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Maypop Creative Studio

Strategy-first design thinking—for solopreneurs who are done duct-taping their tech. The newsletter that does what your tech said it would.

🛶There's a secret Door #3

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ I got an inquiry recently from someone who wanted to work with me but thought her only two options were to keep DIYing her site… or book an $9K+ custom project. She had no idea there were three other ways to tackle it. Well, yeah - if those...

🛶 I thought I was so smart

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ Sigh. Here goes. About 4 years into running my cheese shop and wine bar, I decided to build a whole-ass ecommerce site for the business. It seemed like the next thing to do, y’know? To get on the same stage as the big boys. And because I...

You’re probably ghosting people…

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ You know that awkward moment when you submit a contact form and then…nothing? No thank you, no confirmation, no clue if your message even went through.😬 Not the best first impression, right? Your website is more than just a pretty...

🛶 She bolted. Obviously.

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ This has taken up 98% of my brain cells since Friday: I saw this video last week with a guy who planned a surprise engagement after dating someone for just a few months. He invites both families, rents a fancy venue, hires a photographer –...

🛶 Cool, bruh, I've got flour and yeast

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ Remember Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books? I freaking loved those. → Turn to page 23 if you want to explore the underground cave…→ Turn to page 45 if you decide to follow the mysterious noise... They work because every choice leads somewhere...

🛶 The upgrade I finally admitted I needed

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ The deer scampered away. The car hobbled. 👉 That's our 11-year-old SUV after a close encounter on a country road last year. The front bumper was hanging on by sheer determination and some zip tie magic a woman in the grocery store parking...

🛶 7 hours, 11 touchpoints, 1 problem

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ I'll be honest – I've been avoiding this conversation. Not because the topic isn’t important (it’s HUGE), but because it's something I’ve been struggling with myself: how are we expected to build trust without turning into a content creation...

🛶 The most valuable thing I offer

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ When I was younger I had to be right about everything. Was scared to be wrong & scared to make a mistake. So I either did the thing “perfectly” - or walked away. Now that I have a PDA kid, it's much easier to say "whoops made a mistake, I'm...
gif of Amber Rose saying "You know what, no. I don't want to do this"

🛶 It's not just bc I'm bonkers about consent

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ It pains me to have to tell you this, but… Consent isn’t just for dating. Data privacy might not sound sexy, but it’s all about consent. And as business leaders, we aren’t just living in it. We get to decide it. Remember when I went on that...

🛶 How you know ChatGPT can't replace you

͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ ͏ ­ Sooo I had the most interesting convo with ChatGPT last week about wine for our anniversary dinner. And TBH? It was suuuuuper helpful. I was genuinely shook. But here's the thing. It was only because I knew what questions to ask. See, we...