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entrepreneurship

Aggressively doing nothing.

My entire life, I've been doing something.

  • Brainstorming new business ideas
  • Creating offerings
  • Developing marketing strategies
  • Researching markets
  • Implementing
  • Networking

This way of living has been my default for so long that it's just my normal operating mode.

But as I prepared to walk away from coaching, I realized that I was again starting to think about the next thing. This time, though, I stopped myself. It occurred to me that my pattern of entrepreneurial thinking needed a break. I need an entrepreneurial sabbatical.

Why a Sabbatical?

In the university setting, a sabbatical is a period of leave granted to a professor for study or travel. In my mind, it's one of the biggest benefits offered to those working in higher education.

A sabbatical offers you a chance to slow down, reflect, assess, and refocus priorities — and this is exactly what I need.

I've been ā€œgo-go-goā€ for as long as I can remember. Even before LearnDash, I was trying various ideas in both the service and product space. It has been a continuous cycle. I'm tired, and I'm in a fortunate position where I can do something about that.

What Comes After?

I don't have any goals for my sabbatical. I don't even know how long it's going to be. All I know is that I'm going to get comfortable doing nothing.

My hope is that this will clear my mind, refresh my creative energy, and give me a needed clarity for the next decade of my life.

I feel like I have one final push in me for building something, I just don't know what at this point. That's the point of this sabbatical.

#entrepreneurship

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For the first time ever, I'm doing nothing.

Since the start of this year, I've been struggling with motivation for my coaching service. This is natural, so I didn't dwell on it. In fact, it has happened to me in the past. Typically, I take a vacation or change up my routine in some way and that makes it better.

This time it feels different.

In 2023 and 2024, I hustled to get clients. I had countless free calls, met tons of great people, and landed 20 clients in a short amount of time.

This year, I haven't tried to get a single new client. Whenever someone finished their time with me, I didn't bother to replace them. In fact, I actually welcome it because it means fewer meetings. It was at this point that I began to question my desire to continue coaching.

The People Are Great

The thing is, I like the folks I work with. The ones that are still around have very successful businesses, are motivated, and are open to feedback. We have fantastic one-on-one sessions as well as group sessions.

Aside from the people I coach, I’m realizing that there are other aspects to coaching that I really don't like.

The obvious one for me is control over my time. When I had 20+ clients, a big part of my time was spent shuffling meetings around to accommodate everyone's busy schedules. It was exhausting in that I couldn't plan my own activities during the week. If there was a cancellation, then there was the stress of trying to find a new day and time.

I'm less busy than I was, but that element still exists. For example, any time I want to go on a vacation or trip, I'm front-loading sessions just so I can have some days off. Or, I end up taking calls while I’m away.

All of this is mentally taxing. I start to feel trapped, and whenever I feel that way, I start looking for ways to disengage. Having complete control over my time and what I do with it is what motivated me to start LearnDash in the first place. It's my North Star, so to speak.

But this is also about more than owning my time.

The pressure of not having complete control over my schedule is indeed frustrating, but I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't dissect this feeling a bit further. I've spent six weeks or so reflecting on why I feel the way I feel, and I've come to an answer.

Coaching gives me the ability to be creative, but I don't get to live the creativity. In my sessions, I offer up marketing ideas, brand building initiatives, and the like. I love doing that kind of thing, but part of that love comes from the execution of the ideas. Competing. Winning. I don't get any of that with coaching. It feels like training for a match only to sit on the bench.

Stepping Away from Everything

Since the sale of LearnDash, I've been constantly doing something. It was mostly out of habit, but on some level, due to outside expectations. Whenever you meet someone, they always ask what you do for a living. I felt uncomfortable not having an answer to that question.

The reality is that this has been a self-imposed issue. I need time to do nothing, for the first time in my life. I need mental silence and simplicity, so that's what I am finally doing.

I don't have any expectations or goals. I don't know how long. I'm living in the moment, and that's it. I'm focusing on the small things in life. The little pleasures. I'll see where it takes me eventually, but for now, I'm enjoying the ride.

#entrepreneurship

Alcohol and entrepreneurship often go hand-in-hand, but they don't have to.

Last year, I wrote a post about how I was cutting back on my caffeine intake, and how it was a bit challenging at the start. Once I got through the initial withdrawal symptoms, it got easier. Truth be told, I was quite surprised at how my body was addicted to a certain level of caffeine each day.

In that article, I included a link to another article I wrote some years ago about how I gave up drinking alcohol. Making that change from drinker to non-drinker is something that I'm extremely proud of, especially because I never thought it would be something I'd ever do. Ever.

Alcohol played a massive role in my social life, and I explore that topic a bit more in that article. However, what I didn't fully address in that post, and what should be addressed, is the role alcohol often has in entrepreneurship.

Why I Can Speak on This Topic

I've been an entrepreneur my entire life. After more than a decade of trying different ventures, I finally found success in LearnDash. Shortly after its launch, I left my corporate career to do it full-time. I went from being on the road every week to living and working from home. No more office, no more boss. I was free!

In my first week of freedom, I got drunk around 2PM each day. My life felt surreal, I was in my 20s, and I was in ā€œvacation modeā€. That didn't last, though. After the first week, I got my shit together and wouldn't drink during working hours, but I would soon come to see that the theme of alcohol remained.

From the very beginning of my first entrepreneurial success, alcohol played a significant role. Whether it was to celebrate, to mark the end of the day, or to network, it became a pillar of my experience. Since I was working at home, I didn't know how to get out of ā€œwork modeā€ unless I was cracking open a beer.

More often than not, I didn't drink to get a buzz, but rather to just ā€œrelaxā€. However, as the years went on, I felt that I needed to disconnect even more. Business life was stressful, and my personal life wasn't any better. So, I self-medicated. When drunk, suddenly those things didn't feel as emotionally intense.

From Bad to Real Bad

In a scary turn of events, alcohol eventually stopped being a tool to disconnect for me, and I started to equate it to some of my business success.

Looking back, that is when I can say that my relationship with alcohol changed for the worse.

I'd tell myself that it was important that I drink because it helped me to network. I did strike some amazing deals in the late hours of the night at a hotel bar with other entrepreneurs (at conferences, for example), so I attributed that success to my drinking.

What I didn't see at the time was that this wasn't due to the alcohol, it was due to me as a person. I always struggled to give myself the full credit I deserved, and by putting alcohol up on a pedestal in this way, I made it near impossible to quit drinking. I was telling myself that if I quit drinking, I wouldn't be successful.

So, I continued with my unhealthy pattern. Alcohol wasn't for special occasions anymore. It was part of my personality, my success, my way of life. I took a keen interest in different whiskeys. I thought I was being ā€œculturedā€ by knowing flavor profiles and making recommendations to friends and family, or when networking. In reality, I was cementing alcohol into the definition of who I was. I was proud of this useless whiskey knowledge.

But here's the thing: as the years went on, I became more isolated than ever before. Something that was meant to be done in a social setting became the reason I chose not to go out or interact with anyone. Sitting at home, knocking back half a bottle to disconnect became more appealing. I was spiraling, and I knew it.

Hitting My Rock Bottom

As it is often said, you need to really hit your rock bottom before you are ready for a change. It has to be personal, and really rattle you to your core.

For me, that moment came in 2019. The specifics of which, in reality, don't matter. If you're drinking heavily (or even more than you know you should), and you read about my rock bottom, then your mind will justify how your situation is different. It will protect your ego, and therefore your habit. I know, because that's what I used to do. My story is not personal to you, and it has to be personal.

What does matter is that when I hit my rock bottom, I was a mess. I cried. I screamed at myself. Most importantly: I never wanted to feel that way ever again.

That day I decided to quit drinking. I didn't know what to do, so I wrote for three or four hours straight in a journal – just a pen and paper. I wrote about the issue I had, why I hated myself for it, how I needed to get better, my insecurities, the direction my life was going in, and where I wanted to go.

When I wasn't writing, I read this book and listened to this audiobook. And I finally admitted to my therapist that I had a problem.

Every day, I wrote in that journal (for months on end). I stopped drinking cold turkey, because there is really no other way. I tried them all, and let me tell you something: it was fucking hard. Trying to limit yourself, for example, won't work because the contract you make with your sober self is different when you're negotiating with your drunk self.

"I missed having a buzz. I missed numbing my emotions."

No one really talks about this, but it was exhausting to be with my own thoughts 24/7. I was going to bed at 8:30PM because of how tired I was without my usual escape. I experienced daily ā€œthought fatigueā€ as I processed my emotions.

But as time went on, I got used to being with my thoughts. I enjoyed better sleep. I lost weight. Furthermore, I regained confidence. I also made more money (the opposite of what I thought would happen).

What this time gave me was evidence that all the preconceived notions that I had about alcohol, all the lies, were fabricated to reinforce a life-destroying addiction.

I still don't drink alcohol, and I'm not even remotely tempted by it. I am 100% present in life, and I'm always in control and clear-headed. Furthermore, I sleep great. I'm the healthiest I've ever been from a physical standpoint, and as an added bonus, I no longer have to lie to my doctor when asked how many drinks I have per week!

Alcohol and You

My story is not unique. Far from it, actually. Perhaps you too are struggling with something similar. Maybe you don't think your drinking is as bad as mine was, but I can promise you that if you continue down your current path, it will be.

Because that's what addictions do. They start small, then they snowball, and before you know it, your new ā€œnormalā€ is no longer normal to the outside world. It's clichĆ© as hell, but the first step in all of this is to recognize that the problem exists. You can't regulate it. Setting ā€œdrink limitsā€ never works, and you know it.

If you say to yourself, ā€œI don't have a problemā€, then there's a very good chance you have a problem. You're already rationalizing. That's how it begins.

Many people would disagree with me on that, and I understand. If that's you, then I have a challenge for you: stop drinking for six months, today. Throw away all the alcohol in your house.

If you immediately rejected that possibility, think about why. What excuses came to your mind to rationalize why you don't need to do that? If you didn't have a dependency, then you would have no problem giving it up for six months. That's a fact.

If you said to yourself, ā€œI could do that, no problem,ā€ then prove it. Otherwise, you're just lying to yourself again.

Look, I'm just being honest, because your mind will do everything in its power to lie to you about this. I know, because I told myself all the same rationale. It's because you've had years upon years of conditioning. Alcohol is part of your pastimes, your friend group, your business life, and more—but it doesn't have to be. In fact, it shouldn't be.

Think about it this way: there is no bad outcome when you stop drinking alcohol. Not one. In fact, quite the opposite. It's all gain, and then some. I can attest to that.

You're Stronger than You Know

I know you can give up alcohol, you're just as strong as anyone else who has done the same. As an entrepreneur, you don't put up with excuses in your business. It's time to apply that same philosophy to your relationship with booze.

That said, you don't have to do it alone. If you find having a support group helps, then there are plenty. You can read books (like the ones I mentioned earlier), listen to podcasts, post on Reddit, talk to a therapist, or whatever you need to help you build momentum and stay committed. The resources are there waiting for you.

Step 1 is making that commitment and ā€œsaying it out loudā€.

If you need someone safe to say it to, then you can email me.

#entrepreneurship #health

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Patience is a virtue, but in business, it can also be a weakness.

Entrepreneurship is often about finding balance. If you're building a product, it's understanding the number of features you put into a major version to make it newsworthy, versus causing too much confusion. Or, if you're in services, you balance the time you spend with each client so that you maximize your time, but the client doesn't feel ignored.

Opportunities are briefly open doors. If you don't walk through them when they're open, they could shut, and you'll be locked out forever.

The trick is to always be on the lookout for these doors, and to take advantage of proper timing. Those that do this more often than not end up winning in their respective markets.

If You Move Too Slow, You Lose

When I'm working with my clients, I always stress the importance of having a sense of urgency. If they have a good idea, they need to execute. Otherwise, it could be too late (for a variety of factors).

If you move too slowly, your competitor may beat you to the sexy new feature.

Or, you may enter into slower sales months around the holidays, and your message isn't heard.

Or, your competitor has their own release, and they make more noise than you.

I could go on, but the point is that you can only control your timing and nothing else. If you keep waiting, you keep losing future business.

"Never put off today what makes you money tomorrow!"

Money isn't everything, but it's the solution to many issues. Putting off competitive initiatives for too long hurts your ability to grow your business. I think at its core, we understand this as entrepreneurs. But why do we do it?

If you have some level of success already, then a large part of that can be attributed to being in the right place, at the right time. While this sounds like luck (and it is on some level), the reality is that you increased your chances of being in that right place at the right time by the sense of urgency you had in the ideas you implemented.

But then something changed. You got comfortable.

I've been guilty of this, too. It's easy to achieve a comfortable level of success and then slow down too much. Taking a more measured approach is well and good, but it's very easy for this to slip into a form of laziness. You already have predictable income for the business, so you don't need to ā€œrushā€ anything, and as a result, you miss the timing.

Move Fast, Stay Sharp

If you're reading this, it's probably because, deep down, you know you've been moving a little too slowly. Maybe you've convinced yourself that you're being ā€œstrategicā€ or ā€œwaiting for the right momentā€, but more often than not, that moment never comes unless you're the one to create it.

Success doesn’t wait around. Neither should you.

The best businesses aren’t just the ones with great ideas, they’re the ones that act on them quickly. So whatever it is you've been sitting on, such as a new offer or campaign, you need to move now! Get it out into the world. Iterate if you must, but don’t wait for perfect.

Because in business, speed doesn't just matter. It wins.

#entrepreneurship

I wrote 36 blog posts this year - here are the most popular ones.

Writing has always been a form of therapy for me. I enjoy the reflection, the physical process, and just documenting my experiences for future reference. I write about topics ranging from personal events, entrepreneurship, WordPress, mindfulness, politics, health, and happiness.

As you would expect, some posts are more popular than others. Below are my five most popular posts in 2024 based on number of views:

  1. Matt vs WP Engine: Too Far?
  2. WP Business Mistakes
  3. Blogging Alternative to WordPress
  4. WordPress Pricing
  5. Winning in WordPress

Occasionally I write on Medium. Here are my top three articles this year:

  1. How to Grow from $1M to $2M ARR
  2. 6 Profitable Lessons from My Startup to Exit Journey
  3. Pricing Strategies That Work

Stay in The Know

While I often blog, I don't always email my list. I try to limit it to just one email a month, sometimes two. And these are typically my better posts, not my personal ones where I'm documenting my life.

If you're not already, then you can subscribe below. I don't spam my list, and I value your privacy (there is no email tracking).

Also, if you're up for it, let's connect on Bluesky!

Have a great holiday!

#WordPress #entrepreneurship

The more I don't think about software, the more ideas that start to creep into my mind.

It’s funny, when I’m not thinking about starting a software company, I start getting flooded with ideas. And since I’ve started coaching founders, I’m getting more of these ideas.

A few have come up that are pretty damn good. Or at least I am interested in them because I really like the industry, which is the e-learning and online course space. This is a market that I have been involved with my entire career – even before my foray into WordPress.

But unfortunately, that’s a problem.

Why is it a problem?

I am still bound by a non-compete clause after the sale of LearnDash, and that restriction doesn’t expire until 2026.

If I wanted to move forward in the e-learning industry, I would need to seek legal permission from LiquidWeb. Maybe that makes sense at some point, but for now I’m pretty content just continuing with my coaching. At the same time, I can start doing some more market research to see if any of these ideas actually have potential.

#entrepreneurship

Through my business career, I’ve had the pleasure to meet so many smart folks. Many of whom I now consider friends.

Matt Medeiros of The WP Minute is one of those people.

Matt and I have known one another for many years, mostly interacting online, but occasionally in person. I respect the hell outta Matt and what he does. He has great perspective on business, life, WordPress, software, and services. Plus, I just think he’s a cool guy.

Earlier this month, Matt invited me to be on his podcast, The WP Minute. At the end of this post, I have included the recording.

Key Takeaways

  • I explain how I am now selling GapScout after running into challenges building complex AI technology and changes to review site terms and conditions.
  • The GapScout experience left me feeling defeated but taught me to focus on what really energizes me in business.
  • I have transitioned to coaching for founders, playing to my strengths in marketing, growth strategies and maximizing profits.
  • I am being selective about who I work with through warm outreach and relationship building vs trying to scale massively.
  • For WordPress entrepreneurs, takeaways are to focus on your strengths, cut out parts of the business you dislike, and be selective about services you realistically can deliver at a high level.
  • I have been using Medium for content marketing and gets great organic reach without having to worry about blogging or SEO.
  • Overall, it’s a story of reinvention, lessons learned from failure, and the importance of playing to your strengths as an entrepreneur.

#entrepreneurship

Short and sweet this Friday.

A couple of weeks back, I announced that I was taking on coaching clients. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect.

Fast-forward to today, and I’m working with founders across a variety of industries on their businesses. It has all been moving so quick, and I’m loving every second of it!

Up until now, I’ve just been sending a Google Doc outlining my service. That worked, but I figured it was time that I get a website up to explain everything.

Take a look: BrightGrowth

And If you’re interested in having me on your side to grow your business, then go ahead and book some time!

#entrepreneurship

Your brand is just as important as your product.

In digital business, every detail, from pixel to prose, matters. Crafting a brand that resonates isn’t an added luxury, it’s the foundation.

From a foray into online education to dabbling in software, my learning has always been clear: Effective branding can be simple.

When I coach founders, I am often asked is which strategies work best to get more customers in a crowded market.

Well, this article will answer that question.

Let’s dive into the actionable tweaks that can deepen your customer connection and enhance your brand’s recall. This isn’t theory, folks. I’ve used these exact strategies for gaining impressive amounts of market share.

The Power of Consistency

Imagine you’re reading a book, and in the story, the protagonist’s personality changes every few chapters. Confusing, right? How could you ever get into a story like that?

I’ve found that founders make this same mistake. Their brands often mirror this inconsistency when their identity keeps shifting. Consistency, I learned early on, isn’t about stubborn rigidity but about establishing reliability across all channels.

In the world of digital products, whether it’s software, an interactive online course, or an ebook, consistency will always be critical to your success. This isn’t just about having a visually appealing visuals. It’s about ensuring that the core of your brand remains the same across every touchpoint. It’s the little things, and these little things add up!

For example, let’s talk visuals (since that what most founders tend to focus on). Colors, designs, and graphics aren’t just artistic choices — they’re statements. Each hue, each gradient, each font choice carries a weight of its own. And consistency ensures that this weight is balanced throughout.

Then there’s the tone. How does your brand sound to your potential customers? Is your tone formal, casual, or somewhere in between? Your brand’s tone should remain recognizable across all channels. From your YouTube videos to the welcome emails.

Keeping track of all these things is tough, so I recommend that you create a brand guideline. Don’t worry, this isn’t a huge document. Keep it simple and focus on specifying your color choices, typography, and tone. This way, whenever you create a new asset for your business, you can pull it up just to make sure it’s all remaining ā€œtrue to brandā€.

The Art of Storytelling

Stories are what make us human. And your brand, beyond its digital facade, is profoundly human.Ā It’s a tapestry of ambition, vision, and journey. Every digital product you see isn’t just a tool, it’s a testament to someone’s dream and determination.

So, what’s your story? It’s essential to articulate it, not just for your audience, but for yourself. Was your brand born out of a gap you observed in the market? Maybe it was a series of events, some eureka moments, and a few sleepless nights? Or perhaps, it was a dream you nurtured over countless cups of coffee?

Once you’ve identified your narrative, the next step is weaving it in a manner that resonates. Not every tale is epic, and that’s its beauty. The little detours, the unexpected roadblocks, the small joys — they add layers of authenticity to your brand narrative. Remember, it’s not the grandiosity of the story, but its genuineness that strikes a chord. An authentic tale, told from the heart, bridges the gap between a brand and its audience.

Engage, Don’t Just Broadcast

Think of the internet like a big, noisy classroom. Everyone’s trying to get a word in, and it often feels like a shouting match. Some people have big voices, so they carry further. Yes, they can be heard, but it’s annoying, right?

Don’t be annoying.

Here’s some advice from someone who’s been through it: instead of shouting louder, try a different approach. Don’t talkĀ atĀ people, talkĀ withĀ them.

You see, there’s a difference between just ā€œshoutingā€ your message and truly engaging with your audience.

For example, let’s say that you walk into a car dealership and without even a hello, the salesperson starts rattling off all the stuff they have, the prices, the discounts, and so on. It’s overwhelming, right? That’s just noise. They are sending out information, whether you need it or even want to hear it. It’s annoying, and you’ll shut down. It’s similar with those annoying chatbots and popups that people use on their websites. What is the first thing you do when you see them? You close it.

Same scenario, but picture this now: you walk into the car dealership and the salesperson greets you and asks for your name. They smile kindly, and simply ask you what you’re looking for, getting to know your needs. At this point, you’re likely to at least share your intentions. It has now become a conversation, a back-and-forth where you get to know each other.

From my experiences with software, online courses and digital products, I’ve found that true engagement is where you find troves of gold. It’s not about diluting what you want to say. It’s about saying it in a way that lines up perfectly with what your audience wants to hear.

Okay, cool — but how do you do that?

Woman at laptop computer with pen in her hand, notebook, and cell phone.

Here’s what I did. It works, you should copy it and put your flavor into the process:

1. Be Curious

Get to know your audience. Who are they? What’s their day like? What challenges are they facing? When you’re genuinely interested in them, you can serve them better.

2. Make It a Two-Way Street

When you post content, invite conversation. Ask questions, encourage replies, start discussions. It’s way more fun and useful when everyone’s involved. Do this in online chat, Facebook Groups, social media, and anywhere your potential customer is ā€œhanging outā€ online.

3. Hold Interactive Sessions

Live Q&As, webinars, and AMAs (Ask Me Anything sessions) are awesome. They’re live, they’re real, and they give your audience a chance to chat with you directly. I crushed it with webinars. I didn’t do them often, but when I did, they were always a net positive. You can then re-use the content across multiple channels, like email, YouTube, and blog posts.

4. Value The Feedback

Yes, positive feedback feels great. But constructive criticism? That’s where the growth happens. It helps you see where you can do better. Every bit of feedback means someone took time for you and your brand. That’s big. Even the most scathing reviews have some important takeaways and represent an opportunity to demonstrate how you do, in fact, listen.

5. Show the Human Side

People connect with people, not faceless brands. Share a bit about your journey, the ups and downs, the behind-the-scenes stuff. It makes everything more real. When I was growing GapScout, I tried the ā€œBuild In Publicā€ route. It was incredibly successful for building a following and list of potential customers. People gravitate towards authenticity and stories. Telling stories is about as human as it gets.

6. Stay Agile

The digital world changes fast. What works today is probably going to be old news tomorrow. Keep an eye out, adjust as you go, and don’t be afraid to try new things. Want a clear example? No one uses Facebook pages anymore for their brands. It’s moved to TikTok. Maybe you haven’t started a TikTok because you think it doesn’t make sense for your business, but I want to challenge you to get out of your own way!

7. Respond and Be Present

Engagement means being there, consistently. If someone drops a comment or sends a message, make sure you get back to them. It shows you care. And don’t carry a different tone between public and private comments. People are savvy, they’ll pick up on that, and it won’t sit well with them.

Small Changes Lead to Big Impact

The internet as a bustling marketplace. You know how some market stalls grab your attention because they have just the right lighting or display? That’s the magic of small details. Small changes, like tweaking how we present things, can make a huge difference.

In the online business world, it’s not enough just to be present. You want your ā€˜stall’ to be the one people remember and come back to, and you do this one intentional step at a time.

#entrepreneurship

Well, here’s an unexpected update for those of you who have been following my GapScout journey for the past year or so…

Summary: My heart is not into it, and after a lot of reflection, I have decided to exit the business. I’m currently working with some folks on a buyout and/or licensing. I have transitioned to offering coaching/mentoring to a select few founders (keep reading for information related to that).

Longer version: Software is fun, but it sucks, too. What I find most fun about it is building a brand, competing, and marketing. And since August 2022, I've been doing my thing from that standpoint, and it was working!

Through content marketing alone, it has gained a lot of traction! Thousands of visitors to the site each month, and 10-20 daily sign-ups for the email list, which has thousands of folks on it as well. Had some moments where it went viral on Reddit, too. People want what GapScout has to offer!

But the other side of the coin: software is emotionally draining. At least for me.

I encountered many hurdles over the past year. We overcame them, but each time it made me question... ā€œwhy am I even doing this?ā€

I would lament these issues with my wife, Lorena, as I began to seriously question why I was choosing to have this stress in my life (she was incredibly patient with me).

Because that's the thing... it was a choice. I didn't need to be building a software company. The final straw came when G2 sent me a letter saying I couldn't analyze their very public reviews without a licensing agreement. At first, I thought, ā€œOkay, no biggie, there's got to be a solutionā€.

I spoke with lawyers and with their legal team. Here's the thing: G2 (and similar sites) have been rewriting their T&Cs to limit AI analysis of ANY kind to protect their investors. It's insane. They can technically sue you even if you manually review the content on their site and document any themes or insights on a pad of paper. Like... what?!

Nonetheless, we found the solution, and that was to pay G2 (and similar sites) a licensing fee. They were cool with that, as you would expect. So, I was at a crossroads...

  • Option 1: continue forward with the project, paying yearly fees to these sites.
  • Option 2: back out now, and sell.

I took a few weeks to discuss with Lorena, and I landed on exiting the business.

I'm fortunate to have some options from that standpoint. One is to license the tech, another is to purchase the tech, and the third is to purchase the tech & brand. I'm confident that the end of GapScout will sort itself out in some capacity. I'm done stressing about it. The project had it's fun parts (i.e. marketing and growing the brand), but I’m moving on.

Okay, so what's next for me?

Something this journey taught me is to choose to spend my time doing whatever makes me happy. And something I've always been energized by helping other founders overcome challenges.

I have done this informally for years. It's fun helping others travel the path that I've already been down. I like to celebrate their wins, and help them get unstuck when encountering a roadblock.

When it comes to remote businesses (software, digital products, agencies, etc.), there are very few things that I haven't seen. I recently completed a coaching certification program to get some ideas on how to better structure my coaching so that it can yield positive results for clients as quickly as possible.

It’s exciting! I've only just started to let people know that I am taking on clients, and as of writing this, I have four founders officially signed-up. Several others have phone calls with me this week.

I just need a few more, and I'm closing the doors.

Why?

I'm the one doing the coaching, and I'm not trying to have a 40hr/week ā€œjobā€. I want to show up with energy and enthusiasm so that I'm helping the folks I work with.

If you'd be interested in me helping your business grow, then email me, and I'll send you a doc outlining everything. Trust me, it's not your typical coaching process.

So that's the story and where I am at today. I feel like a weight is off my shoulders, which is how I know this is the right choice for me.

Finally, if I may offer a bit of advice. A key takeaway, if you will:

Always check-in with yourself. In life, in your job, in general. If you are powering through that ā€œball in the stomachā€ feeling, then take a minute to understand what is causing that feeling in the first place. Your current path might not be the best for you, and you have it in your power to make a change.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!

#entrepreneurship