My best friend’s business failed. Four years ago, we were both dentists looking to escape our jobs. But whilst I chose the content route, he chose to code—building a health and fitness app. It was a series of unfortunate events since. His team was a nightmare to manage. The app took too long to build. Plus, he started before AI. So even if he did launch, it’s out of date from day one. On a call last week he explained he’d finally stopped working on the app. It made him feel sick to his stomach. He dreaded it. And honestly? I was relieved. Sunken cost can be a bitch to overcome. But as we wrapped up our chat, he said something that set off my alarm bells: “I’m still not done.” Now, I admire persistence. But I’m worried for him. Why? Because he’s not having fun. We think we need to suffer as entrepreneurs. We imagine it’s our duty to carry the cross for a decade to emerge victorious among the blood and broken bones of business. But the point of entrepreneurship is you get to build a business that supports your life. Not the other way around. You operate at your best when curiosity is aligned with competence. Not when each day feels like crawling through broken glass. I’ve learned (and still am learning) this lesson the hard way. One example is social media. I worked hard for my audience, but I hate algorithm-chasing, crowd pleasing content. And I can’t stand forced engagement. I thought I had to do it because I wanted to ‘keep up with other creators’. But I began dreading my week. So I asked myself: What would my business look like if I was having fun? The answer was obvious: More emails. I love emails because they’re a one-on-one conversation. You don’t need to worry about trends and timelines. You can follow your curiosity, share interesting stories, and lean into your personality. I was terrified when I reduced my social media time by 90%. But as a result, my newsletter became more popular. I made $531,914 over the past year, which is 3x more than the previous. My point Reader? There are parts of your business that light you up. Parts you’re ignoring because you’re doing what’s expected instead of what’s enjoyable. These are the parts where you must double down. Because people pay attention to people having fun. For example, over the past month, I’ve been sharing stories like this email whilst gently promoting my upcoming course Magnetic Emails. 2102 people have joined the waitlist—which I find crazy. But if I wasn’t enjoying writing these, you wouldn’t want to learn them from me. Nor would I have spent hundreds of hours testing and iterating to build a simple 6-step process to make story-based emails effortless. This feels like play to me, which should translate to play for you. Now, I don’t know how the launch will go. But I’m not worried about it either because it’s been a pleasure to prepare for. And that’s the attitude you need to survive and thrive in business. Enjoy yourself—life’s too short not to. Kieran P.S. I begged my friend to start his personal brand a few years ago. He gave up after a few months. Now he has nothing—back to square one. The beauty of a brand is you can keep taking shots. A project can fail today and you can start again tomorrow. But you need fans to support your business. And you need fans to enjoy your business. That’s what Magnetic Emails will help you create more than any course in the market. The launch is 1st September. Hop on the waitlist by clicking here. |
On a mission to become a better writer, thinker, and entrepreneur • Ex-dentist, now building an internet business (at ~$500k/year)
Last week, I sent an unfortunate message to my affiliates. I’d promised they could help launch Magnetic Emails. But I since changed my mind, explaining the launch would be private. No affiliates. No advertising. No selling on social media either. For reference, my last launch grossed 6 figures. Affiliate sales were 40% of the income. And I have 239,000 followers across social media platforms. So it’s a considerable chunk of business I’m throwing away. Why am I doing this? Because I was being...
Studies show 50% of businesses fail within 5 years. But I’d bet 95% of creator-first businesses will crash and burn. Consider this email a word of warning—a conversation I wish I had with myself three years ago. It begins with the truth: The online game isn’t as simple as people think. From an ‘outsiders’ perspective, every social media influencer is rolling in cash. Big brand deals, flashy cars, great holidays. This intrigues many people. So they dive into online business with their 4 Hour...
Three months ago, as I strolled along Leeds canal in the blistering UK heat (23 degrees), I listened to Tim Ferris interview Seth Godin. Ferris asked Godin how he’s kept so consistent with his popular daily blog, of which he’s posted 8,109 times. Godin replied with a point I loved: ”It’s not your job to say new things. It’s your job to say things that confirm your audience’s beliefs.” Most writers, myself included, think the secret to success is coming up with novel and unique ideas. But...