I'm done inventing problems.

I haven’t written to you in months.

Mostly because my world turned upside down in April. But part of it, honestly, has been that I don’t want to sell.

I feel 🤢 writing that. I thought I’d made a lot of progress deprogramming my brain from hustle culture, but then I realized I’ve spent several weeks trying to figure out how to catch you up on the past six months, while also maintaining some sense of professionalism and privacy, while also trying to tie it all into a lesson about online business, while also, I don’t know, reminding you that I have a shop on Gumroad?

Gross. (Although, as I write this, I think that’s what this particular newsletter is going to do anyway, lol. But with intention behind it this time!)

Here’s the thing: Every single person I know has had their shit absolutely rocked this year – either by a major life event, extreme financial uncertainty, some people just by the general state of the World™️. I’m in the Southeast U.S., so go ahead and add “natural disasters” to that list. The older people in my life are struggling to adapt to how rapidly things are changing. The young people in my life seem absolutely paralyzed by adulthood.

It is bad out here.

I’ve wanted to find a balance between acknowledging that and not giving into it; between being honest and being practical. I’ve felt like, if I write to you about this stuff, I have to put a bow on it to justify why I’m talking to you in the first place.

Meanwhile, the typical email advice is tickling the back of my brain as I write. What’s the pitch? What’s the CTA? What’s the urgency angle? They won’t buy if you don’t ask for the sale!

I literally hate it.

So, two nights ago, as I was fighting my way through a draft from the pile, I took a break to check my email. I read this newsletter, and it’s like the ground shifted under me. (Peep the comment I left immediately after reading.)

I won’t recap the whole thing here – it’s worth the read and Dre is absolutely worth subscribing to – but what initially got me was the little robot emojis she used to show the shitty advice people are peddling as we move out of the course bubble into the AI age. Things like “🤖 CONSTANTLY CREATE CONTENT” and “🤖 BE EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME”.

I repeated that email advice to myself in a robot voice: 🤖 ALWAYS. BE. SELLING. 🤖 ASK. FOR. THE. SALE. 🤖 DOES. NOT. COM. PUTE.

It made me laugh out loud, because I really had to ask myself: Who are these people saying this stuff?! And WHY AM I LISTENING TO THEM?!!!

Let’s play this out IRL. I’ve been decluttering my house (haven’t we all, lol) and I needed a storage container. I knew I wanted to go somewhere:

✅ With a physical location close to me.
✅ That sells storage containers.
✅ That is generally priced within my budget.

So I went to Big Lots; it’s right up the road, I saw storage containers there a few weeks ago, and I know their products are reasonably priced.

I didn’t go there because they asked me to. I mean, yeah, they advertise, but I didn’t choose them over Target or Walmart because of their commercials; I chose them because they were the best fit for my needs at the time.

Now let’s step back and remember that none of us are multi-million dollar corporations with a marketing budget the size of a small country. We’re just hanging out online trying to share our ideas.

That’s what really made it click.

We aren’t running Online Businesses. We’re cogs in the Manufactured Problem Industrial Complex.

We’ve been conditioned to imagine roadblocks so we can offer some kind of fix, whether the roadblock really existed in the first place or not. It’s like the solution becomes more important than making sure there’s a real problem to solve.

Like, think about all the advice around opt-ins or freebies for building your email list. It’s one of the first things people tell you to do when you start working online. You’ve gotta hook people, right?

Maybe. But is publishing a free download really the best use of your time? Is reading your download really the best use of your audience’s time?

What problem are you actually solving with a three-page PDF or mini-course that only 2% of your subscribers will even click on?

Advice like this doesn’t just shape how we market. It shapes what we create.

We begin designing offers not because there is a genuine, demonstrable need, but because we’re told that’s how business works. We start finding gaps that don’t exist to fill them with solutions no one asked for. And then we expect to be compensated for it – in cash or attention.

When I look at my own product suite, not a single offer came from me identifying an actual problem people were really struggling with.

Instead, they all came from me thinking, “Oh, people might not know this ‘best practice’, so I should teach them!” Or, “Oh, this is a neat approach, I should make something about that!”

Good intentions, sure, but that is me inventing a problem just to sell you a solution.

And, I’ll be real, that’s all I can see looking at my inbox today 🤐

I’m not mad about it; people really are just trying to share their (good, creative) ideas. But that doesn’t mean they’re solving real problems, it just means they found a way to articulate a thing that could be a potential problem that you might have now or in the future maybe.

Everyone tries to kid-glove each other about Imposter Syndrome, but I’m starting to think that voice might be telling us something useful……………. 🥸

Of course the voice telling you that you’re incapable is just being a jerk, but maybe there’s something in it when you feel a little fake, you feel a little like a fraud. Maybe we should feel that way when we’re hopping into people’s inboxes and onto their feed with stuff they don’t need. Maybe we should feel like we’re out of sync with how we’re being told to show up.

This is what we’ve been taught to do. It’s bad for us, it’s bad for our communities, and it isn’t even relevant to how most of us want to work!!!

That doesn’t mean we should stop creating. To the contrary! I think it just means we need to be more honest about why and what we’re creating. Instead of inventing problems (or overselling the bottom-line impact of a real problem), maybe the true value comes from addressing the problems we are facing ourselves, and sharing the process of solving those problems.

I think if we focus on solving the problems that matter to us and building genuine relationships with people who resonate with our approach, they’ll come to us when they need what we offer.

Just like how I went to Big Lots when I needed a storage container.

I didn’t go because they dangled a limited-time offer in my face, or because they erroneously promised their products could save me a million hours or 100000x my productivity. I also didn’t go because they’ve been peddling some unnecessary “solution”.

I went because they had what I needed when I needed it.

That’s the kind of relationship I want with you. I want to create things that matter to me, work on projects that light me up, share those things with you, and trust that when you need something, you’ll know where to find me.

Don’t get me wrong, I know we’re more in the situationship stage. We still don’t know each other well enough for you to think of me when you need help, and that’s one of the reasons I’m saying all of this. If you’ll let me extend the metaphor a little bit, I need to stop trying to jump in bed with everyone who subscribes to my newsletter! Let’s go on some dates, take it slow. Get to know each other. And then if you want to hit me up after midnight, well… You’ll have my number.

So, all of that said, here are the two big things I’m working on and what I hope to be writing about as things calm down a bit:

• The Johnny Decimal System. I have spent an absurd amount of time implementing the JD System in my personal life and it’s changed everything. Currently mapping out a system for one of my retainer clients because I’m not sure I can work without it at this point 😫
• NFC tags for life tracking. The idea here is to program NFC tags and stick them all around my house to track chores and activities automatically-ish. For example, I want to put on one my cats’ flea medicine box; I can scan it with my phone whenever I treat them, and a record will be added to Airtable so I can keep track of their med schedule. At least, that’s the idea! Still waiting on the tags to be delivered.

That’s what I’m excited about because they’re things that matter to me and reflect what I’m actually trying to improve in my own life and work. And maybe if I just talk about that, you’ll get the answers you need along the way.

You’ll hear from me soon – won’t be months this time :)

Best,
Vics