Author / Nathan Coumbe

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Posts by Nathan Coumbe

My mission is to learn, inform, inspire, and improve. I am a passionate teacher, an avid writer, a leader of people, and a strategic thinker. Wherever I am, whatever the work I am called to do, my goal is the same: make my little corner of the world better for everyone in it. To do this, I ask better questions and solve more interesting problems for those I serve. Think deeply. Think often. Keep exploring. Always be curious.
by Nathan Coumbe

The correct thing? Or the right thing?

Sometimes we have a choice between what is correct and what is right.

What’s “correct” is often bureaucratic or compliant with rules and regulations. Often those same rules and regulations fly in the face of common sense, decency, and the dignity we owe others.

When a customer’s computer catches fire with no fault on their part, obviously due to a manufacturer’s defect, we have a choice. We can do the correct thing: quote the manual and say there’s nothing we can do. Or worse yet, we can say:

“You should have bought the warranty.”

Or we can do the right thing: acknowledge the problem and take responsibility. We can help the person who put her faith in us and our product or service.

Correct or right—it’s a choice.

We must improve our ability to make the proper choice when the time comes.

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by Nathan Coumbe

What’s Your “Why”?

Some people see this and think I mean “What gets you out of bed in the morning?”

They’d be wrong. Plenty of us have very little that gets us out of bed in the morning.

Maybe we have jobs we hate. Or tough relationships that don’t fulfill us. Or life situations we can’t seem to escape.

If you don’t have that “something” yet, think about it this way:

“What would make you WANT to get out of bed in the morning?”

My “why” has everything to do with my own personal freedom.

  • The freedom to rule my daily schedule
  • The freedom to control my income (however high or low I want it)
  • Freedom from debt
  • Giving my wife freedom to pursue whatever work, career, project, or lifestyle she desires

But I also feel I have a purpose that involves helping other people find freedom, happiness, and joy in their lives. And I genuinely believe the best way to do that is to help them create and run successful businesses or freelance practices.

Why? Because it’s the best way for them to have the freedom to live life on their terms. To do what they love and help the people they want to help. To make the difference they seek to make in the world. 

And I feel like I can achieve that purpose as a copywriter and marketer. That work helps people serve their customers, grow their businesses, and achieve the kind of freedom I’m talking about.

What’s your “why”? Tell me in the comments below.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Why Would You Intentionally Confuse Them?

If your goal is to get someone to buy from you (or trust, believe, understand, or empathize with you), why would you intentionally confuse them?

Why make it harder than necessary to get the information they need to make a decision?

Why use confusing phrases or vague points in an attempt to hide the cost of your product?

Do you think it makes them more likely to take action? Really it will frustrate them, damage any trust that’s already been built, and push them away.

“If you confuse, you lose.”

—Donald Miller

Make things direct and clear, especially prices. Don’t hide the truth because you’re worried about sticker shock or how someone will react.

If you feel the need to hide it, you might need to rethink what you’re doing. That goes for everything you do, not just selling.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Who’s It For?

Jason Bradwell tweeted this a while back:

“Too many businesses suffer from FOMO [Fear of Missing Out] when it comes to their marketing. ‘We NEED a podcast!’ We NEED to be on TikTok!’

We’re all marketers now, trying to change the culture and influence others (hopefully for the better). But we have a problem: we get so caught up trying to figure out the tools and tactics, we stop focusing on the people!

What if your target audience isn’t ON TikTok?

What if your ideal customers don’t LISTEN to podcasts?

Why use those platforms if they aren’t helping you reach the right people?

“Who’s it for?” is the first question we should be asking.

H/t to Seth Godin for teaching me what’s most important in marketing.

(Here’s the original post if you’re interested.)

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by Nathan Coumbe

Are you using “someday” to procrastinate?

Seth Godin wrote a very short blog post today you need to read. (Click here to read it)

I taught a class on this very subject yesterday afternoon. 

The students all had these grand plans to accomplish big goals for their budding businesses. But I told them: without a deadline to meet, they wouldn’t succeed.

By the end of it, all 71 of my students had a date certain for when they’d accomplish their goals. And we worked together to develop daily action steps to get there, too. 

“Someday” isn’t a day on the calendar. Declare your date and make it happen. 

(It never ceases to amaze me how Seth’s shortest posts seem to be the most insightful and relevant.)

Make sure you read his post here. And subscribe to his newsletter—it’s the most insightful email you’ll read each day.

by Nathan Coumbe

It’s Just a Simple Fear of Failing

Dan Miller sent out an email a couple of weeks ago entitled “Why Are You Stuck?” It struck a nerve in me, so I pinned that email to the top of my inbox and read it every day for the last two weeks.

Today, I finally took the time to craft a response and send it back to him. I thought I’d share it with you as well.

I’m a great writer—in fact, I do that in my day job. That, combined with my teaching experience, is why I was hired. Because I’m good at, and enjoy, writing, I keep thinking about, journaling about, and contemplating becoming a freelance copywriter as a 15-hour a week side business.

(Click here if you’d want to learn how YOU can start a business with only 15 hours per week)

I eventually want to become a full-time marketing consultant and a business coach for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business folks. I’m already doing the latter as part of my day job, just not as often as I’d like.

And…I keep getting cold feet, talking myself out of it. But today, I think I’ve finally been able to express what’s holding me back. It’s not a fear of cold-calling people or getting rejected…

I’m afraid I’m going to let them down! I’m afraid I’m going to fail to live up to my prices. Or write bad copy. Or that I’ll wireframe and write copy for a website, and it won’t work! I’m terrified of charging someone money for something and failing to deliver what I promised.

It seems disappointingly simple that my hold-ups come down to a simple fear of failure. But there it is. Dan asked me the question, and this morning I finally had an answer for him.

What’s holding you back? Maybe you’re thinking of starting a business or becoming a freelancer yourself. If so, I encourage you to click here and enter your email address.

You’ll instantly receive three free resources including 10 business ideas and how to start a business with only 15 hours per week!

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***Occasionally I include affiliate links in my posts for people and products in which I strongly believe. This is one of those posts.***

by Nathan Coumbe

They’re Just Figuring It Out As They Go

What do you do when your parents die? When you become the adult?

Now you’re the spouse, the parent, the one who’s supposed to have all the answers.

When you’re young, your parents seem larger than life—superheroes who can swoop in and save the day. They’re wise sages who seem to have an answer to every problem in the world.

But as you grow up, you realize a poignant point: they’re just trying to figure things out as they go.

Just like you.

So what do you do when your parents finally leave this world?

You go on, just as they did, trying to figure things out as you go. And you make a lot of mistakes, just like they did.

But now things are just a little bit quieter, a little emptier. You feel just a bit…lonely.

Goodbye, Dad.

by Nathan Coumbe

Life’s Too Short

Seth Godin’s blog this morning contained a statement that seemed to scream at me:

“If you’re simply speeding things up because you are in a hurry to get through it, it might be better to not do it at all.”

—Seth Godin, “Faster! Faster?”, 5/31/2021

If you’re rushing through something because you feel obligated to finish it, just quit!

No one says you HAVE to finish that book. Or that podcast. Or that online course.

We don’t have enough time to do everything we think we should do. We don’t even have enough time to do everything we want to do.

We have to pick and choose wisely so we get the most out of life we can. And if that means you’re three minutes into a podcast and lose interest, just turn it off. (Essentialism is a great book to help you make these decisions.)

My late uncle Alan thought the Compact Disk (CD) was the greatest invention in history, so much better than the cassette player.

When asked why, he said simply, “Life’s too short to waste on a bad song.”

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by Nathan Coumbe

What IS a Business—Really?

Here’s a simple definition from Donald Miller to help you understand what a business really is:

A business is a for-profit entity that solves problems for paying customers.

Let’s break this down:

For-Profit Entity

Without profit, a business can’t survive. Yet we’ve tied some evil stigma to the idea of a business making a profit. If they don’t make a profit, they can’t do the thing for which they are created. And what’s that?

They Solve Problems

THIS is the purpose of a business: to solve problems for people. And is that really such a bad thing? Wouldn’t you be happy to pay someone to solve one (or several) of your problems? Of course you would.

Now, there are numerous businesses out there that don’t solve problems for their customers, yet they still make a profit. Those exist only to get as much money from people as possible without providing any real value. That’s theft, and it’s both unethical and immoral.

The good news is those businesses tend not to last very long. How often did you do business with a company that gave you no return on your investment?

PAYING Customers

Paying customers… This is the hard part for a lot of us. We’d all love to be non-profits, helping as many people we can without them paying us a dime. But you can’t fill someone else’s cup if yours is empty.

Customers need to pay for what you’re offering them. Here’s why:

  • It lets you help more people because you have money to grow.
  • It incentivizes the customer to use what they paid for.

That last point is important. When someone pays for something, they are more likely to follow through with it. Whether you offer education, a service, or sell a product, the thinking goes, “I paid for this, so I might as well get my money’s worth.”

This simple definition of business has a lot of meat in it. It definitely helped me overcome my own issues with making money, because in the end we’re helping people.

We’re just doing it in a way that lets us keep the lights on. And lets us grow so we can help even more people.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Why I’ve Been Quiet for a Few Weeks

 Hello to all my loyal readers!

I’m sorry that I’ve been quiet for the past few weeks: I’ve been in the midst of a very intensive job hunt. After multiple interviews and offers from three different companies, I started my new job at Lurn Inc. this past Monday.

As a content developer, I’ll be creating all sorts of amazing educational content to help aspiring entrepreneurs succeed in life and business. I’ve been going through a lot of the content myself this past week, learning how they teach and do things. It’s felt like drinking from a firehose of knowledge.

I am part of a great team: a small group of former (and current) freelance writers who love to teach. It’s the perfect application of my skills, passions, and knowledge areas. I’m working with, and helping, people I want to be around, and I have an ideal workplace—home. 😀

If you’re interested in what Lurn has to offer, I encourage you to go to https://lurn.com and get a free account. There are lots of courses you can start immediately (for free). You might come away with new business ideas or new strategies and tactics if you already have a business.

Here’s to regular posting once again!

Yours truly,

Nathan

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