Intro to Just One Human
I've been in tech my whole entrepreneurial career (three businesses, two exits, having those high highs and the lowest of the lows, for over 20 years now).
But it feels like something everything has changed. (Or is it just me?)
It used to be so exciting. The internet was magical. What promise!
With my first business, I was selling websites and hosting. I cold-called people to grow it. After getting past those who hung up on me, I was able to talk to people every day and build long-standing relationships that I still have today.
With my second business, I rode the wave of social media, but some of the magic was lost. I didn't actually like social media. I didn't have any profiles, and I certainly didn't participate, create content, or leave comments. Hell, I barely touched my LinkedIn profile. Cold-calling was out, and social media marketing was in (and the beginning of a trend of disconnecting the human side of sales in businesses was started). And, as we can all look back and see, it was (and is) a double-edged sword. Even though I was successful, I constantly questioned whether I was actually providing any true value with strategies for a better reputation and more "likes."
In my third business, I wanted to help people streamline their operations to build scalable systems using tools like Asana, ClickUp, and Monday. My goal was to help teams work better together, ensure employees don't show up to work in tears due to stress, and support leaders in improving their soft skills. It was hard. Nobody wanted to work on that part of their business – at least until AI came out. Now, everyone wants AI to run their whole business.
Today, I help leaders and teams build systems, but not to replace teams, to empower them. We can't avoid AI, it's here to stay. All I can do is try to help keep business as human as possible (while still staying competitive).
But the magic is gone.
Technology IS a double-edged sword. And, maybe because of that, I feel like I've lost touch. Not just with others, but with myself.
Screens absorb my day. Doomscrolling is a constant habit. I get phantom vibrations on my leg when my phone isn't in my pocket (and when it is, it's difficult not to look at it every 5 minutes).
...and that's the point of this publication:
To question where we are at, what we're doing, and hopefully help others who might be feeling the same way.
I don't know if anyone will read this, but maybe, if nothing else, it will inspire you to start writing just for the joy of it. And if that's the case, I would consider this publication a success.
Will you join me on this journey?
Some important notes about my process:
- I start writing most pieces by hand, in a notebook. I'm usually at a coffee shop or somewhere around other people.
- Outside of a little help from Grammarly catching my dumb mistakes, I am not using AI to write or compose anything in this publication.
- I have no motive other than to write and hope it resonates with someone else. (But, in all honesty, if writing ever turned into a full-time opportunity... well, I wouldn't turn that down either.)