Now, before any of you brilliant humans come at me with pitchforks, I’ll start by saying:
Indeed I DO have offers (tiny and large) that I can scale in my offers suite. Over the years I’ve done groups and programs and courses and quasi-memberships and everything in between.
I help my clients create them where it makes sense, too. No shame in the “get more buck for your bang” scaling game!
However, this newsletter is my secret living room.
It’s where I can sit on the couch in my bare feet and get really real with my closest friends. (That means you!)
And so, in the spirit of that realness, I’ll level with you:
In my line of work especially — positioning, branding, and coaxing people’s signature creative power up to the surface gold dust — there’s just something so magical about the utterly unscalable way I do my 1-1 work.
Maybe it’s because as a New Yorker, I spend enough time in crowded rooms.
A Brilliant Message (or Offer, or Person) Needs Space to Unfold
I find there’s an incredible richness of experience that can only unfold when you’re doing deep creative work, with one person, in a tiny container.
I see it every day with my clients…
In the unspooling of their glittering vision — the kind they can only share when they feel safe, supported, and know I can understand what they say without judgment.
In the silken strings of brilliant messaging that would fly past us in the breeze, unseen as spiderwebs, if we weren’t sitting there together in the quiet to catch them.
In the way their body language tends to fold in on itself when discussing offers or ideas they’ve evolved beyond, and the way it blooms open when we’re developing something new that’s a perfect fit — something I just can’t see when we’re on a call with 50+ other people.
In the way we get to sit with their ideas, look at them from every angle, and witness the fireworks explode in their minds as we steadily shape them into concepts, messaging, offers, and visuals that simply bring the whole thing together in a way they never have landed on alone.
And, last but not least, in the shout-y celebration Voxer messages that still give me chills; when their business is truly, finally starting to work, and the brand and strategic structures we’ve built start doing their job — something I just couldn’t relish quite so fully if it was being said among a crowd of other voices sharing their challenges and celebrations, too.
There’s a Place for Deep Work that Doesn’t Scale
“1-1 work can’t scale,” is a frequent refrain.
And often I wonder: “When it comes to some things… should it, really?”
Every once in a while, I’m asked: “Your Power Position and Creative Direction offers are un-scalable. Have you thought about making a larger group version?”
The answer is yes.
And for now, I’ve decided “No.”
Because I simply don’t want to.
Certainly, making something available “one-to-many”, and bringing in other people (like coaches) to serve those “many” as wonderfully as possible isn’t a bad thing.
But when it comes to what I do?
I’d miss out on the very experiences that make the work I love… the work I love.
I’d miss the chance to sit with my clients in the shadow and the light, as we cement these new, career-shifting concepts into the core of their brand, being, and who they’re about to become.
A Couple of Questions to Ask Yourself More Often
“Is what I’m doing here even meant to scale?”
“Will it improve client experience, or quality of results, or anything beyond my bottom line?”
If the answer is “No,” or “Not yet,”… keep doing what you’re doing until something else comes through.
(But don’t be shy to raise your prices in the process, too ;) #justsayin.)
Here’s to the deep work we can truly, and only, do face-to-thoughtful-face.
And may we never sacrifice the work that’s truly meaningful to us at the altar of “scale, scale, scale”.
Write on, H
P.S.
Speaking of unscalable offers… I’d planned to launch the latest round of Power Position, but she’s already about sold out for Q2! EEK!
Don’t worry though — you’ve still got options.
- You can email hello@hillaryweiss.com with the word “Next Power Pod Details!” and I’ll get you the info and tell you allll about next steps and getting booked in for our next round.
- I’ve got a few other fabulous ways to work with me — (90 minute sessions, VIP days, and Creative Direction oh my! Check them out here.)
Photo by Lindsay Henwood on Unsplash
