Posts by Mark Darwin
Stop Overthinking SMS Start With Cart Abandonment
Marketers keep staring at last quarter’s charts and miss what matters now. I’ve built companies on a different rule. Compare your performance to the market today, not your past. That mindset shift is the difference between spinning and scaling. It’s also why brands hesitating on SMS are leaving money on the table. Here’s my stance.…
Read More8 ways to lead your company without abandoning yourself
If you’re building a company right now, there’s a good chance you’ve quietly started trading pieces of yourself for progress. You say yes when you mean no, push through burnout because “this is what founders do,” and shape-shift depending on who’s in the room. From the outside, it can look like commitment. From the inside,…
Read More7 hard lessons founders learn about self-worth and results
Founders often begin their journey with a powerful belief that effort equals outcome. Work harder, move faster, care more, and success should follow. Over time, reality introduces a more complicated equation. The gap between self-worth and results becomes one of the most difficult things to understand and accept. These lessons are rarely taught directly, but…
Read MoreMoney Comes And Goes, Curiosity Stays
Entrepreneurship tests your spirit. The wins feel great. The grind can feel brutal. My take is simple: money is a byproduct, not the point. Purpose and curiosity keep you going when the day feels heavy. My stance: build a life that fuels your drive, then build the business. If your why is real, the cash…
Read More8 ways to rebuild confidence after a public failure
Failure is already hard when it’s private. When it happens in public, a failed launch on Product Hunt, a botched pitch, a visible shutdown, it can feel like your identity took the hit, not just your business. Most founders won’t admit how much that moment lingers. You replay it, you assume everyone else is replaying…
Read MoreIs a Forklift Certification Worth It? What People Don’t Say
Getting a forklift certification isn’t usually something you plan in advance to get. It’s something you hear about from a job listing or someone you know. After you look into it, you realize it could lead you in a new direction pretty quickly. That’s the appeal. Earning a forklift certification is not the same as…
Read MoreThe Leadership Skill Most CEOs Don’t Develop Until It’s Too Late
Look through the lineup of leadership training courses from high-profile, respected organizations. Check out the latest bestsellers that are topping the leadership charts. When you do, you’ll notice a common trend. Most, if not all, of the topics talk about ways to get to the top. What you’ll find is a lot of delegation, decision-making,…
Read MoreStop Overthinking Tools—Let ROI Decide
Marketing leaders love debates about tools. I’ve sat in those rooms for years, building companies and advising brands. The truth is simple: if a tool makes more money than it costs, use it. If it doesn’t, move on. No ego. No theater. Just math. The opinion I’m staking here is blunt: ROI should decide your…
Read MoreThe Talent Pool Your Supply Chain Competitors Aren’t Looking At
Most supply chain hiring strategies are built around one channel: the inbound application. That channel reaches, at most, 30% of the available workforce. The other 70% are employed, performing, and not looking at job boards. Naturally, this makes it more difficult to find the right talent for your business. Where Most Companies Are Looking The…
Read More7 mindset shifts that turn a founder into a real leader
If you’ve been building for a while, you’ve probably felt the shift creeping up on you. What used to be about shipping faster, closing your first customers, and proving the idea now feels heavier. Decisions affect people, not just product. Your calendar fills with conversations instead of code or campaigns. And quietly, you start wondering…
Read More