#003 - He said yes!

Author

Fernando Cao Zheng
February 05, 2023

Hola amigos,

Welcome to the 3rd issue of my newsletter!

This week went by in a flash but I've got some cool updates to share.

What went well/what did I achieve this week?

The biggest W for me this week was that I had my first sales call with a prospect.

This prospect was from an inbound lead who filled out my google forms.

It was a super chill call throughout and we were just talking like friends.

I started off by getting to know about him and what he was working on with his start-up.

I went through all of his problems, pain points, and his goals with his personal brand to see how it fit in the wider picture.

After stating how the service works and the transformation he can expect to receive, I stated the price...

He said he was happy to proceed!

So, all in all, a really positive outcome and he seems like an interesting guy doing some really cool things.

I told him that we should start in 1-2 months because his product doesn't launch until then so it would be best to wait.

This week, I want to work on the contract to send out to him so I can secure the deal.

I'm HYPED.

With the other prospect I had (the 7 fig dating coach), I kinda sacked it off because whilst doing research for the content I was writing for him, I didn't feel energized by it at all.

My framework for deciding whether or not to pursue business decisions is inspired by a conversation I had with my friend Connor Widmaier.

Choose the thing that gives you energy and that you feel excited to do. 

Chasing money is a route to depression, stress, and burnout.

Yes, it's a good idea to build cash flow at the start (what I'm doing), but after that, you need to lean into your Ikigai - your reason for being.

Remember the reason why you're quitting school/9-5 for entrepreneurship.

The final big W I had this week was one of my personal threads converted really well.

I'm adamant that putting personal photos/videos (especially of your face) is a hack to drive profile visits and followers who actually care about your content.

Here is the thread that got me ~250 new followers:

What didn't go well/what can I improve on?

Not too many L's this week tbh.

The biggest L this week was not using my limited time optimally.

I usually block out 2hrs from 5-7am every weekday to work on my personal brand/business and have something planned to do then.

However, when I don't have the resources to do the task or when there's high friction to complete it, those two hours are wasted.

Instead of falling for the sunk cost of driving through to complete the task, here's what I should've done:

  1. Plan out the 5-7am session with 1-2 specifc needle moving task I want to complete.

  2. Ensure that I have all the resources to complete it.

  3. Don't check my phone first thing in the morning (I end up wasting 10-20mins doing this sometimes)

I'll try this out and let you know how it goes.

The other L is making sure I don't take on too much and give myself time to rest.

Been getting so many call/twitter space requests recently and it's been getting overwhelming constantly being on calls.

I've severely cut down the number of calls each week by:

  • Only taking a set number of calls per week

  • Pushing calls later in the month

  • Cutting down the call time

I'm still working on this but I've started to focus on blocking out time for rest.

If any of you have any tips with how to plan for rest/calls. DM me on twitter or reply to this email pls.

What should I focus on this week?

Here's my main focus for this week:

  • Create a contract to send to my prospect

  • Clarify my brand pillars

  • Review my content strategy

  • Write 3 threads

  • Write 10-20 tweets

I will do this by optimizing my mornings and weekends:

  • Be clear on EXACTLY what I need to in the deep work session

  • Ensure I have everything I need to complete the task

  • No phone in the morning

I appreciate you taking the time to read this as always.

I hope it’s given you value in some way.

See ya next week.

Big love, Fernando

P.S. If you want more of my content, follow me on Twitter @thefernandocz (where I'm most active), or my podcast - The Fernando Cao Zheng Podcast. Links below: