Here’s what that costs you.

Every week that goes by without a clear strategy is a week where you’re working hard but not necessarily working on the right things.

You’re working (and sometimes working super hard for weeks on end), but it may not be moving your business in the right direction.

And in a knowledge business, that gap between effort and direction can cost you a lot:

Revenue you’re not making because your offer isn’t positioned right, or your funnel has a leak you haven’t found yet, or your pricing is quietly leaving money on the table every single day.

Time you’re wasting on tactics that feel productive but aren’t actually moving the needle…content that isn’t converting, software tools you adopted because everyone said to, launches that underperformed for reasons that were actually fixable.

Energy poured into work that didn’t move the needle — because without someone who knows your business helping you prioritize, it’s easy to work hard on the wrong things in the wrong order.

The mental overhead of holding every strategic question in your head while also trying to run the day-to-day operations of your business. (This one is the sneaky one. You don’t always notice how much cognitive weight you’re carrying until someone finally takes some of it off your plate.)

Here’s the thing: this isn’t about working harder. I mean, you’re already working hard, so that box is checked.

It’s about having the right strategic thinking partner in your corner…someone who can see your business from the outside, spot the things you’re too close to see, and help you make smarter decisions, faster.

Here’s what that costs you.

Every week that goes by without a clear strategy is a week where you’re working hard but not necessarily working on the right things.

You’re working (and sometimes working super hard for weeks on end), but it may not be moving your business in the right direction.

And in a knowledge business, that gap between effort and direction can cost you a lot:

Revenue you’re not making because your offer isn’t positioned right, or your funnel has a leak you haven’t found yet, or your pricing is quietly leaving money on the table every single day.

Time you’re wasting on tactics that feel productive but aren’t actually moving the needle…content that isn’t converting, software tools you adopted because everyone said to, launches that underperformed for reasons that were actually fixable.

Energy poured into work that didn’t move the needle — because without someone who knows your business helping you prioritize, it’s easy to work hard on the wrong things in the wrong order.

The mental overhead of holding every strategic question in your head while also trying to run the day-to-day operations of your business. (This one is the sneaky one. You don’t always notice how much cognitive weight you’re carrying until someone finally takes some of it off your plate.)

Here’s the thing: this isn’t about working harder. I mean, you’re already working hard, so that box is checked.

It’s about having the right strategic thinking partner in your corner…someone who can see your business from the outside, spot the things you’re too close to see, and help you make smarter decisions, faster.

That’s where I come in.

Hi. I’m Forest Linden.

For nearly two decades, I’ve helped knowledge entrepreneurs — course creators, consultants, coaches, and online educators — untangle their biggest strategic problems, find the moves that actually move the needle, and build businesses that make more money with less stress.

I become your private thinking partner and strategic advisor. I go deep into the details of your specific business situation. I connect the dots across marketing strategy, operations, copywriting, SEO, AI tools, software decisions, email strategy, product launches, pricing, and business strategy. (And yes, I know that’s a lot of things to hold in mind simultaneously. That’s actually the point. The value I bring is the ability to see how all those pieces relate to each other inside your specific business, and give you clear, actionable direction that you, or you and your team, can implement.)

My clients don’t just get answers. They get clarity about what direction to go in next. And clarity, in a knowledge business, is one of the most valuable things money can buy. Which is why I named by business “Clarity Lab.” It’s kind of sciencey in here, and along the way you end up with glass beakers full of clarity, one of the more rare elements in the universe.

I think in systems. I connect dots. I communicate clearly.

Friends and clients have called me a polymath. (I’m slightly uncomfortable saying that out loud because I don’t want it to sound like I’m calling myself a genius, but my polymathery genuinely is a big win for you, because your business problems rarely fit neatly into just one domain. They are often all tangled up together across multiple categories.)

I’ve been inside the knowledge business world since 2007, back when “online course” was a new concept that very few people had heard of. Since then, I’ve consulted and coached over 500 knowledge entrepreneurs, co-created and run my wife’s knowledge business for 24 years, built and sold my own online courses, and watched this industry go through more pivots, platform changes, and “everything is dying” moments than I can count.

(Spoiler alert: email isn’t dead and will never die. It’s the cockroach of the internet. Online courses aren’t dead, but the way you have to teach online has genuinely changed. Crypto NFT jpg’s of monkeys are definitely dead though, and I hope they never come back.)

The online education and knowledge business space is still very much alive. Getting to the next level in it just requires sharper strategy and cleaner execution than it used to.

My pattern recognition runs across:

• Marketing strategy and positioning
• Conversion copywriting and sales pages
• Email strategy and nurture sequences
• AI, SEO, GEO (Old McDonald had a farm, EIEI-O)
• Product launches and evergreen funnel strategy
• Pricing, packaging, and offer design
• Business and product naming
• AI tools and how to actually use them in a knowledge business to increase your productivity and the quality of your output (And the 7th one on the list will blow your mind! Sigh. Don’t you hate clickbait headlines like that?)
• Software decisions and tech stack choices
• The psychological challenges of running a business (the part nobody talks about publicly but everyone struggles with privately — a.k.a. We can do some entrepreneur therapy)

I bring all of it to bear on your specific goals and challenges, every month, in every email, Zoom call, and Slack message.

Some Forest Stats

19

YEARS IN KNOWLEDGE BUSINESSES AND CONSULTING OTHERS IN THIS INDUSTRY

500+

ENTREPRENEURS CONSULTED & COACHED

$5.2M+

REVENUE EARNED FROM TURNING KNOWLEDGE INTO IMPACT AND REVENUE

That’s where I come in.

Hi. I’m Forest Linden.

For nearly two decades, I’ve helped knowledge entrepreneurs — course creators, consultants, coaches, and online educators — untangle their biggest strategic problems, find the moves that actually move the needle, and build businesses that make more money with less stress.

I become your private thinking partner and strategic advisor. I go deep into the details of your specific business situation. I connect the dots across marketing strategy, operations, copywriting, SEO, AI tools, software decisions, email strategy, product launches, pricing, and business strategy. (And yes, I know that’s a lot of things to hold in mind simultaneously. That’s actually the point. The value I bring is the ability to see how all those pieces relate to each other inside your specific business, and give you clear, actionable direction that you, or you and your team, can implement.)

My clients don’t just get answers. They get clarity about what direction to go in next. And clarity, in a knowledge business, is one of the most valuable things money can buy. Which is why I named by business “Clarity Lab.” It’s kind of sciencey in here, and along the way you end up with glass beakers full of clarity, one of the more rare elements in the universe.

I think in systems. I connect dots. I communicate clearly.

Friends and clients have called me a polymath. (I’m slightly uncomfortable saying that out loud because I don’t want it to sound like I’m calling myself a genius, but my polymathery genuinely is a big win for you, because your business problems rarely fit neatly into just one domain. They are often all tangled up together across multiple categories.)

I’ve been inside the knowledge business world since 2007, back when “online course” was a new concept that very few people had heard of. Since then, I’ve consulted and coached over 500 knowledge entrepreneurs, co-created and run my wife’s knowledge business for 24 years, built and sold my own online courses, and watched this industry go through more pivots, platform changes, and “everything is dying” moments than I can count.

(Spoiler alert: email isn’t dead and will never die. It’s the cockroach of the internet. Online courses aren’t dead, but the way you have to teach online has genuinely changed. Crypto NFT jpg’s of monkeys are definitely dead though, and I hope they never come back.)

The online education and knowledge business space is still very much alive. Getting to the next level in it just requires sharper strategy and cleaner execution than it used to.

My pattern recognition runs across:

• Marketing strategy and positioning
• Conversion copywriting and sales pages
• Email strategy and nurture sequences
• AI, SEO, GEO (Old McDonald had a farm, EIEI-O)
• Product launches and evergreen funnel strategy
• Pricing, packaging, and offer design
• Business and product naming
• AI tools and how to actually use them in a knowledge business to increase your productivity and the quality of your output (And the 7th one on the list will blow your mind! Sigh. Don’t you hate clickbait headlines like that?)
• Software decisions and tech stack choices
• The psychological challenges of running a business (the part nobody talks about publicly but everyone struggles with privately — a.k.a. We can do some entrepreneur therapy)

I bring all of it to bear on your specific goals and challenges, every month, in every email, Zoom call, and Slack message.

Some Forest Stats

19

YEARS IN KNOWLEDGE BUSINESSES AND CONSULTING OTHERS IN THIS INDUSTRY

500+

ENTREPRENEURS CONSULTED & COACHED

$5.2M+

REVENUE EARNED FROM TURNING KNOWLEDGE INTO IMPACT AND REVENUE

So, what is this?

Here’s the scoop, the deal, the enchilada, and what you get when you work with me:

A strategy partner in your corner. Every single month. (Corner? I guess we’re in the boxing ring now. You’re Rocky Balboa and I’m your trainer, literally in your corner of the ring between rounds patching you up and coaching you for the next round. I’m not a huge boxing fan, but you know what? This metaphor works well.)

There’s no bloated agency. No junior associate who hands things off after the kickoff call. It’s just me, going deep into your business and all the intertwingled topics and decisions with you.

Every month, you get 7 hours of my time and attention. I’m genuinely not attached to exactly how we use it…I follow your lead. I’ve had clients who prefer 95% email and 5% video calls, and others who prefer the reverse.

What matters to me is that you’re getting real strategy advice you can act on, in whatever format works best for how you think and work.

Speaking of formats, here’s 4 formats I’ve used with the over 500 clients I’ve worked with over the last (nearly) two decades of being in the “turn your knowledge into money” industry:

01 | Async Email Strategy Advice
Send me your strategic questions, launch plans, copy drafts, or “I don’t even know what I’m missing” emails. I go deep and write back with the kind of detailed clarity you’re looking for — usually within 24 to 48 hours (unless it’s the weekend or if my bare feet are in sand. My brain doesn’t function when my feet are on a beach.)

Here’s an underrated benefit of doing strategy work over email: everything is already written down.
You don’t have to take notes. You can re-read my thinking as many times as you need. You can easily share it with a team member.

You have a documented record of our strategic thinking and planning over time. I’m a big fan of the email channel, not just because I like writing, but because I’ve seen the benefits my clients have gotten from having everything in writing. (And if you prefer audio, I’ll set you up with a tool that can read my emails to you on your phone so you can listen while you’re walking your dog or driving around doing errands.)

02 | Zoom Calls As Needed
Optional, but totally available, and genuinely valuable. Sometimes a live back-and-forth video conversation is faster and more generative than a long email thread.

We can use video calls for things like bigger strategic discussions, launch planning, working through a complex decision together, or just getting on the same page when there are seventeen things on your to-do list and you need someone to help you sort out what matters.

I particularly love video calls for co-creation: when you and I need to think something through together in real time, going back and forth until we land on something that actually makes sense for your specific situation.

03 | Slack Access
For the quick questions that don’t need a full email thread. The “hey, should I do X or Y on this?” moments. The “I just had an idea, does this make sense?” checks. Or the “holy shit I’m kind of freaking out in the middle of this launch right now” kind of moments. (We all have those, by the way. It’s just that no one mentions the freak outs in their Instagram posts.)

I’m reachable during business hours (as long as I’m not on a call or in the middle of writing to other clients) so you don’t lose momentum waiting for an answer.

mall strategic decisions, made well and made quickly, add up. Slack is where that happens.

04 | Document Review
Launch strategies, sales page copy drafts, email sequences, business plans, pricing decisions, SEO plans, product outlines. Send them over. I’ll tell you what’s working, what’s missing, and what to fix first.

Most of this happens in Google Docs, where I can make suggestions, leave comments, and have conversations with you directly in the sidebar of document.

This is where some of the most needle-moving work gets done — when we’re both inside the same document, thinking through the details together, strategizing and implementing at the same time, or workshopping your copywriting even down to word choice levels of editing.

So, what is this?

Here’s the scoop, the deal, the enchilada, and what you get when you work with me:

A strategy partner in your corner. Every single month. (Corner? I guess we’re in the boxing ring now. You’re Rocky Balboa and I’m your trainer, literally in your corner of the ring between rounds patching you up and coaching you for the next round. I’m not a huge boxing fan, but you know what? This metaphor works well.)

There’s no bloated agency. No junior associate who hands things off after the kickoff call. It’s just me, going deep into your business and all the intertwingled topics and decisions with you.

Every month, you get 7 hours of my time and attention. I’m genuinely not attached to exactly how we use it…I follow your lead. I’ve had clients who prefer 95% email and 5% video calls, and others who prefer the reverse.

What matters to me is that you’re getting real strategy advice you can act on, in whatever format works best for how you think and work.

Speaking of formats, here’s 4 formats I’ve used with the over 500 clients I’ve worked with over the last (nearly) two decades of being in the “turn your knowledge into money” industry:

01 | Async Email Strategy Advice
Send me your strategic questions, launch plans, copy drafts, or “I don’t even know what I’m missing” emails. I go deep and write back with the kind of detailed clarity you’re looking for — usually within 24 to 48 hours (unless it’s the weekend or if my bare feet are in sand. My brain doesn’t function when my feet are on a beach.)

Here’s an underrated benefit of doing strategy work over email: everything is already written down.
You don’t have to take notes. You can re-read my thinking as many times as you need. You can easily share it with a team member.

You have a documented record of our strategic thinking and planning over time. I’m a big fan of the email channel, not just because I like writing, but because I’ve seen the benefits my clients have gotten from having everything in writing. (And if you prefer audio, I’ll set you up with a tool that can read my emails to you on your phone so you can listen while you’re walking your dog or driving around doing errands.)

02 | Zoom Calls As Needed
Optional, but totally available, and genuinely valuable. Sometimes a live back-and-forth video conversation is faster and more generative than a long email thread.

We can use video calls for things like bigger strategic discussions, launch planning, working through a complex decision together, or just getting on the same page when there are seventeen things on your to-do list and you need someone to help you sort out what matters.

I particularly love video calls for co-creation: when you and I need to think something through together in real time, going back and forth until we land on something that actually makes sense for your specific situation.

03 | Slack Access
For the quick questions that don’t need a full email thread. The “hey, should I do X or Y on this?” moments. The “I just had an idea, does this make sense?” checks. Or the “holy shit I’m kind of freaking out in the middle of this launch right now” kind of moments. (We all have those, by the way. It’s just that no one mentions the freak outs in their Instagram posts.)

I’m reachable during business hours (as long as I’m not on a call or in the middle of writing to other clients) so you don’t lose momentum waiting for an answer.

mall strategic decisions, made well and made quickly, add up. Slack is where that happens.

04 | Document Review
Launch strategies, sales page copy drafts, email sequences, business plans, pricing decisions, SEO plans, product outlines. Send them over. I’ll tell you what’s working, what’s missing, and what to fix first.

Most of this happens in Google Docs, where I can make suggestions, leave comments, and have conversations with you directly in the sidebar of document.

This is where some of the most needle-moving work gets done — when we’re both inside the same document, thinking through the details together, strategizing and implementing at the same time, or workshopping your copywriting even down to word choice levels of editing.

Who is this for?

This is for knowledge entrepreneurs who are past the beginner stage…and know it.

Look, you’re doing something remarkable. (I always knew you had this in you.)

You’re doing what most people only wish they could do: turning your knowledge, your expertise, and your experience into real revenue. You’ve figured out that this is possible. You’ve proven it. (I mean, you’re basically doing alchemy, which is impressive.)

But here’s what I’ve learned after working with hundreds of people in this space: the strategies that got you to $100K/year are often not the same strategies that will get you to $500K/year.

The approach that worked when your business was smaller starts to break down as it scales. And the decisions get harder, not easier, as the stakes get higher.

Working with me as your strategy advisor works best for you if:

• Your knowledge business is generating at least $100,000/year in revenue (courses, consulting, coaching, or some combination.)
• You have an established audience and proof of concept, but growth has stalled or slowed.
• You’re dealing with real strategic decisions rather than “how do I get started” questions.
• You take action. You want someone to think and strategize and plan things out with (all of which leads to more glass viles of clarity for you!), not someone to hand you a to-do list that doesn’t get implemented.
• You want a genuine thought partner who will be honest with you, even when honest means that you might be challenged on some of your beliefs or assumptions about business.

A note on fit.
I work best with people who take action and want a strategic thinking partner.

If you’re earlier in your journey, I genuinely want you to succeed, but I’m probably not the right fit for you…yet.

The value I provide compounds over time as I get to know your business.

And one more thing: I take on a small number of retainer clients at a time, because going deep with each client is the whole point. If there’s a waitlist when you reach out, I’ll let you know.

Who is this for?

This is for knowledge entrepreneurs who are past the beginner stage…and know it.

Look, you’re doing something remarkable. (I always knew you had this in you.)

You’re doing what most people only wish they could do: turning your knowledge, your expertise, and your experience into real revenue. You’ve figured out that this is possible. You’ve proven it. (I mean, you’re basically doing alchemy, which is impressive.)

But here’s what I’ve learned after working with hundreds of people in this space: the strategies that got you to $100K/year are often not the same strategies that will get you to $500K/year.

The approach that worked when your business was smaller starts to break down as it scales. And the decisions get harder, not easier, as the stakes get higher.

Working with me as your strategy advisor works best for you if:

• Your knowledge business is generating at least $100,000/year in revenue (courses, consulting, coaching, or some combination.)
• You have an established audience and proof of concept, but growth has stalled or slowed.
• You’re dealing with real strategic decisions rather than “how do I get started” questions.
• You take action. You want someone to think and strategize and plan things out with (all of which leads to more glass viles of clarity for you!), not someone to hand you a to-do list that doesn’t get implemented.
• You want a genuine thought partner who will be honest with you, even when honest means that you might be challenged on some of your beliefs or assumptions about business.

A note on fit.
I work best with people who take action and want a strategic thinking partner.

If you’re earlier in your journey, I genuinely want you to succeed, but I’m probably not the right fit for you…yet.

The value I provide compounds over time as I get to know your business.

And one more thing: I take on a small number of retainer clients at a time, because going deep with each client is the whole point. If there’s a waitlist when you reach out, I’ll let you know.

Who is this not for?

It would be disingenuous for me to tell you this is for everyone, so let me be straight with you:

• If you’re just getting started and haven’t yet validated your offer or built an audience, you’d be better served by a structured course or foundational coaching program first.
• If you’re looking for someone to do the work for you (e.g., write the copy, build the funnel, manage the launch), that’s implementation work, not strategic advisory work. These are different things and you will get a much higher return on your investment if you use my strategy skills to help guide you and/or your team on how to implement the tactical plans you and I come up with in our work together.
• If you’re not in a position to take action on strategic recommendations within a reasonable timeframe, you won’t get much out of this. Strategy without execution is just philosophy.

Who is this not for?

It would be disingenuous for me to tell you this is for everyone, so let me be straight with you:

• If you’re just getting started and haven’t yet validated your offer or built an audience, you’d be better served by a structured course or foundational coaching program first.
• If you’re looking for someone to do the work for you (e.g., write the copy, build the funnel, manage the launch), that’s implementation work, not strategic advisory work. These are different things and you will get a much higher return on your investment if you use my strategy skills to help guide you and/or your team on how to implement the tactical plans you and I come up with in our work together.
• If you’re not in a position to take action on strategic recommendations within a reasonable timeframe, you won’t get much out of this. Strategy without execution is just philosophy.

What actually changes when you have a great strategy parnter.

I want to be honest with you about what this relationship can produce, because I think the tendency is to describe it in terms of deliverables (emails, calls, documents reviewed, jokes delivered) when the real value is something different.

Here’s what I’ve seen happen for my clients over time:

• Decisions that used to take weeks get made in days. Because you have someone who knows your business and the industry you’re in well enough to help you think them through quickly and clearly.
• Revenue leaks get found and fixed. The pricing that was slightly off. The funnel step that was losing people. The offer that needed reframing. The email sequence that was working against you. These things are super hard to spot when you’re really close to them, but tend to become visible when a second set of experienced eyes goes through your business.
• You stop starting over. One of the most expensive things a knowledge entrepreneur can do is abandon a strategy before it has time to work and start a new one from scratch. Having a strategic thinking partner helps you distinguish between “this needs to be abandoned” and “this needs to be refined.” We do that with lots of scientific testing of business hypotheses. In other words, we’ll science the shit out of this.
• The strategic thinking gets off your plate and into your calendar. Which means that strategies turn into tactics and those tactics actually get implemented, instead of getting perpetually bumped to next week.
• Your business gets smarter as it grows. Not just bigger — smarter. You make fewer of the expensive mistakes that come from not having enough experience or outside perspective. (Case in point: do you really need to spend $10,000 on a website redesign right now? Most likely not, and I can tell you of 5 other places where spending that money would multiply it by 11X. Yes. 11 times. Most strategy advisors only go to 10X. I go to 11. And if you get this movie reference, good on ya.)
• You feel less alone in it. I’ll be real about this one: running a knowledge business can be isolating, and hard, and lonely, and can sometimes leave you crumpled on the kitchen floor crying because of the stress of the unknowns coming in the future (ask me how I know that happens.) Most people in your life don’t fully understand what you’re doing or what the challenges are. Having someone in your corner who does understand — who you can talk openly with about what’s working and what isn’t, or what’s stressing you out or freaking you out — matters more than most people admit. Not many knowledge entrepreneurs talk openly about this, but the psychological/emotional side of running a business like yours can make the whole journey way harder than it has to be. Lucky for you, I’ve got heaps of experience in helping others through all the hard emotional bits of businessing.

What actually changes when you have a great strategy parnter.

I want to be honest with you about what this relationship can produce, because I think the tendency is to describe it in terms of deliverables (emails, calls, documents reviewed, jokes delivered) when the real value is something different.

Here’s what I’ve seen happen for my clients over time:

• Decisions that used to take weeks get made in days. Because you have someone who knows your business and the industry you’re in well enough to help you think them through quickly and clearly.
• Revenue leaks get found and fixed. The pricing that was slightly off. The funnel step that was losing people. The offer that needed reframing. The email sequence that was working against you. These things are super hard to spot when you’re really close to them, but tend to become visible when a second set of experienced eyes goes through your business.
• You stop starting over. One of the most expensive things a knowledge entrepreneur can do is abandon a strategy before it has time to work and start a new one from scratch. Having a strategic thinking partner helps you distinguish between “this needs to be abandoned” and “this needs to be refined.” We do that with lots of scientific testing of business hypotheses. In other words, we’ll science the shit out of this.
• The strategic thinking gets off your plate and into your calendar. Which means that strategies turn into tactics and those tactics actually get implemented, instead of getting perpetually bumped to next week.
• Your business gets smarter as it grows. Not just bigger — smarter. You make fewer of the expensive mistakes that come from not having enough experience or outside perspective. (Case in point: do you really need to spend $10,000 on a website redesign right now? Most likely not, and I can tell you of 5 other places where spending that money would multiply it by 11X. Yes. 11 times. Most strategy advisors only go to 10X. I go to 11. And if you get this movie reference, good on ya.)
• You feel less alone in it. I’ll be real about this one: running a knowledge business can be isolating, and hard, and lonely, and can sometimes leave you crumpled on the kitchen floor crying because of the stress of the unknowns coming in the future (ask me how I know that happens.) Most people in your life don’t fully understand what you’re doing or what the challenges are. Having someone in your corner who does understand — who you can talk openly with about what’s working and what isn’t, or what’s stressing you out or freaking you out — matters more than most people admit. Not many knowledge entrepreneurs talk openly about this, but the psychological/emotional side of running a business like yours can make the whole journey way harder than it has to be. Lucky for you, I’ve got heaps of experience in helping others through all the hard emotional bits of businessing.

The case for having a strategic advisor.

There are really only three ways to get better strategic guidance for your business:

• Study, learn, and figure it out yourself, through trial and error, over years. (This works. That’s the path I took. It’s just expensive in terms of time and money.)
• Find a community of peers at a similar stage and try to learn from each other in some kind of mastermind environment. (Also valuable, though it can be hard to find the right people and also hard to get specific, honest guidance on your specific situation…and this path can get expensive. Some masterminds can cost $50,000 to $100,000/yr)
• Find someone who has spent a significant amount of time in your industry, has pattern recognition across hundreds of businesses, and can apply all of that to your situation directly, creating strategy plans that will allow you to achieve your goals of world domination. (Haha. Just kidding. We’ll aim for you just absolutely owning your niche. 🙂

The math tends to work like this: if a good strategic conversation (or a document review, or a pricing reframe, or a single piece of clarity on what to focus on next), helps you make one better decision that adds $100,000 to your revenue this year, the investment pays for itself many, many times over. (It might even be more than an 11X return on investment.)

But it tends not to be just one thing. It tends to be an accumulation of better decisions, fewer expensive mistakes, emotional support for the journey, and a clearer sense of where to point your laser. (Yes, you have a laser.) All of that compounds over time, and the returns can bring much joy.

I can’t promise a specific return on this, because I don’t know your business yet.

But what I can tell you is that every one of my long-term retainer clients considers our work one of the highest-ROI investments in their business.

The case for having a strategic advisor.

There are really only three ways to get better strategic guidance for your business:

• Study, learn, and figure it out yourself, through trial and error, over years. (This works. That’s the path I took. It’s just expensive in terms of time and money.)
• Find a community of peers at a similar stage and try to learn from each other in some kind of mastermind environment. (Also valuable, though it can be hard to find the right people and also hard to get specific, honest guidance on your specific situation…and this path can get expensive. Some masterminds can cost $50,000 to $100,000/yr)
• Find someone who has spent a significant amount of time in your industry, has pattern recognition across hundreds of businesses, and can apply all of that to your situation directly, creating strategy plans that will allow you to achieve your goals of world domination. (Haha. Just kidding. We’ll aim for you just absolutely owning your niche. 🙂

The math tends to work like this: if a good strategic conversation (or a document review, or a pricing reframe, or a single piece of clarity on what to focus on next), helps you make one better decision that adds $100,000 to your revenue this year, the investment pays for itself many, many times over. (It might even be more than an 11X return on investment.)

But it tends not to be just one thing. It tends to be an accumulation of better decisions, fewer expensive mistakes, emotional support for the journey, and a clearer sense of where to point your laser. (Yes, you have a laser.) All of that compounds over time, and the returns can bring much joy.

I can’t promise a specific return on this, because I don’t know your business yet.

But what I can tell you is that every one of my long-term retainer clients considers our work one of the highest-ROI investments in their business.

How it works

Here’s what the first few weeks typically look like:

1. You book a free discovery call. We spend about an hour talking through where your business is, where you want it to go, and whether this kind of relationship makes sense for both of us. No pitch, no pressure. Just an honest conversation. Because I have a hard time shutting up and not flipping into strategy advice mode, you will almost certainly walk away from this discovery call with things you can implement in your business, even if you decide not to work with me.
2. If we decide to move forward, I do a deep-dive intake. I ask you a lot of questions. I go through whatever materials are relevant — your offers, your funnel, your email strategy, your analytics, whatever gives me the clearest picture of where things stand. This is where I start building the pattern recognition that makes everything after it more valuable.
3. We establish a working rhythm. Some clients send me a weekly email update. Others reach out when something specific comes up. We figure out what works best for you and how to make the most of the time each month.
4. The real work begins. You bring me your hardest questions, your biggest decisions, your half-formed ideas, your launch plans, your copy drafts, your “I’m not sure what I’m missing” emails. I go deep on all of it and write back, or talk it through on a video call, with the clarity you’re looking for.

How it works

Here’s what the first few weeks typically look like:

1. You book a free discovery call. We spend about an hour talking through where your business is, where you want it to go, and whether this kind of relationship makes sense for both of us. No pitch, no pressure. Just an honest conversation. Because I have a hard time shutting up and not flipping into strategy advice mode, you will almost certainly walk away from this discovery call with things you can implement in your business, even if you decide not to work with me.
2. If we decide to move forward, I do a deep-dive intake. I ask you a lot of questions. I go through whatever materials are relevant — your offers, your funnel, your email strategy, your analytics, whatever gives me the clearest picture of where things stand. This is where I start building the pattern recognition that makes everything after it more valuable.
3. We establish a working rhythm. Some clients send me a weekly email update. Others reach out when something specific comes up. We figure out what works best for you and how to make the most of the time each month.
4. The real work begins. You bring me your hardest questions, your biggest decisions, your half-formed ideas, your launch plans, your copy drafts, your “I’m not sure what I’m missing” emails. I go deep on all of it and write back, or talk it through on a video call, with the clarity you’re looking for.

Questions people ask before booking a call.

What exactly counts as strategic advisory work?
Pretty much anything related to the direction and growth of your knowledge business. Offer design, pricing, positioning, launch strategy, email marketing, content strategy, AI strategy, SEO, software decisions, copywriting feedback, business model questions, and so on. If it has a meaningful impact on your business, it’s on the table.

How do the 7 hours actually get used?
However you want. Some clients use most of them on email exchanges and document reviews. Others use them primarily on video calls. Most land somewhere in between. The important thing is that you’re getting real strategic value from the time. I’ll let you know if I feel like we’re not using the time well, and I’d ask you to do the same.

I’ve worked with business coaches before and found it frustrating. How is this different?
Fair concern. The frustration I hear most often with business coaching is that it’s too generic, or that the coach doesn’t really know your specific industry well enough to give advice that actually applies, or that sessions are too structured and ritualized to leave room for the real conversations. I’m not a life coach, and I don’t run a structured program. I go deep into your specific business challenges, in the knowledge business world I know well, and give you the most specific, useful, actionable guidance I can…guidance that leads to noticeable results that get you to your goals. (Though, if you’re like most people, once you reach your goals, you’ll immediately set new ones that are a bit higher.)

Do you work with people outside the US?
Yes. Most of my clients are in the US, but I’ve worked with knowledge entrepreneurs in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and elsewhere. Time zones matter for Zoom calls, but we can easily shift our work together to have more of an emphasis on email and Slack, which are timezone-agnostic.

What if I want to pause or cancel?
Month-to-month means month-to-month. If you need to pause or cancel, just let me know. No weird cancellation processes, no long notice periods.

How many retainer clients do you take on at once?
I keep the number small — typically less than 20 clients at any given time. Going deep is the whole point, and going deep requires focus. If I’m full when you reach out, I’ll put you on the waitlist and reach out as soon as a spot opens up.

Questions people ask before booking a call.

What exactly counts as strategic advisory work?
Pretty much anything related to the direction and growth of your knowledge business. Offer design, pricing, positioning, launch strategy, email marketing, content strategy, AI strategy, SEO, software decisions, copywriting feedback, business model questions, and so on. If it has a meaningful impact on your business, it’s on the table.

How do the 7 hours actually get used?
However you want. Some clients use most of them on email exchanges and document reviews. Others use them primarily on video calls. Most land somewhere in between. The important thing is that you’re getting real strategic value from the time. I’ll let you know if I feel like we’re not using the time well, and I’d ask you to do the same.

I’ve worked with business coaches before and found it frustrating. How is this different?
Fair concern. The frustration I hear most often with business coaching is that it’s too generic, or that the coach doesn’t really know your specific industry well enough to give advice that actually applies, or that sessions are too structured and ritualized to leave room for the real conversations. I’m not a life coach, and I don’t run a structured program. I go deep into your specific business challenges, in the knowledge business world I know well, and give you the most specific, useful, actionable guidance I can…guidance that leads to noticeable results that get you to your goals. (Though, if you’re like most people, once you reach your goals, you’ll immediately set new ones that are a bit higher.)

Do you work with people outside the US?
Yes. Most of my clients are in the US, but I’ve worked with knowledge entrepreneurs in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and elsewhere. Time zones matter for Zoom calls, but we can easily shift our work together to have more of an emphasis on email and Slack, which are timezone-agnostic.

What if I want to pause or cancel?
Month-to-month means month-to-month. If you need to pause or cancel, just let me know. No weird cancellation processes, no long notice periods.

How many retainer clients do you take on at once?
I keep the number small — typically less than 20 clients at any given time. Going deep is the whole point, and going deep requires focus. If I’m full when you reach out, I’ll put you on the waitlist and reach out as soon as a spot opens up.