Happy Friday! I’m off on Fridays but this is one of those days I might prefer being in the office. It’s neighborhood Rummage Sale Day! Abbie and I will be slinging old kids clothes and random stuff that has been piling up in the basement for the next 24 hours. Every Friday Off isn’t paradise but this is something that needs to be done. Glad I have the time. What would YOU do if you had today off?

Every morning on Businessing with Pat Miller this week, before anything else, we ran the same three questions to make sure we were ready to work:

What can I quit?
What's the one thing I have to finish today?
Who am I going to ask for money today?

Your business has expenses every single day, which means it has to be sold every single day. If you're not asking somebody for money today, you're already falling behind, and you won't feel it until the slow month shows up and you can't figure out why.

Michael Rampolla was our guest on Monday and he put it perfectly. So many of us fill our days with oddly specific busywork. Should I incorporate in Delaware? What about stock options? And it's usually just a dressed-up way of dodging the only question that pays the bills, which is does anybody actually want to buy this? His advice, word for word: “go fund yourself.” Go sell something and see if anyone cares.

That's Pillar 5 of the Fridays Off Theory. Lead generation isn't luck, and it isn't a someday project. It's a treadmill you climb on every day, whether you feel like it or not.

Today, before you get back to your inbox and the busywork, answer one question:
Who am I asking for money today? Then go ask them.

Today’s Sponsor

Tweet of the week

Ouch. Truth Hurts.

Quit Showing the After Photo

Quick one that might change how you post. There's research on fitness influencers, the ones who put up the perfect AFTER photo to inspire you. Turns out it often does the opposite. The person who's out of shape sees the six-pack, feels how far away they are, gets discouraged, and never books the trainer.

Your marketing might be doing the same thing. If you're a professional organizer posting the flawless, color-coded closet, the person whose closet looks like a clothes blender doesn't think “I should call her.” They think, “well, that's not me”, and they keep scrolling.

So lead with the before instead. Show the messy closet and say, if yours looks like this, I can help. Show the mistake you see all the time. Meet people where they actually are, not where you wish they were.

You're still teaching them what good looks like. You're just doing it in a way that pulls them toward you instead of reminding them how far they've got to go. Relatable beats impressive when you're trying to get found.

Today’s Sponsor

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat