Have some punch! Watch Uncle Albert play pin-the-footer-on-the-website! (Yes, I realize it’s turning out to be one of my lamer attempts at party games, but it’s too late now.)

So who’s retiring? Let’s see…first, there’s Pow. She’s spent one whole year partying her heart out in LiteSite-ville, and she’s ready to call it a day. I hate to lose Pow, but she assures me that she’s leaving so that bigger, better things can take her place. Her last day is officially Friday, so we still have time to say goodbye. (I’ve heard rumors that the bigger, better things will also be more expensive, so it might not hurt to get a piece of her before she leaves.)

And speaking of getting a piece, we’ve also got another retiree on the way out (apparently, LiteSites have a short career life). Pathos is a bit young to be as successful as he’s been, but he’s worked so hard that I’m not surprised. He’s ready to dump his professional attire in favor of a fishing vest and waders — who knew?

And finally, one more retiree. No, it’s not Verbatim (that happy fella is quite determined to keep working, at least for now). It’s someone that we’ve all come to know quite dearly — sjoystudios.com. I’ve loved this website, but it’s finally time to move on. Starting next Monday, we’re packing up camp and moving to new digs.

If you want to leave some final thoughts for either Pow, Pathos, or sjoystudios.com, I’m sure they’d appreciate it. Otherwise, drink up! (I think someone put something in the punch. Uncle Albert is getting a little rowdy on the karaoke.)

Really, I am. I thrive on love in all forms. Online love. Offline love. Love for my work, love for other people’s work. Love is my favorite.

I think we’re all little walking love machines. It would be cool if we had glowy hearts on our chests that we could push to disseminate and receive the love we need. When we’re feeling low, our glowy heart would be dim. And then everyone would fill us up until we were day-glow bright again.

Gwen Bell posted this video a few weeks ago, and it’s one of those that I’m finding myself going back to over and over.

If you don’t have time to watch the whole thing, pay attention to 9:22 to 14:45. It talks about how technology has moved our society to a place where we’re seeking trust, meaning, and quality of life over our previously-held values of privacy, constant availability, and ease of use. Our use of technology has made us feel isolated and alone (our glowy hearts are dim!), and now we’re using it to foster meaningful connection.

So what does that mean for us?

I’ve been a pioneer in content-driven websites. Now that people are starting to get that, I’m paying attention to new practices that are solving some of the challenges we face with the content-driven model. It’s not good enough to be a pioneer. You have to know where things are going.

I like to watch people who have been online for a good while to sense the direction of where things are headed. When we’re new to working online, we tend to over-indulge in all of the candy. (But the candy! It might disappear! Must. eat.) But the more seasoned folks among us have over-indulged, under-indulged, and eventually come to a point of investing their time in the things that have longevity. Things I’m noticing now:

• A general repulsion for the exploitation of relationships. We’re funny and real and so transparent. We’ve gotten rid of the corporate lingo and have become comfortable being ourselves. Which is great. But if that becomes another marketing gimmick, we are sickened beyond belief. Which makes sense, given our society’s deepest needs are for trust, security, and meaning. Bad things happen when our deepest needs are exploited.
• Stepping up what we publish. Sick of excessive information and searching for real meaning, we are starting to take our content more seriously. Makes complete sense, and I’m glad it’s happening. Sometimes first drafts are okay to publish, but what would happen if we treated our work as art? What would happen if we polished and shimmied and shined everything we put out there, even to the detriment of frequency?
• Respecting when people disconnect. Our technology-free days are becoming intentional. We do not lose credibility when we disappear to work on our art. Rest is beginning to be respected.
• Instantly recognizing marketing cliches. Remember your favorite English teacher’s definition of cliche? Anything you’ve heard once. And it’s becoming even truer in online marketing. It is now so important to put on our horse-blinders and create strategy that is just ours.
• Having launch fatigue. Marissa Bracke wrote an extremely timely article on this last week. When our relationships with people online become 85% about what we’re launching or what other people are launching, we’re bound to get tired of all of the launching. It’s starting to happen, folks. Which is another reason to put on those blinders and do something no one else is doing. Including launching like no one else is launching.
• Appreciating the chopping block. We are tired of sifting through information. We want carefully edited direction. Instead of googling, we ask people on Twitter for their recommendations. When we visit a website, we don’t want everything in the sidebars — just a selection of what’s most important and useful. Instead of an exhaustive list of books on marketing, we would rather have Ted’s top five. It’s not enough to be simple. We want hand-picked. If you build a reputation of hand-picking the best stuff and chopping off the rest, people will come to you as a trusted resource.
• Going back to professionalism (a little). When we tossed out corporate crap, we tossed out a lot of…crap. But there was also a lot of good stuff that went out with the trash. Like quality. Just because it’s personal, doesn’t mean that we can shill crap (read Amy Hoy’s excellent article on this…and don’t worry. She informs me that it’s Nutella.). We need quality photography. Quality writing. Quality packaging. Quality products. If we’re going to continue to flourish in the online space, we can’t become known for over-priced, over-hyped crap.

So that’s what I’ve been thinking about while I’ve been being quiet. Love, crap, and sandwiches. Also, that LiteSites are back from vacay. And I’ve hired two people who I love and who you will meet very soon. And also that I need to hire a third, but I’m not a fan of being too big for my britches.

Love. To you.

Got that stuck in your head now? Good. Me too.

I feel like this is one of those awkward moments where I was supposed to call but didn’t, and then I run into you in the grocery store and say “So…” while shuffling my feet.

So…

I’m being quiet right now. That’s the gist of it. I have a new project in the works that is going to change things up around here quite substantially, but I’m not pushing it.

I’ve discovered something about web strategy. First, it is so hard to be perfect at it when you’re a solopreneur. Either you have no clue what to do next, or you have too much to do next. Or you have an elaborate plan that would work if only you ran on batteries. Or jet fuel.

But unfortunately, we are not robots. We get sleepy, excited, overwhelmed, inspired, jealous, triumphant, and all of these other things that interfere with a well-run machine. I think that’s why 9 to 5 exists. I think that’s why corporate is so…corporate. When you take out the heart, things are much more predictable.

My gold-digging excursion left me people-shy. Me, the girl who loves performing, teaching, speaking, writing, and generally sharing with masses of people. I’m overwhelmed with the attention and interaction. I can’t explain it, but it’s there. And it hasn’t gone away yet, even though the excursion has been over for two weeks.

I generally share a lot around here. I share what’s made me successful, strategies that work, things to avoid. And those things are important. But I’m learning that being perfect in business can not only make you successful; it can also drive you crazy.

I’m hiring my first helper in a few days. Not just talking about it, but actually doing it. I’m focusing on filling my well instead of producing so much. Yes, I’m launching my new thing soon, but I’m not putting a date on it. And I’m actively ignoring the voices in my head that are telling me “You’re not communicating enough; you’re not building enough relationships; you’re not following your own freaking rules.”

They’re my rules. They’ve worked for me and countless others, but I’m not going to die if I break them for a month. Or even two. (Just keep telling yourself that, Sarah.)

Hopefully my people-block will be cleared soon. But even if it isn’t, I’ve learned a few very important things. First, hiring people is the only way to develop any kind of consistency without killing yourself to be perfect. Second, there is time. There is always time. So even if you have to do this alone, don’t dig those spurs in too deep. Your workhorse-self can only sprint for so long before you sputter to a stop.

I was going to write “I missed you” or even “hello”, but I walked 5 blocks picking up shells and could only manage enough to say hey. Apparently the ocean is being stingy today.

So hey! I am officially back from excursion-ing. I have so much that I want to say, but for now, I can only manage to point. So here’s me, pointing at the people who put on their mining hats with me to dig for gold in the depths of their website.

Plus a few good people I couldn’t find photos for:

Laura Brodniak
Dee Brower
Lisa Gold
Alison Habermehl
Paula Parker
Pamela Paulien
Liza Pascal
Jennifer Saunders
Rochelle Schieck
Anne Smidt
Leah Snyder

And also, a huge thanks to Leah of Leah Creates for her help in the cave dwelling! (She’s lovely to work with, folks).

These are phenomenal people. Get to know them. Great things are emerging out of the work they’re doing.

More to come soon. Also, I’ve got a huge, gargantuan surprise for you in the coming weeks. It feels good to be back!

Just a quick update to let you guys know that I’m not dead. The gold-digging excursion starts Thursday, and I’m wrapping up some videos and things for that. It’s crazy-fun, but I’ll probably be posting just once a week this month. And probably not on a stickler-schedule either.

I’m also checking my email just once a day and putting Twitter on the backburner. So…not dead. Just pouring everything into one very awesome basket right now.

So while I’m not producing much in the way of bloggy-goodness, I thought I’d steer you to some places that are. But you better come back here or I might have to send you some of my son’s germs (I wouldn’t really do that. But yeah, he’s sick for the 5th time this year!).

Stuff I’m digging this week (besides gold)

• On finding contentedness. There’s a lot to be said for not being content. It drives you to make crazy changes and possibly find the life that you were made for. But there’s a point when you have to decide that being content might just be the goal. And that’s when you need to read this.
• How to create a Book of You. I think Havi’s onto something BIG here. Big big. I can see a worldwide revolution on the horizon.
• Growing bigger and leveraging yourself. I needed to hear this. Especially #2…what a cool way of seeing business relationships.
• No productivity system can override your choices. Thank you, Charlie, to whom I owe my life for creating Email Triage. You are so right.
• My favorite wallpaperist is iPad ready. Is it weird that I consider Kitsune Noir my wallpaperist? I don’t think so.

And now, it’s bagel-time. And then back to video production. (Man, it’s so hard to be yourself on camera…I cannot even tell you! But way fun to try.)

I think I’m going to call this the year of the breakdowns. I feel like this has been a recurring theme in my life and in my writing lately — breaking down. And it’s embarrassing, really. But I have to write about it. Because I can’t write “Top 10 Ways to Fix Your Blog Posts” when I’ve just gotten down off of a two-hour crying jag.

And I am realizing that I’m not the only one. As I’m reading through all of your submissions to my question last week, I’m discovering that we all have hurts and pain in our businesses. We all have stuff that we struggle with. Maybe that’s uber-obvious to everyone, technically, but when you start reading real stories about real stuff that’s happening right now, it all becomes much more…real.

The pursuit and the prize

Starting a business — especially one that’s gorilla-glued onto your life’s passion — is a love story. In the beginning, you’re feverishly trying to catch their attention. You’re doing anything you can (and you’re doing most of it wrong). That part is painful enough in itself, but you just keep doing it, and eventually you do get some sort of attention. And maybe it works out. Maybe it’s a long-term, forever kind of thing.

Now you can go in one of many directions. You can delight in being together. Savor long dinners, bring flowers, relish the companionship. Always looking for ways to bring more joy and fullness to the relationship, but being comfortable in what it is now.

Or, you can start getting afraid of losing this great thing that you’ve got. You might start smothering your companion by being there every minute of the day, wearing yourself out in the process. Or you might start enviously checking out other, prettier people who walk in the room. You might start to try to keep up with them. Or worse, out-do them in your lover’s eyes.

Or maybe you finally got the guy or gal, which was going to fix everything, and then you realize that it absolutely doesn’t. And it was your only hope and now what?

It’s all ick. And it’s all based on fear.

The one thing I know

I’m secretly terrified that by writing posts like this, I’m going to be shouting into a cavernous, echo-y hole of “Oh crap. That sucks for you.” I’m scared that I’m going to end up branding myself as “that web person who cries all the time.” Or worse, “the whiney girl who got what she wanted and then started complaining about it on the internet.” So not professional, right?

But I believe in confession. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but I do. I believe in bringing things to the light and watching magic happen. And mostly, I believe that I was meant to be here, doing this, now. Maybe not the cry-in-public part. But the passionate, love affair with my work part.

I’m going to continue accepting your confessions for another day or so — if you get this by email and you couldn’t see the form last week, you’ll have to click through. It’s all anonymous. My hope is that when I publish some of the answers, it will help give us all some perspective on the holes that maybe we can help fill.

Whenever I launch a new product or service, there are bunches of people emailing me about why they are so excited, they love it, and it’s perfect for them. But then there’s also bunches of people emailing me about why it’s not what they need, but man something in their biz sucks right now, and if only they could get over that thing, then all would be right in the world.

This is the hurt. This is the need that wants to be filled.

One thing that frustrates me so much about big-box advertising and the state of commerce is that most companies with a product to sell tend to look at the hurt a little too late. They look at it in the marketing phase rather than in the product-development phase. In the product-development phase, they’re focusing on current buying trends. What products and services other companies are effectively convincing us that we need. What they can profit the most off of.

And then when they’ve figured out what they’re going to sell us, their marketing departments tap into the hurt to drive those sales. (Or they tap into the pleasure, which is still just the flip-side of the hurt.)

When you listen to the hurt before you develop your next big thing, a lot of stuff gets easier. Deciding what to do next, for one thing. Actually meeting your sales/booking goals, for the other.

And bigger than that, your product or service becomes something that improves the fabric of the world. And that is a really, really cool thing.

How is your business hurting right now?

I’d like to know. And not for my own needs, but for yours. I’m creating a this-is-where-i’m-hurting piece, and I’m going to publish it here. For you. For me. So that all of us can meet each other’s needs where we’re at right now.

There. I just sent mine.

(Submissions are completely anonymous. If yours doesn’t need to be, go ahead and send it to sarah AT sjoystudios DOT com or leave it in the comments.)

P.S. Lots of people have been asking how many people are signed up for the gold-digging excursion. There are currently 43, and I’m leaving it open to 7 more people. Just two weeks left…woohoo!

Over the past couple of weeks, my email inbox has been screaming uncle. I keep telling him (yes, my inbox is male) to just man up already, but he’s gotten kind of whiny in his old age. This morning, he reminded me that a lot of people have been asking about this Gold-Digging Excursion thing we’re doing. How they really, really want to go, but either:

• They have no website

or…

• Their site design entirely sucketh

Combine this with the fact that I’m currently booked for design work until May 31st, and you’ve got a humdinger of a problem. But I’m not a problem kinda gal. I’m a solution kinda gal. So here’s what I did.

I designed this beautiful, gorgeous, oh-wow-I-wish-I-had-this-site kind of site. I built it on Headway, a WordPress framework that gives the non-techy person drag ‘n drop superpowers (even techy people will love it). And I decided to give it away to all of my Gold-Digger participants.

Go ahead, you can dance if you want to. (I am.)

So here’s the plan. If you have no website (or if your site design entirely sucketh), come with us. I designed this site for you and will show you how to get it going and customize it in the most strategic way possible. And you’ll get to do all of the other fun, empowering stuff that will help you find your website’s untapped cash potential (read more about the excursion here).

Wanna take a look?

I’m calling it Vega (click on the image for the full version).

Vega is a clean, customizable design that says “I am awesome!” without even trying. It’s WordPress-built, which means it’s easy for you to handle your content yourself, and even more than that, it’s Headway-built, which means it’s easy for you to customize the design yourself (if there’s something easier than drag ‘n drop, let me know…but I’m pretty sure that’s as simple as it gets). And it’s only available to Gold-Digging participants.

And with that…a shocking announcement

Well, sort of shocking. And kind of hard for me to say, actually. LiteSites are going on a vacation. (To Maui, I think. Someplace tropical.) I’m going to be focusing on my from-the-ground-up work and the Gold-Digging Excursion for a while.

If you’re already booked for a LiteSite, don’t fret! You’re still booked. And you are more than welcome to switch over to the Gold-Digging Excursion if you’re drooling over the Vega design and want to do in-depth profit-discovering activities with us.

And finally…

Early-bird registration is ending Wednesday. As in, tomorrow. And unless you’re signed up for yummies, you won’t be getting a reminder.

Bon voyage, LiteSites. Have fun in Maui. Bring me back something.

The other day, I heard someone on a mainstream pop radio station referring to the information in his newly revised book as “content”. “More content than ever before!” I gasped, “‘Content’ has reached the masses!” and my husband stared at me.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about content a lot lately. We talk about it, complain about it, strive to produce more of it. Because that’s what brings the shiny new people and helps them to love us. And we love love.

A lot of the questions that I get revolve around content. People complaining, “But I don’t want to blog, I just want people to love me and buy from me. How much does that cost?”

Errrm. It costs whatever it costs to hire someone to produce amazing content for you. Information is the pony on this carousel. People don’t want to hear all about you, you, you. “We have been in business for 400 years! We sell cheese fries that are delicious!” Who cares? But man, I bet they’d love your cheese fry recipe. And your hilarious video entitled “How to eat cheese fries while standing on your head”.

That’s content. That’s why I emphatically recommend a content-driven website strategy. For anyone, everyone, and yes, even you.

But uggggh…I don’t want to BLOG!

It’s not about blogging. That’s why I don’t use the term. It’s content. Think about all the different types of content that you encounter on a daily basis. Actually, why don’t you step on over to my chalkboard so I can show you a few of the types of written content that there are in the world. (This isn’t even including other types of media…just written for now).

Yowza, right? So forget blogging. If you don’t want to blog, don’t blog, ever. Brainstorm what kind of amazing content fits in with your business…whether you’re a retailer, a service provider, a public speaker, or part of a juggling circus. And then publish it consistently.

And bloggers who are thinking “Umm…yeah. Obviously content is the main thing. I knew that in 2005.” I challenge you (and me) to reach outside of how you’ve previously defined your content. “Content” does not have to equal “blog post”. Or, more clearly, “blog post” does not have to equal “list of things I think everyone should do because I’m doing it” or “[fill in the blank with some sort of technology that we love] is dead” or “rant about my mother-in-law’s cooking” (although you know how I love food analogies).

P.S. You know I gotsta remind you that the early-bird pricing for our Gold-Digging Excursion is ending soon. Don’t forget to put your registration pants on and sign up before the deadline!

Note: Today’s post is a bit out of the ordinary for me, but it’s what came out of a terrible, head-pounding day. We’ll get back to our regularly scheduled strategy-talk on Thursday.

Today was awful. I can actually say it was the worst day in the history of my entrepreneurial career. One of those days where the clouds are not only falling from the sky, but they are on fire.

It wasn’t any one conversation or thing-that-went-awry. It was everything. And it made me realize how dangerous it is to associate your sense of self so closely with your business. Because when those flaming arrows come falling from the sky, you have no helmet. Not even knee pads.

I’m not proud to admit it, but today I cried. Torrentially. (I think I just made that word up.) Despite the fact that Chris Brogan and my buddy Sparky Firepants think I’m doing it right, despite the fact that everyone is being so darned supportive and awesome, there are a few people who think I’m doing it wrong. And I don’t know why that sucks so bad, but it does.

Maybe you’ve had a day like that?

This is for you if anyone’s ever thrown flaming darts at your head (and yeah…this is for me)

• You are doing it right.
• If someone throws darts at you, don’t throw darts back. Even if it’s practically necessary, or if it’s just a subtle bit of sarcasm or eye-rolling. Darts are like boomerangs and eventually come back to poke the thrower in the eye.
• It’s good to look for the truth in criticism, but if there is any, and after you’ve extracted it, don’t dwell on it. Ask yourself what’s the best thing you can do now, and do it.
• “I don’t want to disappoint people” is not a good reason to say yes. YOU are worth saving from disappointment.
• You can’t run your business for everyone else. Even though you thrive on letting other people benefit from your super-powers and keeping things humming with integrity and style, you’ve got to ultimately meet your own needs first.
• Don’t give up on people. If you spend your life mis-trusting and second-guessing those around you, you’ll soon be throwing flaming arrows of your own.
• Leaps are always worth the jump. Especially if you’re leaping from a burning building, and even if there is no (visible) net.
• The pain that you’re feeling now is real, but subjective. Go watch Cinderella Man or read The Diary of Anne Frank one more time. Perspective is good.
• Struggle is necessary for the growth of your character. So rejoice in the struggle — character is priceless.
• All is well, and all will be well. (My favorite phrase on the planet.)

I can’t say I feel a ton better after writing that, but tomorrow is a new day. And I’ve still got our gold-digging excursion to look forward to, so I’m beyond excited about that. Thanks guys, for all of your shout-outs and encouragement this past week. I’m excited that you’re excited; we’re going to have a grand old time.

And now back to the steak and shrimp stir fry that John made for me…maybe “eat a good meal with people who adore you” should have been on the top of that list.