Gaining Clarity & Getting Un-lost

For the first time in a while, I’ve began to find some clarity in terms of what I should be doing in order to figure my life out. I’m going to write about what my plan is going forward and why I feel like these ideas could be relevant. This might be messy & unhinged but I’m just documenting my mental gymnastics in a raw format with regards to going from 0-1 (getting un-lost) so that I have a detailed record of exactly what I’m working through in real time. Maybe one day these mental gymnastics could be insightful to others working through similar life challenges.

Important: to create an asset that can eventually be monetized, the asset must provide value in the form of:

• Insights within a niche. Real insights require real experience and comprehensive understanding of the skills required in that niche. No shortcuts to gaining experience, however, one can aggregate insights from a variety of other industry experts.

• Entertainment

  • Super mega bonus if one can achieve both

Ok, so I know I want to create an asset that helps people lay out a path to help them go from 0-1 when they don’t go the traditional route of going to college, applying to jobs only by submitting a resume, etc… So that requires me to do 1 of 2 things:

1. Go through this process myself and document my experiences reaching out to various people

2. Aggregate insights from other industry experts

What I’m currently thinking as I write this is that I could achieve both by:

• Starting an interview podcast on youtube where I interview marketers, founders and operators about their insights within the marketing space

• Leverage existing experience (albeit shallow freelance experience) to create an asset that provides value to eCommerce brands and marketers by reviewing brands websites and highlighting improvements and low-hanging fruit across product pages to improve visitor conversions.

  • The main reason I like this idea is because I posted one video on youtube last summer to a brand new channel (Candid Commerce) reviewing a brand’s website that resulted in a founder emailing me to do work for his brand. So that one video I posted to youtube without any subscribers has resulted in a little over one thousand dollars in freelance work.

  • The main reason I didn’t stay consistent with this is because - based on conversations I’ve had with other ecom operators - I don’t feel optimistic about a career in marketing because of 1) the proliferation of vertically integrated manufacturers selling directly into marketplaces undercutting costs that stifle the majority of smaller-medium brands who don’t have leverage over their own production, which results in a zero sum game for most brands, ultimately leading to less opportunity within the space as a whole. And 2) because AI is replacing a lot of marketing roles (see this newsletter I wrote about my thoughts on the future of the ecom space and marketing given the rise of AI subsidizing many entry level roles). I honestly don’t think entry level marketing roles will exist in 2-5 years.

  • So the shift in perspective is that I’m not looking to use this asset as a way of cultivating a long-term marketing career, but rather as an asset that unlocks oppurtunities that are more stable than freelancing by showcasing and providing value in a way that others are not SO THAT I can parlay that experience into something valuable and meaningful. Our resumes have turned into a portfolio piece that delineates our value as potential candidates. So the point is to go from 0-1 in a space - despite decreasing oppurtunities - so that I can lay out a path for others who are looking to break through in unconventional ways (for those that skip college or for those finding their career prospects increasingly challenging). I also think this could be an opportunity to upskill my understanding of automation and the broader skillsets that are transferrable across other spaces.

• Reaching out to people in the positions I seek to gain deeper insights that cannot be achieved by applying blind (only via a resume). This is the crux of reverse-prospecting.

So these efforts should unlock more oppurtunities as opposed to applying blindly with only a resume, with limited experience and no degree:

• Aggregating insights from other marketers in a podcast format (because people can relate to and find value in conversational formats where they can envision themselves in the types of questions being asked)

• Reviewing brands' websites and providing tips on low-hanging fruit to optimize visitor conversions

I’m not sure if this is the best way forward, but I think it’s probably a good starting point given that I’ve failed at everything else. I could see myself parlaying these experiences into something broader down the line. I can’t help but keep thinking about how Caleb Hammer built his podcast from nothing to nearly 2 millions subscribers in just 2 years… He didn’t go the typical podcast route where you would try to get the biggest names as guests - instead, Caleb carved out a format within the personal finance niche (by the way, he has no degree or background in finance) where he provides personalized value to his guests based on their situation, budget, and financial goals (he also connects his guests with real financial experts if they need such help - think: aggregating insights from other industry experts).

Going deeper, I think about the things I’m experienced in outside of freelancing. I’m pretty well-versed in nutrition. I am not disciplined whatsoever yet I eat healthier than the vast majority of Americans and I feel like I understand nutrition like the back of my hand. I also have experience in rehabbing physical injuries via regressive mobility and I spent the majority of my teens and early 20s in gyms. The fitness community is pretty cringe because it’s all wrapped in vanity & false standards. I also think about how steroid-ridden “influencers” in this space sell supplements with toxic ingredients… AKA, the space as a whole is not really about health; it’s about selling unattainable vanity by capitalizing on peoples insecurities. So, while I certainly do NOT want to be a “fitness influencer”, I could EFFORTLESSLY help others improve their physical health routine and nutrition WITHOUT spending more money than they currently do on groceries (as long as they’re willing to dissociate the release of dopamine from caloric intake) and without needing to go to a gym. That might sound absurd to some people but I’m literally as confident as I could possibly be that I could provide value to others who want to improve their eating & physical wellbeing. Personally, I do not lift weights or have any desire to have bigger muscles because I find it a futile use of my time and bandwidth, but I eat well and do bodyweight exercises just to break a sweat (it’s good for mental health and it makes me feel better - my only goal is to be healthy). So I type this paragraph all to say that I think there’s a way to disrupt the space by taking clues from Caleb Hammer’s strategy where I could offer personalized advice to everyday people looking for help in a way that’s not intimidating or baked in pointless vanity. “Fitness & nutrition” shouldn’t be about selling artificially flavored caffeine powder - it should be about improving ones wellbeing and feeling better by getting closer to nature and doing something (anything) that gets you moving in a way that’s sustainable.

Important: to create an asset that can eventually be monetized, it usually takes time and dedication. To sustain these efforts as one builds up the asset, they still need money to fuel their survival (no shit).

• That’s the point of unlocking oppurtunities that can lead to further growth

• I’ll probably have to do other potentially shit jobs in the meantime. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts to success! There is just getting lucky and being in the right place at the right time which is usually a product of hard work and dedication.

So to wrap this up, I could totally see myself building something that provides value to people looking to:

• Improve their physical wellbeing without increasing their budget

• Go from 0-1 and find a pathway to getting un-lost (basically what I’m personally working through now)

• Keep up top date with various current events via aggregated insights from a variety of sources & industry experts

I like newsletters because I like writing and I like the idea of being able to monetize that interest. I like podcasts because I enjoy asking people questions about their expertise and learning about various topics from people experienced their fields. I don’t know how all these ideas will come together in a comprehensive format, but I do know that:

• To monetize, one must grow an audience.

• To grow an audience, one must provide value within the form of either entertainment, information (or both)

• To provide value within a space, one must be experienced in that space or aggregate key insights in that space by knowing what type of information is valuable to those looking to learn.