“That dude is hilarious. You’ve gotta hang out with him.” “She’s so caring. I feel like I can talk to her for hours.” “She’s a ball of energy. I just love being around her.” We choose to spend time with people because of their personalities. The same is true with many of the brands in …
People trust experts. Experts have knowledge. Knowledge comes from experience, but expertise isn’t enough to have authority. That’s where content marketing comes into the picture. Consistently sharing your knowledge on a specific topic is how you go from expert to authority. Nobody can see you as an authority if you don’t put your knowledge in …
You can’t copy a market leader’s strategy and expect to win. Copying what the industry heavyweights are doing is a recipe for getting your ass handed to you. The secret to success as a small company is finding holes in the big players’ strategies. That’s where brand positioning comes into play. Think of it like …
When was the last time you sh*t your pants? It was 2007 and I was on the way to the mall with my dad. 11-year-old me had just eaten a colossal sandwich from our local sub spot and I was ready to go shopping for my first day of school outfit. 15 minutes into our …
June was a terrible month for my writing, but it’s not my fault. I’ve got valid excuses for my lack of production. We’re swamped with work, I’m in the middle of a massive renovation on my house, and I’m trying to launch my brand accelerator program in August. As legitimate as they may be, those …
Picture this… It’s Friday morning and 14-year-old you just woke up to a small volcano erupting off the front of your forehead. Its red edges and noticeable pressure tells you that this is not just another dormant face volcano, but rather the Vesuvius of pimples ready to explode. I’ll spare you the dirty details (see …
I’ve helped build more than one hundred brands over the last fifteen years. I can boil all of that experience down into one tip for starting a successful business… Only play games you can win. Don’t compete against a market leader in their favorite game. They’ll crush you. Tilt the odds in your favor. I’m …
“People don’t buy your why, they buy what you can do for them.” I’ve never bought a product because a company told me their why. Have you? I don’t care about the company’s why. I care about my why. Understanding that people buy things to solve problems is at the heart of owning a business …
Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, invented a technique called the 5 Whys to quickly get to the root of a problem. He came up with this brilliantly simple framework back in the ’30s, but it exploded onto the scene in the ’70s. Thousands of businesses around the world, including Toyota, still use the 5 …
Death knocked on my door the other day courtesy of my FedEx guy… When I say death I’m talking about Liquid Death—water that will violently annihilate any and all of your dehydration. I was turned onto it after my sister shared their irreverent Instagram with me a few weeks ago. The name alone was captivating …
