Why you should steal your business ideas from others
Since starting up Lead Cookie I have had multiple people tell me “This is such a brilliant idea for a business.”
I always laugh because I have to tell them, “I didn’t think up any of this. I literally stole the concepts from others.”
No joke, almost everything about Lead Cookie is stolen.
But the truth is, that is why this business has succeeded while almost every business I have had before has failed.
In this article, I am going to share what I mean by the “stolen ideas” and give you a framework on how you can steal effectively and ethically.
Read More
A small mindset shift that can revolutionize your agency
You do not sell code.
You do not sell design.
You do not sell services.
Yet, this is how most people approach sales for their agency.
They treat what they do like a commodity.
And as a result, clients buy like a commodity.
They buy based on price.
They compare based on “features”.
And they treat you like an order taker.
Many agency owners just think that this is how it is…
But there is a better way.
Read More
Why you should read less and study more
For most of my adult life, I have read a lot of books.
In particular, I have read a lot of non-fiction books.
I am committed to a mindset of a lifelong learning, and so I am always seeking someway to improve my skills.
But over the past year, the way that I approach reading and learning has drastically changed.
It all happened when I read one simple quote from the stoic writer Seneca.
Read More
Lessons learned from a year of evolution
Many of my long time followers will notice that I haven’t blogged lately. In fact it has been almost two months since my last post.
For almost a year and a half I blogged weekly with not exceptions.
That worked well, for a while…
And then I started my year of evolution.
My goal with this post is to share with you some of the drastic changes in my business over the past 8 months, and the lessons I learned along the way.
Read More
On launching something new
When you are launching something new, there are two mindsets on how to approach it.
The key is to find a balance somewhere in the middle.
In the middle is a place where you ship, but you still ship something you are proud of.
You set a realistic deadline, you do the best you can, and then you launch.
Read More
A daily practice that changed my life
For many years, I would say that I was mentally unstable.
I had anxiety attacks, constant stress, bouts of depression, and I was consistently filled with a feeling of "what the fuck am I doing with my life."
Then about a year and a half ago, I started a practice that changed all of that.
I started writing morning pages.
Read More
Under promise, over deliver
If there is one mistake that nearly all creative professionals are culprit of, it is this.
They make promises to clients, and then they don't deliver on them.
They tell a client "I will have that to you tomorrow."
Then tomorrow rolls around, and they break the promise. They don't deliver. This broken promise upsets the client and it hurts the relationship.
Read More
Work less, enjoy life more
There is always more work to be done.
There is always another project to be started.
There is always more we could be doing...
Read More
Living your mission
It's easy to go through life and your career, taking job after job for check after check.
Your income raises, and you feel good about it.
It's easy to keep repeating that cycle.
What is hard is to find your mission.
To find that driving force that brings satisfaction beyond the money you make.
Making money is easy.
Living your mission is hard.
Read More
How to handle projects with an unclear scope
You know the situation.
A prospect comes to you with a project and the scope is just unclear.
So how to we handle these situations when a client comes to us and the scope is unclear?
How do we proceed forward and not commit ourselves to something we later regret?
My goal with this post is to outline a method to handle these situations and also get paid for your time.
Read More
How to start a business as a first time entrerpeneur
One of the biggest questions that I get is from people who are seeking to start their own business for the first time.
They have spent their whole life working in jobs for someone else, and thus the idea of starting a business seems scary and overwhelming.
My goal with this post is to share with you my biggest recommendations for first time entrepreneurs.
Read More
How to conduct a personal quarterly review + My Q1 review & Q2 goals
One of the fastest ways for any individual to make positive change in their life is to set goals, and then work at achieving them.
Every quarter, I do a quarterly review where I review my previous quarter and set goals for the upcoming quarter.
Below you will see a list of my quarterly goals I set for Q1 with the actual outcomes for each of those goals. Then I also dive into detail about what went well, and what didn't.
I encourage you to take this format and apply it to your own life and do your own Quarterly review.
Read More
Why I choose not to have a cell phone plan
For the past year and a half, I have lived without a cell phone plan.
When I tell this to most people, they think I am nuts.
We assume because the technology exists, we must have it.
But for millions of years we existed without cell phones, and we can still exist without them today.
Read More
The freelancer pitch framework - Stop overcomplicating what you do
There is a recurring trend I see among nearly all creative professional who are considering starting their own business or are in the early phases.
They overcomplicate what they do.
Learning to easily communicate what you do is one of the most important things every creative professional must learn.
Read More
The price of creativity
Creativity. There are few sellable goods or services that have such a wide range of pricing as creative work.
Why is it that one painting can cost millions of dollars, while another can't even be sold?
Why is that one designer can charge 10x what another designer charges for the exact same service?
My goal with this post is to share with you two examples of creative pricing in action, and then explain to you why they are priced the way they are.
Read More
The most powerful way to differentiate your creative business
All of us that do creative work face a similar challenge.
Despite our best efforts to be unique, at times we can feel like a commodity.
While we may have our own unique style, there are hundreds of other creatives out there with their unique style as well.
So it begs the question, ‘How do I differentiate myself in the creative field?’
My goal with this post is to share with you the single most powerful way to differentiate your creative business.
Read More
How to make the jump to freelancing full time
One of the biggest questions I regularly get through my site is from creatives who are wanting to quit their jobs and freelance full time.
They know they want to do it, but they are afraid to make the jump.
In this post, I will share with you two strategies for making the jump and stories of freelancers who have done it.
Read More
Unconventional Pricing for Creatives
I want to share with you a story. The story is of two designers.
Both designers make roughly $6,000 per month.
Yet there is one massive difference between these two designers.
One designer is working 60+ hours per week while juggling a ton of clients.
The second designer is working 20-25 hours per week while handling just a few clients.
Both designers are similar, but one works significantly more than the other.
How does this happen?
The difference is in the pricing.
Read More
The art of perception
Early in my career, a mentor shared with me a piece of advice that would change me forever.
"Perception becomes reality"
Those three simple words changed how I approached business, and my personal life.
Instead of being the floundering kid with a mediocre business, I began to change how the world perceived me.
Read More
Why creatives must have side projects
If you are going to be a freelancer for a living, it is essential that you have a side project.
It is not a maybe, it is a must have.
Side projects are what fuel your creative energy, allow you to practice your skills, and will ultimately become the the primary projects that shape the course of your life.
My goal with this post is to share with you the reasons why every creative must have a side project
Read More
