Ep. 50 - Sometimes you need to kill things.

Matt Tompkins -

One year and 50 articles down and I'm officially 'killing' this newsletter (kind of).

I started writing here almost one year ago to the date (I missed two weeks, sue me). And I started for two reasons:

1) I think it’s important for people to read and learn from those in the same ‘league’ or one league ahead: and

2) I wanted to improve my writing and grow my brand.

The newsletter has been more beneficial than I ever imaged. It’s been the caveat for some great relationships and sparked a passion for writing, something I never thought I was any good at. Everyone should write, even if you don't publish. Writing consistently is a great exercise, and copy writing is arguably the most important skill for growing a business.

So, why stop?

It’s scattered. I haven’t quite found a niche audience or guiding principle for my articles. These issues pose a few important questions: is it worth my time? What am I trying to teach? Why are people coming here in the first place?

I’ve been quietly giving this a lot of thought over the last couple of months, and frankly, I couldn't answer any of those questions.

After doing a mini 'time-audit’, I concluded that spending a few hours a week writing here was in fact not worth my time. Without a solid understanding of who I was writing for, creating content became increasingly difficult. Likewise, I couldn’t find a reason for readers to keep coming back.

Which brings me to the next reason.

I’m in the process of attempting to transition from ‘ladder two’ wealth to ‘ladder three’ wealth. See Nathan Barry’s article on wealth creation here (it's amazing): https://nathanbarry.com/wealth-creation/

The premise:

  • Level 1 = trading time for money (an employee or basically any salary/hourly job).
  • Level 2 = agency work (what I'm currently doing at Elevate Financial).
  • Level 3 = productizing and bundling services or products (my next step).
  • Level 4 = Building a SaaS businesses, etc.

I decided my time is better spent going from ladder 2 to ladder 3, and producing content for that niche rather than writing on various topics every week.

What I’m doing instead

As I alluded to above, I’m not stopping completely. Instead I’m going to build my next business in public. I’ll write and publish when I have something to say.

What's in it for you and why follow along? Here are three reasons:

  1. You're thinking of, or in the process of, starting a 'level 3' business;
  2. You're currently in level 1 or 2, but want to see the successes/failures and learn from my mistakes (instead of your own - win, win); and
  3. Witness open financials: what it costs to start, how much it's making, etc.

The people I’ve shared this with have asked why the change? Elevate Financial has changed my life (I’m not stopping that, FYI). Cash flow is great, it’s afforded a nice life, and I’ve gotten to meet and work with some interesting people and companies.

To be honest, I just want to go bigger - simple. I want my annual income to become a monthly income. And unfortunately, EFG won’t get there. Maybe it could, but I don’t love service-based firms enough to force the issue.

Next week I will drop what the business is we're launching and start digging into its value proposition and potential headwinds. Basically, I’ll be unmasking the details of what it's like to start from the ground up.

I hope you join me for the ride.