Hello.
The last few months were incredible. I didn’t write as much as I’d liked to because I was spending 90-hour weeks, split across 4 different businesses:
Fudge is almost 5 years old. My partners and I continuously learn and unlearn how to run a creative business. We’ve been productising our services. We also decided it’s time to hire A-grade talent.
I discovered how much I hate the process of looking for talent and hiring.Cranial, my new born, is a brand strategy studio. My clientele comprises of small business that find me on the likes of Upwork and Fiverr, as well as more established clients that find me on LinkedIn.
Deva and I restarted our first venture. Viral Cube (we’re changing the name) brings our learnings from Behavioural Science to make post-click-engagement more effective (i.e., what happens after someone clicks/sees an ad).
Finally, ‘Obviously Works’, a full service agency that I set up in the UK (need to make my brown ancestors happy)
How do I feel? Like I’m bringing up 3 infants and one toddler, and they all have different mothers.
Here’s a book that you might find interesting. The most important take away for me is the difference between “work” and “creative work”.
Smaller businesses don’t get the strategy they deserve.
Half of all small businesses in the US and two-thirds in the UK don’t have a marketing strategy.
At first I thought this is symptomatic of the corporate myopia that’s rampant in the world today. But that’s not it.
Most business owners can’t situate strategy within their operating system. They are lost in the syntax.
“What is marketing strategy?”, “What is brand strategy?”, “what is content strategy?”, “what is creative strategy?”. When does one start and the other one begin? Are all of these things needed?
Here’s my attempt at answering this:
The single most annoying thing I heard this month is “you know there are many other agencies out there, right?”
The same client told this to my team on 2 separate occasions.
Who am I to stand in the way of my clients’ happiness? So I fired them.
If someone says this to you and continues to pay for your services, here’s why you should fire them:
They don’t really want to find another agency. They want to scare you into doing what they want
They think that the empty threat will somehow motivate you to work harder for them
If you tolerate this once, they will do it again and again.
These are usually the same people who want a “special” discount on everything
Self-respect
The 90s were great. Except I was 6 years old in 1999. All I remember is an aesthetic. Unlived memories define us as much as lived ones.
Until next time.