“Just use this proven strategy.”

Sounds safe.

Logical.

Smart.

… & it quietly kills a LOT of businesses.

Let's break down why “proven” strategies fail more often than people admit

& the 2 reasons why no one talks about: they don’t match your stage or your personality.

Because the same strategy that works for an established creator with an audience… can completely stall someone who’s just getting started.

Inside this episode:

• Why low-ticket offers are often the hardest way to grow early on
• The math problem most people ignore when pricing their first offers
• How using the wrong strategy at the wrong stage creates business-breaking pressure
• How working 1:1 first actually accelerates results & income

You'll also hear a real-life example of what happens when you skip alignment

Strategies don’t fail because they’re bad.

They fail because they don’t fit.

The right move isn’t copying what works.

It’s choosing what works for you ... right now in your business.

Read along with the newsletter.

Let's connect on LinkedIn.

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

“Proven strategies” aren’t always wrong…

They’re just often wrong for you.

Let's unpack why so many popular growth strategies (like podcasts, webinars, constant content) can feel heavy, forced, or even impossible to follow through on.

It’s not a discipline problem.

It’s a misalignment problem.

Inside this episode:

• Why “proven” strategies fail when they don’t match your personality
• The difference between resistance & real internal misalignment
• How ignoring how you naturally think & work creates unnecessary friction
• Why doing what works for someone else can quietly stall your growth

You'll also learn about my own experience trying to force strategies that never fit

& what changed once I started designing around how I actually operate.

Because before funnels, content, or tactics… your business (& its marketing) needs to fit you.

If it doesn’t, everything feels harder than it should.

Alignment isn’t fluff.

It’s leverage.

You can read the newsletter while you listen

Let's connect on LinkedIn.

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

What if your business isn’t exhausting because you’re doing it "wrong"…

But because it's designed to depend on you?

Let's break down the uncomfortable realization that I didn’t build a business ...

I built a job.

One that relies on constant calls, constant availability, & constant energy.

If every dollar you make requires you to show up, perform, & manage people…

You don’t control your momentum ... your clients do.

This episode dives into:

• The hidden energy cost of client work (it’s not just the hours)
• Why introverted entrepreneurs burn out faster in “standard” business models
• The volatility that comes from relying on clients for income
• & the shift toward quieter, more durable, asset-based business models

You'll also hear about where I’m headed next ...

moving away from high-touch, schedule-heavy work & toward building income streams that don’t rely on me being “on” all the time.

If you’ve ever felt drained trying to keep up with the demands of a client-based business… this is your permission to design something different.

Quiet doesn’t mean small. It might just mean sustainable.

You can read this issue while you listen

Let's connect on LinkedIn.

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

You can also read this issue of the newsletter

Some conversations are opening doors.

Others are just noise in a blazer & boots

We'll dive into a pattern that shows up everywhere once you start paying attention…

& why it quietly wastes time, energy, & a whole lot of opportunity.

You'll hear about:

• A frustrating trend that keeps showing up in DMs
• Why “more conversations” is not the same as better ones
• The difference between motion and actual momentum
• & the shift that saves your time, energy, & sanity

If you've ever been on the receiving end of a pitch that came in way too fast…

or wasted time on the wrong call…

This one will feel uncomfortably familiar.

Just not in the way you think.

Links to resources & people mentioned...

add what's landing in your DMs in this LinkedIn thread.

Connect with Keith Gilmore on LinkedIn ... & me too (if we're not already)

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

Read Marcus Sheridan's book that started it all ... They Ask, You Answer

We're breaking down a deceptively simple question that trips up a lot of entrepreneurs:

“So… what do you do?”

Early on, I answered this question the way most people do...

by explaining, over-talking, & trying to sound impressive.

It didn’t work.

Conversations died.

People disengaged.

& ultimately, it played a big role in my first business failing.

Not because I lacked skill…

But because I lacked positioning.

This episode unpacks:

• Why most people answer this question wrong (and don’t realize it)
• The difference between explaining what you do vs. making it relevant to the listener
• How “feature-mode” & jargon kill conversations instantly
• Why people don’t actually care what you do—they care what changes for them
• The subtle shift that turns polite smiles into genuine curiosity (& clients)

You’ll also hear the exact reframing that changed everything for me ... turning awkward intros into real conversations, referrals, & paying clients.

The big takeaway:

Relevance beats resume.

Every. Single. Time.

& sometimes the best way to answer the question…

is not to answer it right away.

If you’ve ever struggled to explain what you do without rambling, overthinking, or losing people mid-sentence ... this episode helps you simplify, connect, & actually be understood.

You can read the newsletter while you listen

& watch the TEDx Talks on YouTube ...

• Rebecca Okamoto — TEDx Talk: How to introduce yourself & get hired
• Michelle Golden — Your elevator speech is out of order
• Clay Hebert — The best way to answer “so what do you do?”

Let's connect on LinkedIn.

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

This episode challenges one of the most common myths from the movies:

“If you build it, they will come.”

It sounds great… but in business, it’s completely backwards in marketing your small business.

Because the truth is , as entrepreneurs, most of us don’t fail because their website, offer, or idea is bad.

We fail because we focus on the wrong things first.

This episode breaks down:

• Why launching a website is often one of the loneliest moments in business
• How “perfecting” design, SEO, & tech becomes a form of productive procrastination
• Why your website can turn into a “brochure on a desert island”
• The real reason people don’t engage, click, or reach out

& most importantly… what actually works instead.

You’ll learn a simpler, more effective order of marketing operations.

This episode also introduces Alex Hormozi's concept of the “Core Four” ways to reach people:

The big takeaway:

Your message matters more than your marketing tools.

& a website doesn’t create demand ...it captures it.

If you’ve been stuck tweaking, building, or “getting ready” instead of actually connecting with people…

This episode helps you refocus on what truly drives traction, conversations, & clients.

You can read the newsletter while you listen.

Other links & references mentioned:

• $100M Leads — Alex Hormozi
• beehiiv (AI-powered newsletter + website platform)
• “They Ask, You Answer” by Marcus Sheridan

Let's connect on LinkedIn.

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

You can read along in the newsletter as you listen ... or instead of ... your choice.

There’s one simple word that can dramatically increase your chances of getting a “yes”…

Let's break down why people don’t just want information ... they want reasons

& how one small shift in your messaging can change how your audience responds.

Backed by a classic psychology study, you’ll see why even a bad reason works better than no reason at all…

& what that means for your marketing, offers, and everyday communication.

Inside this bonus audio:

• Why this one of the most powerful (& overlooked) words in business
• How to make your messaging more persuasive without being pushy
• The difference between real vs. fake reasons & why relevance matters
• How AI fits into the marketing equation (& why it still depends on your skill)

You'll also hear how I use AI to pressure-test (not replace) my own writing ...

so every message is clearer, stronger, & more effective.

Because at the end of the day…

People don’t buy, click, or say yes without a reason.

So give them one.

You can read about the study

& check out the free ChatGPT - HumanizeGPT Pro (By Marcus Sheridan) by Marcus Sheridan (author of They Ask, You Answer)

Let's connect on LinkedIn.

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

This episode challenges one of the most common (& misleading) phrases in business:

“I’m too busy.”

Because most of the time… you’re not too busy.

You’re just busy doing things that don’t actually move your business forward.

Let's break down why time management isn’t really about time...

it’s about what you choose to focus on & whether that time is being spent or invested.

You’ll learn:

• Why “being busy” can actually be a form of self-sabotage
• The difference between motion vs. momentum
• How common excuses (“I didn’t get to it,” “I need more research”) keep you stuck
• Why most people focus on the wrong things first (& how that slows everything down)

& most importantly… the 4-part framework to fix it:

This isn’t about doing more.

It’s about doing what actually counts.

Your core takeaway:

If your “busyness” isn’t producing clients, revenue, or real progress…

it’s costing you more than time.

This is a reset...helping you refocus on what actually grows your business, while cutting through the noise, distractions, and self-sabotage.

You can read the newsletter while you listen

& be sure to read Dan Kennedy's No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs

Let's connect on LinkedIn.

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

You ever catch yourself doing something that makes absolutely no sense…

…but you keep doing it anyway?

Yeah. That.

I'm sharing a moment that was equal parts uncomfortable, ironic, & way more revealing than it should’ve been.

At the time, it felt harmless.

Even logical.

Looking back? Not so much.

We'll look at:

• A pattern that looks productive on the surface
• Why effort doesn’t always equal progress
• The hidden cost of staying in “learning mode”
• & the moment things finally clicked

If you’ve been "busy" marketing your small business but not seeing the results you expected…

This one might hit a little closer than you’d like.

In a good way.

You can read along with the newsletter

Let's connect on LinkedIn

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

Some numbers feel really good to look at.

They go up.

They look impressive.

They make it seem like things are working.

…until you take a closer look.

Let's walk through a situation that looked like progress on the surface

But underneath something's not adding up.

Inside this episode:

• A real example of effort, investment, & “results” that didn’t connect
• Why more data doesn’t always mean better decisions
• The subtle difference between what feels like progress vs what actually moves things forward
• & when everything started to unravel

If you’ve ever looked at your numbers and thought, “this should be working…”

This might explain why it isn’t.

You can read the newsletter & questions to ask "experts" here...

& be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn

Email me about topics (& guests) you'd like to hear ... [email protected]

Ready for more value & less vanity in your numbers?

Download this guide for a breakdown of Vanity Metrics, Why They’re Misleading, Better KPIs, and Why They Matter.

It also includes questions to ask yourself to decide whether your numbers are Vanity (for you) or Key (for your business).

(I’m not a graphic designer. It’s not pretty. It IS effective.)