If you’re a solopreneur or small business owner, you’ve probably been asked this question more times than you can count:

“How did you get into this line of work?”

It’s a simple question. But most of us answer it the wrong way—off-the-cuff, rambling, or full of irrelevant details. We tell the truth, but not the useful truth. We don’t realize that this moment—when someone’s genuinely curious about your journey—is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate value and connect.

Your origin story isn’t just about you. It’s a strategic tool. Done well, it shows how you’re qualified, how you understand the problem your audience is facing, and why you’re the right person to solve it.

But here’s the catch:
An origin story should never be just a list of milestones. It should answer a deeper question for your audience.

“Why should I trust you with this problem?”

The story becomes powerful when you frame your turning points not just as personal wins, but as moments that built your insight, credibility, and commitment. When someone hears your story, they should think, “That’s exactly who I want to work with.”

So if you’re still telling your story like a resume—or skipping it entirely—it’s time to rethink.

In this week’s podcast, I walk you through how to craft an origin story that attracts clients, builds trust, and makes your marketing feel more natural.

Listen here on your favorite platform.

When I got started with online marketing, one question often came up at conferences and informal conversations: “What’s the single most important thing I need to learn in order to be successful?”

If you talk to any Online Gurus, Famous Names, or Internet Millionaires, they’ll freely reveal the answer. They will tell you that visitors make buying decisions based on the words on your website. They will share stories of how you will benefit when you create compelling headlines, beefy bullets, and irresistible hooks.

What most people don’t realize is that once you study copywriting, you have a new all-purpose business tool…a “secret sauce” you can use to add flavor in all your marketing activities.

So you get to be sneaky.

You will find ways to use your skills even when you aren’t working on marketing actions typically associated with copywriting, such as your website or brochure.

You can think of copywriting as “the sneaky strategy” because most of your audience won’t realize you’re using it.

Sneaky copywriting place #1: Once I belonged to an organization that offered an annual showcase for members to present themselves. The catch was, you had to send an application, describing what you’d talk about and why you should be one of the three featured speakers.

I’d never written a proposal like this one, but I figured I’d just use my copywriting experience to promote value, even though I was less experienced than my competitors.

It worked. I got to be one of those speakers, ahead of people who’d been in the group a lot longer.

By the way, this also works for gaining admission to groups and submitting yourself for an award. You’re selling yourself, right?

Sneaky copywriting place #2: When you’re invited to be an interview guest, you will need to prepare a list of questions, a summary of your topic and a brief biography.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? In fact, each element calls for copywriting. Your questions need to be as compelling as headlines. Your bio needs to showcase your expertise – without a hint of boasting. Your interviewer needs to be sure you won’t sound like a used car sales stereotype.

Sneaky copywriting place #3: When you create an information product or write a book, you can use copywriting to create mouth-watering title and chapter headings. They’ll help you reach your target market in the same way your copywriting headlines draw readers into your story.

Additionally, every chapter needs hooks – stories or ideas that grab the reader and won’t let go. It’s usually the opening paragraph of a sales letter, but also the opening of a chapter or even the book itself.

One of my favorite opening lines comes from a murder mystery, The Rosewood Casket by Sharyn McCrumb:

“Dying cost nothing and could be done alone; otherwise Randall Stargill might have lived forever.”

Many authors skip this step, but it’s important, particularly for kindle books. When readers click on “Look inside,” they’ll see chapter headings – and some hooks too.

You don’t have to become a master copywriter or even a professional copywriter to benefit from these skills. In fact, your success will be less about the wordsmithing than about the copywriting mindset: asking the “what’s in it for me” question, getting into the conversation in your client’s mind, and telling a purposeful story.

Once you adapt this mindset, you’ll likely find yourself achieving gains in many areas of marketing, with considerably more enjoyment and considerably less effort.

If you’d like to learn more about copywriting, check out my course on Copywriting With Stories. We introduce stories directly into the copywriting process – not as an add-on. Use coupon code “copypro” to save $20 on the price.

And grab your free download – 7 Copywriting Tips To JumpStart Your Sales.

What motivates your target market? Where are they coming from? What points do you need to emphasize when you write the copy? 

One of the best ways to get inside the mind of your ideal client is to interview prospective and past clients.

But interviewing is more than firing off questions at a prospect. Everything from the way you set up the interview, to the questions you ask will affect the usefulness of your results. 

I talk to a lot of business owners who get nervous at the whole idea of interviewing. They know research interviews are important, especially for entering new markets and writing case studies. But they aren’t sure where to start.

Let’s imagine that you are a career coach, focusing on mid-life professionals looking for a new job after they’ve been laid off. You want to create a lead magnet and perhaps a course for this segment of your audience. Now it’s time to do the research. 

Setting up the interview

You’ll need to convince prospects that they’ll benefit from being interviewed. Avoid offering large bribes such as free 30 days of coaching. People who are motivated by “free stuff” will be different from those who will pay.

Keep the interviews short. Aim for 30 minutes, max. The quality of responses tends to diminish when interviewees get tired. And frankly, they tire easily. 

Choose the Questions to Ask

So now you’ve got someone on the phone. What do you ask them? 

(1) The *worst* question you can ask begins with “Why.” Most people have no idea why they did something; there’s plenty of research to show we’re often motivated by environmental forces we don’t even notice. 

  The BEST question you can ask is one that encourages your interviewee to come up with a story:

“What’s a typical day like in your current job? Where are the trouble spots? What, if anything, is enjoyable?”

“What would an ideal job look like? Give one example of a perfect day.”

Keep the interview on track.

There are two ways an interview can get derailed.

First, your interviewee starts giving advice. 

You ask, “What was your most challenging experience during your job search?”

She answers, “Well, if I were going to advise someone who’s changing jobs…”

What you’re looking for are answers like, “The worst part of my job search came when I drove all the way across town to the interview. They didn’t expect me. They said I had the wrong day. I had their email: I was right.  But there was nothing I could do about it.” 

You follow up with questions like, “What were your next steps? What actions did you take?”

You’re looking for experience and emotions. You want their perspective, from the inside out. 

Second, you may get one of those interviewees who can’t stay focused. They’ll be right in the middle of a story, when they’ll say, “That reminds me…” And now you’re off on a long tangent.

Don’t be afraid to interrupt (politely) when the interview goes off track. You have limited time. When you let someone go off on a tangent, you’ll go way beyond the allotted time to get the information you need – and that’s much more annoying than a quick, friendly reminder to stay on track.

Interviews are gold. 

Interviews can be extremely valuable assets to your business, so it’s important to take advantage of every minute prospects spend with you.  Their time is limited: often they have to leave for a meeting or phone call. They get tired.

And your time becomes valuable as well. A 30-minute interview can take over 90 minutes, with setting up the meeting, reviewing your notes and thanking your interviewee.

Learn more about writing a case study with interviews with this free report, 7 steps to a case study that generates leads.

And discover what *really* motivates your clients when you click on this free report. You’ll learn how understanding the client’s backstory helps you write copy that enters the conversation in your client’s mind.   

If you hang around with other business owners, you’ll find we’re careful about what we say to each other. You have to know someone very well before you’ll venture a comment like, “Isn’t he really all smoke and mirrors – a big fancy guru act but he’s really broke?” Or, “She talks a good game but she’s really living off her trust fund.”

You’ve probably gotten the advice to find a hungry market. Many people assume a hungry market means people are in pain and hurting, seeking solutions. And that’s often true when you are a service-based solopreneur. 

But sometimes your buyers aren’t in pain. They’re not desperate except maybe in their own social world. But they’re still hungry.

I call these two markets the tire store and the cookbook. A lot of marketing advice focuses – rightly – on the tire store model. I’ve written myself, “People won’t hire you unless they have a problem.” 

But sometimes the problem doesn’t feel very problematic. It’s not painful. The buyer has everything she needs…but she wants mor.

One market always wants “just one more” and the other wants “just one – right now.”

The Cookbook Market

Remember the potato chip commercials that teased us about eating just one — and stopping? This business model targets customers who will always want “just one more.”

People who are into cooking rarely own just one cookbook. They have dozens and they’re always buying more. They also buy cooking accessories. Their friends give them cooking gadgets for birthdays.

They look for stories to help them learn something new. They can never learn enough about cooking. Or they just decided to add Thai to their repertoire. So they buy half a dozen more.

With these buyers, you can get to be more personal. They’re often curious about you, the seller. After all, they’re looking for a reason to buy yet another product. “I’ve never seen theirs before” is as good a reason as any.

You know you have a cookbook business when your market keeps buying more and more products in the same category. Cookbook businesses include quilting, knitting, teddy bears, dogs (ever meet a dog with just 1 toy? Either zero or too many –  I had 4 dog beds for 1 dog), golf, and yes, Internet marketers. A lot of people keep buying information products. 

The Tire Store

When was the last time you visited a tire store? I bet you weren’t “just looking.”

Customers buy tires to replace flat or worn-out tires. They rarely browse around a tire store on a lazy Sunday afternoon. They rarely comparison shop. They buy because they’re actively seeking solutions. Sometimes their need is urgent; sometimes they’re just planning for the inevitable 

Tire store businesses target customers who think their business is failing, seek solutions to embarrassing personal problems, can’t seem to lose weight, want to save a failing relationship and/or just received a diagnosis of cancer or diabetes.

Customers look for stories to convince them that your offer solves their problem. They’re interested in learning more about you – but only to reassure themselves that you can and will give them what they need, consistently and reliably.

So what’s your business – cookbook or tire store?  Do you have a portfolio of stories consistent with your position? If you’d like to fine-tune your positioning, strengthen your message and begin writing stellar copy … let’s start with a Strategic Intensive. Click here to learn more.

My first reaction was to write, “You’re asking the wrong question.” But then I shifted into marketing coach mindset and remembered…

When I ran a weekly teleseminar, and when I later put together summits or epic blog posts, I was often asked, “How on earth did you get them?”

“Them” referred to joint venture (jv) partners and guests who were notably more famous and fabulous (not to mention more beautiful) than I.

Relationships take time. Busy people don’t have time to meet for coffee or get on the phone “to get to know each other.” They often won’t hang out, except at conferences.

Business friendships start with business. For example:

Jan and June met at a networking event and the business sparks flew. Years later, they remained friends – everything from “girls night out” to chatting on the phone to supporting each other’s programs.

Tom and Todd met when Tom joined Todd’s coaching program. They each built successful businesses, and they became good friends as well as accountability partners.

Here are 5 tips to add business friends and joint venture partners (even when they seem to move in a different universe):

(1) Begin to build relationships by signing up to buy high-quality products and services from people you admire.

Send nice comments to their social media pages and use your copywriting skills to offer testimonials. They’ll be genuine, because who wants to build relationships with anyone who offers bad products?

(2) Even better, sell their products as an affiliate.

For almost every online marketer, only a few affiliates actually make sales. When you sell even one or two products, you get noticed and deeply appreciated.

“I bought your storytelling product and I’d love to promote it” will be far more likely to initiate a lasting relationship than, “Can we get together for coffee and talk about our businesses?”

(3) Forget everything you’ve heard about being vulnerable. A potential JV partner, podcast guest or business friend wants to work with confident business owners who will make their lives easy and comfortable.

I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but it’s rarely a good idea to open with something like, “I can’t buy this product because there’s not enough money in my PayPal account. I have to wait till somebody pays me.”

Or, “I can’t pay because I lost all my credit. I just have a prepaid card with a $200 balance.”

I’ve heard both of those, from people who actively sought me out as a joint venture partner.

Life happens. Anyone can have credit problems or draw down a PayPal account. You can usually find a work-around, especially if you’re presenting yourself as an experienced online expert.

(4) Present any invitation as a win-win.

Apply the basic copywriting principle, “Think of the benefit.” Why should someone join you on a summit or podcast? Why will you be an awesome guest on theirs?

I’ve gotten spectacular guests on my programs because they know I’m a good interviewer. I ask the questions nobody else asks and I make them look good. And then they get access to the recording, which they can use for their own promotions.

To demonstrate your skills, include links to recordings on your website — audio, talking head video or Powerpoint video. It’s not a bad idea to include a clip of your guest and host spots.

When you’re the host, offer to sell their products, with or without an affiliate commission. When you’re the guest, make your products available with an affiliate commission to the host. Even a small commission usually helps you get a foot in the door.

(5) Be professional.

Professionals make things easy for each other. They don’t take a “no” answer personally. They respect others and want to be respected in return.

Professionals pay their way. They don’t try to get things for free in return for some vague “opportunities to get in front of prospects.” They don’t expect free coaching or consulting from JV partners or business friends.

In the examples above, Jan and June never gave each other free coaching, nor did Tom and Todd. When Tom wanted to learn from Todd, even after they became friends who met for dinner and drinks, he signed up and paid.

Each of the four received free review products not as friends but as business owners – by demonstrating they could promote them effectively.

If you’d like to enhance your skills to build relationships, begin with copywriting. Work with a coach or copywriter to develop your standard 10-questions package, bio, giveaway lead magnet, summary of your best topic (which can be modified as needed once you learn the concept) and whatever else you need. You may need a one-sheet if you do a lot of speaking.

Some of my best business relationships began when I was invited to submit something and the response was a “wow – you totally get it.” (The first time it happened, I almost fell off my chair.)

And when I’m the host, the professionals send me good stuff. They’ve obviously gone way beyond Copywriting 101. They don’t need hand-holding and coaching. For a really strong example of how I hosted a mini-summit with 12 expert “famous” guests, click here. For another example, two very busy people wrote forewords for my book, Grow Your Business One Story At A Time.

So…what do you think? Is this approach too tough? What’s your experience as guest or host, and how do you feel about making business friends?

I’m happy to help you leverage your own marketing with joint ventures. Join me for a Power Hour session — expect “aha” moments and a clear vision of what to do next.

Looking for a joint venture partner? If you’ve done your homework and it’s within my wheelhouse, let me know.

For me, the best part of Thanksgiving is the leftovers. Home cooking made in someone else’s home: what could be better?

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that I do not have the temperament to be a good cook, let alone a great one. I felt I should get an award from Julia Child when I made my first smoothie.

So when a friend offered me a coupon to try Blue Apron – one of those home prep meal programs – she warned me, “There’s a lot of chopping involved.” I realized that it’s a terrific value but I’m better off with a few one-pot recipes and the GrubHub delivery number on speed dial.

Similarly, some Black Friday deals will be amazing but they don’t fit my business or my style. They’ll end up sitting on my hard drive, forgotten and forlorn.

Here are some questions to guide any business purchase. I need to ask them myself periodically. I’ve included an example of something I’m recommending as well.

1 – Can I verify the reputation of the seller?

2 – Does this purchase support my existing strategy?

Recently I talked to a client who wants to coach clients to reach a very specific lifestyle goal. It’s a potentially lucrative market and she’s exceptionally well qualified.

She’s got her target market. Now she needs to tighten her offer and choose a marketing method, which might be videos, webinars, podcasts or Facebook ads.

If she chooses webinars, she can safely ignore every single ad for videos, Facebook ads, and podcasting, until she’s become so good at webinars she could teach the technique (and might then launch a very profitable sideline). At the same time, she can be on the lookout for deals relating to webinars.

And she’d better be sure she enjoys webinars. Most of us can finish the sentence, “I’d rather have a root canal than use this [your choice] marketing method. 

For example, my Opt-In page course is available now at a. very good price. If you use lead magnets to build a subscription list, you’ll benefit from this course. You can use lead magnets for other things, too, but this course will contribute most to growing your email list. That’s almost everybody.

3 – Is this something on my wish list?

If you’ve got a wish list, you can confidently grab a deal. In particular, try to grab something that’s usually offered with a monthly fee for a one-time payment. But it’s not a bargain if you don’t need it.

Many business owners have been seeking ways to get better designs for their opt-in pages, sales pages and just about anything posted online. If you’ve got “high-converting designs” on your wish list, I can’t recommend anything better than LeadPages. I’ve been using them for years. Their designs aren’t just pretty – they test for high conversions.

Tip: Before locking in software, try it out. You may love the interface at first sight. Or you may find it awkward. You may need to integrate with other software. LeadPages offers a 14-day free trial and I’d take them up on it.

With that in mind…

I’m recommending Cindy Bidar’s Black Friday special for her membership group. It’s about $30/month on special and she has some seriously delicious items as bonuses for new members. I’ve been a member of Cindy’s program for years, but I wish I were new to try her programs!

Whether you’re a newcomer or a veteran, she’s got very straightforward step-by-step ways of delivering help. Members benefit from a community chat room as well as Q&A calls and 1:1 laser coaching throughout the year. This is one program I would not want to be without. Click here to learn more.

For my own services, I’m offering the following:

(a) Laser Coaching: Just $99 for a 45-minute one-to-one call. Click here. https://cathygoodwin.lpages.co/laserconsult/

(b) Video review of your story, website or sales letter – 50% off with coupon code TWEAK50
Click here.

Victoria is starting a business as a virtual assistant. She eventually wants to target women in transition who are starting businesses. But for now, she needs to get some income and traction. She’s thinking of making decorative cards to get some money coming in. What can she do?

First, I applaud Victoria’s decision to embark on her first business venture as a Virtual Assistant. If you’re not sure what you want to do, and you’ve got the skills to work online, this is the way to go! If I had to start over I’d probably begin as a Virtual Assistant.

Apart from the money, you’ll learn a lot from the people who hire you. Many VA’s learn all they can and then become copywriters, consultants, coaches or designers…and hire their own VAs.

You can position your business to do just about anything. Some VA’s just make appointments for clients and return their calls. Some help with marketing, even copywriting. Some fix websites.

Second, Victoria needs what I call a “stash of cash.”

When I’ve worked with successful business owners, I see they’ve found a middle path.

Too much money? This happens when you start a business after you’ve been working awhile. Maybe you enjoyed a generous severance settlement. Or you just sold a home.

You can be too comfortable. You find yourself spending too much on the wrong things…and then you get frustrated because you’ve got a negative income from the business.

Too little money? You can’t even pay a web host, let alone a small monthly payment for a membership site.

Start your business as a side hustle while you’re still working. If you can’t do that (maybe you’ve got clauses in your employment contract or HR rules) you can start socking away cash to use as a startup. I recommend finding a side hustle – any side hustle, even if you’re just watching the neighbor’s cats.

Some people will tell you to begin by paying for coaching. I’d say maybe start with a membership group like Cindy Bidar’s Six-Figure Success group. She’s got everything you need for a reasonable monthly sum, including a community where you can ask questions, live calls twice a month, and a private call with her every six months. (Specifics may change as her business continues to evolve. When you join through my link, I get a commission. And you’ll get a bonus copy review every 6 months.)

Cindy started out as a Virtual Assistant herself. She knows tech and business, and she’s got one of the most common-sense approaches I’ve seen anywhere.

Be prepared to spend on software, design, and copywriting. I’m biased, but I don’t think you can get quality copywriting for bargain prices. You can get low-cost design but you need to know how to work with designers and ask for what you need.

Don’t pay for advice until you have the funds to pay for tools you need to implement the advice you’ll get. I once talked to a new business owner who was paying $750 a month for consultation with a marketing consultant. This business owner kept paying, month after month, while claiming she couldn’t afford to put up a website. She was tossing money out the door, one bushel at a time.

I’m a little biased. But I believe a professional copywriter will often help you develop a strategy and build your brand while writing your copy or coaching you to write your copy. Skip the “branding consultants” until you’re well-established.

Most importantly, Victoria needs to follow the Rule of One.

When it comes to marketing, I wish someone had taught me the Rule of One when I started. The idea is to begin with ONE offer, ONE marketing tactic, ONE message, and ONE target audience.

A VA got started by returning calls and making appointments for service businesses. She held a day job so she only worked evenings and weekends till she built her business. She created a referral rewards system and directed all her marketing to one goal: having prospects join her on a “get-acquainted” call.

A business coach got started by offering one-to-one programs with a minimum of 3 months, with a choice of 2 or 3 calls per month. He promoted a lead magnet to get subscribers to an email list. Like the VA, he focused all his marketing on getting prospects to join a “get-acquainted” call.

Both of these business owners had to hone their skills. They had to develop a “get-acquainted” call script that sells. They needed to learn or hire copywriting services to develop their websites. Mastering the basics would take up all their time. Once they mastered the ONEs, they could choose some add-ons.

Finally, remember that:

(a)There’s no one path to success. In the last week, I’ve seen promotional emails from a marketer urging everyone to “wait till you’ve established a successful coaching practice before you. create your first course.” I’ve seen emails from equally successful marketers urging everyone to “start with a small course and build your business from there.”

(b) Your intuition will be your best coach. Listen to that little voice that’s trying to get through and tell you something.

(c) Don’t listen to anyone who urges you to take risks. I advise anyone who signs up with me, “If you can’t afford my fees comfortably, don’t sign up. When you’re ready I’ll be there.”

More resources:

In the US, the Small Business Administration has many free resources, including consulting services. They can usually answer questions on business licenses and partnership agreements. Some are better than others but it’s worth a try. Other countries offer similar services.

If you can easily afford the fees, check out my Strategic Intensive program and my website review (which can also be used for sales letter reviews).

I offer a course on starting a side hustle that becomes a business. It includes interviews with a dozen business owners who talk about how they got started. They talk about listening to intuition as well as the practicalities of starting a business. Click here for access. You get this course free as a bonus when you sign up for the Strategic Intensive.

Cindy Bidar’s program works perfectly for beginners and she gets some well-respected veterans in there too. I’ve been a member for several years. Start here if you need advice. You’ll get access to all her courses as well as a roadmap so you know exactly what to do…and you’ll get lots of guidance on her twice-monthly calls.

If you’ve been following me awhile, you know I’m distinctly left-brained. So I focus on numbers and analysis. I want to know what works and what makes sense logically.

In putting together my course on side hustles, I talked to several successful business owners who had turned their side hustle into a profitable, full-time business. Sometimes their stories were hard to believe.

While their experiences have been vastly different, one theme kept coming up. They relied on intuition. They prepared (in different ways) before they moved.

But at some point, they say, they took a “leap of faith” into their next reality.

One of the interviewees told of the advice she received from a big-name coach. He encouraged her to move in a specific direction because there was a “hot market” there.

She didn’t believe in the product, but she was willing to try. She learned a lot as she worked intensely for a whole month, building a website, writing content, and developing strategy.

After a month, she got some shocking news. Her business was based on a specific third-party program, and now the program had gone out of business. She had nothing to show for a month of effort.

Her husband thought she’d be depressed and miserable. To everyone’s surprise, she was relieved. “I don’t have to do that anymore!” she said. She moved on to a direction that proved satisfying and extremely profitable.

If you don’t think something will work for you, it probably won’t.

Find something that will ignite your passion: something that will get you eager to get going on a Saturday morning, even if you have to skip brunch.

My reaction was, “A month isn’t bad. I’ve wasted much more time following pathways that were all wrong for me.”

Once I attended a workshop with a famous coach. He’d helped many of my online friends. They told me I should grab a spot at this workshop. He usually charged much, much more. I’d have a rare opportunity.

The coach suggested I expand one of my articles into a program. I didn’t feel comfortable – it wasn’t me! – but I figured, “He’s the big shot. He knows.”

When I tested the marketing materials I created so painstakingly, the response I got was, “This isn’t you.”

Mentors help with the “how” more than the “what.”

Looking back on my years, I’ve worked with some excellent mentors and learned a lot. They were usually good at the “how” part of business. The most profitable offers came from my own intuition…sometimes when I directly went against their advice.

This is also why I like to focus on helping my clients with content creation and strategy. Their intuition drives their decisions. I help with the implementation.

What’s your intuition story? Reply to this message to share.

RESOURCES

My course where I interviewed 12 successful business owners.
My ebook on intuition (available on Amazon and free with Kindle).

And if you’d like to learn more about how these experts pivoted their business (not what’s in the business books), join us by signing up here.

You’re a small business owner – maybe a solopreneur. You make decisions as you experience changes in your personal and professional world. Timing of events will be especially important because they affect you personally. What happens outside the business will affect what happens inside the business.

Here are 3 examples of situations you may encounter, based on my experiences with clients (and my experience). I tend to be somewhat biased, but I listed the pros and cons for each decision.

You’re about to make a major geographic move.

While you’re packing up, you hear about a business coaching program that sounds just right for you. You admire the coach who’s running the program. The price is right. Should you join?

Pros: You’ll keep some momentum going. Being in a new environment can feel unsettled. You’ll have some continuity as well as something to look forward to.

Cons: When you’re moving you’re often in a state of stress. It’s best not to make decisions at this time.

After you move, you find you’re locked into a part of your life that no longer seems meaningful. You might find new opportunities that you can’t take advantage of, because you’re already committed.

Most importantly. being in a new place will change your mindset. You may be more or less interested in the same things…and you may be ready for something completely new.

BTW, clients who start working with me sometimes announce – after they’ve already hired and paid me – they’re going on vacation. The effect is similar to a move. Their mindset shifts. They lose momentum. They begin noticing new opportunities.

I almost always advise starting a new project the day you embark on a vacation, especially if you’re traveling overseas for 2 weeks or more. I’ve rarely seen these projects end successfully.

You’re about to remodel your website.

You’ve started working with a copywriter and you’re reviewing WordPress themes. You get approached by a large company to take a full-time contractual position for a year, possibly extended to two.

Taking the job will give you credentials, skills, and a platform to grow your business at a future date.
Should you continue to create the website now?

PROS: Your business idea is fresh in your mind. It won’t take too much work to get a website up. If something goes wrong with your job, or the offer falls through, you’ll continue easily. You have momentum going to build your website and your may not have time later, once you’re in the job. If you hire a copywriter and designer later, they’ll be revising, not starting from scratch.

CONS: If you take this job and stay even one year, your website will be out of date. You’ll probably get some new strengths that will change the direction of your business. You could be exposed to a new audience – perhaps a more lucrative opportunity. Your current expenses represent a sunk cost. No need to spend more! Keep your notes and move on.

You’re thinking of starting a big project…but you’re not sure when.

You decide to reach out to some copywriters and designers to “see what’s out there.”
Should you do this now, before you’ve got a timeline?

PROS: You’ll get a sense of what people charge to help you. Sometimes you’ll find a friendly person who will suggest resources that can help you move ahead. You’ll be taking action – at least some action – which tends to generate momentum.

CONS: You’ll get a very general idea of what’s out there, but what you learn won’t be useful later. For instance, my rates and availability may be quite different six months from now, let alone a year from now. If I’m one of the people you call, you’ll be wasting time.

Additionally, people who have time to chat while you’re “looking around” may not be the be best choices for suppliers when the time comes. Busy people won’t spend time unless they’re selling or working with you after you become a client.

Frankly, this is one situation where the “cons” overwhelm the “pros.” When clients ask for a phone call, I want to know if they’ve got a budget and a time frame. If the answer is “no” to both, I suggest booking a consultation to plan their next step.

When you don’t have a plan, and don’t seek help in making a plan, your goal will be achieved in the distant future…if it’s achieved at all.