My business is a private business.  I’m not a public company owned by shareholders. What does that mean?  Well, let’s imagine my partner/wife was the boss and she had to move the P&L in a constant upward direction every quarter. I’d be fucked. 

What’s The Idea? has good years and bad years. It’s not always tied to the energy I put into business development. I’m always on. A firm believer in making your own luck, I understand demand for my services is fluid. Educating marketers that brand strategy is a business winning concern is not easy. Because not many understand strategy. They understand tactics.  My board of directors, were I managing 100s of planners, would not completely get that. They would bring pressure. “Work harder. More hours. More outreach.” Pressure. “Increase visibility. Cut costs.”

As a private “single-shingle” brand planner I answer to me. My home is my office. My credit card statement is my expense manager. My checking account, the P&L. Yes, this can be a hand-to-mouth business. But there’s mad learning in that.  We learn when we operate on the edge.  We learn when we operate amongst raging success.  I’m not so sure we learn well when we have outside pressures not of our own making. Learning is the fulcrum of brand strategy.

Independence. As my kid’s used to say “I yike it.”

Peace.