I’m sitting in a chair looking out at the sea, on the Wild Atlantic Way coast of the Beara Peninsula in Ireland. We’ve had an unprecedented stretch of eight sunny days. The wood stove sings behind me. Layers and shades of green and blue roll out endlessly in front of me. Nature is crying out in happiness.

The last of my team members left this morning after our weeklong Team Summit. For 6 days, Strong Brand Social’s 12 full-time team members cohabitated and collaborated in Cork. Our summits are designed to facilitate personal discovery, professional development, enhanced creativity, and deep relationship-building. Put another way, our summits are intense. But I can’t think of a better week I’ve ever had at work.

Now I’m sitting down to process the art of dream-chasing in an unjust world with you.

A Different Kind of Business

The path of the entrepreneur can be lonely and stressful. From day one, I wanted to build something different than what I had experienced in corporate —- exacerbating the sense of isolation, at times.

I remember talking about how my marketing agency served mostly B Corps in 2018 and being called “fringe” by a few people in a mastermind I was in. I’ve spent a lot of time in rooms designed to optimize only for profit, wondering if I’d ever be able to prove that investing in people and purpose was a stronger long-term strategy.

We’re far from perfect. But as of April 2025, I can say with my entire chest that Strong Brand Social is a blueprint for how a more purpose-centered approach to leadership can lead to healthier organizations and happier marketing teams—where folks feel a sense of confidence and belonging instead of insecurity and competition.

I witnessed team members connect deeply over shared gratitude and purpose in the Strong Brand Social project. I watched them laugh around a campfire behind a castle, explore parts of the world with a deeply different context, sing at the top of their lungs for an unforgettable pub moment, and exchange so many words that signaled a deep holding of one another. I assume if you’re reading this, you understand how unfortunately exceptional that is, especially at work.

What This Means for You

If you’re privileged enough to have a computer and access to the internet, this is possible for you, and it doesn’t matter if your dream isn’t the same as mine.

Maybe you want to finally leave the toxic workplace you know is taking a toll on your health. Maybe you want to start a business despite the doubt. Maybe you’re an entrepreneur in a rut because you’re not daring to think bigger. I’m writing this for you. 

The elements most responsible for Strong Brand Social’s success are 100% accessible to you. Whether you’re looking for a place to start or just a healthy dose of encouragement and a reminder to KEEP GOING along the way, I hope you find something useful. 

Rule #1 Do Not Obey in Advance. Chase Your Dreams Every Day. 

You’ll never catch me pretending. I like to know exactly where I am and what I’m up against—because that’s the only way to build something that truly resonates. The truth is, 2025 is uncomfortable, and it should be causing you to think differently. Trump-era tariffs are rattling the economy, and at the time of writing this, early recession indicators loom.

This phrase—do not obey in advance—comes from historian Timothy Snyder, who warns that the first act of authoritarianism is often self-inflicted: when people preemptively shrink their ambitions, silence themselves, or fall in line out of fear. I can’t stop thinking about how this applies to entrepreneurship in 2025.

Now is not the time to hoard your energy, money, or imagination. Now is the time to focus and be relentlessly efficient. Then bravely build the world you want to live in.

Rule #2 Invest in Mentorship and Support

I once had a mentor who had been running a business for 40 years. When I told him about our revenue, profit, systems, and 3-year strategic vision, he said it took him 20 years to get to where I was in five. That had nothing to do with my MBA and everything to do with my relentless will to be as efficient as possible—which is why I’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in mentorship and masterminds over the past 5 years.

“Figuring it out on your own” is not scrappy or strong, it’s naive and slightly masochistic. Learn from other people’s mistakes and wisdom. Ask as many questions and get as much support as you can. Be judicious. Do your due diligence. Then trust yourself—and understand the value of investing in experience, hindsight, and the opportunity to skip thousands of mistakes otherwise waiting for you.

Rule #3 Show the F Up   

Once you make an investment, show up. If you’re confused, don’t suffer silently. Communicate early and often. Get what you came for.

I always tell our clients: Put us to work. Once you make the investment, the only thing left to do is get your money’s worth—and nobody can do that for you.

Get specific about your goals. Know your numbers — even if you’re a creative founder. Understand the difference between costs and investments. Invest in your growth. 

Rule #4 Don’t Be Afraid to Invest in Talent 

Stop trying to build your dreams with duct tape and glue. 

In 2020, a consultant looked at my P+L and told me I was spending way too much on salaries. He wanted me to optimize for 30% profit that year, but I wanted to build a sustainable organization positioned to scale—and was willing to take a lower salary and profit in the short term to do it. 

Today, I have zero doubt that I made the right call, as I’ve seen what happens to the internet startups that took his advice instead.

Rule #5 Trust Yourself

Talk to as many people as possible. Ask enough questions to understand where their strong opinions are coming from. Assess whether or not they’re holding your vision properly when they give advice. Then trust yourself.

Your job is to design the dream—and direct the project in that direction. That will look different every year as your business grows and your role evolves, but that rule of thumb has never failed me. 

This is how I’ve made the most of growth and mentorship investments without losing sight of my sustainable, purpose-driven business goals.

Rule # 6 Take Care of Yourself

On top of investing in mentorship and support, you’ll also need to do somatic, energetic, and mindset work. More entrepreneurs than I can count ultimately walk away from their projects—not because they don’t work, but because they’re not sustainable.

That, or their team walks away from them because they’re misdirecting stress and creating a chaotic workplace.

How you take care of yourself has a massive impact on your capacity to lead and on how your team experiences you—and, in turn, the work they show up to every day.

Designing for sustainability is a choice. But you’re unlikely to get there if you’re burned out and unwilling to get in touch with yourself.

Rule #7 Make Sure Your Marketing is Efficient AF

There’s no way around it: Your first 3 to 5 years of building a business are going to demand so much from you, especially if you’re building something to grow and last. You don’t have time to waste on gimmicks and hacks that don’t outlast the next algorithm update.

The only reason I’ve had time to show up for mentorship investments I’ve made, margin to invest in great talent, space to take care of myself, and dollars to invest in Team Summits is because, from day one, our marketing has been powerful and efficient AF. 

We’ve generated over $10m in sales since 2020 with one simple strategy and not much horsepower (we only just finally got a full-time social media manager last year). If you’re willing to do some deep strategic work up front, this is possible for you, too. You can start here with us, at our LAST F* The Algorithm! LIVE Workshop where we’ll show you exactly how we built ours and a step-by-step process for how you can build yours. 

Keep Going, One Step at a Time 

If you’re anything like us, building a business is about more than money. It’s about personal agency, bringing better solutions to the world, and being a part of collective change that is so deeply needed in the world right now. If you resonate with these words and need to chat through where you’re stuck or where to start, email us (hello@strongbrandsocial).

 

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