feel powerless, overinvested, with the threat of losing

You don’t get to “discover” your voice. It was always there, nothing to discover. Just like a baby. They have it there but can’t make sounds yet. They explore, see