steady field notes
I added “building in public” to my IG bio weeks ago…
… and admittedly, I’ve been doing a pretty terrible job at it.
“Building in public” is the MO of every founder with an online presence, but what does that really mean? And what does it look like in practice?
You could ask Chat, search up a few think pieces on Medium, but here’s the truth: there’s no substitute for experimentation, trial and error, and learning from experience. (Any other Human Design Line 3 profiles out there)?
Even before I started learning from Human Design, I’ve always known that I’m a person who learns by doing. I could open a thousand books, but the lesson only becomes apparent when real life slaps me in the face.
So when I see “building in public,” that means experimenting in public. As a founder, I’ve been learning about the identity shift that comes with this role.
Quitting traditional employment wasn’t just about starting a business and figuring out what people would pay me for. It is the process of becoming a founder, understanding what it means to be self-employed.
This identity shift became real after I announced the launch of Milk Punch Studios on LinkedIn. Two former colleagues from my agency days reached out to reconnect. One acquaintance from the fitness studio I coach at wanted to grab coffee. Entrepreneurship was something I had stepped into, and people from the outside had questions.
Their main question— how? How have you sustained yourself financially over the last year? How did you get your clients?
By going public, I’ll answer these questions and more. Along the way I’ll also share my ongoing experiments as a co-founder of a marketing and creative studio. By reading and subscribing, you’re part of the journey.
THE BOOKSHELF
👩🏽🔬 this book explains why your goals aren’t working
As a productivity and self-improvement junkie, when I say this is the last “productivity” book you’ll ever need, I do not say this lightly.
If you’re someone who’s set New Year’s resolutions and quit after 4 days, or if seeing the term “SMART goals” makes you break out in hives, this one is for you.
Anne-Laure Le Cunff breaks down exactly why traditional goals just don’t work, and how an experimental approach is so much better.
Uncertainty has so much to teach us. We experience it not just in big life transitions, but in lesser moments of ambiguity, such as the “messy middle” of a project, when we’d like to throw in the towel. When we find ourselves in these precarious moments, our automatic response is too often fear or anxiety. And so we rush toward a defined outcome to escape it… But there is another way: the experimental way
MARKETING MINIS
just show up
Whenever I feel like throwing in the towel, I remind myself that the best thing you can do for yourself is telling people what you do.
And it does not have to be your full time job. What are you looking forward to? What are you working on that excites you? Maybe you’re cooking a new recipe or ready to reveal a side project you’ve been keeping under wraps.
So pick a platform, and show up this week. Post a story, message a group chat, write an email. It doesn’t have to be perfect, you just need to show up.
Every newsletter will include a marketing mini. In this section it will be one quick action you can take to make marketing a little bit more fun.
Thank you for allowing me some space in your inbox. I’d love for this to be a two-way kind of thing, so please do hit reply and let me know what you learned!
Stay Steady,
Molly