2025
You are not losing clients because your Instagram feed isn’t original enough. But you could waste a shocking amount of time trying to fix that anyway. How Much Time Goes Into Looking Right Since you started your business, how many hours have gone into making the outside of your marketing look right? The photos on your website. The colours. The fonts. The Canva templates. The Instagram grid. Whether the last post looked too much like the one before it. Now compare that to how much time you’ve spent figuring out the actual words. What do you want to be known…
The Math You Run Before You Say “Good, Busy” Money is the thing you think about most and say out loud the least. Someone asks how business is going. You say, “Good. Busy.” But you checked your bank balance before you answered. You already know which invoice is late, which payment comes out next, and how many clients you need this month, even while you keep pretending you haven’t done the math. The math never really stops. You run it in the car and again when someone asks if you want to make plans next weekend. If that client pays…
What if the biggest growth opportunity in your business has nothing to do with marketing? The Growth Opportunity That Has Nothing to Do With Marketing Chances are you’re spending more time and money trying to find new customers than you are taking care of the ones you already have. When I worked at a bank, we did call nights a few times a year. You’d sit there with a list, calling strangers, trying to get them in the door. I could offer a new customer a better rate than someone who’d been with us for ten+ years. The people who…
Why Half the Year Gone Feels Like a Problem Just so you know, it’s June 22nd. Summer’s short in Canada, and we take it seriously. I’ve been juggling travel, end-of-year school events, and the general chaos of kids finishing up. I’ve barely had a chance to look up. But I looked up this week and realized the year is halfway through. It’s also the point when your marketing strategy for small business deserves another look. And I know some of you just panicked reading that. When you’ve got big goals, and you hear “the year is half over,” your brain…
Why isn’t my low cost offer selling? Charging $27 feels like the safe place to start. It usually turns out to be the most expensive. You’ve watched it happen in real time. A guru posts the screenshot. A $27 offer, hundreds of sales, a number big enough to make your eyes go wide. Sometimes it’s sitting right there inside the free community you joined to learn from. So you think, that’s where I’ll start too. Something small, while I work up to the bigger thing. The reason it appeals isn’t that the math is compelling. It’s that the screenshot makes…
Getting an official ADHD diagnosis last year was a bit of a shock. And also made complete sense of my entire life up to that point. Like, when you have an appointment at 2pm, the whole day is basically a write-off. I never understood that about myself. You have five hours before that appointment, so use them. But my brain doesn’t work that way. The appointment is all I can see. And when I get home after, I feel like the day is already over, so why start now? Getting that diagnosis meant I could finally stop thinking something was…
Brand messaging for small business means being clear enough that the right person reads one sentence and thinks: that’s for me. Cleverness has nothing to do with it. Most small business owners skip this and go straight to tactics: better reels, more consistent posting, a new content strategy. And underneath all of it sits the thing nobody wants to say out loud: the content goes out, people keep scrolling, and nothing much changes. The problem is not your content calendar. Most small business owners are skipping the one thing that makes everything else work: clear brand messaging. Until that piece…
You’ve tried the tactics. Posted consistently, tweaked your bio, maybe hired someone to run your ads. Some of it worked for a bit. None of it stuck. And now you’re sitting here wondering what you’re missing, because you know your offer is good and you’re putting in the work. What is the ROAD Method? It’s the framework that answers that question. Four steps that build the foundation your marketing needs before any of the tactics actually work. Most people skip the foundation and go straight to the tactics. That’s why nothing sticks. Why Marketing Feels Like Guesswork Without a Foundation…
Getting a good review feels like a performance review you actually want. That little hit of dopamine when someone says, “This was exactly what I needed.” We all know reviews are important. But knowing they’re important and actually getting them are two different things. Most business owners are terrible at asking for them. It feels awkward. Salesy. So we don’t do it, or we do it half-heartedly and then wonder why no one follows through. Here’s what’s actually happening. Your clients aren’t avoiding leaving you a review. They’re just not thinking about it. When they love your work, their brain…
A client called me last week in full panic mode. She’d just gotten off a discovery call. The prospect loved her, loved the offer, loved everything. Until she heard the price. “She said it was too expensive. Should I just give her a discount?” No. Hard no. Why Discounting Backfires Here’s the thing about discounting: the second you do it, you’ve told the prospect two things. One, the price you gave her wasn’t real. And two, if she pushes harder, you’ll probably fold again. You’ve basically handed her a coupon book for every future negotiation. How to Handle a Client…
Someone asked me at a workshop last week: “What’s your cold outreach strategy?” I said, “I don’t do cold outreach.” You should’ve seen their face. Like I’d just admitted I sacrifice small animals under a full moon or something equally unhinged. The truth is, cold outreach feels spammy to me, and I’m not doing it. You know what I hate? People showing up at my door trying to sell me things. So much so, I recently bought a “No Soliciting” sticker for my doorbell because I’m done with strangers asking if I want my lawn mowed, my house painted, or…
They want to learn, not outsource. That’s the secret your best clients wish you knew: they don’t want you to do it for them, they want you to do it with them. They don’t want you to do it for them. They want you to do it with them. But the done-for-you model is exhausting. You’re constantly chasing clients, battling for results, and feeling the pressure to single-handedly drag projects across the finish line. It’s a recipe for burnout, and it makes you think, “Maybe I should just do it all myself.” It seems like the logical next step: more…
Right now, I feel like I’m behind: there’s too much in motion, too many open loops, and definitely no work-life harmony to be found. I’ve been here before. Every time I start measuring myself against what’s not done, it looks like I’m standing still. That’s when I go back to a simple tool I picked up a few years ago from a book called The Gap and the Gain. It’s stuck with me ever since. Most of us only track “the gap”, the distance between where we are and where we think we should be. But the gain, that’s the…
They ask your price, and your voice goes up like a question at the end of the sentence. A hot flush of panic hits, and you start explaining. You justify the number, and you might even offer a discount before they’ve even blinked. You’re so worried they’ll think it’s “too expensive” that you preemptively apologize for a number you probably already under-charged. Sound familiar? You’ve been told to “know your worth,” and you’ve seen the inspirational quotes about it on every marketing account you follow. You’ve probably even done the math, figured out your costs, and landed on a price…
You’ve spent an hour picking the right Instagram filter and rewriting the same caption four times. That gets you a handful of likes and maybe one DM from a bot. Meanwhile, your Google Business Profile is sitting there like a houseplant nobody’s watered since spring, even though it’s free and it’s already set up. A real Google Business Profile strategy takes ten minutes a week. It’s also the part of your marketing most likely to actually bring in a client, not just a like. You probably set the profile up once, filled in a few fields, and never opened it…
I was planning to work yesterday. I’m in the middle of a project I’m really enjoying. One of those where you just want to keep going because it’s getting good. But my computer has been c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g. Spinning rainbow, tabs barely loading, never sure it’ll make it through the next meeting. If you’ve got a MacBook, you know the pain. I know shutting it down helps, but with a Mac, you never know how long the restart will take. I’d had enough. I can’t do another week like last week. Or the one before. Cleaning Up Digital Clutter So instead of…
You’ve got the experience. The results. The ideas. But turning that into a clear, working system that consistently brings in clients is where things slow down. Not because you’re doing it wrong. Because you’re doing it alone. You’re trying to connect the dots between messaging, content, tech, and offers without feedback. That’s a system problem, not a focus problem. That’s why I created The ROAD Method. A hands-on marketing lab that helps you: Refine your message Optimize your assets Automate your systems Drive forward with a strategy that fits you It’s about building the infrastructure that makes your marketing work,…
Every email flying at you this week is a masterclass in how brands try to sell: fast, loud, and often messy. In fact, it’s proof, not just noise. Of what works. Of what doesn’t. And of how people write when the stakes are high. So don’t just delete. Collect it. Here’s how to turn your inbox into a marketing lab you can use all year: Step 1: Make a “Black Friday Swipe” folder in your inbox. Dump everything into it. Retailers, software, big brands, small shops, even the emails that make you cringe. Instead, the point is to see the…
If you could hand off just one part of your business, it would be marketing. Not the work you love. Not the clients. The part where you have to explain what you do over-and-over. Show up “consistently.” And perform on platforms that don’t even feel like you. Here’s what no one tells you: You’ve been sold clarity by people who profit off confusion. You’ve been told you have to grow your business one way… because that’s the only thing that coach knows how to teach. They built their business on Reels, or cold DMs, or a 17-step funnel, so that’s…
The “hurry before it’s gone” emails. The AI courses. Those $999-now-just-$37 programs. And the promise that this, finally, will be the thing. And I know what that does to you. You open a tab to check one thing. You emerge an hour later with 7 “limited-time” deals in your cart and no idea what you were even looking for. Then comes the crash. You close the tab. You feel the pit in your stomach. And you hear it, that voice that whispers, “Why do I keep falling for this?” My fall cycle and the truth behind the hype This used…
The brands that slapped mint green on their logos this week? The ones pretending to be fans while hunting for customers? In fact, they’re using the exact same playbook as the marketing “gurus” who’ve been selling you bullshit for years. Same lie. Different costume. The Guru’s Playbook, Step 1: Create an Impossible Standard “You need a 7-figure funnel!” “You have to be everywhere online!” This week it was “You have to be like Taylor!” Because it’s designed to make you feel inadequate from the start. The Guru’s Playbook, Step 2: Sell a “Secret” Solution They sell you the “one weird…
I listened to the entire “New Heights” podcast. Not for the marketing tips. Not for the “strategies.” But for the real shit. The stuff that actually matters when you’re building something that lasts. And what I heard was a masterclass in everything the gurus get wrong. Here’s what Taylor Swift actually said about building a business (and why it’s the opposite of everything you’ve been taught): 1. On Owning Your Work: When they asked about buying back her masters, she didn’t talk about ROI or investment strategies. Instead, she said: “I want it because this is my handwritten diary entries…
You know what pisses me off the most about the Taylor Swift circus? It’s not the brands pretending to be fans. It’s not even the gurus selling “Swift-inspired marketing strategies” for $497. What actually gets me is that you watched it happen and thought, “Why can’t I have that?” And then you immediately started beating yourself up for not being able to figure out how to get it. Here’s the truth they don’t want you to know: you’re playing a rigged game, not failing because you’re not good enough. The online marketing world, the one run by the “gurus” and…
Every brand with a social media manager scrambled to slap mint green on their logos. Quote her lyrics. Pretend they’d been Swifties all along. You probably thought it was brilliant marketing. Quick! Clever! On-trend! I thought it was gross. Because while everyone was applauding their “genius,” I saw what they really were: vultures circling. They saw an army of loyal people with their wallets open, and they wanted in. They wanted to siphon off some of that unwavering devotion without doing any of the work to earn it. It’s the same energy as that friend who only calls when they…
You saw it, didn’t you? The mint-green explosion. The countdown that had the entire world holding its breath at 12:12 pm ET on August 12. TS12. Life of a Showgirl. It practically broke the internet. Here’s What Everyone Missed Really, this was love in action. From London to Tokyo, Sydney to São Paulo, millions of people didn’t just buy an album announcement. They experienced pure joy. They felt seen. And they felt like they belonged to something bigger than themselves. Those weren’t customers. Those were people whose lives she’d soundtracked for over a decade. People who’d grown up with her,…
There’s a special kind of shame that comes from sitting on something brilliant for years: tweaking the page, fantasizing the launch, waiting for the perfect moment that never comes. That was Summer Camp. Back then, I called it The 3-Day Workshop. I wanted it to be in person. I pictured the full experience: cozy space, handwritten name tags, real momentum. But I couldn’t land on the name. I couldn’t lock in the logistics. So I delayed. Built it. Branded it. Polished it until I couldn’t look at it. Then buried it in “not yet.” That lie wore logic like a…
But it’s just another funnel strategy, a polished version of the same old bro marketing. You watch a Reel. Click on the profile and see they have 473,693 followers. Clearly, they know what they’re talking about, so you watch another. Now they’re in your feed every day. And then you see the post: “If I had to start over, here’s exactly what I’d do…” Define your brand in one sentence Pick one content format to master Create a recurring series Post consistently 2–3x/week Remix your top posts Build community in the DMs, one convo at a time Then they hit…
Let me tell you what this email isn’t going to be. It isn’t going to look polished. There’s no brilliant CTA. And it isn’t going to pretend everything’s in flow. Because it’s not. This week, I had four morning appointments that pulled me out of the house, which meant four late starts and a lot of juggling to make the rest of the day work. I’ve been building a new lead magnet for a client. I’ve done discovery calls, applied for programs, followed up, networked, soccer practice, all of it. Technically, though, I did a lot. But right now? I’m…
If you’re anything like most of the business owners I work with, you’ve probably said it too: “I just need a better strategy.” Something official. Something smart. A real plan. A real system. One of those polished, professional strategies that finally pulls it all together. And let’s be honest, that thought feels good. It feels hopeful. Organised. Like the fog might finally lift if you could just find the right thing. That’s what one client thought too. They had a big sales goal, $2,740 a day, and were seriously considering a high-ticket ad strategy with “guaranteed ROI.” It was tempting.…
There’s a lot happening in the world right now, and I feel it too. When the news cycle won’t slow down and budgets feel tight everywhere you look, it’s natural to ask: should you stop marketing right now? And I know, you might be thinking: “Is this really the time to invest in marketing?” Because when things feel uncertain, it’s easy to start questioning everything. You’re watching people cut back. Engagement feels slower. You’re wondering if your audience is even paying attention. Should You Stop Marketing Right Now? Here’s the Truth They are. They’re not gone. They’re just more focused.…