Audience Building To Freedom And The Day I Got Escorted Out

Today I’m sharing my personal Independence Day story.

It ties perfectly into a recent article about audience building, and it's something you can start right now, even if your audience is just one person.

Independence Day

I’ll never forget the day I went from employee to suddenly self-employed.

It was July 3, 2013. It was a crazy start to a 4th of July weekend. My wife and kids were at home loading up the camper for our annual camping trip.

Just before noon, the human resource lady showed up at my desk, instructed me to pack up my belongings, and then escorted me out the door.

It was the last day I’d be showing up to work for a company, I had worked for 17 years up to that point.

Heck of a way to start a vacation (a very loooong vacation, as it turns out).

But looking back, that day happened in part because of an audience of one.

Here’s what I mean.

The Audience Shortcut

Dustin Reichmann shared this enlightening article with me during a recent coaching session.

The article is by Kit founder and CEO Nathan Barry and he talks about how having the right audience will change your career trajectory.

I totally aligns with my own story.

When I worked at Winona Lighting, I ran a fantasy football blog on the side. Turns out, the owner's son was secretly reading it, he was my audience of one (more on that in the article).

That blog was the reason I got asked to join the marketing team and help with the company’s website and manage their Google Ads and Google Ads. This set the stage for my eventual independence.

Check it the article and you’ll how you can set yourself up too:

MAN, I wish I wrote that because I've lived it.

You absolutely HAVE to read it, trust me. Do not pass go, do not collect $100… go now!

Then come back and read this…

Build in Public, Show Your Work

A few months back, I wrote about building in public.

It’s one of my favorite posts and fits perfectly with Nathan’s message of "Consume. Do. Document."

Go read to post. Aside from learning about building in public, you’ll get to see a dorky picture of me with a good book recommendation and get an AI prompt to help get you started.

Here's the link if you missed it:

AI Tip Of The Week

No AI from me today BUT I there is a prompt in the Build In Public post above. OR you can go check out our new sponsor to get your fix…

Music of the Week

Alanis Morissette - "Ironic"

Besides being famous for being called ironic but not actually being about things that are ironic, it’s the last line caught my ear:

It does. Especially when you put yourself out there and start creating your own luck.

Afterall, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”

Anyway, think about that while you listen to this live version from 2012, which ironically, doesn’t have this line in it.

Action Plan

Talk about what you're learning. Talk about how you're using AI or other new tools at work.

Be visible. Be useful. Get in front of the right people.

Starting a newsletter is an easy way to build in public and grow your audience—even if it starts with just one.

Grab a Beehiiv account ($) and get rolling.

Or, since I shared a post from Nathan Barry who is the founder of Kit, its only right that I give a shout out to his newsletter. You can start by joining Kit too (Yep, I use that too, I’ve been using it for years too - I’m geeky like that).

Go grab a free Kit trial ($)

You can’t go wrong either way.

Have a good one,

Corey

P.S. Ever had a hobby turn into something more? I’m curious - reply and tell me how it started.