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I’m completing this annual review on a snowy weekend in February, here in Toronto, Canada. Getting this public version of my review published has been sitting on my to-do list for weeks—something I kept meaning

It’s the end of June, which means we’re halfway through the year. How are those New Year’s resolutions going? Fallen by the wayside? I hear you! But it’s not too late to get back on

Welcome to my 2023 Annual Review: a year where we boldly diversified Forte Labs’ revenue streams and retired our cohort model, while I also pursued personal milestones in fitness and travel. This reflection captures my

Social distancing is like sweating because…uhm…it’s uncomfortable. A police car is like cleaning out the fridge because you try to avoid it?! Napping is like vulnerability because it’s good for you. My brain is racing

Here are my favorite tools (paid and free) that I currently use to… Write (almost) daily essays and Twitter threads (190 so far and counting) Crush it as a Marketing Manager for Forte Labs Grow

Every Sunday afternoon, I spent about an hour closing out the last week and preparing for the next. With my digital and mental workspaces all cleaned up, I can start the new week fresh. This

Whenever performance review season came around in my previous corporate jobs, I always had a hard time remembering all I had done.  I knew that I had worked hard as the months rushed by. But

Most organizations suck at recruiting. Their hiring process is a mess and they fail to treat their candidates with the respect and dignity they deserve.   There. I said it!  After 12+ years working for multinational

Have you ever thought about how only humans can ask questions?  Animals can’t.  Even chimpanzees who’ve been taught sign language to communicate their needs and emotions have never been observed to ask a question.  But

A young girl is desperate to learn and play chess. She steals a chess magazine because she can’t afford it. Hunts for chess books in the local library. And practices with the janitor of her

Have you ever bought something and then not used it?  Maybe you acted upon a book recommendation but only made it through the first five pages.  Or you wanted to get into jumping rope but

If you had to bet a million bucks on a student achieving the outcome you’re promising in your online course… What criteria would you be looking for in that student to make sure you’re not

Gary V is famous for squeezing as much value as possible out of every piece of content he produces.  His 4-step content model starts with establishing long-form pillar content (like a blog post or video),

The first cohort of Minimum Viable Video ended with a film festival on 17 December 2020.  It was the culmination of five weeks of learning, experimenting, and creating for our 20 students. In such a

2020 has been one of the most transformational years of my life.  Funnily, moving to a new country (from Papua New Guinea to Canada) made the smallest contribution to the shifts I’ve experienced.  What made

How many people do you need on your email list to launch an online course? How many followers on Twitter or Facebook should you have? How many YouTube subscribers?  According to Tiago Forte, this number

An online course is so much more than teaching students new skills. The marketing aspect is huge and shouldn’t be underestimated. If you’re keen to know more about what it takes to launch an online

Launching anything for the first time is scary!  You’re tossing and turning at night, wondering if anyone will buy. If you’re really onto something or if you’re overestimating the significance of your idea.  You’re following

“What do you do?” That’s the question you get asked over and over again. By the traveler next to you on the plane, by the cute girl/guy in line at Starbucks, and by the stranger

Now is the perfect time to leverage the power of video to grow your business and accelerate your career. Nobody knows this better than Cam Houser, the creator of the Minimum Viable Video course. For

“If you aren’t selling yourself, who will?” Robbie Crabtree That’s a hard truth I had to accept.  Because I always felt uncomfortable talking about myself.  When I worked in the corporate environment for 10 years,

Integrity. Respect. Quality. Customer satisfaction.  These are the words that we read on companies About pages as their values.  Sounds great. But also terribly generic.  The words in themselves don’t have meaning. From reading these

In the last couple of months, I’ve met a lot of new people…all over the internet. Many of which have already become friends.  While this would have been weird or even creepy a few years

I landed in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG for short), on the 1st of January 2017. Never book a new year’s eve flight…seriously.   It was the first move for me to a developing country.

Your email list is one of the essential assets in your business.  Unlike on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, or any other social media, you actually own your list and decide when and how you communicate with

So, you’ve got something to sell.  And now, you need to write that landing page, the email, or the ad that will hopefully *fingerscrossed* close the deal with your prospects.  Where do you start?  A

When you think “brand,” you’re probably glancing at the Starbucks cup in your hand or looking down at your Nike shoes. Big businesses have brands.  But, you’re a brand, too! Seriously.  Even if only your

“You can’t be serious?” is what I wanted to reply to an email I got a few weeks back. It kinda pissed me off.  Here’s what happened: One of my annual memberships renewed, and I

Having a copywriter at your side is your secret weapon in business. But, many entrepreneurs don’t see this potential. They still believe writing copy simply means putting some fancy-sounding words on a page. Copywriters do

Don’t you find it annoying that you often remember the most useless stories and messages while forgetting the crucial stuff, like how to do your taxes? Me too!  Even false stories and messages stick in

What’s the most visited page on your website? Your homepage … duh. But what’s the second most visited page? It’s likely your about page. If you have one.  Strangely, a lot of businesses are choosing

I’m lucky to get to talk to ambitious people who are building new exciting products and services almost every day. What they share is a drive to break free from the corporate world and create

In my last article, “The Customer Research Conundrum”, I covered why getting to know your audience intimately is critical for any business. It’s the basis for writing copy that draws prospects in and converts them

“When are you planning to launch?” I asked my client on Zoom. He had asked me to write a sales page for his online course. “In two weeks… Why are you smiling?” Ugh, I hate

Meet Tim and Linda. The two entrepreneurs met in a growth hacking mastermind group, designed to help them level up in their businesses.  Tim is a life coach. With barely three clients under his belt,

It’s launch day. Three hours in and you can’t help but glance at your phone every five minutes.  Besides the “good luck” message from your mum, only crickets so far.  Now you’re getting nervous. You

Imagine this: You’re casually scrolling through your Facebook feed, checking what you’re friends are up to.  Among the pictures of familiar faces, something catches your eye. It’s clearly an ad, but you’re still intrigued. There’s

I’ve never seen my parents more shocked than when I’ve told them that I’d be moving to Papua New Guinea. (Btw, nobody here calls it PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA. It’s simply PNG for short. And now that you