The Sunday letters

Why this newsletter exists. What "building better online businesses" actually means. The three things most SMB websites get wrong before anything else.

Before you touch your website, audit the business. Who are your customers? What do they actually ask? Where does the money come from? A framework for clarity.

Why 14 of 15 local businesses are on a platform that limits them. The quiet costs of Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy — and when it's actually fine to stay.

Not a mission statement. Not a headshot. The five things every customer checks before they buy or book — and how most sites hide them.

Breaking down what a custom site actually costs vs. the time and revenue it recovers. Why "too expensive" is usually a math error.

Owning your code vs. paying forever. The long-term economics of custom vs. template — and when each one makes sense.

Which tasks to automate, which to keep personal. A decision framework for founders who don't want to become robots.

Why Instagram alone isn't a strategy. How to use social for discovery and your site for conversion — without burning out on content.

What to watch for when hiring someone to build your site. The five questions that separate pros from template-flippers.

From solopreneur to small team: how your online presence needs to evolve. Booking, payments, team management — in that order.

The long view. How the decisions you make about your site today affect your options in 3 years. Final letter in the series.