The Likeable Expert Podcast

There are a lot of advantages to being a large company. Freedom to experiment is  not  one of them. As a small professional service firm or solo,  if you are  not  taking advantage of your natural advantage, you are missing out on some potentially game-changing insights.

Today's newsletter focuses on business problems ... and making sure you are applying the correct solutions. It is, however, maybe the  longest  newsletter I've ever written. So if you are one of those, "I'm too busy to read long things" people, I won't mention the fact that you binge-watched all of season two of Severance last weekend.   

Getting clients is important.  But holding onto them – for a long, long time – matters just as much. Today's newsletter, after an opening story that, between you and me, goes on quite a bit longer than necessary, explains.

Business is about creating something of value so that others will pay for it. Understandably, that leads professionals to mostly focus on minimizing cost while maximizing revenue. In practice, it's a bit more complicated.  The more value you give to clients, the less likely they are to leave and the more likely they are to tell others about you  – both of which lower your marketing costs. Confused...

I received an unwelcome surprise this week.  Fortunately, nothing super-serious. Still, as today's newsletter explains,  a good reminder of the importance of planning for occasional hiccups in our respective businesses.

Running a business can feel overwhelming.  So much to know and do and think about. The solution? Get a job. I'm kidding; don't do that. Instead,  figure out what really matters and stop worrying about the rest.

People like us  –  small professional service providers and independents  –  live in a word-of-mouth world. Much of our marketing occurs informally and without warning as we move throughout the day. Which means, as today's newsletter takes way too long getting around to explaining,  you always need to be ready.

Do you use much automation in your work? Me too. It's pretty much a necessity for small firms and solos. But at some point, too much of it defeats the purpose. Today's newsletter explains.

Who's your perfect client? If you said "everyone," today's newsletter is for you.

I never raise my fees. Really? Okay, no, not exactly. But sort of. Read on for more. Read off for less.

This is issue #600. Only 400 more to go and you have my permission to unsubscribe. Speaking of which,  if you publish a newsletter, you've probably noticed the statistics made available by your email marketing vendor  (MailChimp, etc.). These can be fun to look at and, since they drop nicely into a spreadsheet, easy to take at face value.  Today's newsletter explains why that's not a good idea and...

Here's a little marketing secret for us small professional service providers and solos: Consistency matters more than perfection. And yet, lots (lots) of individuals and even small firms pause their marketing when things get busy.

We humans do many things that seemingly serve little practical purpose  (insert your own Congress joke here). And yet, since that's a big part of what makes us human in the first place, taking deliberate steps to  incorporate this kind of thing into your marketing it not a bad idea. Today's newsletter explains.

Today's newsletter takes a look at a question that has plagued the working person since the beginning of time:  Will they know I am lying if I take Friday as a sick day? Ha, ha, I am kidding. They will definitely know. Rather, I am speaking of this question:  Should I stay in my job or go off and work for myself?     

It may seem logical to copy "the big guys"  when putting together your own marketing approach.  After all, they are big and successful; they must know what they are doing, right? Well, yes... but.  What works for them doesn't usually work for us. Today's newsletter explains...

Today's newsletter is about  AI and the negative impact it is having on our collective ability to think and communicate. Granted, it's a bit longer than usual. So if you want to be ironic, feel free to copy and paste it into ChatGPT for a summary.

For any business,  everything  visible to the outside world falls under the heading of "marketing. But it shouldn't be random.  Today's newsletter explains how the things you choose to share can have a big impact on your success.  

This is issue number 593. Seven more and I get a toaster. Today we talk about luck  –  and why you want to ignore it when building your business.

Most of the time, I offer suggestions about marketing things I think you should do. In today's newsletter, I share two recommendations of things you should  not  do.

Are you passionate about the work you do? I'm glad. But the thing is, nobody but you really cares. In today's newsletter I explain why  what you are especially good at –  not what you love to do  – is the shortest path to everything you want.

Recently, I launched a new, second newsletter.  I thought it would be easy. I was wrong. If you are likewise at the beginning stages – of a newsletter or anything else that requires putting yourself out there for all to see – today's issue is especially for you.

Today's newsletter is not the least bit funny. So, if that's the only reason you read these each time, I recommend hitting delete now and instead watching this  super-cute baby elephant video . Everyone else,  read on for some AI-themed insights that may or may not be useful.

Marketing your solo professional business effectively comes with a lot of moving parts ... not unlike a dishwasher. Confused? I don't blame you. Not interested? I don't blame you even more. For everyone else, today's newsletter awaits you below!

When it comes to solo professional success, finding paying clients is the name of the game.  If you can't make that happen, not much else matters. But getting those paying clients – especially the ones who come back again and again – requires more than just being open for business. In today's newsletter, we look at some other things worth doing to start and keep the client ball rolling.

Today's newsletter is a little longer than usual. So, for those of you who are too busy to read it,  I dropped it into ChatGPT and asked it to summarize the article: "Bald man wastes your time with dad jokes and tired marketing observations." A bit harsh for a robot, if you ask me. But I can't much argue with it.