Ascend 101

Lessons about building a one-person business, writing, and self-improvement

We’ve talked about defining where you came from and where you’re headed. (Go read the last 2 newsletters here if you missed them)

This week we’ll talk about the topic you’re dying to dive into: How to get to your dream destination.

How to use your brand as the perfect vehicle for creating your dream life.

This is a 4-minute read.

Let’s go!

Before we start

I recently did a giveaway where I shared a new Twitter content guide that I’ve created.

As you’re an email reader of mine I simply had to share it with you in case you missed it. Take it as a token of my appreciation.

It’s absolutely free and filled with everything I know and learned about Twitter content creation. Foundational pillars, crafting your story, idea generation, and the only framework you need. It’s all there.

You can get it here.

Your One-Person Business

Using your brand as a vehicle to get to your dream life all starts with creating your brand.

But what is it and how does it work?

Your brand is your business. And it has the same foundations any other business has.

But how we define them is unique.

Let me introduce you to the 4 pillars of a one-person business. (Credits to Dan Koe)

The 4 pillars are

Goals → Brand
Problems → Content
Systems → Product
Benefits → Marketing

Let’s go over them one by one.

1) Goals

You have goals that you’re working toward in your life. That’s your branding.

People won’t follow you for who you are or what you’ve done.

In all honesty, nobody cares.

People follow you because of your dreams and desires. You see it happen again and again.

Take Steve Jobs for example. He’s been called a visionary. A dreamer.

That’s what excites people.

He dared to dream bigger than anyone else.

Let’s take another example. Elon Musk.

Why does he have such a big following? Is it because of his unrivaled charisma? His good looks? His enormous bank account? (That last one might play a small role)

No.

He’s a dreamer. He sets goals nobody else has dared to set. He goes places where people haven’t gone before. He’s leading and inspiring people to think bigger.

You can (and should) do the same. That’s what makes your brand.

(Does it make more sense now as to why setting big goals is so important?)

2) Problems

You’ve set your goal and you’re working toward it every single day.

It’s only logical that you’ll encounter problems along the way. Problems that countless others will have experienced as well.

Share those encounters.

Give people something to relate to. Show them your current problems and obstacles.

Share how you plan on tackling them.

Take your unique combination of skills, interests, and desires and show how they will help you get to where you are.

Teach people how to do the same.

Talk about your journey.

That’s your content. Those are the tweets you’ll be writing.

3) Systems

You’ll find yourself solving your problems along the way. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t.

You’ll discover shortcuts, gain specific knowledge, and develop systems.

These can be turned into your products.

Everything that will help the people behind you get to where you are faster is a product.

If you could be able to help you from last year. What would you say? What would you give? What would you have done differently?

You provide others with the means to get to where you are faster than you did yourself.

These can be case studies, tools, swipe files, courses, communities, or coaching/tutoring calls.

Think about every single problem your audience may have and what you did (or could do) to overcome them.

Then simply turn it into a product.

4) Benefits

This relates to the first rule of copywriting. Benefits over features.

People are intrinsically egoistic. They only care about themselves and how your offer can benefit them.

So show them.

Show them how achieving your goal will improve their life. And how your method/product will aid them in getting there.

Your method doesn’t have to be the best. You just have to believe it is.

You create the belief that it’s the best method out there for them.

You attract the people wanting to use your method.

It all comes down to your conviction. You have to truly believe in your method. People can feel your conviction.

It all comes back to you daring to dream and inspiring people along the way.

Next week

You now know exactly how your one-person business functions and how to brand it. The next part is writing content that captures attention and resonates with people.

That’ll be the topic for next week. We’ll go over how to write authentic, authoritative, and impactful content that leads to growth, leads, and sales.

Definitely keep an eye out for that next Monday.

Cheers,
Alex.

P.S.

If you’d like more help, I’ve got your back:

Book a 1:1 coaching call with me: We'll talk about how you can start building your one-person business and set you up for success in the long run.
Claim all my courses for FREE: From every resource I ever read to everything I know about content creation. It’s all waiting for you to claim it. Start your journey to financial freedom the right way.

P.P.S.

For those interested, this is the software stack I use:
(Yes these are affiliate links)

Beehiiv for my newsletter: One of the biggest, easiest, and best providers for people wanting to build their newsletter. A logical choice to make with its abundance of integrated solutions for easy growth. (e.g., an integrated referral program)
Tweethunter for everything Twitter: From scheduling tweets to gathering inspiration and engaging with others. TweetHunter has everything you need if you’re serious about building your business on Twitter.
Carrd to build my landing pages: We’re building a business, not a blog. Hence we have a need for simple and effective landing pages for our funnels. Carrd is an easy-to-use website builder that does exactly what it needs to.
Testimonial to gather testimonials: Simply drop your clients a link where they can leave a testimonial. Gather everything in one place. And embed it on your landing pages as you wish.
Ilo for my Twitter analytics (+10% discount!): Easily the most advanced and useful Twitter analytics tool. get in-depth knowledge about your audience, what they like, and who they are. As well as gaining a clear view of your best-performing content to spot trends and improve your results.

And if you've got a moment, I'd love to hear what you thought of this edition of Ascend 101.

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