No means yes
Austin L. Church
Fractional CMO, Author of Free Money, Founder of Freelance Cake and Business Redesign → Raise your rates, delegate confidently, and free up 10 hrs / wk so you can have a record year while working less
While reading Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism in 2019, I reflected back on how many times I had said yes when I should have said no and realized, perhaps for the first time, that a commitment to saying no is an advantage.
Before I expound on that last idea, I’ll tell you about the time that a best-selling author hurt my feelings.
In June 2011 I emailed Seth Godin and asked to talk to him or take him to lunch.
Has your marketing been inconsistent (or nonexistent)?
I've been there myself. A series of insights jarred me awake:
And the only way to keep the habit is to do it first thing in the morning, so you won't put it off, and shrink the commitment until it sticks.
So the commitment isn't "marketing" but "I send 1 outreach email a day before 9:00am, Monday through Friday."
You can always expand the scope later, but the habit must stick first.
Do you have an "always be marketing" practice?
The lessons are short, less than 10 minutes. Watch them, do the exercises, and make 1 small deposit in your future self (and business) each day.
In 6 weeks you can be in a very different place.
About Austin L. Church
Hi, I'm Austin L. Church, a writer, marketing consultant, and business coach.
I started freelancing in 2009 after finishing my M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to a portfolio of mobile apps, tech startup, children's book, branding studio, and consulting practice.
Over the last 15 years, I've made north of $1.8 million as a creative entrepreneur, and looking back, I see so many missed opportunities.
That's why I'm so passionate about stacking up specific advantages and teaching freelancers, consultants, and creators how to do the same.
I want more of us to find our income-lifestyle sweet spot.
You can learn more at FreelanceCake.com.
freelancer
1 个月judgmentcallpodcast.com covers this Seth Godin's wise decision explained.
I understand the response stung at the time, but I’m impressed that 1) he replied and 2) he sounds truly sorry. Still, it was worth asking because you got a newsletter out of it! The one time Seth Godin “hurt my feelings” is kind of funny. He was doing a whole series on bean-to-bar chocolate-makers and said “white chocolate isn’t real chocolate.” I left a comment stating that it was, he says “Estelle is wrong” live, and moves on. The bit got a bunch of my colleagues talking and he ended up apologizing for calling me out ?? He probably still poo-poos white chocolate.
I ghostwrite LinkedIn content for B2B climate tech startup executives. 7 clients served in the industry. Net zero nerd.
3 个月Omg his response to you was brutal ?? I kind of admire it though. Maybe a slightly better approach would be using a templated email to give some context and soften the blow?