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Financially, we have something here called the breakeven point, where we know we’ll be able to live comfortably, meet our expenses, and do what we want to do for the year. This typically comes around late August, when a lot of businesses lock in their strategies for the rest of the year and have chosen to get us involved. A couple of years, it didn’t happen at all. One year, it happened in early June because everybody suddenly invested in our work in response to a global pandemic.
I don’t want to jinx anything, but it’s nonzero likely that we’ll reach the breakeven point soon. Our existing client portfolio has not changed since last September, and a couple of them have chosen to hire us for more expansive work. With one more renewal, we’ll be good for the year.
Our focus on value generation has turned out to be correct. We are grateful to everyone who has chosen to take a chance on us and see what we’re capable of. I’m going to spend a lot less time online and more time gardening & planning Draft’s work over the next few months, but I also want to put out some intentions into the world and see what happens:
- I’d like to give a conference talk within the next few months. It’s been a few years since my last one, but I love doing them. Anything involving independent software would be ideal, but I’m open to other spaces as well.
- I want to guest on more podcasts. I used to do these fairly often, but haven’t done many lately. I believe I’m a fairly good guest, but I’m also looking for something a little crunchier & less surface. I’ve found that if someone asks me a question that is easily answered by something on my website, then their audience would benefit by going deeper.
- I might talk about text more often here. I love writing text, and the people who are there are very much into it, but I don’t promote it as much as it should be.
This is a lot about us and not much about you, so let’s make it about you. If you ever find yourself in a similarly lucky position, then it’s time to slow down & retrench. Go on a retreat, rewrite your website, plan new content initiatives, touch grass. There is business value to touching grass. And do what you can to protect your field, because that’s where everything starts.
You are the product of your attention. Stillness & discretionary time are luxuries that you should work hard to maximize. Only then will you get the spaciousness that’s necessary to do the deeper work on yourself & your business.
I had a recent day to myself. My partner & I got up, we walked the dog, they went back to their place for the day, and I went to the farmers market, filled two bags, and came home. Then I started a shrub, made a vinaigrette, de-weeded my garden, vacuumed the whole house, ran three loads of laundry, made dinner, and did the dishes. By the time I was done, the sun was going down and I was exhausted but happy. I took a walk with the dog, ran into a friend, talked about life for a little while, went home, took a bath, and went to bed. I didn’t think about Draft once. Then I came back, renewed, and got to work.
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