Let's get real for a minute

Time to open the kimono.

(Don’t know why I used this analogy; I’ve always hated it)

But anyway, I’m at a crossroads.

I have 2 fundamentally different types of side-hustle clients:

• Ghostwriting for CEOs

• Local service-based business full-stack marketing

Similar but different.

Similar, because it’s marketing. They both involve copywriting and content generation.

Different, because they fundamentally want different things. Small business owners want more leads, and CEOs want social media growth.

In my journey towards working for myself, I feel the need to specialize.

I don’t want to be the jack of all trades.

I want to pick something and be world class at it.

This comes from being a kid, watching my dad and grandpa run their own business. It was always a point of contention with my dad when my grandpa would accept any type of job, and not specialize.

Dad would always tell this story of the time he told my grandpa that they needed to specialize in something like electrical work. The very next day, my grandpa called my dad and asked: “Do you think we can build an elevator shaft?” And they did. But my dad would tell this story while shaking his head.

So, it has been ingrained that I should specialize.

For more than childhood lessons, I believe this is the way to be truly great; focus on 1 thing at a time.

And that leads us to the current predicament.

Which direction do I choose?

I don’t have the answer, but I want to be transparent with y’all about my journey and decision-making process in the hopes that it may be helpful.

So, here’s how I’m thinking about it:

Enjoyment

• I really like the ghostwriting work. Gives me a ton of energy. The interviewing process, working with people that have scaled to 7-8 figure businesses, and figuring out their voice and message is really interesting and fun.

• On the other hand, it’s super rewarding to see leads come in for small service businesses. And I know the territory, growing up with one and running my own.

Scalability

• It feels like service businesses is way more scalable. For instance, once I have generated a funnel and ad set for a painting business, all I have to do is sell the implementation to the thousands of other local painting businesses.

• On the other hand, there are a ton of CEOs and founders out there.

Churn

• I can see churn being high for service-based businesses. However, my 2 customers in this space have been with me since May, with no churn yet.

• I’ve heard from other people in the space that executive ghostwriting clients stay for 5-6 months on average.

Other considerations

• Service based businesses have a lower LTV (lifetime value), and a potentially higher CAC (cost of acquisition).

• My CEO clients are interested in social media growth. And that is something I’m obviously not an expert in. So, to make this work, I need to make myself case-study #1.

Lots to think about.

I’ll keep you all in the loop as I work through this.

If this peek behind the curtain was interesting, let me know!

Thanks for being here,

Swanagan