🖐 Happy Wednesday!

Issue #74 is a 1-minute read...

✅ 1 Constant Business Lesson to Follow

Photo by Diane Picchiottino on Unsplash

In business (and life), there’s only 1 constant.

CHANGE.

🥗 Ignore it, and your life, business, and fun times shrink down like spinach in a hot pan.

🏄🏼 Embrace it, and you’re surfing that 30-foot wave off the shores of Bells Beach, Australia.

I’ve started myriad new consulting projects with dynamic 1- and 2-person business owners.

As such, the Wednesday morning issues of Solopreneur Doorway you’ve been reading will now hit your inbox on different days and different times.

No need to change your dial since you’ll still get the terrific stories and business insights as my adventures continue.

Have a sensational week, and I appreciate your readership!

More newsletters are on the way….

Stay curious and keep opening doors for your business.

Erik

P.S. I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, it’s time.

When you’re done overthinking it, here’s your custom 1-on-1 discovery call calendar link to see if we’re a good fit to get you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Miercoles!

Issue #73 is a 3-minute read...

📀 This Ex Lead Singer Makes Crazy Money

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

“If I see another f’ng Donny Osmond record, I’m RIPPING OUT MY HAIR PLUGS!”

Dan’s baritone voice booms off the white brick walls.

I’m killing a few minutes (okay, an hour) in Dan’s vinyl (record) store before going to the gym to swim.

He takes a rough, long breath and crashes onto his mahogany, wooden stool (it wimpers every time he does this).

Slurping volcano-hot coffee from a filthy Rolling Stones mug, he’s in Nirvana.

I can smell the two Camel cigarettes (that he’s trying to hide) burning way below the gray, metal workbench since there’s no smoking in his record shop. 

Supposedly.

He doesn’t look up.

His busted black fingernails just keep flipping perfectly through old vinyl records on his bench.

“I wanted to close this place in 2009, ‘12, ’16, ’19, ’21, '24, and LAST WEEK,” he complains.

“Really? I asked, standing a safe, 4 feet away, looking through the New Arrivals bin.

I always thought you were killing it at this place. Why would you quit?”

“Ever hear of Apple Music or the internet?” he asks like I’m the town idiot.

Photo by Luka Petranović on Unsplash

“Yeah, Dan. Of course, I answer.

But you’ve got serious crowds in this place on the weekends.”

"Yep. They travel 30, sometimes 60 miles to come here. But that’s not it.

If I didn’t know my numbers, I’d have gone bust in ‘09.”

“What happened in ‘09?” I ask. And what numbers?”

I’m thinking Dan’s a pretty good businessman since he’s STILL IN BUSINESS.

Unlike the 3 donut shops, 2 tattoo parlors, taco café, pet grooming school, and tarot card salon that came and went in the 5 retail spaces around Dan’s store.

“In ‘09, this whole damn vinyl business got interesting,” he mutters, smiling.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

Hey, here’s a mint Kind of Blue LP for your collection,” he says, handing me the Miles Davis classic. I’ll sell it to you at cost.”

"Dan. What happened in ‘09?” I pushed him.

“Oh, yeah. Vinyl got hot.

All the tech dudes with their phones and downloads wanted something to do and talk about, so they started shopping for and collecting vinyl. Seriously.

Vinyl helped them feel special. Like Jagger in ’67.”

I’d read a bit about the vinyl industry.

I love collecting vinyl, and, as a former singer-songwriter, I’m happy in vinyl shops.

“Is this industry still healthy?” I asked.

“Yep. Big growth every year for the past 16 years,” he answers, taking a 9-second drag on one of the lit Camels.

But you gotta know what to buy, how to price it, where to sell it, and who’s gonna buy it.

And who’s drinking your milkshake,” he says, trailing off.

(Dan loves the movie ‘There Will Be Blood’ and quotes it ALL THE TIME).

“Impress me,” I poked at him.

“Ok, smarty boy. You’re some kind of consulting guy, right?”

"Yep. Tell me something I don’t know.”

Dan made my week with his numbers.

Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash

For the next 8 minutes, lighting 2 more cigarettes and drinking his black mud coffee, Dan rattles off stat after stat about:

• the recording industry

• bands and songwriters

• collectors

• Apple music

• Millennials

• Gen Xers

•  and the top selling records for the 60’s, 70s, 80's, and 90s

And after the awesome speech on stats, he goes another 4 minutes on:

• Cost, profit and margins for vinyl

•  Inventory do’s and don’ts

• Online databases

•  Importing vinyl from Asia and Europe

• What to sell in the store vs. online

• And his competition, including the 2 big vinyl warehouses in the city

And that’s just it!

Your business has to be in your blood.

In your head.

In your soul.

And at your broken, black fingertips.

You have to know the details, stats, trends, ups, downs, pitfalls, and customer psychographics for what you build and sell.

Do you have to know it all right away? No.

Do you have to know it all in a week? No.

But you have to know it.

And live it.

And love it.

Dan’s know-how of the vinyl industry and his business is at the top of the charts (ok, kill me, a music pun…)

Anything less, and he’s out of business with the tarot card salon.

You see, collecting vinyl is a hobby for me.

It’s a lifeblood business for Dan.

So, how well do you know your numbers?

Stay curious and keep opening doors for your business.

Erik

P.S. I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, it’s time.

When you’re done overthinking it, here’s your custom 1-on-1 discovery call calendar link to see if we’re a good fit to get you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Wednesday!

Issue #72 is a 3-minute read...

📘 The Only Way to Celebrate Success

Photo by Esraa Emam on Unsplash

“I’m gonna throw up my Cuban Chicken Salad!”

“Alice, you’re always nauseous before you talk in public,” he said, in that calm voice husbands use when they feel totally useless.

You’ll be great as always," he assured her.

He looked up and saw me trying to wiggle past them.

I was late.

“Hi, Robert. Sorry. Just trying to get by and grab a seat,” I said.

🎈 For seven years I’d bought books at Robert’s and Alice's vintage store, and I was thrilled they invited me to their 25^th anniversary shindig.

I nudged by, embarrassed I was tardy.

I made my way around the non-fiction section, through the travel aisle (“Yes!” to that book on skiing in Austria), and grabbed a seat on a black metal fold-up chair at the end of the 4^th row.

“Friends, could I please have your attention?” Robert yelled, holding up his hands like a flight attendant, pointing to exits.

🍰 He was standing next to the cart with the towering 8-layer chocolate and vanilla celebration cake.

He looked better than Alice.

She was still dark green and leaning against the black lacquer bookcase on Self Help.

“In December ‘99, Alice and I wanted to go into business and create a bookstore for you, our community,” Robert began.

We never imagined we’d still be doing it in 2024.

We’ve had our share of rough days when we wanted to give up.

Like when that crazy internet thing came along.

And when that Bezos guy started selling books online.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

(nervous laughter from the crowd)

And still, with all that comes from running a premier bookstore, we still love doing it. For you and for this community.

😀 (loud cheers from the room)

I know Alice would like to say a few words, too,” he ended with a nod to his wife.

She was now glowing with the grace and confidence of a perfect giraffe.

“Thank you, darling, she began.

This journey, owning a vintage bookstore in this neighborhood, is a privilege.

Robert and I always felt that books speak a language beyond words. 

They give us a doorway through which we can travel to any time, visit any place, and engage with gods and mortals.

They teach us how to love, how to share, and how to express that which makes us human.

In all our wonder and imperfection.

And with every tough period, we always tried to make smart choices to benefit you, our customers.

It’s because of you and your support of this bookstore that we can travel, spend time with our grandkids, learn to bake sourdough bread, and take up charcoal drawing.

🙏 We appreciate you. Every one of you.

Here’s to another 25 incredible, fantastic, and life-changing years!”

(huge applause from everyone) 

The crowd stuck around for another hour.

We ate that amazing celebration cake and talked about the nutsy holidays.

Photo by American Heritage Chocolate on Unsplash

📕 📗 📘 And, yes, we bought a ton of books.

And that’s just it!

When you know how to throw a celebratory event for your business and give an A+ thank-you customer speech that is honest and sincere, your audience embraces you.

Here’s why Robert’s and Alice’s speeches were home runs:

• They gave a reminder of when and why they started the business (gives perspective)
  

• They shared a sincere thank you for customer loyalty and support (it shows folks that their support matters)
  

• They offered a glimpse into their life and how the business gives them happiness (people want to support this)

🔑 What’s Next

In 2025, take more time to speak to your loyal customers.

• Do it on video calls, do it on social media, and definitely do it in person
  

• The more you speak in front of folks, the better you’ll get
  

• Host a few events and put yourself center stage

And when you learn to command a room like Robert and Alice, who clearly knew what to say and how to say it, you’ll position yourself as a humble expert that folks love and support.

Stay curious and keep opening doors for your business.

Erik

P.S. I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, it’s time.

When you’re done overthinking it, here’s your custom 1-on-1 discovery call calendar link to see if we’re a good fit to get you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy 2025!

Issue #71 is a 3-minute read...

🎉The Most Awesome Insane New Year’s Eve

by Jose Francisco Fernandez Saura on Pexels

My girlfriend and I did not agree on how to celebrate New Year’s.

“I wanna see the ball drop and go dancing,” she laughed.

I admit it.

Times Square, New Year’s Eve, and the epic after-hours parties downtown are a ‘must’ when you live in Manhattan.

Still, I wanted a break.

“We did the ball drop and dance parties the last two years,” I responded. “Remember that dude who threw up all over your boots?“

You said, “Never again!”

“Now you want to go back into the vomit pit?”

“C’mon, Erik,” she pleaded. “It’s New Year’s, and we’re in Manhattan!”

🍏 When you live in the Big Apple, you learn to love-hate New Year's.

It has a scene all its own (mad respect to Athens, Rome, and Paris) when you want to party ‘till 5 am.

Yes, you have to fight the subway crowd, absorb the out-of-towners, and make friends with the cops who guide you along the endless metal crowd barriers.

So here we are at 11:38 p.m., with the perfect spot on Broadway & 42^nd Street.

by Yuting Gao on Pexels

I scouted it out earlier when Times Square was reasonable. If that’s even possible during the holiday craziness (hint: it’s not).

To land this prime spot, I (kindly) elbowed 21 people and blocked out 17 drunk tourists from Little Rock.

🎆 We’re in position A—all so my girlfriend, Bridget, can see THE BALL.

It looks better than Venus.

Perched 70 ft. up that flagpole, against the 22-degree, black December sky, it’s an intense neon blue.

Times Square’s a gold, bright planet that makes the party crowd on Mars take notice.

(I’m convinced aliens fly in from Mars to Manhattan to celebrate New Year’s because, well, there’s nothing to do on Mars).

“It’s spectacular, right?” says a guy over my left shoulder.

by Daniels Echavez on Pexels

I turn.

He’s got on a tilted New Year’s hat, two winter parkas, and mittens, and he’s gulping from a New York Jets travel mug.

We stare into the abyss.

“Yeah. She talked me into it. Again!” I say, looking at my girlfriend laughing with her gal pals. “This is the most insane one of these I’ve ever seen!”

“My wife, too,” he echos back. “She thinks Beyoncé’s gonna show up. I told her this year is our last. I can’t take the elbows in the ribs and the 2-hour wait for the subway back to Brooklyn.”

“So why do we do it?” I asked him. “Every year, same chaos. We live here. We should know better.”

“We do it for them. It matters to them,” he says, looking at his wife and her gal pals laughing and pointing up at THE BALL.

And that’s just it!

When you care about someone, you push past your own BS and put them first.

When you help clients, you’ll have a ton of New Year’s Eve moments when you want to say, “Nope, not doing it.”

Most business coaches tell you to only work with clients who love you and who you love.

Well, that’s not possible 24/7 when you run a premier firm (which you should).

Sure, clients that never pay or wake you with texts at 3 am have no place in your lineup.

All the rest?

You go the extra 101 miles and give them your very best.

Make the impossible possible for every one of them.

Warren Buffett said it…

If that means you elbow a few tourists and hang out on the subway platform for 3 hours watching college kids puke on the rats in the tracks, well, you do it.

Have a fantastic 2025—and make your customers love you by doing more than they expect.

Stay curious and keep opening doors for your business.

Erik

P.S. I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, it’s time.

When you’re done overthinking it, here’s your custom, 1-on-1 discovery call calendar link to see if we’re a good fit to get you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Peace Day!

Issue #70 is a 1-minute read... holidays and all.

🌟Wait?! You Want to Celebrate What?

Photo by Allison Batley on Unsplash

Attention!

It’s the holidays.

Go enjoy your latte, board games, morning walks, and catch-up chats with friends and family.

Go stream your favorite holiday movie.

You shouldn’t be reading this newsletter (yes, of course I’m happy you’re reading it).

Well, since you’re here…

“Thank you!”

Everyone puts demands on your time and energy.

I’m thrilled you carve out a few minutes with me each week to read about business ideas via issues like Doug the Waiter, Bob’s Cat, and OMG—Did You See What They’re Selling?

2024 brought a whole sleigh full of new endeavors, challenges, rewards, and relationships.

As a consultant, I spend my hours thinking, solving, improving, and sharing…

I did a ton of that this year.

Still, the more important work and forever rewards came with family.

I reconnected with my brother and his awesome crew, who live out West, and I had more precious opportunities to see my folks.

No clichés.

Like ‘time moves too fast and before you know it’…

Yeah, yeah.

As you wrap up 2024 and look out your window toward 2025, let’s you and me shake hands and partner on three key ideas:

I’m pretty sure that despite what you’ll accomplish, forget, overlook, or cast aside in 2025, it won’t be as important as 3 eternal goals:

Celebrate these, and life gets richer. 

• Be good to yourself
  

• Be kind to your friends
  

• Be the best you can be for your family

🙏 Have a fun, restful week and a joyous 2025.

🔥 (And have I got a story ready for you in next week’s newsletter... oh, baby!)

Peace and gratitude,

Erik

P.S. I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, it’s time.

When you’re done overthinking it, here’s your custom, 1-on-1 discovery call calendar link to see if we’re a good fit to get you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Srijeda!

Issue #69 is a 3.0-minute read.

🐄 Make them Wait and Milk the Cash Cow

by Vadim Braydov on Pexels

“Hey, we were here first, pal!”

Craggy red-beard guy is giving it to the millennial dude in the white Gucci parka.

“Move to the left on the sidewalk,” yells the 20-something employee walking down the line like a shepherd with her flock.

At 5:38 the line is around the gallery, past Eddie’s Pub and down Plum Street.

“How much longer?” asks the girl in the moose antler hat and Chuck Taylor high-tops. “We’ve been here 20 minutes.”

“6 pm is the next opening,” yells the shepherd. “We appreciate you waiting.”

Even at 19 degrees, tempers are hot.

I had walked out of the bakery, stuffing a 6th cookie into my face (don’t judge), and saw the line across the street.

by Pixabay on Pexels

Of the 62 village stores, all of them cool, there’s only one with a long ass line.

(As a consultant, my curiosity makes me do dumb-smart things, like stand in line for some store I don’t know.)

“I’m freezing. I want cocoa,” says the fifty-something woman in front of me, slapping her mittens together, hopping up and down.

I tap her shoulder.

“What’s this store?” I ask.

“You don’t know?” she says in a snooty voice, like I’m the last one on earth to learn about gravity. 

“Surprise me,” I answered.

“This is the coolest, craziest antique collectibles store in the state,” she says. “People fly in from California and Mexico to buy stuff. It’s insane!”

“Gracias,” I answer.

I’m wondering if I’ve got the energy to wait 20 minutes on a 19-degree sidewalk for movie posters, old maps, and vintage New England nightstands.

Photo by Damla Özkan on Unsplash

I’m so glad I waited!

The antique store gave an MBA class in “How to Build Anticipation.”

🧠 Pure genius.

• Every 4 minutes the store lets in 2 new people when 2 others leave
  
  

• The windows are fogged, and you can’t see inside from the street
  
  

• Big, bright lights shine on the giant white awning above the entrance that shows the store’s name, stenciled in black; you can see it from 3 blocks away
  
  

• The shepherd keeps the line in order and gives out just enough info to the masses who wait….and wait…and wait
  
  

• Collectors and crazy fans (like mitten lady) brag to anyone listening how well they know the store and what’s inside

🔑 Your takeaway:

When you launch your new, premier service or special product, you have to:

• Speak the right words to your crazy, adoring fans
  
  

• Give deadlines (a countdown clock in your emails and on your site)
  
  

• Keep the wait in order—give updates on when your service starts and what customers can expect
  
  

• Make it 4th-grade easy for folks to find your new offer, click it, or see it from the street (for you brick-and-mortar folks)
  

The anqtique store knew exactly how to build a buzz, reward loyal patrons, and get curious ones to stop by….and wait.

😵 Coffee pushes my bladder.

Fingers numb, nose running, and iPhone full of notes I leave the line and go back to the bakery.

What a contrast!!

The bakery’s giving a masterclass on ‘how to kill the buzz and piss off buyers.’

The bakery doesn’t have a line. 

It has 3!

None of them have a purpose other than, well, to stand in line.

There’s no shepherd anywhere controlling the crowds or giving updates.

Inside, the staff’s running everywhere at 83 m.p.h., like ants on an orange.

by Jr Satilite on Pexels

I watch this nightmare for three minutes.

I count 14 hungry, cold tourists walk by, take a look, and keep walking.

“It’s nuts in there,” says a father to his kids. “Let’s drive home. I’ll take you to McDonald’s.”

👎 The brutal math for the bakery:

• 14 tourists walk by
  

• $6 per order per tourist
  

• $84 dollars of LOST sales in 180 seconds

Multiply that by an hour, and the lost revenue number gets BIG.

And that’s just it!

If you want to kill the buzz, vaporize your positive customer vibe and lose a s$%t ton of money… do what the bakery did.

☹️ No, don’t do that!

Stick with the antique store’s model.

Make them wait. In a good way.

I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 1-on-1 discovery call calendar link to see if we’re a good fit to get you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Mercurri!

Issue #68 is a 3.0-minute read.

The Gift No One Ever Returns

Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

I have a love-hate thing with giving away ‘free stuff.’

As a kid, everyone told me, “If it’s good—charge for it.”

So, when I drove into Canada on Saturday for a lunch meeting in a charming lakeside village, I knew the parking prices would be nuts.

The village was smart. 

They had public P signs up and down Main Street.

by Ekaterina Belinskaya on Pexels

And tons of locals opened up their pricey home driveways for shoppers.

I saw tourists pay $45 to put their $85,000 Porsche SUV in a front lawn so they’d be close to the stores.

📈 Love that supply and demand.

I arrive early at the village.

Lunch is at 11:30.

You know there’s nothing worse than sweating, stressing, and scrambling for parking when you have an important meeting.

At 11:05 I have tons of time and a 6th sense for finding a spot. 

No pressure.

Behind the church, “ALL FULL.”

Next to the art gallery, “LOT FULL.”

Okay, 11:15, a little sweat on the forehead.

Adrenaline at a 6 on the 10-point scale.

Let’s check the driveways further off Main Street.

Crawling at 3 mph behind 27 other cars on Maple Ave. was torture.

Photo by Nabeel Syed on Unsplash

Cars are fighting for $50-a-day spots.

One house is charging $60!

They’re even dressing up their kids like Santa in valet outfits.

It’s 11:20….!

There’s a 90% chance I’m going to be late, which is a gut punch.

I hate being late—more than I hate paying $50 for parking.

Car window down, I throw my left arm out, telling everyone and anyone I’m making the damn U-turn.

Horns go off, drivers scream, and a teenager in a white Tesla curses me out in French. 

I peel back down Maple, cross Main, and go 6 more blocks south.

😵 Nothing…

No spaces...

Still no spaces...

Full sweat and a 9 on the adrenaline meter.

🔥“AAAGGGGGHHH……”

Then... I see it!!

The black, spotless Highlander SUV, with an attitude.

by Sofia Nunez on Pexels

The engine starts, the headlights go on, and the Highlander moves…

I hit my flashers, nail the brakes, and wave every car behind me to “Come Around!!’

The black SUV coolly eases out of her space like a panther moving into the darkness.

It takes all my Boston parking skill to pull a wicked fast K-turn and wedge into the open spot.

💥 It’s 11:28…!!!!

I sprint to the parking meter, flip up my Apple Pay, and hit “PAY NOW.”

I’m waiting for the final amount… $30, $40…

The screen goes black.

WTF!!

And then…

The message appears.

It’s in bold, Arial font with red and green letters.

“FREE Parking Today. Enjoy the holidays.”

👼 Hark! The Parking Angels sing! (giving myself a pat for that one…)

And that’s just it!

Sometimes ‘free’ is worth a million for the goodwill it brings.

If you want to win premier customers, you have to know when to…

Give it Away

Photo by Samuel Holt on Unsplash

In your high-end 1- or 2-person business, you must charge premium prices for your expert advice and solutions.

Folks expect it. They’ll shy away if you go discount crazy.

And, still, it’s key to know when, how, and what you give for free that keeps customers happy and your premier brand looking sharp (like a kid dressed in a red velvet Santa suit).

Ask yourself:

• Does your freebie enhance your brand?
  

• Does this freebie speak directly to your ICP (ideal customer profile)?
  

• Does this freebie give a smart, mini solution that helps your customer solve a BIG challenge?

Templates are ideal.

Even better, go pro bono with your time.

It’s the perfect gift that no one ever returns.

🎄 Especially during the holidays.

P.S. I made the 11:30 lunch—6 seconds to spare.

🙏 Thank you, Highlander and quaint Canadian village.

I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Wednesday!

Issue #67 is a 3.0-minute read.

The Awful Painful Cafe Disaster

by Wendy Wei on Pexels

“Dad, is this really Taylor’s concert?” asked my niece excitedly, her head leaning way too far out of the car window.

It was her charming way of reminding my brother that getting Swift tickets was on red alert in December.

In fact, we have tickets.

Not for Taylor.

Rather, for the famous holiday exhibit at a sensational local art museum.

It’s the perfect Friday field trip to get away from gravy and post-election conversations.

I’m with my dad, my brother, his family, and 328 holiday visitors waiting to get in and see gingerbread. 

And art.

And it’s 24 degrees.

And I forgot my hat. 

“We might as well make camp since this line isn’t moving anytime…,” I started to say…

And then we start walking. Fast.

Inside of 39 seconds, the museum team takes our tickets, checks our coats, and gives us a master class on the exhibits to see.

They’re an Indy 500 pit crew, READY for the holiday crowds.

We scoot into the main lobby and grab the clipboards for the gingerbread house scavenger hunt.

“Better get lunch now,” says my sister-in-law. “Blood sugar drop at 1:30 is no bueno.”

“Yeah, okay, that works.” I say. “There’s the cafe. Grab some real estate for all of us at that booth, and I’ll order.”

19 minutes later, I’m still in line.

23 minutes.

28 minutes.

Still ready to order.

What began as a perfect onboarding process at the museum entrance is now an awful, painful tortoise walk to order lunch for six.

Photo by Ryan Grewell on Unsplash

I’m a consultant.

I know I have a 24/7 fixation to, well, FIX business models.

Still, this was nuts.

I’m watching ONE well-meaning, frantic café employee…

• ring up orders

• make open-faced gourmet sandwiches

• change coffee filters on three machines

• pour lemonade

• take payment

• AND deliver food to tables

The line is now 28 people long. 

Through the glass I see four docents smiling, leading large crowds.

The six-person coat check crew is taking jackets, hats, and scarves and arranging them like Marie Kondo.

And now, in front of 33 people, the lone café worker is yelling about mayonnaise.

I’ve got 100x empathy for her.

I want to put on an apron, run around the counter, and start making sandwiches.

Every other part of the museum is on cruise.

But in the café, where hungry museumgoers will happily spend $5.99 for a bag of salty vinegar baguette chips and $19.95 for a red-pepper hummus sandwich, there’s 1 EMPLOYEE.

And that’s just it!

In every business, you need an A+ team tackling every task in every division.

If you want to attract, sell, and impress premier clients so you can take off and visit museums in Paris, you need an amazing team.

How many times do you lose it on a Thursday because you ‘don’t have the time?’

You promise yourself you’ll hire help.

Photo by Julien L on Unsplash

Only to then say on Friday, “Yeah, I’m not spending that much on that person!”

So you end up doing it all yourself.

And you know how that goes…

Instead, make 2025 your ‘hero team’ year with…

The Fantastic Five

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

I get it.

Hiring folks to take over a part of your business is a nail biter.

What if they mess up?

What if they piss off a client?

What if they put your financial info on the dark web, turning your checking account into an ATM for their DraftKings habit?

🙏 No worries.

I built a free template that gives you the Fantastic Five.

It shows you how each one of the five key teammates moves you away from the crazy café employee model to the calm tour guide taking in the love of your audience.

Simply shoot me a note at erik@thinkaday.com and I’ll send you the template.

📢 A subscriber asked for a pic of their home city, Bangkok. Happy to do it!

by Oleksandr P on Pexels

I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

There’s a reason 400,000 professionals read this daily.

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**I may earn a commission if you click on the links tied to the AI Tool Report promo in this week’s issue of Solopreneur Doorway.

🖐 Happy Mittwoch!

Issue #66 is a 3.0-minute read.

Jane’s Pies, Bob Marley, Higher Sales

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

By 3:31 pm on Saturday, it’s clear I might not make it.

16 miles out, and I’m racing to Jane’s bakery three towns away.

Folks say her pies are better than Martha Stewart’s.

Got to get there before she closes at 4 or I’m in the dessert doghouse for Thanksgiving.

I make it to the bakery, I think.

There’s a faded yellowish sign, and the place looks closed.

I try the door.

Inside, it’s a garage sale from 1986!

Photo by Jose Antonio Gallego Vázquez on Unsplash

There’s three bins of used classic rock albums, two racks of concert t-shirts, and a long row of burning incense.

She comes out from the back room.

“Yeah?” she asks, in a hostile tone, like I just called her a cheat in a saloon card game.

“Hi.” I reply, not exactly sure what I’ve walked into.

“I heard you have amazing pies for Thanksgiving,” trying to win her over with praise.

“I don’t know,” she replies. “Do you want to buy one?”

I look at the smudged glass display.

Not one pie.

There’s a tiny brownie and two broken eclairs that escaped from the island of misfit pastries.

“Hmm,” I sigh. "Okay if I look around?”

“My bowling league starts in ten minutes, so hurry up if you want anything,” she mutters.

Next to me there’s a 5-foot-high rack of random spices marked down to $.25 a jar.

Photo by Jodie Morgan on Unsplash

In the back corner, there’s a woman in a lawn chair doing something odd with a doughnut.

“You make the pies here?” I ask.

"Yeah. Out back,” she answers. Business has been crappy, so it’s a complete shitshow back there.”

Hearing the s-word describe a food prep area seals it.

“Okay, well, thanks for the tour,” I say.

No response. She’s gone.

I didn’t buy a pie.

Jane didn’t win a new customer.

Business isn’t crappy because she’s selling Bob Marley records instead of carrot cake.

Her business is a disaster because of three words.

SHE. WON’T. SELL.

I get it. Sales is tough.

If you’re a born seller, you know you have to…

Sell Everyday

Photo by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash

Three steps to keep sales high.

1. Sell yourself

Jane gave me no comfort that she knew how to bake pies.

• No one’s buying your premium product or service before they buy YOU!
  

• Before anyone believes you can fix their pain, they have to believe you’re the expert.
  

• Your confidence, conviction, and clarity show you’re a pro and you can help.

2. Sell your energy

Photo by Nicholas Green on Unsplash

The doughnut lady had more spark than Jane.

Had Jane been full of zest while she showed me incredible pies, I would have been all in.

⚡️ In my first business, when clients asked me about how I managed money, I got them EXCITED!

I made them feel energetic about earning money in the market and what it meant to their future.

• Premium buyers want to know you have a pulse, and they want to see you glow when you talk about how you fix their problem.
  

• Energy is contagious. Share yours. 🔥

3. Sell the NEXT step

I wasn’t going to buy 8 pies from Jane this year.

She didn’t try to sell me even one.

Folks need time before they buy.

Especially if it’s an expensive solution.

You don’t have to sell (right away) your $500 digital class or a $10,000 do it for them solution.

Instead, sell ‘what’s NEXT!’

• A subscription

• A discovery call

• A trial period

• A download or sample solution

• Your premium product

Sell step 1 before step 10, and meet them where they land.

Know where they are in the cycle and sell the next step.

Three keys to selling premium solutions to high-tier clients:

• Sell yourself

• Sell your energy

• Sell the next step

📢 A subscriber asked for a pic of winter in their home city, Munich. Happy to do it!

Photo by Soazic Leroy on Unsplash

I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.

🦃 Have a sensational Thanksgiving.

-Erik

P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Woensdag!

Issue #65 is a 3.0-minute read.

This Pharmacist is a Sales Guru and Customer Journey Expert

Photo by Barthelemy de Mazenod on Unsplash

I made a stupid rookie mistake.

I waited until Sunday afternoon.

Now I’ve got ONLY 9 minutes to get in, battle the mob, and get out of the grocery store maze.

Back to the house by 6.

Whip up the hollandaise sauce for the salmon.

The dinner guests storm the dining room at 6:30.

I’ve got everything in my cart, except UGH.

🧈 Forgot the butter!

Zoom the cart back through the pharmacy, take a right at natural foods, and grab the unsalted butter.

Rush back by the salt-n-vinegar potato chips (man, I miss those) and snag a bag of jasmine rice for tomorrow’s lunch bowls.

Scanning the checkout lines…

by Kampus Production on Pexels

What?

“Uhm, what’s with all the lines?” I asked the young manager, who’s sweating and screaming into her intercom.

“Our computers in self-checkout crashed.

You’ll have to go to aisles 4 through 7 with a cashier.”

4 aisles, 4 cashiers, and 6 shoppers in each line.

18 minutes before I’m getting out of here.

“But I’ve only got butter, eggs, vinegar, and rice. That’s it,” I plead with the manager, who’s now hiding behind a 12-foot stack of Mountain Dew.

“I’m sorry. You’ll have to get in one of the lines,” she whispers, ducking back into her soda fort.

I’ve got to beg with the shoppers in aisle 5 to get up to the front.

🙏“Excuse me. I’d be grateful if…

Hold it! Are more aisles opening?!

The pharmacist and butcher are opening up lines 8 and 9.

🖐The pharmacist sees me and gives me the “I got you” wave.

I rush to aisle 8, toss everything on the conveyor belt, and I’m out to the parking lot.

Rather than hanging out and watching the chaos, those two super heroes each left their stations to take a register.

And that’s just it!

When your checkout gets wonky and customers are waiting, you’re in trouble unless you give…

🎯 3 Ways to Keep the Checkout Line Moving so that You Never Lose a Sale

by E. Duncan

Premium customers pay more and expect more. Always.

Yes, errors happen.

When they do, it’s uber important you have the tech and solutions in place to apologize, redirect, and reward.

Step 1: Admit the mistake and apologize

• First words the pharmacist said to me were, “I’m so sorry you had to wait.”
  

• When customers hit ‘404 Not Found’ on your sale page, give them a funny, sincere apology
  

• When they hit a snag at your checkout page, make 100% sure that your software sends a ‘we messed up’ email and apologize for the pain

Step 2: Create a fast escape route

• The pharmacist and butcher dashed to the extra aisles and gave us a fast way to check out
  

• In your brick-and-mortar store, have a mobile register on your phone ready to go
  

• On your website, re-direct folks to a new landing page where they can pay in an easier, faster way

Step 3: Reward patience

• The pharmacist handed me a $10.00 gift card and encouraged me to come back
  

• Send your high-end customers a discount code they can use on their next purchase
  

• Give your in-store customers a gift card they can use for their next visit

Photo by Marielle Ursua on Unsplash

Few premium customers go out of their way to talk about great service.

They absolutely go out of their way to complain about bad service.

Keep the line moving, keep the smiles growing, and keep your sales flowing with 3 steps:

Keep an eye on your tech and test it.

What you fail to find can cost you dollars.

Remember…

• Admit the mistake

• Create a fast escape route

• Reward patience

📢 A subscriber asked for a toast to their home city in Seville, Spain, below.

Photo by Cristian iordan on Unsplash

Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Keskiviikko!

Issue #64 is a 3.0-minute read.

Magic Scissors, YouTube Views, Your Brand

Photo by Guus Baggermans on Unsplash

NO! It’s 2:57 p.m.

I’m trapped in my sort of cool Camry on the 531.

“Siri, send a text message to Susan.”

“What do you want to say?”

“It’s Erik. I’m late. I’m sorry. Can we bump it to 3:30?”

No text comes back.

When I get to Susan’s shop, I know I’m going to have to reschedule.

AAGGH!

I walk in, and she’s trimming the chaotic beard of the guy who plays Santa in our holiday parade.

And there are 4 other dudes waiting.

“So sorry, Susan. It’s on me,” I said.

“It’s ok, Erik. We’ll reschedule.” 

I don’t have Jason Momoa’s hair.

Still, I can’t wait another four days until Susan can see me.

I need a haircut. Today. Now.

Out on the sidewalk, I look kitty corner to Main Street.

There’ve got to be other barbershops and salons in my hometown.

I walk for 7 minutes in the sleet, up and down both sides of Main looking for places that’ll take a walk-in.

I’m shocked at what I find.

Guess how many spots in a ¼ mile space give haircuts?

2?

Nope.

6?

Nope.

💥 11!

by E. Duncan

11 places where they’ll wrap a cape around me, snap on the #1 clipper, and get me looking like Jason Statham. 

Ok, not exactly like Jason Statham. 

How do any of these places stand out and get folks to walk in?

Does one of them have magic scissors so you’ll look exactly like your favorite celebrity?

No.

Each place does almost exactly the same thing.

And that’s the big problem!

If you’re a freelance writer, blog coach, attorney, SEO specialist, public speaking mentor, brand strategist, not-for-profit founder, gallery owner, hair stylist, or any other business, you have to answer 1 BIG question.

Why choose YOU?

by E. Duncan

🎯 5 Ways to Stand Up and Stand Out with Premium Clients

When I started my financial consulting firm, I thought my education and Wall Street experience would instantly bring me clients.

Huge error.

After a year and ½ of hiding with the rest of the sheep, I made 4 moves that took my firm from no place to the premium space.

And the income started to grow…

1. Curb Appeal

It doesn’t matter if you’re brick-and-mortar or digital.

No premium clients are walking in or clicking unless your storefront and website look unique.

People have no attention span, and yet, you have to get theirs. Fast.

The right H1, colors, layout, location, and vibe.

People respond to what they see.

Photo by Sara Dubler on Unsplash

If your website is meh and your storefront is gross, you’ll disappear like beard trimmings in the dustbin.

Look sharp and then move to your pricing.

2. Price

Pricing in a premium market starts with two words.

“RAISE THEM!”

Sure, higher prices scare off many buyers.

Others think, “Hmm. This looks expensive. I wonder why?”

Higher prices = exclusivity and curiosity.

When you get their attention, shift to value.

3. Value

Even at premium prices, buyers want to feel they got a great deal.

Sell your digital course for $499 and make it better than a $3,000 in-person class at an Ivy League school.

When high-end clients feel they got more than they paid for, it’s adrenaline to your bottom line.

After you build your service, zero in on the transition.

Photo by Gabin Vallet on Unsplash

4. Transition

Premium clients want a zero-to-hero transition, which fixes a big, ugly problem.

They’ll pay for expensive yoga classes because they expect to get healthier.

They’ll pay for pricey lift tickets because they want better snow and an out-of-body feeling on the mountain.

No matter your service or product, it’s a must that you make your client much, much, much better off when their journey ends.

Do this well and do it often. Your reputation will skyrocket.

5. Reputation

Would you trade 95% of your YouTube channel views for 1 amazing testimonial from a client who’s highly visible?

Of course you would.

Word of mouth from the right client, especially with premium clients, changes everything.

If Quentin Tarantino says, “See this movie,” or Michael Lewis writes, “Read this book,” it’s a new ball game.

There are still kind folks around who love what you do, and they’ll tell others.

This gives your rep an immediate blue ribbon.

I promise.

Remember…

• Curb appeal

• Price

• Value

• Transition

• Reputation

📢 I’m in awe of where Solopreneur Doorway readers live.

A subscriber asked for a toast to their coastal town in Norway below. Incredible.

Photo by Michael Fousert on Unsplash

Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.

-Erik

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Sign up to start learning.

P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

**Note: I may receive a commission if you click or explore any of the links tied to the Rundown AI promo in this week’s issue.

🖐 Happy Mercoledi!

Issue #63 is a 3.0-minute read.

“Psst, don’t ever let another driver…”

by Vitali Adutskevich on Pexels

You’re listening to your favorite podcast, driving to the grocery store, and you get that anxious feeling the driver behind you is about to lose it.

They’ve been crawling up your bumper’s butt for the last 3.2 miles.

As soon as you get to the stop sign, the fireworks explode.

First, they give you eight seconds of Raging Horn in C-major.

You sneak a peek in your rearview mirror.

Their arms are flapping in chaotic circles.

They’re yelling at you like it’s the first day they can talk after a two-year vow of silence.

You can’t hear a word they’re screaming, and still you know exactly what they’re saying.

And then, for the cherry on that anger sundae, they press their big, bad, hairy middle finger against their windshield.

When you feel that love, you want to give them something back they’ll remember, right?

Don’t!

“Nothing good happens when you let your emotions get the best of you.”

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

The same angry vibe that turns drivers into idiots is exactly why their 1- or 2-person business is in freefall.

If I had an M&M for every business owner I watched make a rash decision before thinking it through, I’d never have to make another trip to Wally-mart for Halloween candy.

The #1 reason I see business owners get unhappy is when they rush the launch of a new product or service and it flops faster than Madame Web.

They get dejected, start to pout, lower the price, and then wonder what the hell went wrong.

We can do better. 

Especially when it comes to your high-end, premium products.

So, before you start driving 90 mph toward your next product launch, let’s make sure you have tons of lead time and a smooth, sophisticated ride.

Here’s how: 👇

5 Gears to Put Your Premium Product Launch on Cruise with Style and Class

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Your premium launch takes a refined offer, smart planning, and the right pricing strategy.

Here’s how:

1. Check out your current offers

You should have one premium offer that’s a high-ticket Do It For Them service and one mid-tier offer that’s a DIY.

As a premium brand, you want to present fewer, more elite items.

If it’s obvious which of your current offers is a poor performer, cut it loose.

It’s better to put a new item in your showroom than to let a bad one get dusty.

2. Take a peek at your top competition

Stop by the website or landing pages of your top three competitors and check out their offers.

(We built a brand competition grid in this issue.)

What are they missing that you can cover with your new offer?

You have to beat them on the positive transition your product-service delivers, not price.

Think of your favorite high-end restaurant or hotel and how they make you feel.

Create that feeling and transition for your client in a way that your competition can’t easily replicate.

3. Listen to your focus group

Ten to fifteen buyers in your target audience is perfect.

Get them your offer early so they can try it before anyone else.

Think of it as a soft opening for a new luxury hotel or resort.

Let them test drive it and give you the straight scoop on what they like, dislike, or don’t need.

Give them a nice reward for their help.

by fauxels on Pexels

4. Create your marketing-launch timeline

The timeline for a premium product launch is longer than for a bargain item.

Give yourself at least three to six months to plan and put in motion your marketing strategy (social media, website, countdown emails).

Your premium offer needs time to build suspense and word-of-mouth buzz.

5. Price it and put it on cruise

Pricing your premium offer hinges on your current offers and your competition.

Your Do It For Them offer is in the range of $2,500-$10,000.

Your DIY offer (a digital course or community) should sit in that range of $500 to $1,000.

Now that you’ve done the hard work go ahead and launch it, watch it, and take yourself out for a celebratory dinner.

The 5 Gears:

• Review Your Current Offers

• Map the Competition

• Build the Focus group

• Develop a Marketing Timeline

• Price it

📢 A subscriber made a shout-out request for their home city in Helsinki, Finland, below. Wow!

Photo by Carlos "Grury" Santos on Unsplash

Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Quarta-feira!

Issue #62 is a 3.0-minute read.

Bob’s Cat, Dress Socks, New Clients

Photo by Manja Vitolic on Unsplash

At 10:34 a.m. that Sunday morning, Zack the cat was winning. 

I had to put a stop to the Freddy Krueger fun he was having with my ankles under Bob and Elaine’s white IKEA table.

My problem was that the handbook of client presentations has no advice on cat horror.

How do you…

1. stop talking with the client?
   

2. crawl under the kitchen table in your suit?
   

3. tell Zack to dig his 3-inch slasher claws into the red leather Lazy Boy instead of your shins?

“So, Erik, if we move our money to your firm, how do we know you’ll do a better job?” Elaine calmly asked, sipping her lemon zinger tea.

Normally, that was a softball question for me.

I had no clue what to say.

My only goal was to move the overflowing litter box Zack had pulled toward my feet and pour out the three pounds of litter he was angrily kicking into my dress shoes.

Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash

I’d spent seven hours building a bold solution for Bob and Elaine.

And I was doing so well, giving that big presentation in their freezing country kitchen.

Even with the 74 distractions, like…

• talking over their kids’ sing-along to Frozen
  

• eating Elaine’s carrot cupcakes with dog hair frosting
  

• watching their son draw Sponge Bob on my suit

For me, though, it was feeling Zack’s dirty litter fill my shoes that clinched it.

“Elaine, Bob, this has been a helpful chat,“ I said, standing up and shaking my pants.

“I’m giving you back your Sunday morning. I appreciate your time.”

Outside in the driveway, I threw my filthy pants and shoes in the trunk of the car.

Driving back to my office in gym shorts and Chuck Taylor high tops, it was clear.

I had to get my business out of the litter box and go from pitching any client to winning the right client.

When I built a new brand strategy I found a bold, new voice that said, “PREMIUM.” 

That voice attracted high-end clients for years.

If Bob, Elaine and Zack are your target audience, go with my blessing.

If not, here’s how you get out of cold kitchens and attract premium clients.

How to Go from Everyone to the Right One

by Engin Akyurt on Pexels

🎯 3 Steps to Build, Refresh and Position Your Premium Brand

When you create your brand strategy put together the pieces that reflect how you want customers to view you and what you want them to feel when they work with you.

Your logo, type face and color palette can help you express your brand.

Your brand personality, ideal buyer persona and brand message help build your brand.

1. Pick your brand personality

Image by E. Duncan

Your brand strategy starts with a brand personality.

Here, you pick an archetype to shape the traits you want your product and service to reflect.

Three common archetypes that premium brands use include the Ruler, the Explorer and the Sage.

Each high-end archetype has unique traits and qualities.

The archetypes you choose give you a blueprint for your brand’s voice that your audience will attach to your business.

2. Craft your ideal buyer persona

Images via Canva: by E. Duncan

It’s impossible to position your brand unless you know which buyers and clients you want to target.

Create an ideal buyer persona and make them come to life.

The more detail you add to your buyer persona the easier it will be to shape your social media posts, web design and marketing.

3. Hone your brand’s key messaging

Images via Canva: by E. Duncan

Your brand’s message tells your customers what you represent and what they can achieve when working with you.

Ex: You’re a financial advisor for high net worth clients.

Your brand messages might include:

• A bold financial future

• A stress free retirement

• Your money: your dreams

The key is to craft your message so your customers know your beliefs and how your business will make them feel.

Your new brand strategy is the first step to winning premium clients.

Build it, use it and I promise you’ll stay out of the litter box.

P.S. Three weeks after I left Bob and Elaine’s kitchen, Zack sent me an email and asked if I’d manage his 401(k).

📢 A subscriber made a shout out request for their home city beaches in Santa Barbara, CA, below. Stunning.

Photo by jake grella on Unsplash

I appreciate your sharing this newsletter with your friends and contacts.

Stay curious in your business and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Onsdag!

Issue #61 is a 3.0-minute read.

OMG - Did you see what they’re selling?

Photo by Darcy Lawrey on Pexels

At 2:30 am, I had to look.

Of all the foolish reasons to stay awake on a Tuesday night (TikTok videos of mongoose vs. cobra, eat the last fudge cupcake , or fix the Halloween skeletons in the yard), I picked the worst one.

A damn Facebook post.

I couldn’t help myself.

The picture in the post hooked me.

8 kids from a high school band, wearing Led Zeppelin t-shirts, standing in the street and looking for their conductor.

I pounced on that post because the photo showed the kids hanging out on Main Street in MY HOMETOWN 30 years ago.

Here’s the sad news…

90% of the high-end, cool stores in that photo are GONE!

My friends used to call me when those stores had new Salomon skis and Pioneer stereo speakers.

I’d pick up the phone and my buddy would break my eardrum with, “Dude, did you see what they're selling!?”

Today, those vintage stores exist only in a Facebook photo.

Sure. It’s easy to say, “It’s not their fault!”

The big box cowboys at Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and Lowe’s rode into town, looked down at historic Main Street, and yelled, “We win. Game over.”

I know most 1-2 person business owners think they have no chance against the big name brands on LinkedIn, Instagram, or in your hometown.

If you think it’s game over and you’re lowering your prices to stay in business then I wish you well.

If you’re feisty and wanna take on the big box cowboys let’s walk to the Competition Crossroads.

The Competition Crossroads

When you’re at base camp and you’re ready to start a high-end, 1-2 person business (or elevate your current one), you have to, must, absolutely map your brand vs. your competition’s.

Original design by Denny Kurien: amended by E. Duncan

~ There’s a less than 0.003% chance your audience will text their friends with, “Hey, did you see what they’re selling?” unless what you offer is different, unique, special, and HELPFUL!

🎯 4 easy ways to put your brand in the top-tier bullseye!

Stop looking at your own social media channels (for now)

• Turn yourself into a clever voyeur and check out what your competition says, does and shows on social media
  

• Craft a list of where they post, what they say and how they show their products (trust me, this is a must for your brand strategy)
  

• Identify each of your competitor’s brand archetype (the ruler, the sage, the hero) and make sure that yours has the voice and message your brand commands

Buy what your competition sells

• Skip your triple shot, 5-pump pumpkin lattes; take the $89.65 and use it to buy your competition’s products
  

• Use them, tear them apart and see if they kick your butt or fall to pieces; you can’t put your brand in the upper right tier until you know what your competition does well and what it lacks

Test everything your brand offers with real, honest consumers

• Your friends and family do not qualify; instead, gather a group of folks (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook group) who appreciate a high-end brand and let them test drive your offers, landing pages and social media posts
  

• You have to know if your brand’s voice captures the attention of your ideal buyer personas

Pick your ideal brand position at the crossroads and keep your high beams on

• Once you pick your brand position, launch your new identity and keep your eyes on the road; you’re in stage 1 and a high-end brand takes many stages to settle in with an audience
  

• Every three months let ChatGPT diagnose your social media comments and testimonials; you may need to rewrite copy, tweak a product and keep watch on your competition

P.S: Brands take years to build. Put yours on the competition crossroads take action today to get customers telling their friends, “Did you see what they’re selling?!”

📢 On Friday, a subscriber asked for a mention of their home city, Barcelona.

Photo by Benjamín Gremler on Unsplash

Thanks for sharing this newsletter.

Stay curious and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Mercredi!

Issue #60 is a 3.0-minute read.

The Hardest Choice I Almost Never Made

Photo by Art Institute of Chicago on Unsplash

People that are close to me say I focus on details.

That’s code for saying I have perfectionist traits.

Example:

I use 17.8 minutes on Sunday mornings to make French press coffee.

Grind 40 grams of coffee beans to a coarse-salt size and then let it sit tight for four minutes with 680 grams of 198-degree water.

Slowly, press down the filter and pour into a hot mug.

Add 3 ½ tablespoons of warm almond milk.

Sensational.

My attention to detail brings joy when it works and challenge when a project doesn’t go to plan.

I don’t recall the exact moment I settled on the idea that best > good.

My guess is that it was a certain sub-10 degree night in late December and 3.47 minutes after the doctor took off his blue mask to tell my mom, “It’s a boy.”

Photo by Alessandro Viaro on Unsplash

😀 From those early breaths, I was ga-ga for one path.

Taking a process and product from poor to pretty good to perfect.

Examples:

Did I need to spend 23 hours crafting the winning title for a new magazine at The Washington Post so the marketing gurus would hire me?

No. But I did, and they did.

Did I need to write 14 drafts of an application essay so the admissions team would grant me entry to that business school in Philadelphia?

No. But I did, and they did.

Did I have to build investment pitch books for free so I could ask clients which words, colors, and charts made them excited to improve their portfolio?

No. But I did, and... you know the rest.

Even with A+ results, the perfection path made me wonky and brought sleepless nights.

I put too bright a spotlight on the end result and wanted to make the process more fun.

So, I read dusty psychology books in cold libraries.

And I took quiet walks with my neighbor’s golden retriever, Bingo.

Who, by the way, has perfect 10 form when he leaps into a fresh pile of leaves.

I found the cure for the nasty P at 2:45 am after binge-watching five, 28-minute videos on YouTube.

The message brought calm to my tightrope walk on the perfection wire.

Photo by Elisa Trivino on Pexels

And it helped me make a difficult, wise choice.

One that took me from manic to moderate.

And the best part?

I used the magic fix to find new joy in building bold solutions.

That choice helped me grow a business from 0 clients to one of the most respected 5-star investment boutiques in the Southwest.

You’ll never guess who gave me the cure.

The Bob Ross Model to Find Joy in the Process

Photo by RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist on Unsplash

Bob’s calm style with brushes and paint whispers a key message:

How you create brings you more joy than what you create.

The bonus is that Bob’s model guides your ego along a softer path to let you build even more diverse, sensational solutions for your clients.

Here’s how you can apply Bob’s methods and hop over the perfection roadblocks:

Show your steps

• When Bob paints, you hear his mind at work and you see his choices take shape
  

• Bring your audience behind your curtain and show them how you turn ideas into answers

Pick your canvas

• Bob tells you the type of canvas he uses and the prep work he does for each painting
  

• Before you build your product, pick the right format: a digital course, .pdf download, live masterclass, digital community, etc.

Draw the outline

• Bob starts with the sky and light as he forms the shapes for his painting
  

• Create for your clients a graphic that shows your 100-foot approach to the big problem you’ll solve

Deliver on emotion

• Bob adds color, accents and shadow to every part of his scenes so that you feel the emotion within his art
  

• Add the unique traits of your offer so your audience can embrace the positive change you give them

Embrace imperfection

• Bob tells us its fine to start slowly; this gives you room to improve
  

• Build your products with a focus on how to do it vs. what it looks like and your end result will be more effective

P.S. Last night I started to craft a new offer for professionals who are itching to advance their 1-2 person business.

You’re going to like the end result. Stay tuned…

📢 Yesterday, a subscriber asked for a shout-out to the folks in Florida and other states that saw hurricane damage. Let’s send kind thoughts to them during these tough days.

Photo by Denys Kostyuchenko on Unsplash

Thanks for sharing this newsletter.

Stay curious and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy Miercoles!

Issue #59 is a 3.0-minute read.

1 big topic: The Thank You Matrix, Pasta, Chocolate

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

🥘 Every Friday and Saturday night between 5:00 and 7:30 pm, they stood in that line.

A line that went out the purple front door, past the indie theater, and up Utica Street.

As a kid, I was in awe that folks in my farm-friendly hometown waited up to 70 minutes for a table at Delmonico’s.

Sure, the pasta dishes were huge, and the chocolate cannolis were authentic.

Did they warrant a long wait outside in the February freeze, July sweat, and October rain?

Now that I have 18+ years of experience as a business owner, it’s obvious to me why we did it.

We waited for him.

Mr. Delmonico himself.

He was the Oracle of the Thank You matrix.

He was a master in customer relations and a specialist in gratitude.

I can still hear his bass, velvety voice when he’d stop to chat at our table.

“It’s so good to see the Duncans tonight.

We appreciate you dining with us. You make our family business a friendly home.”

Long before Yelp and Google reviews, Mr. Delmonico knew how and when to show thanks.

A firm handshake when you arrived and a handwritten thank you on every check.

You felt important when Mr. D sat at your table and thrilled when he asked about your day.

His ability to combine comfort food and friendship made it okay to wait.

📕 And to show the Delmonicos that you had a wonderful time, you signed the red ‘Thank You’ book after every meal.

Inside, there were 100+ pages of comments from thousands of diners.

Each one expressed the same message:

“We love how you make us feel.”

It was proof in blue ink that when we share gratitude, everyone wins.

Mr. D gave it to every customer, and we gave it back to him.

Gratitude makes us feel better.

Here’s how and when to share yours with your customers.

Enter the Thank You Matrix

Each time one of your customers takes these steps, you get a chance to say, ‘Thank you’ in a creative, thoughtful way.

Downloads a freebie from your website

• Send your thank-you email that shows why you created the freebie and how you hope it will help fix their problem
  

• Then follow-up with your 3-5 email series that asks, ‘how’s it going so far?” and gives them new ways to use the freebie in their day-to-day

Completes a contact form

• Many say the contact form is useless; I disagree. It’s a good sign they want to learn more and it’s your chance to show your joy for a chance to meet them
  

• Use funny gifs or build your own thank-you template in Canva that makes them excited to learn what makes your business special

Subscribes to your newsletter

• Show your true self with a ‘thank you for subscribing email.’ Make it ooze with your sense of humor, style and the culture you represent
  

• Include an image that lets them know you’re thrilled to be in their inbox and that you value their time

Books an intro meeting

• Direct them to a thank-you page that gives them a short-list of all the reasons the meeting will be fun, helpful and a step closer to solving their challenge
  

• Send a confirmation email 24-hours before the meeting that shares your deep appreciation for a chance to help them improve

Buys your product

• When they buy, it’s a victory for you and your customer; share a thank-you page that makes them feel special.
  

• Use images and language that delivers a hug and lets them know you value their trust

⭐️ Bonus Offer

I believe a positive testimonial makes a business owner feel better than selling a product or service.

Sure, the sale makes your checking account smile.

And a positive testimonial fills your spirit with pride.

When you discover a product that makes you happy or improves your business in a positive way, take a few moments and craft a thoughtful review for the creator.

Every business owner has their own red thank-you book. I know you have one.

It’s a sensational feeling to flip through the pages and read about the good feelings our work creates.

This week, share that good feeling with a business owner you respect.

📢 Yesterday, a subscriber asked for a shout-out for their home city. New York.

Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash

Until next Wednesday, stay curious and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

Make resolutions a reality

You have the goals; HoneyBook has the tools. So join HoneyBook in January to get the tools you need to scale your business—plus a chance to win $10,000 in prizes to jumpstart your business

Start free trial to enter

Disclaimer: I may earn a commission if you click on any of the links within the HoneyBook ad in this week’s issue.

🖐 Happy 40 hours to Friday!

Issue #58 is a 3.0-minute read.

1 big topic: The travel secret they don’t talk about

Photo by Kelly on Pexels

🛩 Thursday, when I was waiting for 18 minutes in the cramped virus they call the jet bridge, I had an insight about products.

When you fly, the main product is the plane ride.

You pay for fast travel, and you expect a comfy trip.

What you get is a Navy SEAL obstacle course.

Lurch to the right at the cabin door and slink by the smelly galley.

Crawl through ‘I wish’ first class. Avoid eye contact with those people.

Shuffle sideways for 24 yards down the inch-wide aisle of the cattle stalls in coach.

Dodge the 338 lb. trunks falling from overhead.

Then, you see it.

OMG! The window seat!

You need a PhD in Cirque du Soleil.

Leap the armrests, twist over two passengers, and land in your 6 x 4 inch stall.

Inhale jet fumes for 43 minutes on the 121-degree tarmac.

Get a nasty headache, and swear the next time you’ll drive.

The secondary product is the airport.

They used to be smoky, bland, and dangerous.

Today, they’re smoke-free, safe, and roomy with 5-star lounges, shopping, and dining.

That’s the secret problem!

Airlines woo you on the secondary product that’s free to visit and screw you on the primary product you bought.

😕 Avoid this!

When you run a business, you have to…

Give Your Clients a First Class Primary and Secondary Product

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels

Your Primary Product

• Gives a fast solution
  

• Over delivers a positive result
  

• No pain in the a%! issues
  

Ex:

• A simple, fill-in-the-blank template that gives you brilliant copy for your home page
  

• An easy-to-follow video lesson that shows you exactly how to use QuickBooks to build A+ financial reports
  

Your Secondary Product

• A stunning waiting area; namely, your website
  

• The right colors, design and flow
  

• Sets a mood that pleases and entices
  

• Loads fast with no delays
  

• Copy makes your customers say, “Love it, gotta have it.”
  

Ex:

Check out Stripe’s HOME page and Laura Belgray’s ABOUT page:

🔑 Your Takeaway: 

Give the world your first-class primary and secondary product:

A comfy, 5-star website with hassle-free, easy-to-use solutions that fix a big, nasty problem.

PS: My seatmate on the flight spilled Diet Coke across my lap.

Thank God the gourmet lemon crepe and sinful espresso I inhaled in the airport lounge put me in a “no worries” mood.

1 fun idea: Let Paul Simon and Your Internal Clock Shape Your Day

Photo by Ashin K Suresh on Unsplash

So, it’s 3:00 am, and my phone alarm ignites with Paul Simon going to Graceland.

Neither Paul nor the phone know I’m on vacay on the West Coast.

Vacay = more sleep, so I return to Blanketville.

Then I remember what a crafty professor once told me.

“Train your body to jive with your internal clock. Let it tell you when to work and when to sleep.”

My internal clock knows I’m awesome from 6 am to 1:00 pm E.S.T. and pretty useless thereafter.

It’s always time for coffee, so I get up and find the 24-hour hotel diner.

I hate sitting in booths alone. I hit the counter.

☕️ “Coffee?” she asks.

“Please,” I say, without looking up from Wordle on my phone.

She pours.

“Thanks.”

Working on my awkward introvert issues, I ask if her shift is going okay.

“I’m done in 10 minutes,” she answers, resting the coffee pot on the burner.

“Then I go to the hospital for my second job at 5:00 am.”

“Second job?”

30 minutes and 3 cups of so-so coffee later, I know that Cindy, my server, loves talking to people. 

She dreams of starting a podcast for single parents about raising kids on too little money and too much stress.

She’s dying to tell her micromanaging bosses to “Go f-themselves,” and make money on her terms.

She wants to give her kids more quality time and take them to the Eiffel Tower.

Cindy puts up with my 17 consulting questions.

I give her space to talk about what she loves and fears about starting a solo business.

Easily one of the most interesting, helpful, and hopeful chats I’ve had at 3:15 am in a diner.

Photo by Wendy Wei on Pexels

⭐️ See how easy it can be to learn about what your audience wants, feels, and fears?

All you have to do is let your internal clock shape your day.

You get a priceless chance to meet and support kind, energetic people who chase their dream.

That’s the heart of your business.

📢 This week, a subscriber couple asked me to celebrate their hometown. London! 

Here you go.

Photo by Chris Schippers on Pexels

Until next Wednesday, stay curious and keep opening doors.

-Erik

P.P.S. If you dream of getting to $150K of sales, let’s do it!

When you’re set, here’s your custom, 90-minute consulting session to bring you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy ‘it starts with ‘W’ day!’

Issue #57 is a 3.0-minute read.

3 nasty client sinkholes to avoid

Photo by Kurt Cotoaga on Unsplash

It’s 1:16 pm, and the marketing wiz who told you to “please book an online chat” is a no-show for your 1 o’clock Zoom call.

When the camera finally goes on, the wiz is cleaning hot sauce off his Dave Matthews t-shirt and feeding a beef burrito to his cat, who is wearing a bib that reads, “CEO.”

Three days later, the proposal that he promised is still lost in the email dryer rather than folded nicely in the inbox.

Face one of those events, and it’s a level 3 headache.

Face all 3 and it’s a level 9 migraine.

Face all 3 from the same business, and, baby, there’s not enough Tylenol at Costco to cure that pain.

That happened to me last week.

Let’s make it simple.

If you want an ‘A’ in Client Conversion 101, start with the basics.

• Be on time

• Dress like you care

• Deliver on your promise

I know, I know.

You’re different. You never fall into the sinkholes of time, dress, or follow-through.

…and yet it happens all too often that we start to take the little things for granted.

We show up 8 minutes late.

We dress for a meeting like we’re cleaning the garage.

We miss that deadline by a day or two.

No biggie, right?

Except that it’s a SUPER-SIZED BIGGIE with hot sauce, extra onions, and melted Havarti cheese in the eyes of the client.

Photo by Eugen Kucheruk on Unsplash

On the rush-hour freeway we call running a business, clients can pull over at any rest stop for copywriting, websites, and marketing help.

If your clean, award-winning rest stop is the one they choose, the last thing you want is for them to think you’re not ready for them.

If my recent, new client headache is any clue, you can take the 4 train uptown express to Happy Client Town if you nail the basics.

• Be on time

• Dress like you care

• Deliver on your promise

Building a brand that shines takes time.

You can get a big head start today if you watch the clock, put the Dave Matthews t-shirt in the drawer, and tell the cat to please keep all burritos off the keyboard.

1 big story: Nike Tells their CEO to Get a New Act

Photo by Diego Alexander on Pexels

When a CEO fails to win over clients, investors, and the cool kids, it’s a sign that something is amiss.

When that CEO is John Donahoe and the company is Nike, it’s a big, flashing neon sign with a swoosh that reads “EXIT.”

After 4 years of losing it’s mojo and making the employees hopping mad, Nike bid farewell to Donahoe and chose to bring back a retired Nike veteran, Elliott Hill. ⁽¹⁾

Sometimes even the big companies swing and miss on key leaders and have to fire them.

Why it matters: When you run a 1 or 2-person business, you don’t have the luxury to fire the CEO since, well, that’s YOU.

The big issue: It’s fun to ride your cruiser bike on the DIY-CEO path and tell yourself you can do it all in your business.

When ‘do it all’ means bringing your best to your bullseye of talent, then, ABSOLUTELY!

You should do it all.

When it means looking at the numbers, legal issues, website language, contracts, insurance, and copywrite rules, then “NO!”

You should give those darts to an expert who can ‘Ted Lasso’ that baby right in the middle.

Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

Your takeaway: Saving money when you start a business is smart.

Learning how to do new things when you run a business is fun.

Finding out too late that you don’t have the right license, contract, insurance, disclaimer, or financing to make your business hum is a giant pissed-off WASP sting to your bank account and reputation.

John Donahoe has enough money and Nike stock to hang out and watch the show until he finds a new act.

Most of us don’t.

Be smart. Hire experts to help you juggle all the flying objects in your business.

🔑 For those of you reading today’s issue in Iowa below, take in the open sky and smile.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels

Let me know where you read Solopreneur Doorway, and we’ll celebrate your location.

Stay curious and keep opening doors.

-Erik

Hitting $50,000 in annual sales is a huge milestone.

If you’re there, congrats!

Going from $50,000 to $150,000 is a bit harder.

When you’re ready, let’s get you to $150,000.

Your custom, 90-minute consulting session brings you there. Faster.

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Andrew Ross Sorkin, Ravi Mattu, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced, Lauren Hirsch, Ephrat Livni and Anita Raghavan, The New York Times, September 20, 2024, last viewed September 22, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/business/dealbook/nike-ceo-donahoe.html 

🖐 Happy get-over-the-hump day!

Issue #56 is a 3.0-minute read.

1 big topic: A Toast to Doug the Waiter

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash

🍤 After college, I was a bad waiter in a busy Cajun restaurant.

I took the job so I could write songs, play gigs at night, and stay out of cubicle hell.

At 2 a.m, after my third shift, the manager wanted to talk.

Slurping 3-carat chunks of rock salt off the rim of his margarita, he tells me to sit.

“Erik, you seem like a good guy.” Slurp.

“Customers talk to you.” Slurp.

“The problem is the other waiters in this place get $75 to $90 in sales per check.”

“You get about $8.00.” Slurp, slurp.

“Tomorrow, I’m putting you with Doug. He can sell to all types of people. Watch him.”

⚡️ The next night I saw that waiters who can sell to different customers make a ton of money.

This works in business, too.

Curious how to diversify your business income with products that help different customers?

Check out the waiter’s way.

The Waiter’s Way by Doug

Photo by Petr Sevcovic on Unsplash

Doug taught me that each customer has their own idea, opinion, and question about what they want to eat and drink.

The key is to work with each customer and shape their order to match their wants, vision, and taste for a great meal.

Then add a few items that expand their ideal and make them happy.

This works well in business, too.

Ask the right questions

• What problem do you want to solve?

• What did you try that did not work?

Give options

• Create solutions that help different customer personas

• Make it easy to find and test new products

Share a recommendation

• Show how your suggestion will make it better

• Pair products to give the customer a long-term solution

Diversify your offers to suit your various customer personas. One size does not fit all.

P.S. I worked at the restaurant for two months.

Doug’s advice helped me build two great businesses over 16 years.

💥 Extra Credit to Get an ‘A’…

Magic Media on Canva

When I see a strategic plan, it’s like someone put spicy mustard on key lime pie. Gross.

Before you spend 0.1 seconds writing a strategic plan, check out this post on why strategy and planning don’t mix.

5 ways to use strategy and planning the right way.

1 fun idea: The Secret to Public Speaking is to Close Your Eyes

Photo by Fred Moon on Unsplash

I tried to give talks to large crowds when I ran my first business in finance.

Before each one, I sat in my car, listened to nature sounds, and softly hit my head on the steering wheel.

“Why, Erik, did you agree to talk to all these people?

It makes you ill and gives them fun stories to share at lunch.

“Hey, did you guys catch that 11 am speaker disaster?”

“Who was that guy?”

“Does he think we’ll invest with him after he mumbled for 20 minutes about cats and pasta? Or was it stocks and money?”

I asked a vocal coach for help.

His advice took me from “I’ll never talk in public again” to “I want to give the State of the Union.”

The advice: Close your eyes.

In our first meeting, I shut my eyes, and he played two minutes from two legends who speak at a top level.

• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. : I Have a Dream

• Franklin D. Roosevelt: The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself

🙏 He said that King and Roosevelt spoke in a 1-2 tempo and a tone that raised your spirit.

Photo by Sydney Raye on Unsplash

Their words were easy to hear, and their vocal style showed they were 100% ready to roll.

They knew when to breathe and when to speak.

If you’re like me, it takes practice to find your style and to speak in a tone that shows you can help.

When you have a big presentation:

• Record your talk
  

• Play it back
  

• Close your eyes and listen

You’ll hear your tone, what works, and where you can improve.

Use the 1-2 tempo, breathe, and then speak with the confidence they need to hear.

🔑 For today’s readers in Copenhagen, below, wow. What a view.

Photo by Daniel Jurin on Pexels

Until next Wednesday — stay curious and keep opening doors.

-Erik

Hitting $50,000 in annual sales is a huge milestone.

If you’re there, that’s A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Going from $50,000 to $150,000 is a bit harder.

When you’re ready, let’s get you to $150,000.

Your custom, 90-minute consulting session brings you there. Faster.

🖐 Happy 3.5 / 7 Day!

Issue #55 is a 3.0-minute read.

1 big topic: 3 Ways to Get Your Business off its A!% and Back to Growth

Magic Media on Canva

In college, we had a hammock between two old pine trees that was the chef’s kiss for naps.

By 5 a.m., every morning there was a line of J. Crew-covered freshmen gnawing on strawberry pop tarts waiting to get on the sign-up sheet for 30-minute nap slots.

Jesse Laidlaw never missed his nap in that hammock. Ever.

He paid his soccer buddies $15 each to stand in the hammock line and sign him up for extra slots on Fridays.

My first semester, I was grade-aphobic, so I added up Jesse’s total nap time.

294 hours! No way he’s passing his classes.

Every damn time I saw Jesse lounging in the hammock like a hungover cat, I’d bug him about his grades.

“Calculus midterm?”

"98," and he’d stretch out his right leg to the grass.

“Term paper on Catcher in the Rye?”

"97," and he’d roll over to squeeze his globe-shaped head deeper into his gross, green camouflage hat.

Here I’m dragging my 57-lb. REI backpack to the library, fending off calls from my folks about grades and Laidlaw’s slinging A’s from a hammock.

At graduation, I bought Jesse a congrats Sam Adams beer at the Crusty Owl.

“Spill it. How the hell did you snooze 294 hours in Hammockville every fall and rock a 3.98 GPA?”

Jesse’s 3-Step Secret:

Photo by Dorota Dylka on Unsplash

• He had Jedi Knight focus: 
  
  Jesse did more in one hour than I could in 7; when he sat down to work, nothing bugged him.
  
  

• He played to his skills: 
  
  Jesse loved math and writing. He had endless energy to study his passion.
  
  

• He had bat ears: 
  
  Jesse paid uber-close attention to every word an instructor said; he knew which topics they would likely test.

As summer fades and you’re stressing about putting up that hammock again next June for fear you’ll get zilch done in your business — no worries.

Channel J. Laidlaw.

• Focus on the task at hand.
  

• Play to your skills.
  

• Listen to your clients.
   

You’ll get tons of time in your hammock and STILL grow your biz.

One more way to get your business up the pop charts is to treat it to a sweet reward when it shows progress.

I think this post I wrote on 6 crazy good newsletters has done pretty freakin’ well, and I know your business mind will eat it up.

Photo by Ono Kosuki on Pexels

The post has bright lights and insight from 6 fun writers who share what’s lurking in the land of AI, SEO, freelancing, and positivity.

💥Your takeaway from this week’s business story:

Ticketmaster Might Get Pinched for Playing Tricks on Crazy Oasis Fans

Photo by Vishnu R Nair on Pexels

If you bait and switch your customers on price, they’ll curse at you like Yankee fans at Fenway and then make a blood pact with one another to never buy from your weasely little business again.

Why it matters: It takes a long time to earn a customer’s trust.

You can lose it in a second if you raise your price without so much as a nudge-nudge, wink-wink.

Catch-up quick: Authorities are taking a digital microscope to Ticketmaster and the slick dance steps it used to upcharge fans for Oasis reunion tickets. ⁽¹⁾

It seems when tickets to the Oasis miracle hit the market, crazy fans stormed the website to buy.

The problem was that the price at checkout was more than double the initial list price that fans first saw on the site. ⁽²⁾

The big issue: Did Ticketmaster get greedy-sneaky and change the price at checkout as demand for the tickets grew?

If yes, it’s called dynamic pricing, and it’s a big, giant no-no in the land of fair trade.

Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash

Your takeaway: When you set your prices, it means you SET YOUR PRICES. No funny business.

If you want to raise them later as demand grows, have at it.

It’s perfectly fine to say, “Whoa, I have a sweet product, and I think it’s worth more.”

Be a straight shooter and tell folks the true, new number and the date it goes into effect.

This way, your business stays out of the orange jumpsuit and customers trust your word.

🔑 Wherever today’s newsletter finds you, I hope you’re thriving.

If you’re working in Portugal, below, I’m wicked jealous.

Photo by Nick Karvounis on Unsplash

Let’s all make plans to get to Portugal for a tasty dinner and evening chatter, okay?

Stay curious and keep opening doors.

-Erik

Hitting $50,000 in annual sales is a huge milestone.

If you’re there, that’s A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Going from $50,000 to $150,000 is a bit harder.

When you’re ready, let’s get you to $150,000.

Your custom, 90-minute consulting session brings you there. Faster.

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Ben Sisario, Oasis Fans Balked at High Ticket Prices. But Were They Dynamic?, The New York Times, September 6, 2024, last viewed September 8, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/06/arts/music/oasis-reunion-tour-tickets.html

⁽²⁾ Ibid.