awavering
Toothpaste manufacturers can probably get away without advertising on FB/Goog, but I'm not sure that would work for other products or brands. It's not make-work to tell people about your product or service, although in markets with limited players you could see how a marketing arms race would drive prices up.
It's more like 25% of their budget.
https://www.statista.com/topics/7725/cpg-industry-advertisin...
Location: Boulder, CO & remote
Remote: Yes
Willing to relocate: No
Technologies: Google, Facebook, and Microsoft marketing stacks.
Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertwavering/
Email: [email protected]
Calendar: https://app.hellobonsai.com/s/shinyclick/30
Location: Boulder, CO & remote
Remote: Yes
Willing to relocate: No
Technologies: Google, Facebook, and Microsoft marketing stacks.
Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertwavering/
Email: [email protected]
Calendar: https://app.hellobonsai.com/s/shinyclick/30
- Scheduling/calendar for client intros and meetings.
- Client info is then available to create a project.
- I track time to a project as I work on it.
- I invoice monthly or at the end of the project.
- Forms for collecting feedback and testimonials.
- Tax tracking for knowing how much I owe the IRS every 3 months.
It doesn't do any one thing outstandingly, but having a single point of reference for all my clients and my business interactions with them is really valuable. I looked at a few similar options (https://www.withmoxie.com/, https://www.waveapps.com/) but Bonsai beat them on functionality and usability.
The main part of Bonsai that I don't use is project management - that always happens in email/slack/asana/monday.
Scheduling, quarterly estimated taxes, and longevity are worth paying for but I wish it wasn't so steep.
Location: Boulder, CO and remote
Website: https://www.shinyclick.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertwavering/
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Need help putting your product or marketing data to use? Struggling to grow your website/app/marketing? I have over 10 years of experience working with developers and designers to measure and improve marketing campaigns and in-app user flows to acquire and retain paying customers. Past customers include software companies of all sizes: Google, Bonusly, Homechart, and many other non-software companies.
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Platforms: Google Analytics, Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Search Console, Hotjar, Capterra
Skills: PPC, SEO, Digital Analytics, Marketing Strategy, A/B Testing, Voice of Customer Research & Implementation
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Interested? Send a description of your project and what you're looking for help with to [email protected], or grab some time on my calendar here: https://app.hellobonsai.com/s/shinyclick/30
You might like Amy Hoy, both for her business advice and practice; she has an autoimmune disease that strongly impacts the way she runs her company.
https://stackingthebricks.com/
What kind of analysis have you been doing? Could you write about your process as a way of attracting consulting clients or selling a guide (or both?)
There are also Dynamic Search Ads which automate even more of the process of setting up a campaign based on your current website: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2471185?hl=en
10+ years of experience designing, measuring, and improving cross-channel digital marketing campaigns (SEO, PPC, social, email, etc.) to find and communicate with your target audience.
I've worked on some great projects through HN - get in touch and let's market your product or service!
Location: Boulder, CO
Remote: Yes.
Willing to relocate: No.
Technologies: Google Analytics, Ads, Tag Manager, and many more data and marketing tools.
Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertwavering/
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.shinyclick.com
I really like https://www.portent.com/onetrick/ for anyone looking for an intro to how analytics enhances marketing work.
Consulting might help with short-term cashflow at the risk of distracting from your product.
Nothing like getting away from the computer to play in the dirt once a week :)
I sympathize with your post-LOA feelings; going right back into the same environment is hard.
"Giving myself that gift … is a level of generosity that almost feels unimaginable." Well said and agreed; it can be emotionally challenging to name and act on doing good things for ourselves, particularly if supporting others is part of our life and identity.
The pros list is pretty significant in my opinion; it's a great strength to enter a sabbatical with a clear idea of how you want to use that time.
Not wanting to go back ever seems like a positive outcome :P
Could you get a more specific measure on how far back a break would set retirement? Are you in a position where you could retire now - sub chunky - and still survive?
When I got to the point where my barriers to leaving were mostly psychological, I ran through the following exercises to build the self-confidence I needed to put in my notice.
1. Writing down all the things that I was unhappy with in my current position, just to get them down on paper and make them more tangible.
2. Writing down all the things I was excited for, so that I could change my mindset from "I hate my job and should have quit a year ago" to "I'm excited to have the time and space to do the things I want to".
3. Writing down all the things I had achieved at work in a way that made it feel like a complete project that I could feel good leaving.
4. Reviewed the non-monetary needs my job fulfilled (social network, work impact, etc.) and sketched out how I would meet those needs during my break.
5. Gave myself a semi-artificial deadline of leaving around my 10 year anniversary, for no reason other than it was a nice round number.
Let me know if this is helpful!
It may be useful to do some budgeting to see if you can juice your savings in the short term and reduce your recurring expenses to give yourself a longer sabbatical timeline. This can be challenging to do if you're already emotionally numb, but I found planning an escape from work to be an exciting escape in and of itself.
If you end up taking a break, you'll have time to reflect on other things you'd like to do that don't elicit the same numbness you're experiencing right now. There are plenty of ways to build identity and confidence that aren't full-time tech employment.
Some things that were useful when I was thinking about quitting:
1. Auditing my assets to see what I could pull from on short notice without impacting my tax situation or retirement savings.
2. Reviewing this guide (https://www.academia.edu/9672192/MDD_Major_Depressive_Disord...) to verify that I was burnt out and not depressed; I didn't want to quit if I was depressed and not burned out. Had I been depressed, the move would have been to get on therapy through my company insurance.
3. Journaling about how I felt, what I didn't like at my job, and what I was looking forward to on break.
I don't know if I'll go back to the same type of work or industry, but my time spent reflecting on my goals, enjoying hobbies, and sleeping is already paying off tremendously.
I see some people mentioning the stress of not having a job during an economic downturn, but I find there's a certain amount of peace to it; I've already lost my job so I don't have to worry about that happening in the future.
The idea with replacement is that it's hard to say no to something, but easier to say yes to something slightly different (a nonalcoholic alternative).
Don't have any booze around, but do have lots of seltzer and tea.
The article you cited mentions CRUX data[1], which comes from the Google Chrome browser, not Google Analytics. That data is reported to website users in the form of the Core Web Vitals report, which is a different product than Google's ranking algorithm. Although similar data is probably used as a ranking factor, you can't conclude that from this support documentation.
I took a bit of time off, then started exploring how people use their time on sabbatical to learn new skills, work on personal projects, raise kids, travel, etc.
After talking with a bunch of people about their experiences, the high-stakes feeling you observed is pretty common - I think people tend to underestimate the emotional aspects of taking a break from work.
My current transition plan is to spend a bit more time studying sabbaticals and turn that into something concrete (a book/guide and coaching) before doing some part-time consulting with my professional skills (marketing analytics) to cover my living expenses ala CoastFIRE.
I think there's a gap in part-time professional work - it's really hard to find long-term, part-time positions that take advantage of professional skills and offer benefits.
If you want to bounce ideas off someone who is also trying to thread the needle I'd love to chat more.
This involves talking with people about their experiences and writing about what I've learned from them and observed from my own sabbatical.
If anyone is curious, I have some posts up at https://www.albertwavering.com/tags/sabbatical/ and would love to chat with anyone who is thinking about or currently taking a break.