Jonathan’s Daily List
For freelancers, consultants, and other independent professionals who want to make more and work less without hiring.
Yes, it’s actually daily. And yes, people actually stay subscribed.
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Hey Jonathan! Your newsletter is one of the best, if not the best, that I’ve seen. I think you’ll be able to easily compile these lessons into a mini-ebook and sell it. Keep up the good work!
Holy sh*t, nuggets like this are why I love your daily mails.
This is probably one of best analogies I’ve ever read.
Jonathan,
This is solid gold! I have been struggling with how to deal with this myself. Thank you so much for sharing this.
I just want to thank you for all the knowledge bombs you’re dropping on a daily basis. I’ve truly learned a ton ever since I signed up for your newsletter.
i love this email and am working through each fogginess for each business I have. An enormously clear, concise and helpful email - thanks again. if i had a printer id stick it on my wall
OMG Jonathan this is brilliant and so bag on the money! Just home from a Joomla conference and this was the first email I opened. So grateful for your insights. Have a super day! Alison
Jonathan, you are good!! I read every email you send. I love your style and how you use analogies to get readers to understand what you’re teaching. Thank you for your consistency and wisdom.
Jonathan, This is a really profound post, at least for me right now. I’ve been wrestling with this concept but without knowing it. The way you’ve phrased it brings so much clarity. Thank you!
Your daily emails are nuggets of wisdom that push your community to think differently. The lesson/story structure helps drive the point home as welll. TLDR: These are incredibly valuable Jonathan. Thank you! Best, Jonathan Acuña
Jonathan Acuña
Dear Jonathan, Your emailed pearls of wisdom are quickly adding up to a serious jewelery collection, thank you most graciously for your insight and inspiration. All the best
J, Out of all the kick ass emails you send out, this one was beyond amazing and resonated. I’m also a little jealous...as a website consultant I wish I had thought about saying it this way...because, well, nothing could be farther from the truth about a website. Rock on!
Honestly, of all the email lists I subscribe to, not only is yours is the daily one I’m still opted into, but your emails are the only ones I typically find myself reading from beginning to end. That’s because they’re never, ever a waste of my time. They’re always thought-provoking and inspirational. They always add value. That’s a truly amazing thing to pull off, and you do it so well. Thank you. :-)
Hi Jonathan I been following your stuff for a little over a month but it really clicks with me. I can’t tell you how many sales/marketing/business books i’ve read and gurus I’ve watched, but your content is so simple and powerful you just get straight to the point and offer practical steps to take right now. I love it man, I already read through your PDF books and you’ve answered almost all the questions that been in the back of my mind keeping me up this last few years. I am really excited and looking forward to putting all of these steps into play, you’ve already given me so much clarity, and really have been a tremendous inspiration. Thank you. -Mike
Hi Jonathan,
I find the information you provide to be freaking amazing.
A little bit about me is that I am a developer for a little over 10 years, which I have focused on web development for the last 5-6 years. I am starting up my own consultant business now and I am in the process of defining what I want to do and what audience I would like to help.
The topics I need the most help with are client acquisition, pricing, and proposals. I look forward to reading your emails in the near future. They have been very helpful thus far and a great resource for me as I get started building my business.
I wanted to send this email to say thank you for sharing your expertise and to keep being awesome!!
Thanks, Karl E.
Hey Jonathan! I’ll make this quick, I f’ing love your emails, there aren’t many email lists that I actively look forward to reading every day, but I love taking a 5 minute break from my work to digest your daily email, it always inspires and informs me and is part of my daily routine now. This latest one today with the podcast, soooo damn good. I’m a web designer currently trying to build a productized service business for independent music artists and this podcast just had so much value in it for me I’ve already listened to it twice back to back and shared it with about 3 people. That’s all I wanted to say.... THANK YOU! DJ
Daniel James
Hi Jonathan, Just wanted to let you know I really appreciate your insight and newsletters-Your perspectives and examples are great! You really have a talent to digest difficult situations and produce crystal clear outcomes. I’m a Rhode Island based graphic designer and recently discovered you from your appearance with The Futur w/ Chris Do. Thanks for what you do for the design community! -Max VanDexter
Jonathan is probably the best person to follow online if you’re trying to grow your expert business. He is very knowledgable, experienced and his advice is always great. I’ve used Jonathan’s advice on marketing and niching down and I’ve already seen great progress even though it’s only been like 3 months. I’ve built my personal website where I talk about my ideal client persona, their pains, and goals and how I can help them solve them. It has been an amazing tool that has enabled me to position myself higher than other developers, gain more respect from clients and win some projects just because of my positioning and website. So if you’re a developer, designer or a consultant you should definitely listen to Jonathan’s advice, implement it and you will see results soon :)
Hi Jonathan,
Charge MORE for the stuff I find easy and enjoy. I LOVE this idea!!!
I love to get an email that makes me stop and think. Thanks for consistently writing to us each day. It’s much appreciated!
After hearing about Jonathan on Wes Bos’ Syntax podcast, it was honestly a life-changing moment to read what he was teaching. As a self-employed developer, it aligned with my goals for my business growth, and the offering I wanted to provide clients.
I read Jonathan’s books, listened to his podcasts, and then engaged Jonathan to help me with a client proposal. He helped me lock down on a proposal that resulted in my client signing off a proposal for double their communicated budget.
This put me in a position for the project discovery, where once I would be concerned about scope creep, I instead knew that I had enough of a budget to provide outstanding value to my client, do everything they wanted, and give 150% to the project, with a large ROI for the client. Win-Win for the client and me. This is how working with clients should be.
Jonathan, The Introduction Game exercise has been SO INCREDIBLY VALUABLE! And has secured your newsletter as the best one I’ve ever read! Thank you!
Jonathan Stark’s campaign against hourly billing made sense to me when I first heard it, but I had no idea how to put it into practice. Also, Jonathan seemed to be talking to such big companies, I was wondering if my situation would be really something to trouble him with.
As soon as I asked my first question, my concerns were dissolved. Jonathan’s a master at active listening, no matter how messy you think the problem is, and he comes up with creative but practical solutions to help solopreneurs to punch above their weight.
– Anthony English
OK. Mind officially blown.
You’ve left me speechless with how much you’re helping me.
Phew (deep breath)
I’ll start assimilating all of this and work on the mindset shift.
You’re the “Freelancer’s Adam Levine”.
Thank you, Jonathan.
Thank you, Jonathan!
Your emails are so valuable, I just realized that I’ve been marking every single one of them with a star. I’ve never done that to anyone else’s newsletter.
All the best, Chris
I used Jonathan’s retainer template to land a support and mentoring contract. The client got peace of mind and the assistance they needed, and I got an effective hourly rate of close to $1,000!
Jonathan - I used your proposal as a template for a job I pitched yesterday. They LOVED it. Not only did they love it, they picked option 3 (the highest priced option) and want to put me on retainer after the final project payment. And as you suggested, I asked for 50%/50% with a set final payment date and they agreed - it’s freaking brilliant! Because of your instruction this month, I had the balls to ask, and the client didn’t bat an eye. I never thought about fixed date before but will never do it another way. Thanks!
WIN! just got back a signed proposal for a retainer client using Jonathan’s exact template and won the deal! Client went through my ISO roadmap first and was happy to move forward with the planned proposal. The extra awesome thing is she wants to move up to option 2 of the proposal in 3 months!
— Isha Bell
Jonathan should have a warning label on his head. His advice will shake your world.
Jonathan, I just read your article on asking for 100% payment up-front. It’s not too often you come across something life-changing. Muchas.
Being on Jonathan’s daily emails is the next best thing to having him with you when you’re with the client. Answers just come to your lips, and suddenly you’re no longer a hands-on techie; you’re respected as a consultant.
Jonathan, Your email list is amazing. I’m on other lists, and some of them have an occasional useful email stuck between sales pitches glued to a billion different unrelated stories. I look forward to each of your emails, and I’ve referred back to them more than once already.
Hi Jonathan,
I love, love, love your e-mails. It’s like a daily shot of B12 for my business. Keep ’em coming.
Jonathan,
Just noticed something I felt I had to share with you, and it gives me an excuse to thank you for your extremely valuable emails.
I am absolutely obsessed with maintaining Inbox Zero; my email inbox is reserved for messages that require immediate action or content I need to re-read and commit to memory. I’ve attached a screenshot which basically shows that every email you’ve sent over the last week has been stuck in my inbox because I keep re-reading them.
Can’t describe how much I appreciate your content. Thanks!
Jonathan,
I read all your posts in one sitting, and the proposal. Pure genius.
Thanks for the insights.
Jonathan,
Your daily emails are pure gold for a commoditized .Net contractor like me.
...riveted, waiting for the next one.
BTW, the conversation last week on the FS podcast with the guy that owned an agency, was mind-blowing. I’m that guy, only as a solo dev, not an agency owner.
Hi Jonathan:
Your email series is pure gold. Particularly I’ve been stumbling upon the "coming too early with the why" problem you mention here and once I refrained myself from doing it, things made a dramatic change.
If I had to limit myself to just one advice for the new comers it would be this: let them talk first!
Thanks. This is really helpful.
Hi Jonathan! I am going to print this email out, laminate it... and read it every morning before I start work :)
Man you don’t stop - these emails are so stinking good. Keep it up and thank you!!
Jonathan, you finally convinced me to drop the hourly rate. I’m done. I’ve now sent out two quotes without hourly rates. Just wanted to say thank you.
Hey Jonathan -
Just today I closed a new client, the first one where I borrowed a few pages from your playbook to get the initial engagement. I pitched a short ‘Tech Assessment’ for $3K, due %100 up-front. I actually used your proposal template, including the de-risking guarantee.
They read the proposal and just responded asking how they can wire the funds, as sending a check will take too long. ZERO pushback :) Granted, its a small initial project, BUT these guys are a canonical example of my target ideal client, so I’m very pleased.
Thanks for your continued inspiration and excellent guidance! Keep on, brother!!
– Terry Bissonnette
Jonathan,
These tips are just facepalm moments when I think "why didn’t I think of these!
Thanks for all of the value you provide! Especially around value pricing! I’ll never bill by the hour again!
