I have many things to say. You may take comfort in knowing that they are all small things.

An update on my ass

So, this one time? At a funeral? I slipped and fell down the funeral home steps?

Yeah, it turns out I broke my tailbone or something.

This is only making the list so lots of people can come in the comments and say “sorry about your ass”. I have to get my joy from somewhere, and there’s an outside chance of a Guinness Book of World Records win.

An update on the sale

249 of you lovely people (not including the emails Jamie got) have commented on the Choose Your Own Adventure sale post. Happy anniversary to me, indeed.

If you commented on that post or sent Jamie an email, you should have received an email from me saying, “Dude! Thanks! We’ll get back to you ASAP!” Read More

Today is my 6th anniversary. Jamie has not left me yet, and that deserves a party, doesn’t it?

Last year, we had a sale, but it was really boring. (Well, it wasn’t totally boring. The fifth anniversary is symbolized by wood, so the coupon code was wood. That’s not totally boring, right? OK, yes it is. Forget I asked. Keep reading and we’ll pretend this never came up.)

Anyway, this year we wanted to do something more interesting. Also, we wanted to put all the responsibility on your head so we could sit around and eat lots and lots of candy. (The sixth anniversary is the sugar and candy anniversary. A theory has been posed that this is to prevent the seven year itch. No-one is entirely sure on what this theory is based.)

Therefore, we unveil…

Choose Your Own Adventure!

Or choose your own sale. Whatever. But adventure is cooler. Read More

A couple of weeks ago, my very dear friend Megan Morris released her first product. (She’d been running an exclusively service business up until that point. If that’s you and YOU want to release your first product, read this post on products for service businesses. Dave stepped up to the plate to write while I was crying in my gin about my step-dad being dead and wrote a very good post about it. His advice in the comments is pretty darned inspirational.)

Anyway, because I am a Big Deal On The Internet, I figured I’d help Megan out a little bit with her launch, her having saved my life repeatedly and all. So I wrote an email – one email – to some of my peeps to see if we could rustle up some sales that she wouldn’t have to bust her ass to make on her own. Read More

This is a guest post by Danielle LaPorte from White Hot Truth.

You’re a kick-starting, self-referencing, fiercely independent, remarkably tenacious, dollar-maximizing, idea-realizing entrepreneur. 9 to 5’rs come to bask in the glow of the freedom you’ve claimed. You eat-risk-for-breakfast. Your middle name is Innovate. You are…a Mighty Itty Biz Ruler!

How dare anyone call you…a brand?! You’re so much bigger than that. You don’t hide behind a manufactured image (do you?) You simply radiate and state the facts of your genius (right?)

You are The Empire of…You, and you’re rocking your authenticity all the way to the bank. (Can you back me up on this one?) Read More

This is a guest post from Dave Navarro.

If you’re providing a service of any kind, you’re in trouble. Not the garden variety “Oh crap, my business is going to collapse” kind of trouble – I’m talking the “Oh, crap, I’m going to collapse” variety of pain and suffering. Because if you’re like a lot of Ittybizes, the primary thing you’re selling is you. And there’s only so much you to go around.

Why Success Can Suck For Service Providers

If your business model revolves around you billing your time out, personally, then you’re eventually going to hit a wall with how much you can earn. If you can work 40 hours a week, you get to earn whatever it is you charge times 40. If your expenses surpass that (or you’re just wanting to make more money), you’re screwed. Read More