The Marketer's Exit

Connor Lewis's revenue has gone from $114K in year one to $448K, to $858K, to pacing $1.3M in year four. What the numbers do not show is the year he was crying at Christmas, barely making rent in Boston, and seriously applying for creative director roles because he thought he had made a mistake. His then-girlfriend talked him out of it. He is glad she did. This episode covers all four years.0:00 – Intro4:47 – From video intern to a team of three at Predictive Index and the layoff that started everything8:06 – Going all in on a $10K severance check with no sales skills and no LinkedIn presence13:57 – Year one rock bottom: $70K revenue, 60-hour weeks, and applying for jobs at Christmas17:22 – The pricing evolution and why Tas immediately told him $40K starting price was still too low19:13 – What the full Studio Lewis deliverable actually looks like for a $40K engagement25:09 – The workshop: $5K to start, applied as a credit, 60% close rate, and why it changed everything29:09 – Choosing project-based over retainer and building an offboarding engine that drives renewals40:24 – Iris, the first full-time hire, and what Connor does now instead of running shoots himself43:05 – The $30K project that was never used, the on-set disaster, and the client who came back#FreelanceMarketing #VideoMarketing #SoloFounderConnect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41 Tas Bober – linkedin.com/in/tasbober The Marketer's Exit – themarketersexit.com

Dave Gerhardt thought he was burnt out on B2B marketing. He was actually just burnt out on being alone. He had close to $1M a year, a community, a newsletter, a podcast, and nobody to complain to when something went wrong. This episode, live at the Exit Five event in Stormont, is the most candid version of that story he has probably told.0:00 – Intro4:21 – Why the Drift return did not work and why being a disruptor to the existing team was not sustainable6:54 – Solo consulting, $10K a month from a few companies, and why it felt like the answer7:01 – DGMG to Exit Five: Patreon, Facebook group, flagship sponsors, and almost $1M solo9:14 – Dharmesh as an OG Facebook member and the naming advice Dave took seriously13:38 – Moving the community off Facebook, losing $30K a month, and doing it anyway15:44 – Burning out and nearly walking away to start something completely different16:22 – The email to Dan, the offer structure, and what happened when Dan saw the numbers19:16 – Realizing he was burnt out on being alone, not on the work21:21 – Building a team of nine and landing close to $5M with no outside capital22:19 – What the creator plus operator model actually looks like day to day30:13 – Momentum creates clarity and why waiting until you are ready is the wrong move#B2BMarketing #CreatorEconomy #FreelanceMarketingConnect with the hosts:- Tim Davidson – https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41- Tas Bober – https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober- The Marketer's Exit – https://themarketersexit.comGuest Speaker: - Dave Gerhardt – https://linkedin.com/in/davegerhardt/

Eric MacColl spent 15 years climbing the in-house ladder from a paid search agency to Scripted to Lyft to Atlassian, where he watched his team grow to 60 people and realized he had stopped doing any actual marketing. He was being managed up and out of the work he loved. Four and a half years into running Demand Gen Solutions, mostly from referral business. 0:00 – Intro0:55 – Agency to Scripted to Lyft to Atlassian and the Tom Brady on the sidelines moment6:12 – How the first clients came in from former Atlassian colleagues9:00 – 80 to 90% referral business and the network plays that made it possible12:58 – Flat rate retainers, four-client cap, and how he manages scope creep17:20 – Why he struggles to scale and why he keeps choosing to go deeper instead22:10 – The Emily Kramer recommended contractor list and what it did for inbound25:00 – The private equity portfolio model and why it reduces how often he has to sell40:49 – The March gap, the tax bill he did not see coming, and the interview calls he started taking47:09 – Why he does not post on LinkedIn and what happens every time he does49:37 – $30K a month, a one-year-old, a new house, and why San Francisco keeps him from slowing down#FreelanceMarketing #FractionalMarketing #SoloConsultantConnect with the hosts:Tim Davidson – linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41Tas Bober – linkedin.com/in/tasboberThe Marketer's Exit – themarketersexit.com

Eric Linssen spent years running Demand Collective as a paid community that stayed stuck at 80 members no matter what he tried. Then he got laid off, gave himself one quarter to make it work, switched to a free model funded entirely by annual sponsorships, and watched everything click. He is now 700 members in, has 9,000 newsletter subscribers, and runs it completely solo from San Diego. In this episode he tells the full story.0:00 – Intro3:27 – What Demand Collective is, who gets in, and why the membership criteria matter5:22 – Six failed side hustles before this one, including a hot tub rental business and a TikTok analytics tool8:41 – Why the paid model stalled at 80 members and what the pivot actually changed11:11 – 700 members, 9,000 newsletter subscribers, and the Demand Day Summit with 1,600 registrants14:39 – Why sponsorships work inside a community of marketers and how category exclusivity is handled17:19 – The content philosophy behind the community: practitioner-first, no vendor bias, zero how-to fluff23:42 – Annual contracts, five sponsors, and why shorter deals are a bad deal for everyone29:22 – How much work it actually takes to run this solo and what a normal week looks like59:04 – The camel vs racehorse framework and his advice on surface area for luck59:56 – Would he go back in-house? The most honest answer any TME guest has given#FreelanceMarketing #CommunityBuilding #SoloFounderLinks:• Tim Davidson – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41• Tas Bober – http://linkedin.com/in/tasbober• The Marketer's Exit – http://themarketersexit.com/

Before you sign your next brand deal, watch for these red flags.Most brand partnership advice stops at getting the deal. This episode is what happens after: when to send the numbers, how to frame a renewal conversation, what to put in a contract, and the red flags that tell you a brand is going to be more trouble than it is worth.0:00 – Intro2:50 – Two-part performance reporting: one week out and one month out5:13 – Impressions, saves, sends, and the qualitative callouts that make a report stand out8:34 – When to use a deck versus a screenshot and how to match the format to the partnership12:09 – Asking for a renewal and the one-sentence framing that keeps the door open14:02 – How Tas has expanded her Unbounce partnership over three renewals by pitching what she was already going to create19:09 – Hashtag ad, the brand toggle, and why Tas stopped using both26:49 – Creative freedom as a non-negotiable and what happens when a brand starts editing your voice33:00 – The walking billboard problem and how many sponsored posts is too many in one week34:11 – Contract terms to watch for, payment red flags, and the impression-based pay deal to always decline#BrandPartnerships #FreelanceMarketing #LinkedInMarketingConnect with the hosts:Tim Davidson – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41/Tas Bober – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober/The Marketer's Exit – https://themarketersexit.com/