2 branding agencies built (1 sold) | 100+ brands built for clients (and counting) | 5 Children (yes, we know what causes it)
Boulder, CO
Joined August 2010
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Shout out to writers, designers, video folks, and growth marketers. We’re looking for good people to collaborate with and refer work to as well.
Raise your hand and say hello.
Cutting your marketing budget to save money when business is bad is like pouring out your water when you're stuck in the desert to save weight for the hike.
Cash solves problems. Marketing generates cash. Cut in other places. Invest more in marketing.
I can boil building a brand down to two actionable steps...
Step 1: Define how you want to be perceived.
Step 2: Act consistently every day to shape that perception.
Did I do the things today to create the future I want?
That’s a question I’m going to ask myself every night as I brush my teeth.
I’ll steal a little something from Steve Jobs here…
If the answer is no too many days in a row, it’s time to make a major change.
I’ve lived through two major inflection points:
1. The internet
2. Mobile
AI is the third. I don’t want to be left with my pants around my ankles for this one, so I started my AI education today and will be spending time daily to make sure I know how to leverage it.
Many in the creative industry will bury their head in the sand and hope it goes away.
It won’t. AI is here and you can learn how to leverage it, or you can get left behind like all those agencies who refused to adapt to the internet.
Products are easier to sell, are paid for in advance, and can be systematized for consistency. Apply this to a service business and you have something that can scale.
Hard truth about entrepreneurship.
You can do the uncomfortable work now and enjoy the benefits later, or you can be comfortable now and suffer the consequences later.
Choose when you want to be uncomfortable.
I’ve generated a few million with my agency and it’s very profitable, but I’m about to make major changes.
Why take the chance?
I realized the model we have can’t get me to the next level.
You have to take chances and get uncomfortable to continue growing.
4 lessons learned from failed launches.
1. Creating a product nobody wants happens because you didn’t do your research.
2. Not building your product for a specific group of people is a death sentence.
3. Competition isn’t bad, but failing to differentiate is.
4. Know where and how you’ll get customers before you launch.
Talking to smart and experienced people is a cheat code in entrepreneurship. Brands rarely grow in isolation, so don't isolate yourself from the expertise of the smart people around you. If I could go back in time, I'd tell myself this 20 years ago.
Rolex crushed marketing in 1927.
Rolex had a problem in the early 1920s, dust and moisture kept getting under the dial and crown damaging the movement.
So, here's what they did that was genius...
1. Point of Purchase Strategy - The company submerged Oyster models in aquariums in display windows.
2. Influencer Marketing Strategy - They then hired British swimmer Mercedes Gleitze to swim the English Channel while wearing an Oyster on her necklace.
Freelancer is the worst term in business, but many people wear it as a badge of honor.
Why would you happily associate yourself with a word that literally says free in the title? Not sure there's a more effective way to degrade your own value.
One of my employees screwed up. My client was pissed. I stepped in and took the blame.
Whether it is or isn’t your fault, it’s almost always best to just take the blame. There’s a lot of power in being able to eat 💩
Thanks @TheDieline for the shoutout on our work for ENAY Brewing.
thedieline.com/blog/2023/10/…
