đĄ The Lightbulb
A daily email about monetizing your corporate expertise. Give me ~1 minute a day, and I'll help you turn what you know into your most differentiated and lucrative asset.
đ¸ They're hungry for cake
Your experiences are only part of the equation. đĄ -Wes P.S. Headshot sprints are still available for late October Two weeks. One-on-one. Get your unique approach and value prop articulated visually in 5 simple frames. Details and dates here. Have a great weekend.
đĄ The MS Paint aesthetic
This weekâs âin-the-wildâ comes from an unlikely player: the Washington State Department of Transportation. Theyâve created a sort of cult following with a unique approach to getting the word out about road closures and traffic incidents. Iâll call it the Microsoft Paint aesthetic. Essentially, theyâre overlaying digital free-hand doodles on maps to make timely announcements. Itâs hilarious, and itâsâŚworking? Axios Seattle covered their recent viral posts and their ability to bring attention...
đĄ Cool stories, bro
In statistics, the general rule of thumb is that the more data in your set, the stronger the conclusions or trends you can draw out your analysis. (Assuming your data is âgoodâ, of course.) A scatterplot of n=5 wonât weed out the noise in the way a sample of n=100 would. Get to n=1000 and the picture comes even more into focus. Now extrapolate that out to the millions of micro-experiences youâve had in your domain. Every day at a corporate job. Every meeting youâve led. Every industry article...
đĄ How many licks?
I flipped through graphic designer Ellen Luptonâs book, Design is Storytelling, at a gift shop and came across this gorgeous Intellectual Headshot. Not only a strikingly effective visual metaphor (illustration by Jennifer Tobias), but the concept is super relevant to us as solo consultants. Ellen writes that "many contemporary products combine aspects of services, experiences, goods, and commodities." She gives a smartphone as an example (from the raw materials that make the phone to the...
đĄ As simple as pet portraits
Ever think weâre overthinking it all? Letâs get back to basics. Case-in-point: this soloistâs flyer I saw at a park this weekend. (Yes, this one was really in the wild.) Donât let the simple business fool you. Itâs from the simple examples that we can learn how to really strip things down. GTM / channel: Posted at a popular, dog-friendly trailhead Show the product: A sample pet portrait. Benefits first: âElevate the aesthetic of your homeâ (implies you have a problem in that department đ¤)...
đ¸ Keep the blinds open
Talking through sales calls is our default. But when does it become too much? đĄ -Wes P.S. A few free Headshot consults are open for next week. Let's see if your expertise is ready for its close-up :) Have a great weekend. đ
đĄ In-the-wild: Vision damage in 5 frames
Most of what I get in the mail goes promptly into recycling, but I happened to open this mailer from the Macular Degeneration Research foundation. It started with the letter above (which I didnât read). But also enclosed was this simple trifold that showed in 5 frames what happens to the vision of someone who suffers from MD. My grandmother had macular degeneration, but I never knew what that was like to live with. This gave me a peek of what that mightâve been like for her. But even without...
đĄ Not all visuals are created equal
So you see a bunch of visuals on LinkedIn. And perhaps you yourself build branded graphics in Canva. And polish up framework slides for proposals. All while you run towards your favorite guruâs carousels and infographics. Seems like folks are getting the visual memo, but where do you focus? Whatâs the ârightâ type of visual to attract client conversations as a solo consultant? Hereâs where I like to remind consultants that not all visuals are created equal. Yes, theyâre all meant as vehicles...
đĄ What, like it's hard?
I didnât expect to pick up business tips from Reese Witherspoon dropping by to see fanboys Matt & Bowen on Las Culturistas, but here we are. Among other surprisingly resonant topics like when itâs time to go out on your own, and understanding that youâre not right for every project, Reese shared about her technical choices while filming Legally Blonde that made her character so multidimensional and iconic even 25 years later. Relevant clip starts at 07:51 [YouTube]: Reese: My thing was always...
đĄ Self-employed vs. freelancer
65% of you feel in control of your career. Or maybe itâs 42%? Or maybe itâs lower? LinkedIn put out some research over the weekend about who feels like theyâre âsteering their own careerâ and on first glance this seems like the most obvious chart ever. Self-employed people lead the pack in terms of feeling in control. Unemployed people are way at the other end. No shockers, right? But wait, did you see it? What made me linger on this otherwise unremarkable chart was the stark discrepancy...
A daily email about monetizing your corporate expertise. Give me ~1 minute a day, and I'll help you turn what you know into your most differentiated and lucrative asset.