Two years full-time at Centori, no looking back now

“So, what do you do for work?”

For about six years, the answer to that was simple: I’m a Product Manager – though my fellow PMs will agree, that’s not always a simple answer.

For the last two years, it’s been some combination of words, usually communicating that I am self-employed. But what I do whilst self-employed has changed quite a bit.

As I reflect on an unseasonably misty and cool June evening, I realize that my current stint in self-employment is now the second-longest tenure at any “position” I’ve had.

I remember commemorating my four-week notice with Dolly Parton’s “9-5.” Two years later, Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” is probably more apt. If you'll bear with a brief walk down memory lane, here are a few lessons I've learned.

Where’s Centori now?

While it may be naive to say this, I'm surprised by how much has changed since my previous update last June.

Having held more or less the same job for half a decade, I didn't realize how much can change from year to year – or month to month – when leaping headfirst into entrepreneurship.

Let's wind the clock back.

This time last year, Centori offered three product lines:

• A community + monthly coaching group call
• One-on-one coaching
• Content services

While I loved serving early-stage startups just getting on their feet, it led to split messaging on our website, which conflicted with my higher-ticket offerings. This confused prospects and did not achieve the intended goal: to serve a wider customer base.

I always advise my clients: pick an ICP and own everything for them. Well, the ICP for the community was radically different than the ICP for our content services, and I was spread too thin trying to market to and serve both.

So, what does Centori do now? Simple:

• I build content strategies designed to attract, educate, and convert customers, and write your content for you to make that happen.
• I guide teams through my process so they can do all the fun stuff themselves.

The ICPs for each are fairly similar, and once I made the switch and took sales seriously (more on that later), growth became a bit easier. Not easy, though. Easier.

Lessons learned

I surprised myself this year. You could probably condense the entire blog post into those five words. Because I tend to enjoy being verbose (at least, in writing), there is more to share.

Why yes, I can sell… and cold call

In my first year, I thought I was an SEO expert and writer. But in the past year, I’ve realized that in order to be successful, I need to be a salesperson first and a practitioner second.

I see my fellow marketers — from agency owners to freelancers — struggle with sales. There are plenty of Reddit posts bemoaning the fact that getting clients is hard, and harsh words are heaped on them in the comments: “You mean you’re a marketer who can’t market?”

I think a lot of my fellow marketers struggle because, like me, they commit the error of thinking that they are marketers. I made the same error until I realized that there are three Tylers working on Centori:

• Client-facing Tyler, doing the work
• Marketing Tyler, promoting the business
• Sales Tyler, prospecting and selling

Compartmentalizing my time and brain space has been key, and while I’d like to say I’d mastered it after a year, I’ll take having learned the lesson to practice.

Oh, and I made my first cold calls this year. I don’t see myself continuing the practice (it’s just not how I want to win business), but I proved to myself that I can prospect and sell.

When you’re in a crowd, wear a different color

There’s a cheat code I’ve learned in marketing, and I’m embarrassed to admit that it took till now to fully realize it.

I work with clients who are in crowded industries, but nothing compares to mine.

I’m competing with a global marketplace of people with incredibly diverse backgrounds and experiences. I am a good writer (I think), and a solid strategist (I’m more sure of that). But so are thousands of others; some better than me, and many cheaper than me.

I spent far too long trying to come up with the perfect pitch, when I missed the obvious decision right in front of me: when everyone else says the same thing, do something radically different.

Yes, I’m a content marketer and strategist. But I like to do things a little differently: I work out of the oldest private library in America, I read Russian literature, I’m working on a horror novel, and once upon a time, I wanted to be a journalist.

So, rather than redesign my website for the zillionth time to look like every other agency website out there… I decided to design my website and write my copy in a way to exemplify the things I care about and value in my work, and to appeal to the sort of person I want to attract (witty, strategic thinkers).

Check it out for yourself; I included a few fun Easter eggs to fit the theme.

I didn’t buy a ticket to freedom, I bought a ticket for a roller coaster

For years, I wanted to work for myself.

I wanted to set my own schedule. Call the shots. Do things my way. It’s the lie every hopeful entrepreneur is fed: that you’re buying a ticket to freedom.

In reality, it’s a ticket for a roller coaster with incredible highs followed by tear-inducing drops.

If I’m honest, I miss the stability and predictability that comes with having a job. My numerous gripes during my career pale compared to the challenges I’ve dealt with in the last two. I've since learned that the best way to ride this roller coaster is to hold on tight and not mind the highs and lows too much. Going into "year three," my goal is to be more even-keeled.

Given the struggles, would I go back? Heck no. I didn't know everything in store for me when I got on this ride, but I'm on it now.

What’s next?

Looking back on last year, my goals were quite ambitious: to serve 100 more companies.

That didn’t quite happen. I added 23 new clients to my all-time total of 111, and while 23 was a nice increase, it does not make 100.

Now? I’m aiming for deeper relationships that allow me to add more value for each client. I’m focused on quality over quantity, and am taking that to my marketing and sales strategies (remember those two Tylers? They are going to be working very hard).

While you may say this is a cop out, I say it’s a realistic evolution in my thinking. I’m not necessarily trying to build a multi-million-dollar business in Centori, I’m just trying to live a life well-lived.

Part of this may be me preparing for the future of marketing. I've been hearing more and more often how "AI is replacing marketers," and while I have not lost a client due to AI (yet), I can't help but wonder where I'll be 10 years from now, or two. At the same time, the lessons I've learned from Centori will serve me well, whether that is to continue to grow this business or start the next.

Two years later, I'm still standing. I now know that I have it in me to survive as a full-time entrepreneur, now it's time to see if I can thrive.