How about some optimism and good advice for a change?
As you know, the light needs the dark to exist and be appreciated. There is a lot of negativity out there today, so before I get into the positive and, hopefully, inspire you, let me call out some of the “swamp.”
“Gaslighters” telling you you are doing everything wrong, but lo and behold, they hold the secret key to success. → Nah, son
“Victims” going on and on about how the world is against them, that HR people are the devil, and AI ate their baby, while “applying to 5,000 jobs” and getting the same outcomes, with the plan being to apply to more. → Sleepwalking
“Bullshitters” making crap up and trying to sell it to everyone. → Gross
“Braggers” from the humble brag, to the “I used to be X, now I’m Y” low bar, not impressive wannabe hero’s journey. → Dull
Side bar: Writing this list reminds me of Tom Waits’ multi-album release, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards. Following Tom’s lead, how about: “Toxics: Gaslighters, Victims, Bullshitters, and Braggers?”
But I digress. Let’s get to the good stuff.
What were you doing two years ago? I just flipped the switch from running a brand strategy and creative agency I founded in 2014 to returning to solo work as a marketing consultant. Ten years of building an agency were coming to an end. It was never boring, and every week was a masterclass in learning something new. The first five years were constant building, then the flywheel I created started humming. I was seeing 30% YOY growth, with margins as high as 80% (strategy work) and project work in the 40-50% range. For some context, agencies would kill to get 20% margins, with most in the single digits. My secret was the thinking part. Which drives 80% of the value marketers deliver. But most, for some reason, don’t do it. I think you should read that again. The thinking part drives 80% of your value. If you’re not providing high-value thinking, you’ll get at best 20% of the potential revenue. That’s why a lot of you are paid so little.
Let me illustrate that:
Your work is all doing, no thinking: $20
Your work is primarily thinking: $80
And as I do it, mostly thinking, some doing: $100
Founding and building Propr as an agency was fun and cool. Until it wasn’t. During year 8, a couple of years post-COVID, things changed. Not to go down that rabbit hole, but one day I woke up to a business that was no longer providing me with the life I wanted; instead, it was taking everything from me. I struggled for nearly two years. Until I said enough of this shit and decided to abandon the agency model, and started a new journey. *If you haven’t started a business, swap in your job, career, etc., to make it yours. Everything else still applies.
It was not easy. Letting go of something I built from nothing and put my heart and soul into was exponentially tougher than I thought. The grief was the biggest surprise. Yet I made it through.
Here’s what unlocked things for me and allowed me to go from struggling to crushing.
I started a list in my notebook of all the best jobs and clients I had throughout my life. Then I grabbed my mic and hit record, freestyling the stories from my list. Answering questions like: why was it great, what industry, how much did I make, who hired me, who did I work with, what did I do, what problems did I solve, what problems did they come to me with, etc. I took the transcript and used 2024 AI to help me connect the dots. This was enlightening. Next, I wrote in my notebook everything in life I like, want, and won’t give up. This allowed me to clarify what kind of life I wanted to live, and I designed it. Lastly, I designed the next version of my business and career to provide that life. > And you should, too.
Another layer that ensured I didn’t slide back into the agency model, or worse, or take on clients that would keep me from my vision and goals, was to be clear about what I would say no to. By creating the list of best clients and work, then telling the stories with all the details, gave me the information and data I needed to tighten my focus, clarify what I do, for whom, and where I fit in the organization (by the way, this is all brand strategy and positioning work, a big part of what I do, so I ate my own dog food). With all the stories in that 2024 version of AI, I prompted away to get a good-enough answer to the positioning question. So, when I had conversations with people, and I was having ~ 80 per month, I could clearly and concisely say what I did for whom. And experiment with it. And when opportunities came up, my advantage was knowing what I would say no to: being seen as a vendor, not being brought in by the CEO, not being brought in as a leader and owner of my work, and not being paid to tell them what I think. That made it SUPER easy to qualify an opportunity and sell my value. Or get the F out.
Not all opportunities, especially in the beginning, are the perfect fit. But again, they were good enough to bridge the gap between where I was and where I was going. The money may not have been ideal, the workload may have been too heavy for the fee, or the client may have been too small. But at that time, those engagements helped me learn and make progress until I experienced enough to tighten everything up, make better connections, and make it happen.
Two years later, I’m reflecting as I write this article. While many of my initial assumptions were wrong — and that is more than OK — my open-mindedness, curiosity, and flexibility allowed me to ebb and flow until I found where I fit. What I say no to hasn’t changed, except I am even more particular. I only want to work with clients I like and respect, whose passion and purpose overlap, and for a fee that makes sense.
You may be thinking, ” Be more specific, bro!” Ok, this all started with the post below, which I shared in an agency community I hang out in, answering how Q1 was:
I’m giving this to you because I know you can do the same. It starts by making the first step: committing to being an optimist. Allow the limiting beliefs and excuses to flow right out of you; they are there, they are scary, but they will pass. Then design the life you want and build the reality necessary to sustain it. The alternative is dark and shitty. I know you don’t want that. You have the power, now use it, and make it happen.
