Be Like Flea and Have More Fun

I watched great new Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary on Netflix this week. And there's this moment where their bass player Flea talks about how he bounced from band to band until everything just clicked. He said he knew the Chili Peppers were going to work as a band because he looked out at the crowd during their first gig and people couldn't help themselves. They were moving. Shaking. Reacting to something they'd never heard before.

He said the guys in the band were having so much fun creating an engaging new sound that the audience came alive. He shared that you can't just tell people to put their hands in the air. You can’t implore people to dance. When it's right... they just do it.

I think there's something here for us. We spend so much time on positioning and messaging and making sure our offer checks all the boxes. Value? Check. Clear transformation? Check. Right audience? Check.

But does your thing make people want to get up and dance?
Is it exciting? Is it fresh? Are you having fun doing it?

On the show, I was calling it “The Flea Filter.” How can you provide a technically sound product but deliver it in a fun and surprising way. Adding the life and joy to the product will get your prospects reacting the first time they hear it.

When those things click...you stop convincing people and start inviting them. That's the difference between selling and being irresistible.

Run your next offer through the Flea Filter. Are you having fun while being technically excellent?

Tweet of the week

Yikes. Accurate.

Your Vacation Time is Unlimited - Let’s Block it Off

We did something on Tuesday's show that I want you to steal. I asked everyone to open their calendar... right there, live... and block off every holiday, long weekend, and dead period for the rest of 2026.

Here's why: No one is going to notice you're gone. Your clients aren't looking for a website pitch the week of Memorial Day. They're not shopping for consulting over Christmas. They're checked out. You should be too.

But if you don't block it now, what happens? One meeting sneaks in. Then another. And suddenly you worked through an entire week you could've taken off. You didn't lose the week to being busy. You lost it to not being proactive.

Take Memorial Day week. Take a full week in summer because it's the freaking summer. Thanksgiving through Monday. Two weeks at the end of December.

You have unlimited PTO. I'm giving you permission. Block it off right now before someone else fills your calendar with stuff that doesn't matter.

Call for Partners and Sponsors

The 2026 SBOC Conference is coming in September 15-17, 2026 in Brookfield, WI. This is a room full of 200 small business OWNERS meaning they’re actual decision makers and people motivated to solve the problems in their businesses. If you’re running a company that serves this group, you need to be in the room inviting them to buy from you!

Each year, we showcase a handful of companies by giving them the opportunity to present certain segments of the conference - An Idea Slam session, the Happy Hour celebration, and our meals.

All partnerships include your conference ticket, program advertising, and time in front of the group to promote your business. The best ones include sponsorship in this newsletter, my new show Businessing with Pat Miller, and more.

Tickets go on sale for the event on May 13 and in the next two weeks I’m finalizing our partnerships for the conference. If you want to be a part of it and drive demand for your business, REPLY TO THIS EMAIL and let’s build the partnership that works for you.

Now, GO SELL SOMETHING!

Pat