“The next time a recession hits, i’m gonna buy property, i’m gonna invest, i’m gonna…”

Okay Millennial.

First off, I’m gonna make sure I still have job.
That’s what i’m gonna do.

Because being self-employed in a recession (unless you are at the level at which you-don’t-give-a-rats-patootie-about-the-economy…) and not worrying about it comes down to a couple factors:

I’ve spent the last half of my 5+ years of self-employment, mind you trying to make sure I still had a job now and next month, and I can honestly say that at this point Ignore No More (and Workflow!) are in a really great spot to weather a recession.

And that is because of prep and timing.

Plus the bad (good?) luck of me almost tanking us twice.

Aka I gave us recession lite.

So, in today’s issue three practical recommendations on recession-proofing - and exactly how I’ve done and am doing it for both companies.

Especially if you’re feeling “good but not great” about your current company.

I’ve talked about Workflow before, but I’ll say it again - the reason that Ignore No More is doing well is because I don’t need it to pay my salary. Which means I can use the cash from agency work to actually fix all the branding, update the website, take the time to buddy up to Claude and build workflows that work, and get our SEO TO BE DING DANG DONE.

And I can use my brain to think about the future instead of worrying about rent and salaries.

This is how i’m thinking about “getting a job” when you are practically unemployable (mentally, mentally unemployable).

In short, being manageably overemployed.

I think the Patagonia-fleeced finance bros call it “diversification”.

I spent 6 months blathering about getting our marketing right (RIP 2024), and another 9mo+ to do the work.

I’d wager we’ve got ~3-6 mo left in the US before this thing called the economy, stupid (aka a war in Iran and Hormuz and oil prices) kicks us in the fanny, so if you’re in the blather stage, exit stage right ASAP and do the work.

Which breaks down to following our marketing foundations:

Workflow is a very different creature. Getting our sales and marketing process right there means fixing the product > doing marketing because it’s a product-led company.

Dumping money in marketing before the product is in better shape would be like pouring water into a sieve.

It’s not enough - and sometimes it’s plain distracting - to be paying attention to what’s going on in your industry. Because what matters it’s what’s happening to the people who hire you, not the one you’re in.

AI was all anyone’s been talking about in SaaS for yearsssss but it has almost no affect on my potential clients until this year.

Pivot note: Previously we mainly sold to SaaS. I pivoted away from doing mostly that because it took a lot more work to sell to indie devs and I already had the playbook to do it if i wanted to. But the companies we were doing the best work with - whether it was a SaaS co or something else - were “tangly” companies that had a lot going on and no marketing foundation. We’re pretty industry agnostic at this point and our clients span a local coffeeshop franchise, a niche hiring platform, and an industry community.

What defines our great clients as a great fit is humility, being bootstrapped, and playing the long game.

That diversification to a “founder mindset” over industry is why I think we’re actually going to do really well when shit hits the fan.

I’m keeping an eye on: the state of small businesses buying websites. Our product works for a designer designing in any platform for any kind of company.

That’s where the diversification is for us. That’s why I’m not worried. Sites are gonna get built, and clients will have opinions on them.

Short detour into my economics rabbit hole matrix mind - I promise, it’s a worthy detour.

Say you sell software to accountants that mostly work with businesses (not individuals).

Businesses hire accountants so they’re not worried about their money or about the government.

In a recession businesses need to have as few money surprises as possible.

Their willingness to pay to avoid a more expensive surprise from the government is directly correlated with their belief that they can shortcut doing their accounting/bookkeeping to begin with.

Which means their mindset deciding to pay for an accounting agency OR a software to help them with accounting looks like this:

The accountants that will do well in a recession are the ones who have decided where they are on that line and are sticking to it.

The ones in the Top Left quadrant should focus on customer service and a quality product that’s not that flashy but does the job (TM symbol). It’s not bargin-priced, but it’s not break-the-bank either. It’s “a price that makes sense”.

The ones in the Top Right should focus on expansive products that can do all the things and sells to people that need All The Things (TM symbol). And sells at a price that elicits, “Damn, but, okay, we need it.”

The Bottom Left quadrant are gonna be AI gremlins at the cheapest possible price. Some of them might even be good.

IDK who is in the Bottom Right tbh. Probably people who have money to blow and haven’t been bit by the IRS yet?

This matrix literally plays out in every industry. Just a little differently in each one.

Once you choose your fighter, make sure that your positioning, marketing, and product features are talking to THAT audience with those specific needs.

Not deciding is a decision btw. And it’s a bad one for them and you (If they’re your main customers).

But if reading this (or thinking about an upcoming recession) makes you want to freak out, take deep breath and give yourself a hug.

You run your own company because you’re weird and you want to be your own boss and help people.

You will figure it out. You always have.

And, to repeat one of the most encouraging lines I’ve ever been given, “ {{first_name}} will find a way because you see opportunities where others do not.” Thanks Dana. 💜

The big companies are raising prices, the small ones are trying to survive (which sucks, having to do again) but you will see a way through.

You always do.

We’ll see you and your inbox next week.

If you want help seeing a way through then we should talk. Seeing what your customer want and sorting out what to next with your marketing is what we do for a living.

Let’s chat.

Sophia 💜👩🏽‍💻

Powered by…Finding my person and not freaking shutting up about it. I am borderline physically impossible of containing this much happiness, I swear. I will show pictures when there’s a ring. 😀