If I look back a few years, I can name several friends, colleagues, and people I know who were in a very similar position to me. They were early in their new businesses, struggling to find clients and customers. Some of them are still in that same situation today 5 years later—some good months, some bad months, and a constant cycle of stress that keeps them from fully escaping the trap.
Now, I’m not going to whitewash anything. I was lucky in some ways, especially in that I sold a company, which gave me a little bit of security when starting over. (Though mentally i didnt feel secure but thats another story).
But regardless years later, the difference between where I am today and where some of them are now doesn’t come down to luck. It comes down to a choice.
I chose to create content.
They chose to do something else.
Some of them dabbled in content here and there, but they never fully committed. I took it seriously. I treated content like it was life or death. And because of that, I broke out of the cycle.
I’ve done cold outreach. I’ve sent cold emails. I know that you can get customers that way. But having done both, I can tell you that content and cold outreach are not even in the same arena. They are not comparable in any way, shape, or form.
Everyone needs to do what works for them. There’s no single piece of advice that applies to everyone. But if I were in the position of needing to make something work, I would do everything in my power to make content work. Even if it meant putting in more time. Even if it meant sacrificing some of my personal life for a while.
I know that might go against the anti-grind, anti-hustle culture that says you can have it all, balance everything, and still grow a business. But that wasn’t my reality. I couldn’t do it that way.
It was hard hearing from my daughter that she was sad I missed her soccer game. It hits you as deep as it can be.
But looking back, I am so grateful that I put in the time. I have much more control now.
Sitting here today, what I can tell you with 100% certainty is this:
Content is 100 times more important than most people think it is.
And if you’re serious about building something that lasts, you need to treat it that way.
It is not another task to complete, it is the single most important skill to develop.
Treating these decisions as life or death? Overkill? Unnecessary? Maybe, Im honestly not sure. That's how I am. Struggling is not often enough motivation for some, or for me.
It was life or death.
I had to see this choice as the only way.
I did what i had to do. You do what you need to do.