A quick summary of what's in store and about the name change from The Freelancer to the Sunday Dispatches.

The Shape of things to come

2016 was probably the most rollercoaster year for me ever. So many highs, so many lows. Oddly, all the highs were business-related and all the lows were personal-related. But I suppose it balanced out.

State of the union, 2017

Genuine business relationships aren’t a fucking growth hack.

The less we expect of others because we feel like we’re entitled to something back from them, the lighter our lives will be. Because then we can be fully in service to others, solely for the sake being good fucking people.

Not everything needs to be paid back in full

Our world is a reflection of the choices we’ve made.
So instead of complaining about how shitty it is or retweeting some hashtag on social media, there are two simple(ish) fixes: taking action and voting with our dollars (be it Canadian or otherwise!).
We need more light in the world when things suck, not more darkness. So if you’re feeling alone or pissed off or without hope, find an artist/creative who’s doing good work, reach out and thank them for their contributions to the world. I guarantee you’ll both feel better for it.
Positive action is a good remedy for despair.

Sponsored by FreshBooks, https://freshbooks.com/sunday

Art is a powerful tool for change

I want to talk to you about what marketing is, because a lot of folks wrongly assume they understand it (and then dismiss it because they think it isn’t important or isn’t for them).

Sponsored by FreshBooks: https://freshbooks.com/sunday

The Sunday Dispatches Podcast

Newsflash: You don’t hate marketing, you hate what you think marketing is

https://growyouraudience.co for more details.

Introducing Grow Your Audience

Instead of chasing the latest and greatest tactics ,consider first creating a strategy for your marketing. As in, what’s the ultimate purpose and objective for what you’re doing? Who do you want to reach?And how will what you’re doing actually and honestly help them?

The difference between tactics and strategy in marketing

If you don’t want to have employees, assistants, scale up or grow a company that’s bigger than you - there can still be growth involved. It’s just a different kind.

Sponsored by Freshbooks: https://freshbooks.com/sunday

Grow without growth (pt 2)

So although I love that my list drives my revenue and the money side of my business, the real reason I love my list is because it lets me work in the way I want to. And that’s the real reason I work for myself: so I can have a business I’m happy with because it’s run in the quirky, introverted way I like to live my life. And even when life’s shitty, which it sometimes is, my list can take care of things for me.

Sponsored by Freshbooks: freshbooks.com/sunday

The real reason I love mailing lists

I have to start with this disclaimer…
I hesitate to write articles that include phrases like “how to make money” because a) money’s a crappy goal in and of itself and b) I don’t want my writing to get lumped in with thought-leader marketing bullshit.
Seriously, Google “how to make money from [insert any activity]…” and total crap fills the results.
Hopefully this will be a shining beacon of honesty for Google. Or at least, for you.
Disclaimers aside, most folks who make a living online including me, do so by revenue generated from mailing lists.
“The money is in the list” and all that.

How to make money from your mailing list

There are few things that incite rage in me like seeing a motivational quote on social media. There’s a few reasons why (other than, obviously, the fact that I’m a crotchety old man in training and get mad at most things on social media).

Sorry kitty, you actually have to do the work

My entire business strategy can be summed up in four rules:

 1. Be useful  
 2. Give freely    
 3. Stay simple
 4. Keep track

I have four rules

Assuming we’re 100% right, 100% of the time is a recipe for never growing, never learning, never changing (for the better).

What if I’m wrong?

In medicine, there’s a learning model for new surgeons known as “see one, do one, teach one” — it was started by William Stewart Halsted at Johns Hopkins in 1890. Before that, there was no formal training program for people cutting into other people in hospitals (scary, right?).

See one, teach one, do one

We read about time-saving tricks so we have more time to read about time-saving tricks. We optimize our morning routines so we can have 30 minutes longer each morning to work more. It seems like we collectively want more time simply because we want to cram more into the time we’ve got.

What’s the point of productivity?

A doctor doesn’t wait until she’s inspired to do surgery to save a patient's life. A lawyer doesn’t wait for circumstances to be absolutely perfect before she tries a case for her client. They have work to do, so they do it. There’s no mental hacks or habits or tricks required.

You can’t eat excuses

Word length, grammar, typeface, first person, who cares? It’s like debating shades of white in a paint store: it really doesn’t matter at the end of the day. White paint is white paint. Good is good. Writing good simply means that you can clearly share valuable ideas with someone else. And I’ll take that over dense or flowery language any day.

Write good

Belief is only the first step to succeeding at something, action must follow.

Action-based belief

You can technically be profitable with a single sale of a service, if you charge more than it costs you to develop it. That’s why services are easier to push into the black than products – they take less work to set up and start doing.

On being profitable

Minimalism is a mindset rather than a blind purge. If something is useful or pleasurable, you keep it. If it’s not, then you consider scrapping it.

The minimalists guide to running a business

Why is there such a double standard with creativity and commerce?

I bearly read your articles anymore, but this one is ok I guess

Maybe the next time you take a photo and post it you’ll question your motivations as well. Or maybe you’ll think differently when you see a well-curated, edited shot from someone online and remember that their life is likely not all that or perfect. Better yet, maybe you’ll see some whales, jump up and down a little and be like, “FUCK YES, WHALES”. And forget you even have a camera or social media feed at all.

The problem with the whale photo

There are countless books, bloggers and thought leaders that will tell you that the key ingredient to a happy, meaningful life is to find the courage to follow your passion.

Stop trying to find the courage to follow your passion

The dishwasher I bought that was supposed to be delivered last week isn’t here yet. I called the delivery company and they aren’t even sure where it is. The quote I requested from a fence company to fix my fence (a project worth a couple grand) still hasn’t come through. I was told I’d hear about that last week too.

Do what you say you’re going to do

The Sunday Dispatches podcast is coming to an end... for now? forever? My mailing list will continue at: pjrvs.com/signup

So long, farewell.

Paul Jarvis’ Sunday Dispatches is a short, weekly show that helps creatives kick some ass at the intersection of creativity & commerce.

Sunday Dispatches with Paul Jarvis

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