As independent business owners, we’re always in a cycle.
Be visible. Create opportunity. Convert leads. Deliver work. Repeat.
Alongside everything else. Operations. Planning. Finance.
Many plates spinning.
Many things to juggle.
And sometimes, something stops.
A plate slows down.
A ball gets dropped.
I didn’t write a Quick PINT for two weeks.
One week I didn’t even make Vinylly Friday.
In my head, that still mattered.
Consistency. Discipline. Showing up.
But in those same two weeks, I delivered messaging for an independent lawyer, naming for a new coaching programme, and a campaign identity for an author reframing modern African and global conflict through archive-driven history and its links to the Second World War.
I launched a Substack.
Built a new workshop on creative thinking in an AI world.
That’s the work.
But when you show a client some work, and they respond, “That lights my fire”, you don’t question whether you’re showing up.
And the missing Quick PINTS?
No complaints.
No fallout.
No one chasing me for Friday’s email.
The plate didn’t break.
It just wasn’t the one that mattered most that week.
So keep your plates spinning.
But don’t treat them all the same.
Some matter more than others.
If something drops, pick it up when it’s worth picking up.
Enjoy your Quick PINT.
This week in brands
Florsheim Shoes, founded Chicago (1892)
Supposedly, you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. I’m usually in blue Adidas Sambas. Meanwhile, Trump has been giving advisers and visitors to the White House a pair of Florsheim shoes. Not always the right size, but they wear them anyway.
David Smith
Buy a pair of Oxfords from the store
This week in bands
The Blue Notebooks, Max Richter (2004)
Max Richter keeps appearing. Most notably, On the Nature of Daylight is used across multiple films, including the recent Wuthering Heights. The Blue Notebooks is a neo-classical protest album responding to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Now over 20 years on, it still feels current. Worth revisiting.
Listen on Spotify
