🖐 Happy Wednesday!

Issue #44 is 716 words— a 3.0-minute read.

1 big topic: Use Apple’s Recipe that Earns Billions

You have unlimited AI tools at your fingertips.

Why it matters: Using these tools in a vacuum can complicate your business rather than simplify it.

Zoom out: In 2023, the iPhone gave Apple 52% of its $298 billion in sales. ⁽¹⁾  

Apple used thousands of tools to build the iPhone.

Their secret is not tools.

Their secret is SMAC. ⁽²⁾

SMAC stands for:

• Specific steps

• Methodical steps

• and Consistent steps

Every iPhone team member uses the same set of operating principles (Apple’s SMaC recipe) to create the iPhone.

Apple’s SMaC stays consistent and keeps the iPhone team aligned toward a common goal.

Go Deeper: I reviewed several solopreneur business models and conversations to find examples of SMaC.

Here’s a quick list:.

(Notice that these practices include ‘what NOT to do’ along with ‘what to do.’)

• Create an email welcome sequence with exactly 4 emails that arrive precisely 48 hours and 30 minutes after one another; do not send emails on Sundays
  
  

• Write blogposts that target only low-volume keywords within a score range of 10 to 20
   
  

• Give each virtual assistant candidate the same business problem and then evaluate their solutions before you have a face-to-face meeting with your top choice
  
  

• DO NOT write copy for a website design if you’re not a copywriter
  
  

• DO NOT start any project until your client pays a 50% deposit of the project price
  

What’s next: Create your SMaC recipe in 10 to 20 steps.

Your steps should be easy to understand and simple to put into motion.

Each step should explain exactly what you do and do NOT do in your business.

👇 The bottom line:

New AI tools, competition, and customer preferences change daily.

The power of your SMaC recipe is twofold:

• You have a proven set of steps that deliver a repeatable, positive outcome for your customer
  

• You have a solid path to follow toward consistent sales

This week’s business story:

How Newspaper Surgery Helps Your Business

Jeff Bezos must decide if he should operate and remove a toxin (one of his key leaders) at The Washington Post.

Why it Matters: The deadliest virus in your business is the wrong person in the wrong role.

The backstory: I worked at The Washington Post for four years after college.

When Bezos bought the company in 2013, I knew he would bring fresh ideas.

I also knew many important team members might leave.

Bezos has to give the paper enough freedom to run day-to-day.

He also has to be sure the leaders he taps guide the newspaper in the right direction without hurting employee retention or long-term profits.

🔑 Takeaways from The Washington Post Crisis

• Evaluate every hire you make on two criteria: integrity (first) and business skills (second)
  

• Be ruthless about building and keeping a positive reputation in your industry; the wrong team member can undo in one day what took you years to build
  

• Fire quickly. The downside of keeping the wrong teammate for too long is greater than the downside of doing the tasks yourself
  

1 fun idea:

📽 This summer, my dad and I are catching up on great films that highlight an important piece of American history.

This week we watched The Big Short and Inside Job.

Two films that tackle the great financial crisis of 2008.

The best part of watching amazing films with the right person is the cool conversations that follow each movie.

I gain incredible insight into my dad’s upbringing, views, and perspective when he shares his impressions of a dynamic American chapter.

The extra bonus is that he often finds a way to tie the movie into a part of my solopreneur business.

It’s refreshing, helpful and memorable.

This summer, try to find a consistent series of events that you can share with your family or a close friend.

🙏 Frequency creates comfort and comfort creates precious memories.

Stay curious and keep opening doors.

-Erik

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Jitender Miglani, Apple Sales and Profit Analysis for FY 2023 - Top 10 Insights, Forrester, November 21, 2023, https://www.forrester.com/blogs/apple-sales-and-profits-analysis-for-fy-2023-top-10-insights/

⁽²⁾ Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, Great by Choice, Harper Collins, New York, 2011, pp. 128