Field Notes

Working notes on brand, marketing, positioning, websites, and the problems I run into when working with businesses.

Featured Notes

Who Watched Your Viral Video?

A million views from people who'll never buy is worth less than a thousand from the right ones, and even the right ones need a next step.

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Card reading "Fit Fucking Matters" and "Confessions From Pros" beside a collage of a man in a pinstripe suit, a "Fragile, Handle With Care" sign and snowy mountains.

Featured

I Designed My Career to Be Unemployable

I lost a $15,000 website because I wouldn't put my name on it. That time I was the one who couldn't be part of it, and the right fit has to work for both of us.

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Every Note, Every Thought

Who Watched Your Viral Video?

A million views from people who'll never buy is worth less than a thousand from the right ones, and even the right ones need a next step.

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Ask Why Before You Build It

An apparel company wanted a $20,000 Shopify theme, and asking them why shocked them. Somebody had already sold them the answer, which is why I ask before I build anything.

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I Designed My Career to Be Unemployable

I lost a $15,000 website because I wouldn't put my name on it. That time I was the one who couldn't be part of it, and the right fit has to work for both of us.

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Collage reading "Be The Customer", with a hand fanning out dollar bills, a hot air balloon and a woman walking across grass.

The best business I ever ran, started from a toy

Every category I researched went nowhere. The one product that worked started with a problem I was already holding, which is an awkward thing for someone who sells strategy to admit.

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