๐๏ธ Let Me Show You How I Actually Do This
Hey Reader,
I'm taking a break from the thesis pieces this week because I have some things to show you rather than tell you, and I always said the best way I can serve you is to demonstrate how I do these things myself. Pointing fingers without doing the work is a shitty way to run a business and it's just not how we do things around here.
So... here is what has been quietly taking shape at Sasquatch Media Grounds.
The rebrand you might have noticed
If the header on this newsletter looks different lately, that is intentional. Sasquatch Media Grounds is the primary business now and Sensible Woo is converting into my personal brand. Both websites are getting makeovers behind the scenes. More on that as it unfolds.
The thing I did not have on my bingo card
When I got the keys to my brick and mortar studio, media training for progressive political candidates was not in the business plan. But then I found myself fighting for equity and intellectual freedom on my local library board, defending my community's first amendment rights, and watching everyone's ulterior motives end up on the public record. I am proud of that fight. And I also recognized pretty quickly that my most useful role was off the board and back in my zone of expertise.
That is when the collaboration with my local city councilwoman Kim Harless began. I publicly endorsed her this week and I want you to see exactly what that looks like when someone puts their money where their mouth is.
What started as a civic instinct has turned into a genuine and growing arm of SMG. I am now working with Kim and several other players in the regional political space to help progressive candidates get media confident, get booked on podcasts more frequently, and create effective content with well crafted messaging.
And yes, I get paid for it. Let me explain how that works because I think it is actually useful for you to understand.
How the funding works and why it matters
Business owners (readers like you) fund their media training and development through business expenses. That is straightforward. For public servants the model is different because they do not have a business budget. Their training gets funded through donations, political sponsors, and PACs, which is exactly how political infrastructure is supposed to work. Someone has to pay for the development of the people asking for your vote. I am helping build those funding relationships so that candidates who need this work can actually access it without it coming out of pocket.
The reality for your local change makers is that they operate more like solopreneurs than politicians. They don't have huge teams or a lifetime of connections or name recognition handed to them at birth. Some people get dealt a better hand of natural charisma and X factor than others, but ninety percent of what any individual needs in media training is the training itself. These are learned skills... and they are *not* magic. I have watched this my whole career since my early days wandering the halls of Disney.
And then something interesting happened
The more I worked in this space the more I kept noticing how many of my business clients need the exact same training. Training is training. Charisma is charisma. Messaging is messaging. The people who do it well make it look disgustingly easy but they have whole teams behind them making it look that way.
My goal is to make that level of media development more accessible across the board. Whether you are leveling up your podcast, sharpening your thought leadership on YouTube, preparing for a speaking stage, or getting ready to run for something, the skills are the same and they are buildable.
This is growing at SMG and I am excited about where it is going!
And speaking of building skills that are specifically and irreplaceably yours...
๐ Scroll down for the June 24th workshop details below.
๐พ Let's Sharpen Your Brain
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Join us on June 24th
We're building your Business Brain: a fully configured Claude setup so everything Claude produces is automatically shaped around you.
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$97.00
Claude for Creators: Build Your Business Brain
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๐๏ธ Gossip from the creator trenches...
๐ธ Inflation Is Not Personal. Your Hesitation Is.
You cannot build something real alone and the cost of skilled help is not going down. Haggling with the people whose expertise you need is a great way to get what you paid for. Are you investing in your business or performing investment while actually just stalling?
โRespect the craft & labor โโ
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๐คณ๐ฝ IG Just Told You Exactly What It Thinks of You
Meta is rolling out Instagram Plus, a paid subscription that includes the ability to watch stories anonymously among other features. This is the pay to play wall arriving in real time. Your audience's attention is being monetized whether you like it or not. Choose your infrastructure wisely. Choose email.
โThat's a nope from me... โโ
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๐ดโโ ๏ธ Trillionaire Theater, Episode 1
OpenAI has filed for its IPO. Take a breath. This was always going to happen because that is how capitalist systems work and OpenAI was never a nonprofit in any meaningful sense. This does not change what the tools do or whether you should use them. It just means the money is now more visible. Order the latte.
โWho needs billions โโ
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Let's Hang Out
A group of creators is about to kickoff a live cohort of my pre-production 4 week sprint in July. Reply if you want a seat, too!
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Participate + Join In
YouTube is running a free webinar next week all about how to set up memberships for your channel! Super cool. You can sign up here.โ
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