Subscribe to
The Lightbulb

A daily email about monetizing your corporate expertise as a solo consultant.

Give me ~1 minute a day, and I'll help you turn what you know into your most differentiated and lucrative asset.

    Don't worry - I hate spam too. I'll NEVER share your email address with anyone.
    Unsubscribe anytime.

    Not sure yet? Browse the official archive
    or Search or view the Recent Posts down below

    Still not sure?
    Check out this love from a consulting legend:

    Jonathan Stark, host of Ditching Hourly and
    The Business of Authority podcasts

    Recent posts

    Posts after Mar 21. can be found here

    March 21, 2025

    💡 First day of school + IP Builder pilot update

    March 20, 2025

    💡 A+ Example: Positioning perfection in 9 words

    March 19, 2025

    💡 The 'orphaned insight' problem

    March 18, 2025

    💡 What works for them...

    March 17, 2025

    💡 Personal branding is a trap

    March 14, 2025

    💡 The things that aren't changing

    March 13, 2025

    💡 Assessing follow-on work

    March 12, 2025

    💡 The other 'C': Curiosity

    March 11, 2025

    💡 Assessing a stray opportunity - The CZAR test

    March 10, 2025

    💡 Learning to say no

    March 7, 2025

    💡 A get out of LinkedIn-fluencing free card

    March 6, 2025

    💡 Offer a common language

    March 5, 2025

    💡 Explain like I'm 5

    March 4, 2025

    💡 Enabling a client's breakthrough

    March 3, 2025

    💡 Confidence vs. agility

    February 28, 2025

    💡 Just another [fill in the blank] consultant

    February 27, 2025

    💡 Your horde of competitors is imaginary

    February 26, 2025

    💡 Niche first. IP second.

    February 25, 2025

    💡 A headshot of your expertise

    February 24, 2025

    💡 You've gotta talk to strangers

    February 21, 2025

    💡 Rest assured you're not alone

    February 20, 2025

    💡 How's your bedside manner

    February 19, 2025

    💡 A reader drops her 'shell'

    February 18, 2025

    💡 Tossing the shell

    February 14, 2025

    💡 The yank of the rug

    February 13, 2025

    💡 When good enough is not enough

    February 12, 2025

    💡 What's the point?

    February 11, 2025

    💡 Not your typical consulting interview

    February 10, 2025

    💡 Today should be a holiday

    February 7, 2025

    💡 The health insurance question

    February 6, 2025

    💡 Fractional in title, not in expertise

    February 4, 2025

    💡 Rethinking your capacity

    February 3, 2025

    💡 Why we're here

    January 31, 2025

    💡 It's working

    January 29, 2025

    💡 Drowning in chatbots

    January 28, 2025

    💡 Defog their glasses

    January 27, 2025

    💡 Infomercials taught us one thing

    January 24, 2025

    💡 An AI prompt for visual analogies

    January 23, 2025

    💡 Paint a picture of their pain

    January 22, 2025

    💡 Punting the who question

    January 21, 2025

    💡 The who and the what

    January 20, 2025

    💡 Buckle up and niche down

    January 14, 2025

    💡 Shopping for an ideal client [The A-P-I method]

    January 13, 2025

    💡 Is my secret sauce monetizable?

    January 12, 2025

    💡 New cadence for the lightbulb!

    January 11, 2025

    💡 Safeguarding against catastrophes

    January 10, 2025

    💡 Maximize your genius time

    January 9, 2025

    💡 Your genius zone defines your bullseye

    January 8, 2025

    💡 Derive your genius zone statement

    January 7, 2025

    💡 Follow your genius, simplify your offer

    January 6, 2025

    💡 Speak to one problem

    December 20, 2024

    💡 To shining bright in 2025 [First Mile Foundations]

    December 19, 2024

    💡 2-Hour Task: Podcast appearance kickstart

    December 18, 2024

    💡 2-Hour Task: Learn a design tool

    December 17, 2024

    💡 2-Hour Task: Train your AI in 3 steps

    December 16, 2024

    💡 Your holiday time dividend

    December 14, 2024

    💡 Pondering your 'genius zone'

    December 13, 2024

    💡 Notice where you shop this season

    December 12, 2024

    💡 The generalist's counterpoint

    December 11, 2024

    💡 Build one airline, not two

    December 10, 2024

    💡 There's always a deeper cut. Ask John Oliver

    December 9, 2024

    💡 Your native tongue

    December 8, 2024

    💡 FMF: (Bow)Tie it all together

    December 7, 2024

    💡 FMF Bonus: Build an audience, build demand

    December 6, 2024

    💡 FMF #5: You are the scarce resource

    December 5, 2024

    💡 FMF #4: Something real you can sell

    December 4, 2024

    💡 FMF #3: Your signature POV is the linchpin

    December 3, 2024

    💡 FMF #2: Pinpoint your ideal client

    December 2, 2024

    💡 [Year-end recap] First Mile Foundation #1: Start by looking inward

    November 27, 2024

    💡 Many pre-thanks

    November 25, 2024

    💡 Your TED talk, minus the stage

    November 24, 2024

    💡 Cook from frozen, or from scratch?

    November 23, 2024

    💡 60-second review - Napkin.ai

    November 22, 2024

    💡 Specialize as broadly as practical

    November 21, 2024

    💡 The "risk" of niching

    November 20, 2024

    💡 The road to originality

    November 19, 2024

    💡 A business recipe

    November 18, 2024

    💡 About that big fight

    November 16, 2024

    💡 What you know vs. what you see

    November 15, 2024

    💡 You re their emotional guide too

    November 14, 2024

    💡 Now, next, or new

    November 13, 2024

    💡 Eureka moment or shiny object?

    November 12, 2024

    💡 An echo chamber of one

    November 10, 2024

    💡 Follow the sound of the river

    November 9, 2024

    💡 Your minimum acceptable rate unveiled

    November 8, 2024

    💡 Keep moving

    November 7, 2024

    💡 Reader rebuttal: Intervention + vitamins = Real client value

    November 6, 2024

    💡 Anyone can sell a painkiller

    November 5, 2024

    💡 Ask them what hurts

    November 4, 2024

    💡 You are a hyperlocal business

    November 3, 2024

    💡 Give them the locals only tour

    November 2, 2024

    💡 Reaching for your Michelin star

    November 1, 2024

    💡 Reinvest your time for max return

    October 31, 2024

    💡 Allocating your time dividend

    October 30, 2024

    💡 Reclaimed time is a bonus dividend

    October 29, 2024

    💡 'Booked and busy' is a trap

    October 28, 2024

    💡 Zipping through your first year

    October 27, 2024

    💡 GenAI: the tempting glue trap

    October 26, 2024

    💡 A wall of jokes

    October 25, 2024

    💡 So i just give it away?

    October 23, 2024

    💡 A client's headshot: a simple curve

    October 22, 2024

    💡 Your POV, but make it visual

    October 21, 2024

    💡 Kindling for your signature POV

    October 20, 2024

    💡 Your intellectual headshot

    October 19, 2024

    💡 The flowers aren't for us

    October 18, 2024

    💡 When ego blocks the sale

    October 17, 2024

    💡 Jolting feet-draggers into action

    October 16, 2024

    💡 Pitching is an outdated word

    October 15, 2024

    💡 Moving beyond ad-hoc advising

    October 14, 2024

    💡 'First-mile' Q&A from the front lines

    October 12, 2024

    💡 Strangers break the plateau

    October 11, 2024

    💡 Attracting complete strangers

    October 10, 2024

    💡 Not an employee anymore

    October 8, 2024

    💡 Supporting your signature POV

    October 7, 2024

    💡 Anywhere you're asked for a bio

    October 6, 2024

    💡 Introducing your business, not yourself

    October 5, 2024

    💡 The many ways to deploy yourself

    October 4, 2024

    💡 Elevating beyond execution work

    October 3, 2024

    💡 Even a car salesman does this better

    October 2, 2024

    💡 Leveraging EOY urgency

    October 1, 2024

    💡 Sharpen your pencil

    September 30, 2024

    💡 Jerry's apartment was too small

    September 29, 2024

    💡 Strength in your backswing

    September 28, 2024

    💡 Side-stepping the moving walkway

    September 27, 2024

    💡 The world's biggest costco

    September 26, 2024

    💡 Not feeling the term IP?

    September 25, 2024

    💡 Tell-tale signs of good IP

    September 24, 2024

    💡 Could you please be less specific

    September 23, 2024

    💡 Building your reel

    September 22, 2024

    💡 Fishes and ponds

    September 21, 2024

    💡 Selling out your sparkle

    September 20, 2024

    💡 Step right up

    September 19, 2024

    💡 I'm better off than I thought

    September 18, 2024

    💡 Your opening act

    September 17, 2024

    💡 Should've bought the FastPass

    September 16, 2024

    💡 An egg's potential

    September 15, 2024

    💡 Remember those balloons

    September 14, 2024

    💡 Cutting the other cord

    September 13, 2024

    💡 Remember why you left

    September 12, 2024

    💡 So what's a fractional anyway

    September 11, 2024

    💡 Interim fractional vs. signature service

    September 10, 2024

    💡 All croissants, all the time

    September 9, 2024

    💡 The failed tiramisu

    September 8, 2024

    💡 From ICP to MVP: An async mini-series

    September 7, 2024

    💡 Molasses in your pipeline

    September 6, 2024

    💡 Putting words to their pain

    September 5, 2024

    💡 Stuck on your ICP? Go broad, then narrow

    September 4, 2024

    💡 Your ICP may be behind you

    September 3, 2024

    💡 Design your own puzzle piece

    September 2, 2024

    💡 We love a before & after

    September 1, 2024

    💡 Achieving liftoff

    August 31, 2024

    💡 The final angle: your financial stability

    August 30, 2024

    💡 Angle 4: Your resilience

    August 29, 2024

    💡 Angle 3: Your soapbox

    August 28, 2024

    💡 Angle 2: Your social orientation

    August 27, 2024

    💡 Angle 1: Your motivation flow

    August 26, 2024

    💡 The question we overlook

    August 24, 2024

    💡 Just past diagnosis is differentiation

    August 23, 2024

    💡 Turning your x-ray lens into a client triage

    August 22, 2024

    💡 But this is so obvious

    August 21, 2024

    💡 Taking your client's x-ray

    August 20, 2024

    💡 Specialize, then add a snorkel

    August 19, 2024

    💡 Reverse-engineer your client's respect

    August 18, 2024

    💡 Break the corporate cycle

    August 16, 2024

    💡 Ok, but where's the customer?

    August 15, 2024

    💡 The verdict: Follow the value price

    August 14, 2024

    💡 Minding the market price

    August 13, 2024

    💡 The finders fee for client value

    August 12, 2024

    💡 Price triangulation model: Start with revenue goals

    August 11, 2024

    💡 Triangulating your service price

    August 10, 2024

    💡 Why I hired my accountant after one call

    August 9, 2024

    💡 Channel the gall of an aspiring screenwriter

    August 8, 2024

    💡 Out on our own, together

    August 7, 2024

    💡 The IP is coming from inside the house

    August 6, 2024

    💡 Packing your intellectual suitcase

    August 5, 2024

    💡 Get your insights into the oven

    August 4, 2024

    💡 The opposite of the Olympics

    August 3, 2024

    💡 Doing Daily & the most popular Lightbulbs

    August 2, 2024

    💡 Value, not scarcity, is the goal

    August 1, 2024

    💡 The critical ingredient for scarcity

    July 31, 2024

    💡 What's your magic number?

    July 30, 2024

    💡 A cushy schedule is a trap

    July 29, 2024

    💡 How much do you want to work?

    July 28, 2024

    💡 Remember the Paris cauldron

    July 27, 2024

    💡 When they try to annualize you

    July 26, 2024

    💡 The slide that got my 1st client off hourly

    July 25, 2024

    💡 The arbitrary denominator

    July 24, 2024

    💡 Let your inner critic choose your pricing model

    July 23, 2024

    💡 The $7 latte

    July 22, 2024

    💡 Insights from 100 daily lightbulbs

    July 21, 2024

    💡 These chips are so loud

    July 20, 2024

    💡 Listen: Talking all things IP on Stop The Noise podcast

    July 19, 2024

    💡 Molding an MVP of your service

    July 18, 2024

    💡 Ready, set, listen

    July 17, 2024

    💡 Getting ready to listen

    July 16, 2024

    💡 The next baby step a service hypothesis

    July 15, 2024

    💡 Sketching your service skeleton

    July 14, 2024

    💡 Finding clients in your pantry

    July 13, 2024

    💡 So, what does relief look like

    July 12, 2024

    💡 Your deliverable: relief

    July 11, 2024

    💡 Seek out the ticking clock

    July 10, 2024

    💡 Spotting their urgency

    July 9, 2024

    💡 911, What's your client's emergency?

    July 8, 2024

    💡 Landing my first advisory retainer

    July 7, 2024

    💡 Resisting yesterday's romance

    July 6, 2024

    💡 Pruning your portfolio

    July 5, 2024

    💡 Steering with patience

    July 4, 2024

    💡 But hands work isn't mindless

    July 3, 2024

    💡 Hands work vs head work

    July 2, 2024

    💡 Do it for them, or teach them how

    July 1, 2024

    💡 What's your helper persona?

    June 29, 2024

    💡 Jesters of the dance floor

    June 28, 2024

    💡 Finding your stripes

    June 27, 2024

    💡 The scaffolding provides cover

    June 26, 2024

    💡 Spotted in the wild: A reader's IP

    June 25, 2024

    💡 Can't I just use case studies?

    June 24, 2024

    💡 The spotlight effect

    June 23, 2024

    💡 The fear of sharing

    June 22, 2024

    💡 The Sixth Sense that almost wasn't

    June 21, 2024

    💡 Weekend watch: 'Good One: A Show About Jokes"

    June 20, 2024

    💡 The usual suspects

    June 19, 2024

    💡 What's stopping you in 10 words or less

    June 18, 2024

    💡 Be the Sagrada Familia

    June 17, 2024

    💡 Your date, the loud talker

    June 16, 2024

    💡 Find a mirror

    June 15, 2024

    💡 Shhh...don't wake the idea

    June 14, 2024

    💡 Three points make a POV

    June 13, 2024

    💡 It's ok to think small

    June 12, 2024

    💡 A Clear-er example

    June 11, 2024

    💡 Remember the hot pink summer?

    June 10, 2024

    💡 Describing last night's dream

    June 9, 2024

    💡 Accelerating the trust curve

    June 8, 2024

    💡 The invisible farmer's market

    June 7, 2024

    💡 It's not hard and it's not easy

    June 6, 2024

    💡 Resume who?

    June 5, 2024

    💡 Your first date with a client

    June 4, 2024

    💡 BYO-IP

    June 3, 2024

    💡 Newman's bold positioning

    June 2, 2024

    💡 Top of the muffin, to you!

    June 1, 2024

    💡 Calling Olivia Pope

    May 31, 2024

    💡 The pageant consultant

    May 30, 2024

    💡 Never order eggs on your yacht

    May 29, 2024

    💡 In defense of spaghetti throwers

    May 28, 2024

    💡 The consultant's quandary - niche framework

    May 27, 2024

    💡 Hello sharks

    May 26, 2024

    💡 Your big bag of experience

    May 25, 2024

    💡 It's IP season

    May 24, 2024

    💡 How do I look?

    May 23, 2024

    💡 Avoiding the DIY haircut

    May 22, 2024

    💡 Ok, so what does it look like?

    May 21, 2024

    💡 Going up against the big guys

    May 20, 2024

    💡 Start with what you're great at

    May 19, 2024

    💡 Achieving the spins

    May 18, 2024

    💡 There is no neutral

    May 17, 2024

    💡 The consultant's expertise loop

    May 16, 2024

    💡 Your lightbulb loop

    May 15, 2024

    💡 Always carry small bills

    May 14, 2024

    💡 Howard Stern, the insight whisperer

    May 13, 2024

    💡 Your barista, the expert

    May 12, 2024

    💡 Cheesecake revisited

    May 11, 2024

    💡 Curry with a side of fears

    May 10, 2024

    💡 A 5-second marketing lesson

    May 9, 2024

    💡 Daytime TV for the win

    May 8, 2024

    💡 Doctor by day, dentist by night

    May 7, 2024

    💡 A tale of two movers

    May 6, 2024

    💡 IP is your expertise delivery driver

    May 5, 2024

    💡 The discipline of stop

    May 4, 2024

    💡 Start planting seeds

    May 3, 2024

    💡 A hot take on hot takes

    May 2, 2024

    💡 Closing the loop: Expertise, content, revenue

    May 1, 2024

    💡 See-saw your expertise into content

    April 30, 2024

    💡 Your expertise wingspan

    April 29, 2024

    💡 Interviewing a firefighter

    April 28, 2024

    💡 The Cheesecake Factory approach

    April 27, 2024

    💡 One small step

    April 26, 2024

    💡 The final myth: I don't have anything to say

    April 25, 2024

    💡 Myth 3: Thought leadership is too saturated

    April 24, 2024

    💡 Myth 2: Thought leadership is too time-consuming

    April 23, 2024

    💡 Myth 1: Thought leadership = LinkedIn-fluencer

    April 22, 2024

    💡 The big ick: Thought leadership

    April 21, 2024

    💡 Manufacture your own expertise eclipse

    April 20, 2024

    💡 Flickering lightbulbs

    April 19, 2024

    💡 An unexpected audience

    April 18, 2024

    💡 New rules for what do you do

    April 17, 2024

    💡 If you're early you're an expert

    April 16, 2024

    💡 But I'm not an expert

    April 15, 2024

    💡 Chocolate & peanut butter, your unique lens

    April 14, 2024

    💡 One degree removed

    April 13, 2024

    💡 The invisible burger