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Journal

Thinking on marketing, growth, and building lean.

Written for the person running a business who has to make marketing decisions without a marketing department. No listicles, no posturing.

  1. What Startups Get Right (and Wrong) About Marketing

    Lessons from Vesper Marine to now: what the startup world taught me about speed, focus, and knowing when to ignore best practice.

  2. The Tools I Actually Use Every Day

    My real marketing stack as a solo operator in 2026: what stays, what goes, and what I'd recommend.

  3. You Don't Need a Rebrand. You Need a Message.

    Why most businesses jump to visuals before nailing what they actually want to say.

  4. Agencies vs. Fractional vs. In-House

    An honest comparison from someone who's been on all three sides of the marketing relationship.

  5. The HubSpot Trap

    What happens when your CRM becomes the strategy instead of serving one, and how to avoid the most common implementation mistakes.

  6. ChatGPT Can Write Your Emails. Should It?

    Where AI-generated content helps your marketing and where it costs you trust.

  7. Stop Posting for the Algorithm

    Why consistency beats virality every single time, and what that actually looks like for a small business.

  8. What Does a Fractional Marketing Director Actually Do?

    A week in my life across five clients, from strategy sessions to writing emails to arguing about HubSpot.

  9. The Best Marketing I Ever Did Was Listening

    Why the first month of any engagement is about shutting up, and how that changes everything.

  10. AI Won't Fix Your Marketing (But It Will Speed It Up)

    What AI tools can and can't do for a small business. An honest take from someone who uses them every day.

  11. Your Website Isn't a Brochure

    Why most SMB websites talk about themselves instead of their customers, and what to do about it.

  12. Do You Actually Need a Marketing Person?

    The honest checklist for knowing when it's time to bring in marketing help, and when it's not worth it yet.

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