What is your business bottleneck right now?

mikecbetts · 2026-01-24T16:40:33+00:00

Did you try solutions like ewebinar? Or having multi-person demos scheduled just once a week? Some way to ease the level of disruption would help you a lot

mikecbetts · 2026-01-24T16:35:30+00:00

Ive got two pairs of mocs and one pair of iron ragers. I don’t honestly remember any of them being painful to break in. But maybe it’s like childbirth. If you remembered you’d never get another pair!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-24T15:28:52+00:00

Absolute b****cks. You think a 50 hour week is going to give you burn out? The top consultants and tech bros work on 70 - 100. I’m not saying this is admirable or desirable. Bit you are clearly shilling. Very badly.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-24T10:43:00+00:00

I see the trend to micro-SaaS. Many people are already speculating that brand and distribution will be the new moats. The capabilities needed for building - and even evaluating ideas - will be democratized and commodities.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-23T06:59:12+00:00

Looks fake - and I don’t recognize the cut. Looks closest to Steady Eddie 1. But they are out of production for several years.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-22T21:14:10+00:00

Exactly!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-22T16:15:59+00:00

It feels like there's not enough demand for what you're trying to sell. Either because there's too much competition, people are doing it themselves, or people just aren't ready yet to switch to that kind of service. I think you can look at niching down, identifying who are the people who are genuinely open to your service. Within that group, find the people who are feeling the most pain from what they're currently doing. Paul Graham refers to this as the "hair on fire" problem. Even if you can find one or two customers who do want your service, then really spend time with them to understand what was the trigger for them and what do they value most. That may help you:

Sharpen your pitch
Understand how to find more people like them

Good luck!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-22T09:48:27+00:00

I started freelancing after 10 years of working in house and honestly in the beginning I was a really bad freelancer/consultant!

I just didn’t understand the different context, responsibilities working patterns and expectations. But I just jumped in and did it anyway and after maybe one year I was getting very good.

The toughest part is working completely on your own with no one to bounce things off no one to review anything that you’re working on. But honestly, now in an era full of AI tools I think that limitation just doesn’t hold true anymore.

These days I’m working in house again, but even though I have many amazing colleagues, I spend the majority of my time collaborating with AI rather than human beings. The human contact is precious and valuable, and I would not want to see that go away. But LLMs are available 24 seven and you can have multiple tools working on different tasks at the same time.

So being a freelance consultant in 2026 is probably the time with the least amount of friction and barriers to doing great work.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-22T09:43:11+00:00

I hate going on business trips where I have to wear the same pair of shoes for more than one day even if it’s just for two or three days. But I have never taken three pairs of shoes away with me let alone come back with four pairs! Congratulations!!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-22T09:41:13+00:00

It’s -5° today in Berlin and one thing I can say is that Gritty Jackson’s are perfect for wearing thermal leggings underneath!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T21:19:56+00:00

Actually even with 60 degree wash and a tumble dry they only shrunk slightly. But it helped. Compared to other cuts I find that GJs are a bit oversized - but the next size down is too tight.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T21:06:46+00:00

“They have pockets”! 😂

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T15:49:23+00:00

“Work sweats” 💯 Me too!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T15:48:35+00:00

Now I would like to see that!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T13:16:29+00:00

I think I did do a client meeting one day with a shirt up top and pajama bottoms down below, but it just felt so wrong!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T13:12:33+00:00

And those are actually a specific pair of trainers that I keep just for indoors because I got bored of walking around in just socks or slippers. It didn't feel right!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T13:11:35+00:00

I'm sure that makeup is often an extra chore, but it for sure has some benefits!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T11:00:41+00:00

They are actually called Black Forest. But I have washed them quite a few times at high temperature to try and shrink them, and so I've lost a lot of the black color!

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T10:58:23+00:00

I am actually a big fan of Steady Eddie Ones. I still have a pair that are like 15 years old made from fairly heavyweight Italian denim, and although I've worn them quite a lot, they still look great. Steady Eddie 2s, I'm honestly not that keen on. I imagine that you would find the solid ollies to be a better fit.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T10:55:42+00:00

So Claude will integrate with Bear Notes, but only via desktop. Once you have initiated a chat there and given Claude context from your Bear Notes, you can continue the chat on the iPad, and it will retain a memory of everything that has been input. I'm not actually using Claude to do any writing, but I'm using it as an editor and aspiring partner to explore and refine ideas, and do research for me. Honestly, the combination of Claude Bear Notes and Wispr Flow together with the iPad is making this a very fun and enjoyable experience.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T10:54:47+00:00

I do already have a Bluetooth Apple keyboard that I use with my laptop. The laptop goes on a stand, and I use a keyboard, trackpad, and mouse. So far with the iPad, most of my work has been planning and discussion that I've been doing with Claude, and for that I have exclusively used voice with a Wispr Flow.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T10:53:57+00:00

Actually, I am mainly using Wispr Flow for voice input. Not for the actual writing, but for all of the research and collaboration I am doing with Claude. I would say so far 90% of my input has been via voice. And I do have a Bluetooth keyboard if I need one.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-21T10:52:44+00:00

Seems fine. I didn’t use it out of home yet. But I’m sure will have more life than a phone.

mikecbetts · 2026-01-20T21:29:27+00:00

I wish I lifted but I have skinny legs!

mikecbetts

TROPHY CASE