✨ the SPARK 230 ~ My Favorite Growth Strategy? Making It Up as I Go.

Kinda sorta...

I have a little confession to make…

For most of my life, I’ve been pretty good at pulling things off at the last minute.

Not in the sense of “Uh oh. I’ve only got minutes to get this done,” but more in the “The paper is due tomorrow, I’ve got this” kind of way.

The way this manifested for me in my business was my aversion to systems and processes. I had them when I had a lot of clients or my outsourcing company (thanks to a project manager 😉), but when I shifted to being a solopreneur, I became a bit of a petulant child.

“I get to do this how I want to do it!”

Which, of course, is true, but at some point I realized I was only making myself a little nuts.

I’ve gone back to Notion (the tool I’m most familiar with), because why? Um… did you know that ChatGPT can create a Notion CSV that you can import in seconds? Voilà!

Instant structure set up.

🤯

Talk about a time saver.

Now that I’ve added YouTube to my publishing repertoire, there’s a lot less “making it up as I go” these days.

I’m batching my recording and editing (Amen for Descript!) and my goal is to publish two videos a week. (I had a technical issue last week, but we’ll save all the bumps and bruises for a YouTube update in another post.)

Here’s where I am “Making It Up As I Go” …

My three primary focuses, in terms of content and publishing, are Substack, YouTube, and email marketing.

I’ve found my rhythm with Substack and YouTube, but I’m still figuring out the best process for using Kit with Substack (I’ve talked about that a bit; I’m due for an update on the process and the reasoning behind it).

I love email marketing and know I’m going to find my sweet spot and ideal process for me.

I didn’t sign up for a course on Substack or YouTube, I just jumped in and started publishing.

To be fair, I’ve been creating and marketing online for 17 years, so there wasn’t a huge learning curve with the technical aspects. However, I knew that if I got bogged down in the weeds of “shoulds” and “best practices,” I’d still be in the planning phase.

I’m willing to “practice in public.”

Publishing publicly gives your ideas room to breathe, evolve, and connect with others. It creates momentum you can’t fake behind closed doors. And it shows your audience you’re human—which builds trust faster than any polished funnel.

I survived the initial years of figuring out what I was doing online and had my fair share of trolls or ‘less-than-pleasant’ comments, but I’m well past the ‘ignorance is bliss’ phase of business.

And like my friend Lee Drozak said, “No one cares.”

Most of us are too busy focusing on what's going on in our own businesses and lives to judge someone for showing up and trying (at least on the platforms I use).

Where I felt Wobbly

Clearly I’m a fan of long-form content (let’s face it, no one ever accused me of being too brief). I was never a big Twitter user - I only grew a following of 19k because I signed up in 2008 and used to post my content there (I deleted my account a few months ago).

So, as much as I love reading Substack Notes, I was nervous about jumping in.

I’d read enough quality articles that shared how Notes were responsible for growth, but having started with two newsletters here, I felt torn between what I should post.

Then I got out of my head.

Something about hitting midlife seems to turn up the “f@ck it” dial.

So I’ve jumped full force into using Notes in a way that serves others, connects with people, and forms genuine relationships/friendships.

When that starts working, I have no doubt the growth will follow.

I’m doing the exact same thing with YouTube.

I’ve created a bank of ideas that I continually add to - and track in my new handy-dandy Notion dashboard (Yes, I’m breaking my arm patting myself on the back for Notion, can you tell?).

When I have hiccups, I fix them and move on.

I don’t sweat it if a video is posted at a weird time or even when I delete a video because I went to test it, and it sounded like it was sped up (I talk fast enough as it is).

Only to realize I had listened to a video earlier at 1.25x the speed.

I didn’t even bother to look at the playback speed before I deleted it.

What a numpty. 🤪

I’ll leave you with a few reframes to help you start practicing in public and not worrying about “making it up as you go” - because the Messy Middle can be fun.

Messy middle mindset shifts:

• Done > Perfect

• Visibility > Virality

• Momentum > Mastery

• Being seen in progress = Relatability

  
  

SPARK Spotlight 🔥

Since I’ve gone all in with Notion, I’m having fun finding tools that can extend its already amazing capabilities.

Enter… NotePolls!

Capture valuable insights with beautiful polls that integrate seamlessly and automatically sync results to your Notion database in real-time.

A Little Brainpower 🧠

Want to grow your Substack without a bunch of hacks, tips, and tricks? “I Grew My Substack Without a Funnel, a Niche, or a Plan.”

Opt-in page not converting? “Why your signup page should be 'stupidly simple'.”

Want “a simpler, smarter approach to using a newsletter to stay visible and grow trust?” Read “Build Business Visibility in 5 Sentences or Less,” from

Denise Wakeman

.

Tool Time 🛠️

• AI Agents: This looks pretty easy to use. Connect Gmail, Slack, Notion, and 100+ other apps in minutes. Try Relay.app free here.

• WordPress: Access powerful AI models, generate images, and chat with a smart moderator —all without leaving WordPress. Try SmartPress free here.

• Website builder: A free drag-and-drop website building template for Notion. With over 60 pre-built components and custom themes. Try it free here.

• Instagram: Edits is the new video creation app by Instagram that helps creators make great videos on their phones. Get it for your phone here (iOS & Android).

A lovely Spring reminder 🥰

Here’s the video I deleted and uploaded again… all because I didn’t look at the playback speed:

The 3 Platforms I'd Use If I Were Starting a Business Today.

Have a fantastic day!

With coffee & kindness,
Kim