What an inspiration. I will say, I'm lucky. I started this independent business life with my wife, who is the toughest editor and best designer I've ever worked with. And she's far-seeing and ruthlessly, but sweetly, honest.
Aside from the inscrutable act of pricing ("what do you want to pay me? can I do this without feeling like I'm giving away a week's worth of work?"), the toughest things is "sales and marketing."
Honestly, I should be writing my Substack.
I should be posting regularly on LinkedIn.
I should be reaching out to my network.
But I don't. I feel "phony" for writing something not because I feel a need to have something to say — or that no one is paying me to write it. How do I trick myself into being inspired?
How do I reach out to my network without feeling like I'm spamming them or begging for work?
I know all but the most egocentric among us struggle with this. But how do you get past the struggle when it feels like it's a down time for everyone and any effort feels like it will be more wasted than rewarded?
Thank you for your comment! Your questions are so relatable. I was talking to my co-workers this week at Duco about how we find the right balance between being "annoying" but being helpful.
One of the most helpful things I found about doing the newsletter and posting on LinkedIn is that it did the simple thing of keeping my name in people's inboxes and providing them something that's helpful to them. Those could be links to stories, the calendar, analysis or just helping them not feel alone in what they are going through. I'm sure it annoys some, but then they can unfollow me.
On the inspired part, I don't do any sort of grand content planning, but instead try to write about what is on top of mind for me at that time. That could be something work wise or it could be about life or my career. I've always wrote the newsletter for me first. It's a way for me to process my own thoughts, if others find it helpful too I've always viewed that as a bonus.
Every line hits home. Congrats on three years of Anchor Change!
Have you found any apps that help you organize receipts for tax purposes when doing 1099 work?
I did not! I just used a spreadsheet.
What an inspiration. I will say, I'm lucky. I started this independent business life with my wife, who is the toughest editor and best designer I've ever worked with. And she's far-seeing and ruthlessly, but sweetly, honest.
Aside from the inscrutable act of pricing ("what do you want to pay me? can I do this without feeling like I'm giving away a week's worth of work?"), the toughest things is "sales and marketing."
Honestly, I should be writing my Substack.
I should be posting regularly on LinkedIn.
I should be reaching out to my network.
But I don't. I feel "phony" for writing something not because I feel a need to have something to say — or that no one is paying me to write it. How do I trick myself into being inspired?
How do I reach out to my network without feeling like I'm spamming them or begging for work?
I know all but the most egocentric among us struggle with this. But how do you get past the struggle when it feels like it's a down time for everyone and any effort feels like it will be more wasted than rewarded?
Thank you for your comment! Your questions are so relatable. I was talking to my co-workers this week at Duco about how we find the right balance between being "annoying" but being helpful.
One of the most helpful things I found about doing the newsletter and posting on LinkedIn is that it did the simple thing of keeping my name in people's inboxes and providing them something that's helpful to them. Those could be links to stories, the calendar, analysis or just helping them not feel alone in what they are going through. I'm sure it annoys some, but then they can unfollow me.
On the inspired part, I don't do any sort of grand content planning, but instead try to write about what is on top of mind for me at that time. That could be something work wise or it could be about life or my career. I've always wrote the newsletter for me first. It's a way for me to process my own thoughts, if others find it helpful too I've always viewed that as a bonus.