So, if you've been here since January, I’ve written to you 219 times this year -- if you're mathing, I write Mon-Fri and took a short summer hiatus.

So first off, thanks for still being here.

I hope that’s a signal that you’re getting value from micro-doses of my always-evolving lens on solo consulting.

We’ve covered a lot together, and the umbrella theme over all of it has been simply:

How to nail your consulting niche and become known for it.

In fact, that’s almost exactly the positioning copy my friends Joel & Leah from Kelford, Inc. helped me craft around my business back in January.

But let’s go a level deeper, shall we?

Just like I preach about value being found in the niche crannies of a domain, I’ve dug through the crannies of my 2025 archive, and thought it'd be fun to share the highest-engagement Lightbulb from each month.

This isn't based on opens or clicks (those metrics can be gamed), but rather on the number of your collective replies to a particular email -- the emails that made you feel some sort of way that you just had to write in.

That's my internal signal of resonance.

Please enjoy the stroll down memory lane, click-in to those you may have missed, and perhaps this year's top posts might prompt some thinking about how to continue optimizing your solo business next year.

At the bottom, I'll share the most replied-to Lightbulb of 2025, and a preview of what's coming in 2026.

Here we go:

January

​#241 💡 Follow your genius, simplify your offer​

TLDR: Draw a tight circle around what you’re great at, and sign up for little else

February

​#270 💡 Tossing the shell​

TLDR: Your corporate context was ephemeral, and your expertise is all that carries on

March

​#285 💡 Assessing a stray opportunity - The CZAR test​

TLDR: A framework to triage a tempting, but perhaps distracting opportunity

April

​#304 💡 Minding the pain curve​

TLDR: A visual framework depicting how your approach and message should shift to match the degree of your client's pain.

May

​#337 💡 I’m talking but it’s not landing​

TLDR: A visual framework on distillation of your expertise from verbal to visual

June

​#339 💡 “The sales prevention department”​

TLDR: A client's "Intellectual Headshot" - a sharp POV turned into an unforgettable mental image

July

​#366 💡 Watering the weeds​

TLDR: A visual reminder to quit trying to appeal to everyone

August

​#388 💡 Calm is magnetic​

TLDR: My former finance professor shows us by example the immeasurable value of bringing calm among the chaos.

September

​#401 💡 Self-employed vs freelancer​

TLDR: How you talk about yourself matters -- the 'freelancer' mindset is a holdover from your corporate life, and it can hold you back.

October

​#411 💡 Very Niche: Seattle Ring Hunter​

TLDR: A very specific solo practice teaches us a few lessons on niche strategy

November

​#434 💡 TOOL: Map your service evolution​

TLDR: Finding your niche is a process, and not a linear one. Map template included.

December

​#455 💡 Rethinking your pricing next year​

TLDR: A recent Headshots sprint delivered ahead of schedule crystallized some pricing principles:
​
Pinpoint what you’re selling, and set the price you need. The rest is up to them.

And the most replied-to Lightbulb this year was:

November 26, 2025

​#443 💡 A quiet confidence​

TLDR: Solo consultants continue to amaze me, in their empathetic and vulnerable way

_____________________________

Thanks for joining me on this journey, and for all the engagement throughout the year.

Have a wonderful break of rest and recharge.

Write to me if you're bored and pondering.

Otherwise, next year will bring:

• More reflections, mental models, and frameworks
• More features from my client sprints
• The release of my first book, The Expert's Privilege ( 🥳 !!!)
• The launch of Seattle Solos (first in-person event Jan 13th)
• and who knows what else...

See you then.

💡

-Wes