Before we start, I want to remind everyone diving into building a personal brand or regular content production that it’s a lonely journey (oftentimes for years).
That’s especially valid for high-ticket B2Bs. Many of you here are 7-8 figure entrepreneurs, angel investors (some VC/PE/M&As I know, too), serial founders, reputable consultants, high-level managers and directors at SMEs, successful solopreneurs.
And this crowd is tough to beat! Unlike our business ventures targeting starting founders on Twitter or middle age ladies in Facebook or designers on Instagram – they spend over an hour daily just responding to comments and networking with each other.
On the other side of the spectrum, when your business is doing well, you focus on execution, growth, brand protection, networking with high-worth individuals and less engagement on social or emails.
That makes it so much more impactful when I:
- hear “Yes, I saw that in your latest newsletter” from an investor during a due diligence call on Friday
- read “You put out so much good content on a regular basis” under my newsletter on a Saturday from another investor I work with
- see “We based our hiring process on your market trends” in a partners email on a Tuesday (yesterday)
My goal is to provide a broader overview of the market trends – and I’m happy when this happens. Just like the latest market reports clearly show the October pullback across ecommerce, service, agency work, and I’ve been reporting that since late September.
Bottom line – thank you for sharing feedback with me (when you do).
If you are open to spreading the word in public, I’d love to get more of these feedback memos posted on the Growth Blueprint page. Just hit “Reply” with how the newsletter helped you out and I’d be happy to help new subscribers understand the value better (links to your digital are welcome too and not mandatory).
The other piece of the puzzle is being an active operator while reporting market trends.
There’s a fine line between being a journalist and reporting market news for a living – and another being a serial entrepreneur owning, managing, advising different businesses in different niches, feeling the hits and rises as they come around.
My business advisors have been veterans with 20+ years in the field who still do consulting and get their hands dirty themselves. I wouldn’t trust schoolbook advice from 15 years ago that’s hardly relevant anymore.
(That excludes a lot of Warren Buffet’s work, or Ray Dalio, or plenty of classics that establish core competencies in a more philosophical manner, transcending over time.)
I’ll quote Gary Vee here from a recent YouTube video stating:
“The reason I still operate is the day you stop operating you’re out of touch. The reason I’m contemporary good is because I’m actually doing it and then I just talk about what I’m doing. It’s really hard to talk about TikTok properly if you’ve never done TikTok.”
The only reason I offer advisory services is because I walk the walk daily – and working with more, diverse businesses enriches my data pool of tips and strategies, what works and what doesn’t, which I spread back into the data pool.
This is why I run an agency as well – our growing portfolio enables us to track down average CPCs, market trends, bounce rates, PPS, IPS, and tons of other metrics, see what works and what doesn’t, and act upon the market trends as early as possible.
Because “walking the walk” is what helps you deliver more practical value with the latest digital/business/macro nuances. No matter if you run a business, a lifestyle venture, consult startups or write a school thesis, this macro knowledge is your weapon toward surviving any recession and coming out stronger.
Yours,
Mario
My Take
Navigate the Evolving Landscape of Leadership – Thought leaders refer to the year 2020 as a year of a great reset. This week we explore the changing landscape of business leadership and how leaders can adapt to the demands of the 21st century.
What Entrepreneurs are most grateful for – No entrepreneur’s journey is a smooth one, and business ownership is often a difficult path to take without the right mindset and the help of a community of supporters. Though it can be easy to forget these facts when caught up in the daily grind of running a business, there are certain times of year that call for reflection and gratitude. See what I and 10 other entrepreneurs are most grateful for.
Scaling WordPress with DevriX and Pagely – In this episode of “Webmasters Unleashed: Empowering Websites with Pagely and DevriX,” the focus is on scaling WordPress for high-traffic websites. We discuss key considerations such as infrastructure, load balancing, caching mechanisms, and security measures, offering insights and best practices for effective scalability and performance optimization.
How Brands Differentiate themselves in a crowded ecosystem – To keep up with and get ahead of the competition, e-commerce companies must double down on customer experience, allowing them to retain existing customers while attracting new ones from their less customer-conscious competitors.
Key Tips for Public Speaking to Deliver Stellar Performance – Public speaking is an invaluable tool for personal and professional growth, but it often strikes fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned professionals. The task can be daunting, especially for those new to the experience. But despite the nerves and anticipation, there are ways that any public-speaking newbie can put their best foot forward, showcase their brand or company and get the word out while on stage. Have a look at me and 9 other entrepreneurs’ key tips.
Newsletter Recommendations
Stacked Marketer – One of my go-to newsletters and a business that we’ve worked with a while ago on the DevriX front. It is loved by marketers who get hands-on with campaigns, who need to stay up-to-date with frequently changing platforms., who need to get an edge, and who need to achieve outsized results with limited resources, aka performance-focused marketers.
The Average Joe – Market trends & insights that are simple, concise, and impactful. This newsletter stands out to me due to the 200,000+ audience that go through market trends and ideas together.
The Early Bird – А special 7:00AM newsletter for those in the US, who feel to be at an information disadvantage. This newsletter covers early stories, that will impact the market every day.
Morning Brew – Аn absolute classic, the Morning Brew delivers top news from a business-minded angle, and deliver it in a short, easy-to-read, actionable, and entertaining way.
Business Strategy
X’s new algorithm – Twitter, now known as X, is planning a major algorithm update that will prioritize surfacing posts from smaller accounts and expose users to new and interesting content outside their usual network. By giving smaller creators a chance to be discovered and monetize their posts, X aims to become a thriving creator platform, although its success remains uncertain given its alleged declining traction and increasing competition from startups like Bluesky, Post, and Spill.
Apple Gets 36% of Google Revenue – During the Justice Department’s antitrust trial, an expert disclosed that Google pays Apple 36% of the revenue it earns from search advertising on the Safari browser. This partnership, which began in 2002, is significant for Google as it establishes its search engine as the default option on iPhones, the most popular smartphone in the US.
Consumer Spending fell in October – According to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, October retail sales (excluding autos and gas) decreased by 0.08%. Weakness was observed in gas station sales, electronics and appliances, and furniture and home stores, while there was strength in sporting goods and hobby stores, nonstore retails (internet sales), and health and personal care.
Meta and Amazon Crossover – Meta has introduced a new feature that allows users to link their Facebook and Instagram accounts to Amazon, enabling them to shop directly from Amazon’s ads on the social media platforms. This move aims to enhance ad revenue for Meta and provide a seamless shopping experience for users, while also allowing Amazon to expand its reach and help merchants find new customers.
China’s ICBC gets hacked – The U.S. financial services division of China’s ICBC bank suffered a ransomware cyberattack, disrupting the trade of U.S. Treasurys and isolating impacted systems. The attack, reportedly executed using LockBit 3.0 ransomware, has not been attributed to any specific group, though ICBC is conducting investigations and working with law enforcement.
Global News
Stock futures are unsurprisingly flat ahead of CPI data, with bond yields also going nowhere.
- S&P: 4,411 (-3.69%)
The rise in mortgage rates comes alongside appreciating home prices, both of which have prevented more buyers from entering the market. Over half of home purchase mortgages originated in July had a monthly payment over $2,000, according to Black Knight. Twenty-three percent of originations in July had a payment over $3,000. The affordability squeeze is stretching budgets, and keeping many first-time homebuyers out of the market altogether.
- 30-year mortgage rate: 7.88% (+0.03%)
- 15-year mortgage rate: 7.09% (-0.07%)
UBS sees slower growth, rising unemployment and disinflation to lead the Fed to cut its benchmark rate to a target range ending the year between 2.50% and 2.75%.
Arend Kapteyn, UBS global head of economics and strategy research, told CNBC on Tuesday that the starting conditions are “much worse now than 12 months ago,” particularly in the form of the “historically large” amount of credit that is being withdrawn from the U.S. economy.
This week we see focus on more US-centric news, as there are major shifts in both the Supreme Court, Republican party, and Trump’s trial date.
- The Supreme Court says it has adopted a new code of conduct following allegations of ethics lapses.
- House Republicans unveil a plan to avert a government shutdown.
- The judge in former President Trump’s classified documents case says she will not postpone the Florida trial date, but left open the possibility of pushing back the trial at a later date.
Investing Updates
- Swipe – revolutionizing the refurbished smartphone sector through comprehensive buy-back programs.
- Adadot– is empowering workplace wellbeing and performance tracker for developers.
- CONTENTS– is reshaping content generation with AI.
Note: Got a round going that you want to feature – your own business or a portfolio company? Get in touch.
- Sports Predictions Platform– This business is a free to play prediction platform for sports lovers with its own dedicated app. Consistently growing, it generated an annual revenue of $81.3K from ads and affiliate sales.
- Monthly Profit: $6.1K
- Email Subscribers: 111.5K
- Age: 4 years
- Music Marketing Agency– This established agency provides a range of services for musicians, including music distribution, social media promotion and more. With a loyal client base, a high profit margin of 66% and a TTM revenue of $104K.
- Monthly Profit: $5.7K
- Return Customer Rate: 50%
- Age: 6 years
- Food Blog – This is a ten-year-old blog in the evergreen health and wellness niches, with a loyal and engaged online audience.
- Monthly Profit: $10.5K
- Monthly Page Views: 191.8K
- Authority Score: 40
Need my Help?
I’m involved with a number of initiatives – here’s what I can do to help you:
Scalable and secure WordPress? DevriX provides WordPress retainers to SMEs, publishers, eCommerce, SaaS, and more. Our plans start from $1,200/mo to $40K/mo for anything from support through engineering, CRO, performance, security, to fractional CXO services and managing the data stacks of large corps.
Running on Shopify? Set up Rush now and increase your revenue with post-purchase orders automatically!
Want to scale and optimize your business? Growth Shuttle offers personalized advisory plans starting at $600/hr. Tap into my personal pool of business know-how and my data warehouse of industry data.
Want access to my blueprints/books and a weekly Slack planning session? Join my Community and grab my Entrepreneurship book.
Looking to start a US company? Check out doola and their “Business in a Box” model. Suitable for both foreigners and US citizens and both for residents and non-residents.
Have you tried buying and selling digital property? Have a look at Flippa’s marketplace. They offer a vast variety of online businesses for any buyer’s interests. Or if you’re ready for an exit, Flippa provides you with the necessary tools to list your business and close the deal.
Looking for investment opportunities? Check out SeedBlink and use Nimity to manage it.
Eager to incorporate my recommended solutions? Track my angel investments. Sharing, applying for open roles, or writing reviews helps a ton. And anything else I try to publish on my blog and my courses here!
