I’ve known Ethan Pierse for many years and finally had a chance to meet him in person a few weeks ago. We spent a half day together and over dinner I turned to him and said, “This is the most interesting conversation I’ve had all year”

Both of us lamented that we should have recorded the coversation … so I did by inviting him on the Marketing Companion podcast. You’re in for a treat!

Ethan is a serial entrepreneur who has become an AI innovation authority. As founder of Borderless Ventures he advises AI startups throughout Europe and Asia.

In this show, we discuss

• The rise of the AI solopreneur
• The ROI of AI and the investment bubble
• Practical AI applications
• The unseen evolution of Web3

… and more

To tune in, simply click on this link:

Click here to enjoy The Marketing Companion Episode 326

And here is a text review of the show’s highlights:

The Rise of the AI Solopreneur

At the heart of Ethan’s current work is his passion for “democratizing opportunity” with AI. Through Borderless Ventures, he invests primarily in generative and agentic AI solutions — tools that power not only creators and solo business owners but also small, nimble teams with global reach.

Pierse

Ethan is also writing a book, The AI Solopreneur Economy, capturing this moment where entrepreneurship is open to more people than ever.

He argues that AI isn’t just for developers or technical founders. Instead, non-technical but entrepreneurial folks can now build tech products without deep coding skills. AI is breaking down traditional barriers and letting more people “create their own future.”

The scale is already astonishing: micro teams — or even individuals — are building seven- to nine-figure businesses, something unimaginable even a decade ago. With AI, a solopreneur can achieve what once took dozens of staff and millions in capital.

No Longer a Game for the Valley Alone

Ethan dismisses the outdated idea that innovation must happen only in places like San Francisco, London, or Tel Aviv. The global pandemic, he notes, accelerated the move to remote work, further eroding geographic boundaries.

Now, founders are building companies from “where they’re at,” whether that’s Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, or their hometowns in France. Borderless Ventures itself is based in Singapore and Estonia, reflecting this new, decentralized reality.

While networking and physical proximity still matter for building relationships, huge opportunities are everywhere, especially since digital and AI-powered startups can scale from anywhere. And the cost to start is lower than ever: Ethan recalls when hard drives cost half a million dollars; now, world-class web hosting and AI credits are free or nearly free for newcomers. The barrier to entry for big ideas is almost nonexistent.

The AI Bubble: Hype or Real?

With so much venture capital sloshing around — companies with ten employees are valued in the billions — a debate rages about whether AI is in a bubble. Ethan’s take? Short-term overvaluations are normal for disruptive tech, but what’s happening now is like a gold rush: not just for today’s productivity gains, but for the possibility of reaching artificial general intelligence (AGI) and even “artificial superintelligence” (ASI).

The tech giants are pouring in trillions to build massive data centers and train ever-larger models. In Ethan’s view, most of this is a race to own the future: whoever reaches ASI first may hold the keys to solving everything from interstellar travel to aging.

But it’s not all sci-fi. Right now, AI is driving real value in automating repetitive, high-value workflows.

Practical AI: Working Smarter, Not (Just) Harder

One crucial point Ethan makes is that extracting value from AI today is less about the tool, and more about learning to “talk” to it — that is, prompt engineering. Those who learn how to properly instruct AI (by, for example, writing detailed product requirements documents or SOPs) will get dramatically better results.

Ethan sees a coming wave where companies won’t fire en masse, but will simply not replace roles that AI can fill. Already, firms like Fiverr and Shopify are saying they won’t rehire unless a position can’t be done by AI. “Our days are numbered,” as one tech CEO put it, making it more important than ever to upskill and learn to collaborate with automated assistants.

The Unseen Evolution of Web3

While the buzz around Web3 and crypto has cooled, Ethan remains bullish on the foundational ideas. The technology stack of Web3 — blockchains, NFTs, and tokenization — matters not because people care about “crypto,” but because it introduces seamless, direct relationships and removes unnecessary intermediaries.

Look past the jargon, Ethan says, and you’ll find real-world use cases—soulbound NFTs verifying Harvard degrees, limited-access smart contracts for music releases, or authenticated logistics chains for wine and luxury goods. What matters is the efficient proof of origin, authenticity, and ownership. As user interfaces improve and blockchain transactions go “invisible,” Web3 will underpin a huge swath of future commerce and digital experiences.

A unique crossover between Web3 and AI? Agentic AIs—digital agents that perform tasks in workflows—can transfer value between themselves using stablecoins (crypto-pegged to dollars or euros). This enables automated micro-transactions at massive scale, with companies like JP Morgan already processing billions internally using their proprietary coins.

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The post The Era of AI Solopreneurship Starts Now appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

By Brooke B. Sellas, {grow} Contributing Columnist

Everyone reading this has encountered a dumpster fire at one time or another.

I’m coming off one of the worst dumpster fires in my business history. The past 30 days I’ve been putting out fires left and right.

And while we’ve all had to put on our ‘fire putter-outer” hat, I’d like to share with you how I managed to get through this dumpster fire without third-degree burns.

Defining A Dumpster Fire

We all have bad days. That is not a dumpster fire. This disastrous event goes well beyond just one little thing going wrong.

Believe it or not, this serious snafu even has a definition in Dictionary.

July Was Hot & Hellish

My personal foray into this dumpster fire started with a team member who decided to bail and not complete several project deliverables. Like, went completely MIA (aren’t people FUN?!).

I swooped in to inform the clients about the dumpster fire at hand, get the projects completed, and get someone new in place to take over the project’s continued tasks.

During this time …

• I had to write blogs, create & schedule content, and tend to other tasks I hadn’t been responsible for in years
• We closed a celebrity client who needed all hands on deck (including me)
• The team lost another member to her long-time passion for cooking and on-boarded her replacement
• We were interviewing for five other potential job openings

Simultaneously, a large account I’d been courting for months let me know that it was down to B Squared Media and one other agency and asked me to fly to meet them the following week for an in-person pitch meeting.

That, folks, is an all-out dumpster fire. Sure, some of the fires were good. But when there’s one of you, your team is at max, and you have to lead the charge, what do you do??

Seven Ways To Fight Fire With Fire

There are fluff pieces out there that will tell you to “take a break” when things get bad. But in a dumpster fire, that’s not possible.

Yoga isn’t going to save you.

When you have to juggle everything, here are the things that help.

• Fess up on the mess up. Immediately. My first to-do was to notify projects that were missing or getting late deliverables. There was no better explanation than the truth (#1) and how I was going to fix it (#2).
• Call for reinforcements. We were already in “all hands on deck” mode, but if you’re facing the fire alone, call for help!
• Create a checklist. Secondly, I went through and created a list of ALL the things I had to get done, no matter how small. Even personal stuff made it on to the list, like booking my flight and renting a car for the pitch meeting.
• Assign due dates. And mean it. In a crisis, you need to assign due dates to everything on your list. Start with the most critical to-dos and work your way down to non-critical items. Underpromise and overdeliver.
• Nix personal items. Though it’s not fun, it’s probably best to move any personal items back until the embers are out. I had to cancel a couple of date nights and miss a birthday dinner.
• Alert everyone affected. This not only includes co-workers but significant others as well. Everyone needs to know that your time is taken and you need all the support you can get.
• Consider an away message. I chose to work late nights to get my deliverables done, but if you have children, a family, or a lifestyle where that’s just not possible, consider putting an away message out that notifies people of your condensed schedule and a way to book time with you when you’re back to breathing.

When The Smoke Clears

Lastly, perhaps my biggest advice is what to do after your dumpster fire is put out.

First, perform a post-mortem. Meaning look back at what went wrong and see what processes you can put in place to prevent so many fires from popping up at once.

For our team, I found that overdue tasks went unchecked for over two weeks, allowing deliverables to get out of hand. I also realized that not having a Coordinator on all projects ups the risk of missed deliverables.

Secondly, you have to reward the other fire putter-outers! For me, that meant buying three team members who went above and beyond a dumpster fire enamel pin. True story. See the pin below (or buy them here!).

I didn’t want to sugarcoat what we went through. And I figure this little pin is a funny reminder of our feet getting put to the fire that we can wear as a badge of honor.

The ladies loved it. And really appreciated the gesture.

Other (Non-Solicited) Advice

As the owner of my business, I wasn’t allowed to give up. But maybe you’re just in a really bad work situation. Or work for really yucky people.

In some situations, it’s okay to give up.

If like me, you don’t have that luxury, I have two pieces of advice that you probably won’t like:

• No whining/complaining (because no one cares)
• No panicking (because that only fans the flames)

We’re all likely to face a dumpster fire at one point in our careers. Suck it up, make a plan, and find the grit you need to get through it!

Feel like venting about your own recent hell on earth? I’m all eyes! Post a note in the comments section below!

Brooke B. Sellas is the CEO & Founder of B Squared Media, an award-winning done-for-you social media management and advertising agency. Recently, she joined Mark Schaefer as the Co-host of the Marketing Companion Podcast. Brooke’s marketing mantra is “Think Conversation, Not Campaign” so be sure to give her a shout on Twitter!

The post What to do When You’re Faced With a Total Dumpster Fire at Work appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

By Kiki Schirr, {grow} Contributing Columnist

The work from home lifestyle can be hazardous to your health. I know from personal experience.

My workstation is in my kitchen, about seven feet from the refrigerator. The urge to check to see what’s for dinner can be overwhelming as I’m waiting on a response on Slack or email. Perhaps worse, there’s also a bed a few feet from my workspace, so once I polish off the leftovers from last night’s dessert, I’m tempted to sleep it off with a short nap!

Earlier this month, I got a nasty cold. I was coughing and wheezing and was “too busy” to see the doctor until tenth day! The truth is that I should have made time for my health. The harsher truth is that if I’d been paying a little less attention to @-mentions and a little more to my health, the cold wouldn’t have lingered for 10 days in the first place.

So what can we, the growing tribe of work-at-home-warriors, do to protect our health?

Health and exercise for work at home warriors

Gamify your health– If you’ve already gained a lot of weight, you could look into weight loss challenges such as HealthyWage. Anything with a social component is going to be more successful, so have an exercise partner or consider joining a program like Weight Watchers.

Reward exercise– While diet is the most vital element, exercise will keep you motivated and has been shown to reduce the risk of heart problems. Never reward activity with food. Instead, don’t buy your next novel in paperback—get it on audiobook and tell yourself you can only listen to it when you exercise.

Count your steps– This is the easiest passive way to get your exercise in. Nowadays there’s no need to buy a pedometer as most smartphones have one built in. Find out how to activate yours (it’s in the Fit app, the red heart icon, for Android phones) and then start keeping track of how much you walk. I only have mine set for 8,000 steps instead of the suggested 10,000, but as Lao Tzu said—Even the journey of ten thousand miles begins with a single step!

Health and habits for work at home warriors

Have a snack– don’t beat yourself up for having a snack, but make it a healthy one, and have a set time of day to eat it. When you “graze,” it can be difficult to keep track of how much you’re eating.

Keep track of screen time– it’s well worth mentioning that you should look away from your screen! Download apps such as these for your phone or computer or do it old school by setting a timer. Pomodoro apps also work great for this. Ideally, you should spend time away from screens every 20 minutes… but figure out what works best for you.

Get some rest– Set your phone and computer screens to use orange-based light after ten PM. Blue light has been shown to activate your brain and keep you awake longer. Keep to a sleep schedule as much as possible and if you have to sleep with your phone in the same room, at least put it on airplane mode at bedtime.

Pay attention to your mental health, too– one thing that’s not brought up often enough in these circles is how stressful managing brands can be. With the new 24-hour cycle of brand mentions on sites like Twitter, it can be tempting to always be “on.” Make sure that you’re taking time for yourself, observing holidays, taking vacations, and making time for you or your family. Also, consider apps like Calm to help you meditate.

A quick final note

Join me in paying more attention to your health. If you have any pro-tips that I haven’t mentioned here, please share them with this eager audience in the comments. Most of all, good luck!

Kiki Schirr is the founder of WeKiki distributed video platform and the former founder of a fitness app. She is a marketer and author in San Francisco. Kiki enjoys absorbing the tech scene and current trends. You can contact her easily through Twitter.

Illustration by the author.

The post Gamifying your health and other lifestyle tips for work-at-home warriors appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

By Mars Dorian, {grow} Contributing Columnist

I don’t know about you, but as a self-employed creative talent and online entrepreneur, I suffer from FOMO.

Fear Of Missing Out.

In my case, I worry whether I learn or know enough to stay relevant in my biz. Those worries become little monsters molesting my mind:

• Do I know the right apps?
• Are my skills relevant?
• Should I know more about X or Y?

I’ve talked to passionate entrepreneurial and creative friends of mine who shared the same worries.

I want to share the core ideas of our talk, hopefully inspiring you, too.

1) Complement your core skills

While creative talent is in demand, even niched-down experts can face severe competition. Why not power up your knowledge with (seemingly unrelated) skills to stay relevant?

If you’re a stellar copywriter AND you have an eye for visual design, you can out-compete mere keyboarders. You’ll know how to use white space, strategically-placed images and font style effects.

I have an acquaintance who’s a traditionally trained and experienced psychologist who’s getting into marketing. She’ll have a natural advantage over “classic” marketers, thanks to her thousands of private ‘people’ sessions and insights into the human mind.

Or take me as an example.

I’m creating my own killer-combo improving my designing/illustration AND writing skills, which is rare. Some creatives do great at illustrating. Some writers excel at (copy)writing. However, if you can combine those skills, you can further develop your edge.

Lesson: if you’re focusing on your specific craft, think about adding a secondary or tertiary skill which can complement your set. This attitude will give you an advantage in competitive markets.

2) Flirt with future trends

It’s impossible to predict the future. Even popular statisticians like Nate Silver failed to see the winner of the infamous 2016 election, despite thousands of data points.

What you can do is becoming inspired about possible technological shifts.

Blogs like futurism.com publish futuristic mind-snacks. Automatization, linking the internet with your brain, dealing with information overload (*cough* content shock, anyone? *cough*) are topics relevant to web creators and marketers.

Reading smart science fiction is also a fun and educating way of future-proofing your mind. Classics like Snow Crash foresaw a massive cyberweb in the early 90s. Online avatars, web chats, big data, apps, digital business; Snow Crash featured it all.

Imagine how your life and biz could have changed if you had taken the author seriously back then.

I’ve just started devouring the new near-future novel by Eliot Peper called Bandwidth . The story deals with climate change, geo-politics, and manipulated news feeds. According to the author, the story is well researched and acts as a warning. Perhaps it inspires you about the future of the data flow:)

3) Remember & foster the ‘core’ values

Apps, websites and tech gimmicks change like shapeshifters, but core values rarely do.
Trust, accountability, punctuality, respectfulness and friendliness will always matter when dealing with human clients. Even the most tech-savvy marketer or entrepreneur will crash and burn if he doesn’t apply the core values.

A little story to illustrate the point:

I’m part of a Berlin-based biz meetup where entrepreneurs and creatives fire each other up. Lara (her name changed for privacy reasons) is a friend of mine. She’s a driven small business owner and was looking for her web redesign. She hired a tech-savvy member for almost 10K. The guy, let’s call him Ben, ended up outsourcing the work he claimed to provide himself. He stopped talking to Lara and failed to finish the project. Apparently, he left Germany and settled in Asia to sip cocktails. Ben, Ben.

Obviously, my friend Lara was furious and filed an action against him. If Ben ever returns to Germany, he’ll have to lawyer up.

The point of the story: the guy wasn’t a stranger. Everyone in the entrepreneur group knew him. Some even recommended him. Ben was tech-savvy and up-to-date, but for some reason, he decided to screw Lara over and destroyed his trust and accountability. Everyone in the group spread the bad news about his disastrous client attitude.

So, when you’re adding secondary skills to your set while learning about future trends, always remember the core values.

Tell me how you plan to stay up-to-date.

Mars Dorian is an illustrating designer and storyteller. He crafts words and pictures that help clients stand out online and reach their customers. You can find his homebase at www.marsdorian.com and connect with him on Twitter @marsdorian.

Original illustration by the author.

The post How to keep your cutting edge as a creative talent appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

By Mars Dorian, {grow} Contributing Columnist

I’ve listened to a revealing interview with Chase Jarvis, a superstar photographer and online entrepreneur from the US.
He said the future of work won’t be working your 9 to 5 at a corp and then cashing in on your pension.

Your future will be a personal brand-based business where you juggle multiple gigs, selling your knowledge in active and passive ways.

As somebody who has been immersed in the gig economy, I’d like to reveal the lessons my peers and I have learned:

1) Master one core skill but sell it in many ways

Every content creator and online entrepreneur I know offers multiple products and services. It doesn’t matter if you’re a marketer or artist, your knowledge can and should be monetized in various ways. As for me, I do coaching, sell books on Amazon, do freelance client work and write paid content.

I’ve recently talked to my mother who is twice my age, but an old-school gal like her is embracing the multiple gig economy. She’s:

• Giving annual painting workshops in Italy
• Teaching art once per week at a private university
• Selling paintings at galleries
• Holding private exhibitions at her studio

Happen to know this guy named Mark Schaefer? He’s making online income from 18 different ways.

Remember the difference between income diversification and juggling multiple jobs. Diversification means you make money from your CORE knowledge in various ways. My mother’s knowledge is art & painting, so she monetizes that expertise through giving workshops, selling paintings, running private exhibitions and teaching at Uni.

On the other hand, a high school teacher who’s driving an Uber at night and part-timing as a clerk on the weekend isn’t diversifying her income. She’s splitting her time doing unrelated jobs.

Diversification = master your expertise + sell it via different media

2) Get the BEST advice (You won’t find it online)

If you’re as hungry as me about learning more about your field, you probably eye-eat countless YouTube videos, devour blog articles and pay for courses/e-books/membership sites. And although you can learn the basics about ANY topic online, the game-changing intel will come from veteran experts who won’t share it with the public.

Let me give you examples:

• An indie author friend read over 120+ books on storytelling and writing advice. But her author life only changed when she became the mentee of a storytelling veteran with vast Hollywood experience. The stuff he revealed wasn’t discoverable in any book or online article.
• Three years ago, I befriended a financial expert who revealed wealth creation methods I’ve never found anywhere. No bank consultant or finance book helped me as much as my friend’s personal tips.
• I once talked to a popular illustrator from Germany who shared rare tips about client acquisition. I’ve never found that information on blogs or in courses.

So why is the personal advice so much better and harder to obtain? First of all, the expert will have acquired the knowledge through decades of DIRECt experience. He’s taken the bullets and lived to tell the story.

Contrary, the creators of courses/e-books/blogs often rehash the advice from other credible sources and repackage it.

Listen, I can read 10+ Seth Godin marketing books, copycat his advice and lecture you about being unique, ignoring the masses and aiming for the fans on the fringe, but because it’s not lived experience, it’s useless to you.

You want, no, you NEED the first-hand knowledge from the experts with the skin in the game.

The finance maverick who knows all about the value of exchange-traded funds because he blew his first 100K on a hedge fund. The marketer who cold-called a thousand people unsuccessfully and then discovered the BEST way to reach potential clients. The former unemployed illustrator who dieted on Ramen soup but then attracted hundreds of clients like magnet man.

And because these experts paid their precious experience with sweat and time, they don’t want to share their hard-won experience with the masses, not even for average fees. They reveal their secrets to high-paying individuals and/or people they know and like.

Which brings us to the last point below…

3) Embrace nepotism

In simplified terms, nepotism describes a person with power and influence giving good jobs to their friends and family. It’s frowned upon in civilized countries, especially on the state level, but it’s how the world works. Especially the gig world.

Whenever I meet my Americans friends in Berlin, they genuinely believe the world is meritocratic, i.e. the best person gets the job, but that’s almost never the case. You will get the best gigs from people who know and like you.

If I look at my past gigs, the best came from word-of-mouth and personal connections. Two years ago, I created illustrations for a book published by Penguin, one of the biggest publishers in the world.

How did that happen? Well, I knew the author Srinivas Rao. He insisted on having me onboard and convinced the editors. Would I have snatched the job if I hadn’t known him? Hell no.

I’ve been featured on Inc. and books like “The Bravest You”, Unmistakable, and “My Morning Routine” because of people recommending me to the authors and/or knowing the authors personally.

I also got a cool speaking gig at a private university in Berlin because I know one of the salespeople who knows the boss of the Uni.

I’m not the best writer/illustrator/speaker, but I’m good enough and know people who know, too.

Expertise alone won’t get you the sweet deals. Being curious and open-minded about people and building two-way relationships is your recipe for getting the best gigs.

Whom you know matters more than what you know.

Conclusion

The gig economy’s already here but it’s not mainstream…yet. If you monetize your knowledge via services, learn from experts you personally know and embrace that connections matter more than skill, you’ll be ahead of the competition. For now.

Mars Dorian is an illustrating designer and storyteller. He crafts words and pictures that help clients stand out online and reach their customers. You can find his homebase at www.marsdorian.com and connect with him on Twitter @marsdorian.

Original illustration by the author.

The post Three ways to jump on board the growing gig economy appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

By Mark Schaefer

I am normally an even-keeled guy, but the mantra of “the hustle” that seems pervasive today is grating on me like a rake on rocks. And last week I snapped.

It’s not that I am against anybody working hard, or following an entrepreneurial dream. If that’s what you want, go for it.

I did.

But what upsets me is the attitude often associated with this culture suggesting that if you’re not hustling, you’re a lazy, excuse-making coward. It’s hustle-shaming.

There is a not-so-subtle judgment embedded in this attitude that smacks of bigotry. Does that seem harsh? Hear me out.

The hustle culture

I can withstand the naive hype associated with the hustle culture, but when I see a stream of advice like this on LinkedIn, I cringe:

“I often hear people say, ‘I can’t leave my job because of .. ‘ or ‘I can’t grow my business because of …’ Stop with the excuses because nobody cares. The only limitations are the ones that you set forth for yourself.”

That sort of advice drives me nuts. You know what? There are lots good reasons not to leave a job, and there are many limitations in life that are not self-imposed.

• Maybe you need the health benefits for a child with a chronic disease.
• Maybe you’re serving your country in the armed forces.
• Maybe you have deep debts you need to pay off (from your last hustle?)

My point is, there are many legitimate limitations that may keep you from quitting a job, even if you want to. But that does not make you any less worthy as a person. It doesn’t mean you’re a coward or you’re making an excuse. Maybe it means you’re being responsible.

The Anti-hustle

Nicole Purvy

Gratefully, there is a growing backlash against the “dark and empty” hustle culture and one of its leaders is Nicole Purvy, an entrepreneur, podcaster, and author of the new book The AntiHustle. 

“I absolutely loathe the word hustle,” she said. “If you look up hustle in the dictionary, it means ‘to swindle.’ I don’t want to be associated with that.”

“The hustle culture is focused on the amount of work and sacrifices you’re making to be successful. The number of hours you work seems to be the badge of honor with that culture. The only reason you have to hustle in the first place is because you don’t have a plan. You’re scrambling to make something work. You’re tripping over dollars to pick up pennies because you don’t have a path forward.

“I think a better way to work is taking advantage of patience, faith, skills, and opportunities to work toward a vision rather than haphazard hustle. You need to be rooted in a plan that is based on purpose. If you don’t have a plan, then you’re going to have to hustle because you don’t have any other choice. You’re going to work ten times harder than you have to … with less results.”

Nicole believes that successful entrepreneurship doesn’t necessarily mean you need to quit your job. In fact, that might be the worst thing to do.

“Sometimes a job can position you very well for future success as an entrepreneur,” she said. “Working at a job can help you get the skills and education you need. You can build new contacts that may help you with financing down the road. Perhaps the customers you have on a job will become the customers at your own new company. Having a steady job can be an excellent bridge to going out on your own.”

The intolerance of hustle

I’m grateful for people like Nicole who are helping to turn the tide toward a more rationale and balanced view of entrepreneurial success. But there is another reason why the hustle culture is sick.

The definition of bigotry is “intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself.”

In the chest-pounding hustle culture, there is an arrogant view against those who don’t quit college, abandon family responsibilities, and pursue the hustle 16 hours a day. In fact, if you don’t join the hustle and obsess over your work, you’re simply following self-imposed excuses … as my LinkedIn connection purported.

This whole hustle bravado is dismissive, close-minded, and yes … bigoted. There is an implied intolerance for those who have a different opinion from themselves. Those who don’t follow the Mantra of Vee are shamed.

Respecting diversity of choice

Not everybody is in a position in life to become an “insta-preneur.”  Not everybody has the opportunity, resources, temperament, or life skills to quit everything and start a business from scratch.

Depending on what you read, there are between five and 10 skills you need to become a successful entrepreneur. Very few people have that complete skillset. That’s the glory of human diversity. Everybody is amazing, but not everybody is built to be an amazing business leader in the start-up world.

Some people are destined to be teachers and nurses and engineers. Thank goodness. And just because they’re not turning their lives over to the hustle doesn’t mean they’re not wonderful and worthy. It doesn’t mean they’re “making excuses.”

So by implying that everybody should be like you and your fellow hustlers, you’re dismissing this diversity. You’re disrespecting a person’s decision to follow whatever fits for them in this time and place in their life. You’re exhibiting a narrow-mindedness, superiority, and an exclusive view of the world that frankly makes me sick.

And that’s why I snapped last week. I decided that putting up with this close-minded hustle advice isn’t exhibiting tolerance. It’s ignoring intolerance.

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

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By Mark Schaefer

The other day a friend offered to post my content as a marketing column in his regional lifestyle magazine. It would require almost no work on my side and potentially expose me to a different audience. A no brainer, right?

I said no. Here’s why.

The critical three

I once worked with a business leader who would constantly ask, “What are your critical three?” He wanted to be sure you could tell him the three things you needed to succeed in your role, that you had plans in place to do it, and that you were focused on the outcomes. When one of the critical three had been accomplished, you could bring in a new priority.

As a busy entrepreneur or company leader, you must also maintain a laser-focus on your critical three activities, the priorities that drive your business. While there could be some benefit to this little bit of promotion I was offered, there is also a potential downside — distraction.

I primarily work with big companies like Dell, Cisco, and Microsoft, and this publishing channel probably would have sent me a flurry of small business leads. But I don’t work with small businesses, and processing those leads is a cost and a distraction from the core business, especially since I have strained administrative resources.

Even if re-purposing the content seems easy, there would be some work involved, like approving a re-write, responding to an administrative issue, or answering a reader question. If you keep accepting these nagging little responsibilities, they can gradually add up to one big distraction.

Beware of the “easy yes’s”

The entrepreneurs I admire don’t take the “easy yes’s.” They know that every moment of their time must be focused on their ultimate goal. Learning to say “no” is a lesson I’ve had to learn the hard way, believe me! I hate saying “no” to any opportunities, but every opportunity also has some cost.

In my own experience, when I found myself doing the “easy yes’s” I would look at my to-do list at the end of the day and find that perhaps that’s ALL I did that day!

One of Gary Vee’s famous mantras is that “one is greater than zero,” meaning that some activity — any form of self-promotion (even if it reaches 5 readers) — is better than no activity. At some level that might be true, especially if you’re just starting out and your business priority is to build awareness. But that’s not necessarily a smart strategy if you’re running a business and these little requests drag you away from your critical business priorities. And they will.

After all, a hundred of those “ones” add up to 100, and that’s not better than zero if it takes your eye off the ball and distracts you from your core business and ultimately leads you to exhaustion.**

**Note: This does not apply to Gary Vee. He seemingly does not get exhausted, but I do.

Your thoughts?

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

Illustration courtesy of Flickr CC and Frank Elwood.

The post Learn to say no and focus on your three critical business drivers appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

By Mars Dorian, {grow} Contributing Columnist

I’ve watched a volley of Youtube videos about making New Year’s business resolutions and realized they’re…

A) too complex and cumbersome to follow through
B) too focused on specific measures which you can’t control

Without further ado and blahblah, let’s kick-off 2017 with a bang of viable online actions:

1) Set goals you can truly influence

I have good online friends who are going to self-publish their debut novels this year. Their aim is to hit at least 10,000 book sales, which sounds like a reasonable goal for a newbie.

But there’s one problemo.

You can write the best book, have the best editor work on it and launch with the best marketing and STILL bomb. Why? Maybe the timing is bad, or maybe your topic isn’t relevant as you thought it was. Exact and big goals are nearly impossible to pull off because there are a lot of things beyond your control.

Unless you’re a Jedi-turning-Sith, you can’t make people buy your stuff, only encourage it.

Check out the goals below to differentiate between controllable and beyond-your-influence:

• Writing the best evergreen article on e-mail marketing VERSUS aiming to get 100,000 views on it
• Launching a well-edited e-book on freelance work VERSUS selling it 10,000 times
• Reaching out to 50 customers in a day VERSUS getting 50 customers in a day

You get the idea.

My goals for this year are to publish three well-written and edited sci-fi novels, relaunch my website and focus on personal brand building on Medium and Instagram by bi-weekly posting high-quality content. I don’t include the numbers of subscribers, sales and views because I can’t control them.

Set yourself goals that you can nearly 100% control. Everything else is going to flush your confidence.

2) Aim, fire, forget

The web has democratized product creation and shipping. If you launch a ‘bad’ website, you can rework it ASAP. If you self-publish a book and customers tear it apart because of factual errors and writing mistakes, revise it, or take it down and relaunch it. You will likely never die from screwing up online, no matter how much your lizard brain wants you to think so.

2016 was the year I over-procrastinated. I wanted to launch three books and launched ONE. I wanted a new blog theme and rework my site and failed to do both. I wanted to level up my consulting clients and I didn’t.

The bloody reason? I overthought.

I believed that pondering the problems would lead to a solution that I could implement. Foolish me.

If you don’t get the customers you want, if you don’t make the sales you need, over-thinking won’t help you. The web world and its customers are too complex to solve via your limited brain resource.

Action and direct feedback are your real salvation.

You need to ship ideas and products to receive feedback you can work with.

You need to showcase your work on different networks and ask the people who enjoy the success you want.

If you have a sales page and wonder why only few people act on it, don’t over-think it. Rephrase your call to action, include better client testimonials and/or change the freaking color of your buy button from red to orange and see what happens.

Hence the aim, fire, forget approach:

• You aim (figure out what do you want—write & sell a book, create a membership site or sell products?)
• You fire (you launch your e-book, product or course)
• You forget (meaning you fix your current project but also focus on the next launch)

Even if you e-book gets ignored and your course collects digital dust, you either change the product or launch something new and better. Failing is dirt cheap in web, and will be even cheaper in the new year.

3) Dominate your diversification

I’ve written a post about three drastic marketing changes, arguing that a portfolio on a popular platform like Facebook or Instagram brings you more customers than a portfolio on your very own page. Well, call it kick by karma or a dent by destiny, but my reliance on a single source punished me.

Instagram, which has become my visual online portfolio for illustration work, had disabled my account in December 2016. When I typed in instagram/marsdorian, every single artwork had disappeared, and so had every comment I’ve ever written on friends’ accounts.

It was as if I never existed in the first place.

When I tried to log in again, the app told me they took down my account for violating the terms of service. Worse, they didn’t tell why or which upload caused the shutdown.

They crossed me out without a clue.

For the majority of the night, I pestered technical support which was notoriously difficult to work with as they were known for ignoring complaints. Eventually, I ended up sending them verification codes that I had to draw on a physical paper and photograph with my head.

24 hours later, a guy from customer support confirmed my account was back online. No one ever told me why it was ever taken down in the first place.

During that period I’ve learned that I’m nothing but a number to a big social network. With hundreds of millions, if not billions, of followers, you’re a tiny percentage easy to ignore.

I’ve googled similar cases and found wedding photographers with 50+K followers who lost their accounts forever. The number one customer acquisition tool got wiped out on a whim, killing their biz.

Ungh.

To avoid that from happening, I’m reworking my income sources for 2017.

Here’s my current basic diversification:

• Book sales from Amazon (single marketplace, but only one part of my income)
• Illustration customer acquisition via my website’s portfolio, Instagram and my personal networks
• Design commission work through my German web network
• Article writing for popular blogs like *cough* Mark Schaefer *cough* etc.

I have at least four ways of income, all originating from diverse sources. So if a social network like Instagram disables me for good, I won’t face career extinction.

Dominate your diversification.

So that’s my take. What business resolutions are in store for you in the coming year?

Mars Dorian draws funky illustrations and pens sci-fi thrillers for the Internet Generation. His latest novel is available on Amazon for just $2.99! Consider his artwork for your next project: http://www.marsdorian.com

The post Three New Year Business Resolutions You Should Steal appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

By Kate McQuillan, {grow} Community Member

When I started Pet Sitters Ireland back in 2010 it was really just a way for my husband and I to solve our own pet care needs. We hated putting our pets in kennels and when we looked for an alternative there was nothing, other than asking friends or family.

After researching the market, we realized that pet sitting was a service that other pet owners just like us wanted and needed.

After six years in business, Pet Sitters Ireland is Ireland’s largest Pet Sitting and Dog Walking company, with thousands of visits competed every month to hundreds of pet owners across Ireland. Most of this growth is attributed to our content marketing strategy. Here’s how I did it …

“Traditional” marketing didn’t work

When we started the business, we thought traditional marketing methods would bring in customers. We put out flyers, hung up posters, ran some newspaper ads, and gave out business cards.

And in the first year of business we attracted 40 customers. Not too bad, but we were stuck there and it was clear that if we wanted to scale the business, we needed to be online in a bigger way. So we set about re-designing our website and testing some Google ads.

Like many small businesses, our problem was cash flow. We simply didn’t have thousands to spend on advertising, nor did we want to spend that type of money. It wasn’t until 2012 that we started a content program that led to high growth with little cash outlay.

Small Business Content Marketing

I had read enough online to know that social media and content should play some role in our business but I could not connect the dots. I never felt I was a pet care expert, so I didn’t think I had credibility or anything to say that would interest people.

In 2012 I saw a video of Marcus Sheridan talking about the concept of blogging as a way to simply answer customer questions. Up until that point, my first attempts at blogging had mainly been about customer reviews, telling people what events we were attending, and general announcements about how great we were. In other words, not too interesting.

But this new idea made sense to me – certainly I could answer questions.

I read everything Marcus wrote about blogging and set to work on answering every question our customers had ever asked us.

By answering questions consistently on our blog three times every week, in 18 months we had reached more than 10,000 website visitors per month and developed a Facebook following of more than 30,000 fans! The content acted like a magnet to our website with the help of our social media promotion.

It was time for a big decision. We thought this content model could be scalable and knew that if we wanted to expand, we needed to bring on franchisees to promote the business at a local level.

The Results

In three years, we grew our revenue 450 percent, primarily on the back of our small business content marketing success.  We now have a full-time office manager and three franchisees on board.

Opportunities have arisen to work with brands reviewing their pet-related products. Speaking opportunities have come to us because of our success story and we’ve been interviewed on podcasts and radio. In early 2016 we were finalists in the Irish Franchise Awards.

I’ve also had the opportunity to re-purpose our content and expand our reach by distributing our content at sites like The Huffington Post.

Following the interest in my story, I’m now using my love of blogging to help other business owners grow through small business content marketing.

Here are some of the tips I provide in the hope that they will help you, too.

Consistency

I believe consistency is the biggest factor in our success. When I committed to blogging three times per week, I didn’t stop.

Even when I got tired of blogging, and wondered if anyone would ever read my posts, I carried on.

I just knew that if this guy with a pool company could build a massive business with blogging then why couldn’t I? Marcus wasn’t a blogging expert that started a pool company, he was just a regular guy who learned the skills to blog about his business.

As time went on, my blog posts got better, and to this day I continue to improve my blogging skills. If you don’t start and stick with it, you’ll never improve.

A Learning Center

With more than 700 blog posts under my belt, I found that it probably wasn’t easy for someone to find anything on the website. So I created a resource center, which I recently developed into a learning center.

This is now a place where customers can see the answers to most commonly asked questions. They can watch videos or download e-books about our services or different pet topics.

Customers are telling us that they love the learning center. They tell us they have read everything and are ready to book business with us.

Build a List Using E-books

E-books have been a great way for us to build an email list and then distribute our blog posts to potential customers. The content from the e-books and blogs have been great to share on social media as well.

We have plans to further increase conversions to our list with surveys, customer intelligence, and optimized strategies.

My Top Blogging Tips

If I was starting my blogging journey again, there are definitely some things that I would have liked to have known when I started.

Be Committed and Patient

I had total blind faith this would work for me and was totally committed to blogging, but I know this is something people struggle with. I think sometimes we expect massive results too quickly. Whereas we need to realize that if one person reads your blog post and becomes interested in your services, then that is a result.

Have a Good Title

Your titles should be interesting, but also be something that people will search for on Google. When you answer customer questions, take some time to do some research on how people are asking those questions on Google and make sure you are phrasing things the right way in your title.

Use Subheadings

A longer article which is broken up via sub-headers will allow you to rank for other phrases as well as the main title. Take some time to research the topic and make the most out of title and sub headers.

Have a Strong CTA

If you don’t tell people what to do, then they will do nothing. You need to make it clear to people to contact you or book services at the end of each blog post. Keep testing different call to action options and see which work best for you.

Use Strong Images

Every blog post needs a strong image. If you can take your own good photos that’s great, but if you aren’t good at taking pictures then stick to stock images. Just try to pick the better stock photos or use many of the free image sites on the web.

Pay Attention to SEO

This is something I really didn’t do enough of in the early days and I would strongly recommend getting to grips with this from day one. Get yourself an SEO plug-in for your website and learn how to fill it in properly. It’s a painful job going back to update old blog posts!

Share Your Content

You need to tell your audience about your content. Build a following of people who are likely to become customers and share your blog posts with them. It’s likely if you are not seeing readers then you are not telling enough people about what you are doing.

Analyze It 

Whether you opt to use a free analytics tool like Google Analytics or you opt for a paid solution it is important to analyze your results. Spend some time each week looking at what people are enjoying and what you should write more about.

I hope you have enjoyed our story and these ideas. We’re committed to continuing our content journey as well as expanding it to our new franchise system. I will be overseeing it myself, at least at first, until I can train others in the skills I’ve learned.

We are also committed this year to working on growing our organic traffic and also developing our email marketing strategy. We also are looking for the right franchisees to join our team in Ireland so that we can expand Pet Sitters Ireland even further.

Kate McQuillan owns a Pet Sitting business with her husband Michael. She’s turned her love for animals into Ireland’s largest Pet Sitting business and is fanatical about growing her business and helping others grow theirs through blogging.  

Illustration courtesy Flickr CC and Anton Ruiz

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