Happy Sunday!
Isn’t it remarkable how some weeks you learn much more than on other weeks? This week is one of those weeks.
Not only have I been travelling and working for the past week - for really the first time in the five years of the business - but I also fired a client.
Er, first time?
You know, when I reflect on it, every other time I’ve travelled for work I haven’t also had a full-time load of work to do. This week I have.
It’s a completely new experience for me, working to maintain it. But, as they say, you need to exist in your Zone of Discomfort in order to grow. It’s been overwhelmingly positive, and almost everything has gotten done.
(And that, boys and girls, is because the Pixie’s project management was sorted out to within an inch of its life in 2018.)
The fun thing was that I got to run Content Mathematics for Write the Docs in Melbourne. The video is on YouTube. Content Mathematics is only ever delivered by invitation, so if you want me to come to your town and run it, email me.
Firing clients is never fun - but you always learn something new
In the past week and a half, I onboarded, did a job for, and then removed, a client. It was a fast-entry, fast-exit type of situation. Now, I have to point out that it isn’t something to take lightly, and it is always stressful, and always makes me feel ill.
But if you can see red flags with a prospect, you know what they are, your very best response to them is ‘no’.
I knew this. I still said yes. So I had to learn that lesson the hard way.
When you’re an entrepreneurial type, you can’t say yes to everyone. It’s tempting. They often have good money. They will often throw you more money when you say no. Saying no is - for some of us - the hardest lesson to learn.
It turns out that I’m a slow learner, but the last lesson on it happened this week. Now I feel like my learning on the matter is complete. Five years in, that’s not bad, right?
Ha!
It turns out that it’s been top of mind for Neil Patel this week, too. He wrote this great piece about how the hardest word to learn, no, is also the most important.
I’m back on the road tomorrow…
…for the last leg of the trip, which is about 8 hours by car. The next week will demonstrate how seamlessly I can drop back in to The Usual way of work.
It’s a good reflection. Brutal Pixie is a remote business (for the most part), and I really do have the flexibility to work from anywhere. Despite this, it’s easy to fall into the trap of imagining that you couldn’t possibly travel, or live, anywhere other than where you do. Knowing that you have the right structure to allow it, is incredibly empowering.