Someone Is Where You Were Two Years Ago

Someone Is Where You Were Two Years Ago

THE IDEA The easiest way to see how far you’ve come is to talk to someone who’s just starting. What you know now would have saved you months back then. When you spend most of your time looking ahead, at the people further along, the bigger businesses, the...
“I’ll Find Out” Is a Professional Answer

“I’ll Find Out” Is a Professional Answer

THE IDEA Experts don’t know everything. They know how to find out, and they’re honest when they need to. A client trusts that more than a confident guess. It happens to everyone eventually. You’re on a call with a client, things are going well, and...
Your Work Keeps Going After You Hand It Over

Your Work Keeps Going After You Hand It Over

THE IDEA Your part of the job ends when you deliver it. The difference it makes keeps going long after, mostly where you can’t see it. One of the stranger parts of running a small business is how often your work disappears. You finish the project, send the...
Your Worst Client Wrote Your Best Policy

Your Worst Client Wrote Your Best Policy

THE IDEA Every bad client experience you’ve survived left behind a rule that now protects you. Those painful projects are a big part of why your business works today. Most business owners can name their worst client without thinking. The one who wanted unlimited...
Small Is a Choice, Not a Stage

Small Is a Choice, Not a Stage

THE IDEA A business that stays small isn’t a business that failed to grow. If small is what you want, it’s a finished design, not an early draft. Spend enough time around business advice and you’ll pick up an assumption without noticing it: small is...
Tired Isn’t the Same as Wrong

Tired Isn’t the Same as Wrong

THE IDEA Exhaustion makes every problem look like proof you chose the wrong path. Most of the time it’s proof of something smaller: you need rest, or help, or fewer things on your plate. Sometime late on a long week, a certain thought tends to show up. Maybe...