What I'm working on right now.

In flight

• Factory Finish (auto refinish, St. Louis) — pricing repositioning and the site rebuild that comes with it. Owner is moving the shop out of price-shopping territory.
• Xcalibur Tools (industrial B2B) — same owner, second engagement. Brand and sales-system work for a category most buyers don't know exists.
• Darya Transport — two owner-operators turning a two-truck operation into a logistics company. Strategy, naming, and the first version of the sales motion.

Capacity

2 slots, Q3 2026. I take two engagements at a time. If the timing matters, the conversation should start now — [email protected].

Not doing

• No pure advisory retainers without a build component — I work better when I'm also shipping.
• No agency-of-record relationships. Project or fractional only.
• No crypto, no gambling, no MLM, no work that needs a Series A pitch deck.
• No new speaking until Q1 2027.

Thinking about

The gap between what a small business owner says they want from marketing and what would actually move their P&L. Drafting a short essay on it — expect it in the Playbook in June.

Also: why "AI-first" is the wrong frame for most $1M–$30M businesses, and what the right frame is. Less certain here — still listening.

Reading

• Obviously Awesome, April Dunford — third re-read, different book each time.
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz — recommended to a founder last week and realized I hadn't opened it in five years.
• Practical Typography, Matthew Butterick — for the next site I'm building.

Off the desk

Long Saturday walks in Forest Park. Trying to fix my serve. Cooking more — finally.