Last week, I went into a kitchen for the first time. Like, a real restaurant kitchen.

They hired me to film video footage to advertise their latest specials. Going back of house wasn’t necessarily a bucket list item, but it was so much more rewarding than I could have anticipated. I got to watch the chef cook five full meals right in front of me (complete with a flaming pan) and then I had to do the hard work of eating it.

There’s an alchemy that happens when you witness someone do something they’re genuinely good at. You stop seeing just a plate of food and start seeing the process: the timing, the instinct, the years of experience behind every move. It completely changes how you experience the final product.

When you welcome others behind the scenes, the content goes beyond selling the finished product. You create an experience, giving your audience a front row seat to your genius. They get to feel like they were a part of it.

It’s why we pay hundreds of dollars for concerts and plane tickets. There’s something incredibly gratifying about saying “I was there.” Your openness to sharing can have the same effect.

Whether you have your own business or you’re building a side project, sharing the process matters. Not because people are constantly waiting for every update, but because you might surprise them with what you share.

The chef at my restaurant client wasn’t trying to teach me anything, but I left that kitchen with a new perspective and a greater appreciation for something I used to take for granted.

Share the process. Let go of any expectations of what it will do, and see what happens.

Every newsletter will include a Marketing Mini. This section features actions you can take to make marketing a little bit more fun.

This week, bring new eyes to your everyday life. What “back of house” do you have access to?

Maybe it’s the access your job gets you. Maybe you’re a part of a community most people don’t see from the inside: your city, a niche hobby group, an in-person meetup. Maybe you’re watching a loved one grow a side hustle or a skill.

What do you get behind the scenes access to? What unseen processes do you witness (or guide) every day? Document one. Take a little video or narrate what you’re experiencing. You don’t have to be the founder to tell the story, you just have to be in the room.

I want to introduce you to the people who I’m growing with.

Jenny and I met ten years ago as RAs in college. At the time, if you’d told us we’d be building a business together someday, I’m not sure either of us would have believed you. And yet here we are.

Jenny is my business partner and co-founder at Milk Punch, and she brings a strong background in design, UX, content creation to the work we do for our clients. She also produces short-form video content for founders.

But today we’re here to talk about her latest project, We the Creators. Are you really a founder if you don’t have multiple projects at once?

The creator economy is a $250 billion industry, and most of the people in it have no idea what they should be charging. Out of 200 million creators worldwide, only 1% earn six-figure incomes.

Jenny's project, We the Creators, is trying to change that by building a community-powered platform for brand deal pay transparency. If you know someone trying to monetize their online presence, this is the resource they didn’t know they needed.

The creator economy is only going to keep growing, and I can’t wait to see how We the Creators will help creators get paid what they’re worth.

You can join the waitlist here.

My book stack grows faster than I’m able to read, so I’m especially proud to share that I finished a book this week.

I hit the pool on Monday with two reads, and I actually finished 10x is Easier than 2x. Next up is Built to Sell.

The wisdom in these two books is shifting how I structure my business and my day-to-day life so I can grow a successful business that someday will run without me.

10x is Easier than 2x encourages quality of work over quantity, and simplifying your tasks to the 20% that drive the best results for the business. The rest? Delegate to a team member or delete.

Built to Sell is a parable of a marketing agency owner who hits every challenge and wants out of his business. He talks to a mentor and realizes that his business is worth nothing without him, the owner.

I’m still in the middle of this book, but the insights I’ve gleaned already have inspired me to focus my energy on the services that have a repeatable process, and to document those processes so that someone else can eventually take them on.

🛍️ The links above are Bookshop affiliate links, I earn a small commission if you purchase through this link, at no extra cost to you)

The kitchen might be someone else’s back of house, but we all have one. The question is how (and whether) we choose to let anyone in.

Thank you for spending some of your attention here. I don’t take that lightly.

Stay Steady,
Molly

P.S. The Marketing Mini this week asks you to find your "back of house." Hit reply and tell me: what's one thing you have behind-the-scenes access to that most people don't?

If someone forwarded this email to you, you can subscribe here. If you haven’t read the first issue of the newsletter, you can check it out here!