THREE MILLS BAKERY

Founder

A. BAKER

Co-Founder

Two Before Ten Coffee Roasters

Founder / Director

I’ve built multiple businesses over the last 20 years, and the biggest lessons didn't come from scaling. They came from repairing.

Three Mills grew fast. Too fast. 0-140 people in the first 5 years.

We hit walls financially, operationally and culturally.

We were innovating at warp speed. Everything we implemented was soon outdated. It was chaos.

Instead of continuing to the point of failure, I started the hard work of fixing. 

Our crew fixed our margins, cleaned the legacy debt, reengineered products, rebuilt the team, redefined the story — and found clarity in the chaos.

Now, alongside leading Three Mills, I have a passion for helping other founders do the same.

What I talk about:
– Finding clarity when your story’s gone stale
– Maintaining company culture under pressure
– Fixing bloated businesses and broken margins
– Leading like a founder when everything feels heavy

What I (sometimes) offer:
– 1:1 advisory for brand-led businesses in the messy middle
– Practical systems for fixing without burning out
– Strategic intensives (in-person or virtual)

Where to read more:
Every Sunday, I drop one email about fixing businesses and the founder mindset. 
100% practical. No spam. And no, I'll never sell your details... Ever.

You might like reading it here - www.jarroddeaton.com.au

Otherwise, drop me a DM. 

I'd love to hear your story.

Jarrod Deaton

Last year, we took a bit of a risk and opened a new bakery outlet inside a Harris Farm supermarket

It's a bit of a new concept for us to be in this environment.

A full-scale artisan bakery inside the shop serving coffee, pie and pastries outside too was a stretch of the imagination.

We normally like stand-alone bakery stores tucked away in parts of the city where our wonderful clients are.

This one felt like a risk tbh.

It felt like we didn't have control over the customer experience or the types of people who interacted with our brand.

That can be problematic when there are competing values or customer perceptions don't align.

Thankfully only good things have happened since we open at Harris Farm in Majura Park.

It’s a great store.

The people are wonderful.

And our team is ripper.

Hope to see you out there.

three-mills-bakery

li_at

JSESSIONID

Talks about #brand, #business, #personalgrowth, #entrepreneurship, and #customerexperience

Founder & CEO, Three Mills Bakery | Building the next generation of food brands through craft, tech & culture | Writer of Fix Before You Scale

I baked these in my home oven on the weekend. 

They're a new version of our bake-at-home croissants.

Stored frozen. 

Ready to bake in one hour instead of doing them overnight.

You just gently egg-wash the top. 

And bake for 15 minutes. 

Pretty spectacular results in the home oven.

My house smelled so damn good.

No alternative text description for this image

Most founders only tell the story after they’ve won.

I’d rather share mine before the ending gets too shiny.

We were losing $40K cash a week and I thought selling more would fix it.

It didn’t.

If you’re in the messy middle, this one’s for you.

Swipe through these lessons would’ve saved me years.

The $40k per week reality check

I’ve had weeks recently where my calendar owned me.

Back-to-back meetings.
Lunch as an afterthought.
Late to the gym or not at all.
Zero time to actually think.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

If you’re in a leadership role and your week leaves no time for thinking, you’re not leading. You’re reacting.

So, here's my plan to get it back on tack:

Block 2 x 60-minute “no meeting, no calls” slots in the calendar weekly. 

Use them for one thing only: deep work on the 1–3 priorities that define your year.

Thinking is part of the job description.

If your schedule doesn’t reflect that, you’re playing an operational role with a leadership title.

Most people only focus on the wins. 
 
But in 2016 I lost everything. 
 
Financially wiped out when I walked away from a business partnership. 
 
But I wasn't done with business. 
 
Even though I interviewed at a few other places to work, each time it didn't feel right. 
 
It wasn't ego this time. 
 
Something in my bones told me to give business another go. 
 
With the support of my family, I accepted the terms to buy the used bakery equipment from my business partners and start again. 
 
I only had 2 weeks to pull it off if it was going to work... 
 
That's: 
 
- start a company 
- find bakery space 
- fit it out and open a cafe 
- handle legal, finance, banking, branding 
- move all the bakery equipment across town 
- and maintain the dozen or so wholesale clients we'd built up during that time. 
 
Crazy when I think about it today... 
 
I've always admired people who have started with nothing and built a life for themselves and here I was doing the same thing. 
 
It's incredible what you can do when your back is against the wall. 
 
But in saying that, none of it was a solo effort. 
 
Along the way, I've had incredible support from friends and family. 
 
Not to mention the wonderful team who've contributed to building each part of the vision. 
 
I rarely step back and admire it but I'm proud when I do. 
 
- 140 employees 
- Loads of wonderful clients 
- And some of the best sourdough and pastries around 
 
It's been a wild ride! 
 
Hugely grateful for every bit of it. 
 
My mates who lifted all the bakery equipment out of the basement and drove it across town. 
 
Those first few clients who walked in the door on day one. And every single one since. 
 
Our amazing team and all our families who back us. 
 
And a long list of wonderful suppliers, advisors and partners. 
 
Thank you all!

Most founders don’t fail because of their product.

They fail because they try to build everything alone.

This one’s for the founders grinding it out solo - thinking working harder is the answer.

It’s not.

Swipe through if you’ve ever felt like you’re carrying it all on your own.

Building solo feels noble. It’s actually reckless.

I never had an office at the start. 
 
I spent two decades hot-desking and working from cafe tables. 
 
But a couple of years ago I set one up above the bakery.
 
The result? 
 
My work output exponentially increased. 
 
Having a private space to focus on deep work for 3-4 hours daily has changed the game for me as an entrepreneur. 

- No distractions
- No juggling/multitasking
- No temptation to jump in and help.
 
I can only imagine the waste this must have created in huge corporate workplaces when the world switched to open-plan offices and hot-desking. 

For me, locking myself away for blocks of time has massively boosted my productivity. 

I highly recommend it.

The world didn't need another bread book.

So we wrote one that uses leftover bread!

You know all those bits you have left in the freezer or the tips of your artisan loaf that are too small to do anything with?

That's what we decided to focus on when we wrote ours.

We set out to make stale bread sexy.

So we got a bunch of talented chefs together who've worked the fine-dining scene all over the world and created dozens of recipes that you can recreate at home.

Whether you like cooking or not, we leaned into bespoke ceramics and incredible photography, and then really dialed up the quality of the printing. 

It's such a nice object to have on the coffee table.

We still have a few left from this batch if you're looking for Christmas presents!

Bread with No Added Nasties...

That's the game we're playing. 

And in this game, our villain is fluffy white supermarket bread. 

You know the super white, super soft, super flavourless bread that has an unusually long shelf life because of additives?

Yep, that's the stuff we're up against. 

Don't get me wrong, I ate that stuff most of my childhood. 

But back then I didn't have a choice. I was a kid in a country household who didn't know any better. 

But after I started to learn about the wonderful world of sourdough, everything changed. 

I started thinking about how much the world screwed up with bread making.

And in the tiniest way, we're going to do our bit to correct course by making things like this:

Our Quinoa and Walnut Sourdough. 

It pairs perfectly with cheese and wine. 

And it makes the most incredible base for a Chicken Sando. 

Bring on the good bread revolution!

--- 

Love to know what your favourite sourdough is. Drop me a comment.

I used to be afraid of sucking at things. 
 
Always practicing in private before revealing a skillset in public. 

But the problem is, when you keep it a secret, you miss out on rich feedback that can help you level up faster. 

Most people genuinely want to help you succeed.
 
The key is to switch to a student mindset, and not an expert.

Being prepared to suck at something first and make tiny rapid improvements using loads of feedback. 

That type of vulnerability has helped me so much in my career. 

Not to mention the accountability it's added to my life as an entrepreneur.

Apart from the occasional idiot who laughs at you from behind the screen, it's been all upside.

I'd encourage you to put yourself out there, openly try new things and be prepared to ask for help along the way.

If your company falls over when one person’s on holiday, you don’t have a team. You’ve built a shrine.


Too many businesses are built around a hero.


The rainmaker.

The genius founder.

The “only one who really knows how it all works.”


Looks impressive from the outside.

Feels powerful on the inside.


But it’s also weak, fragile, and one crisis away from breaking.


As entrepreneurs, you want to push through that phase as quickly as possible, making yourself redundant at every stage as you hand things over.


The ones that don't, say things like: I wish the team would “take ownership” or “demonstrate autonomy”...


Meanwhile they design systems where:


Decisions bottleneck through one inbox.

Information lives in one person’s head.

Clients only trust one name.


I don't claim to have the solution here in this Linkedin post, but I do know exactly what I'm trying to build.


And it isn't a shrine.


We need more antifragile businesses.

I often catch myself focusing on urgent tasks instead of the important ones. 
 
You know those easy things you tick off the list instead of the hard ones that really need to be done. 
 
I've become way better at catching myself these days but it took building a tiny system first. 
 
Here's what it looks like: 
 
1. I locked in time for doing the hard thing. 
 
If it required thinking time, I blocked out space on the calendar. 
 
If I had to make phone calls or write, I made time for that too. 
 
Give it the space and attention that it needs in your day/week by scheduling enough time. 
 
2. Accountability. 
 
I made sure I told someone that's what I was working on that week knowing that they would ask me how I went with it. 
 
Just the thought of them asking made me get it done more often. 
 
3. Mental capacity. 
 
Every time I found myself avoiding something was because I had way too many things on or big decisions to make. 
 
The mental load screwed everything up. 
 
So in those times, I paused on all other things to focus on building momentum on ONE thing. 
 
4. Incentive 
 
I use fear and rewards on myself all the time to drive action. 
 
I think of the bad result occurring if I continue to not act (the fear incentive). 
 
OR 
 
I dangle a reward for myself after doing something I've been putting off. 
 
Something as simple as - as soon as I finish the thing, I leave work and go for a run in the forest. 
 
Over time, this builds momentum for crushing things you've been avoiding. 
 
--- 
 
I don't think I'm unique here. 
 
Maybe others are facing the same challenge of avoiding important work. 
 
In that case, I hope this helps!

I'm an entrepreneur. It means I get distracted by lots of shiny things. But this helps me stay focused on the right things:

Some days I catch myself getting distracted by shiny new products, platforms, or ideas pulling me away from what's already working.

I have to keep remembering that it's not only about innovation and pioneering new frontiers with less competition. 

The best companies optimise relentlessly.

They follow the real 70/20/10 rule:

70% of effort into what’s already working. Your proven products, best customers, top-performing channels.

20% into adjacent plays. The small twists, repackaging, bundling, new segments.

10% into testing bold new things, The long shots, market-changing bets.

But what do most teams do (including me, at times)??

We try it backwards.

70% on distractions and shiny objects,

20% trying to fix what’s broken,

10% (if that) doubling down on the things that are already working.

Then we wonder why it feels like pushing a square boulder up a giant hill.

If your business feels stuck, it’s probably not your product. Or a lack of effort. It’s how you’re allocating your focus.

You rarely need more ideas.

You need more discipline around the ideas that already work, and you need to do some much more volume of them.

It’s not sexy.
It’s not exciting.
But if you do it, your business will grow and eventually, you can stay do whatever you want with your time while it runs.

Before we could use the 70/20/10 lens, we needed to identify a few things:

- What were the handful of processes that gave outsized results.
- What were the handful of profitable products we sold over and over.
- Who were a small group of like-minded clients who bought way more than others.

Knowing these helped us double down on what works. Then everything got easier.

I won’t lie: doubling down on the "boring" things isn’t always fun.

But having a business that finally works? 

That’s very fun.

---

You can read other articles like this on my website - I've been uploading 3 years worth of newsletter content there recently.

Running a test bake in my home oven on our new bake at home croissant.

This one spent months in the freezer with things stacked on it. I wasn't sure how it would go. 

But, it was a freaken lovely result. 

Can't wait to share this product with the world!

Most businesses don’t get taken out by competition, they get taken out by denial. 

I learned that the hard way. 

From the outside we looked like we were winning... but the numbers told another story. 

Growth doesn’t fix broken foundations. 

It just makes the cracks louder.

If you’ve been avoiding a number, a conversation, or a cultural problem hoping it fixes itself, it won’t. 

The fire costs 10x more next year.

Swipe through the carousel to see the lessons I wish someone told me before I paid for them the expensive way.

The warning signs I ignored for too long

We grew top line 23% one year and had less cash at the end than when we started.

On paper, it looked like a win.

Revenue up.

Sites busier.

More customers served.

From the outside, everyone assumes growth = progress.

Inside the bank account, it was a different story.

Here’s what I’ve learned the hard way:

A lot of “growth” is just you working harder to stand still.

Here're three places the money quietly disappeared:

Discounts and “deals” that felt harmless
We said yes to little things that shaved a few percent here and there especially with legacy customers. On a big enough base, those “small” give-aways add up to serious cash.

Operational drag
More volume and more SKU complexity through a system that wasn’t ready. Add in overtime, wastage, rework, fire-fighting and as revenue went up, every extra dollar was more painful to earn.

Overhead creep
As soon as topline lifted, we felt justified adding headcount, tech, and “nice to have” projects and weren't as disciplined looking at costs. We chased instead of fixing. 

Growth didn’t fix broken economics. It multiplied them.

If your topline is climbing and you still feel broke, sanity check your numbers. 

Fix them before you scale.

Building this tiny habit has transformed my business: 
 
Every business has a daily rhythm. 
 
The things you do on autopilot. 
 
But most of the time they're designed to sustain what is there and not improve things. 
 
That was exactly what was happening with my business... 
 
We'd come in each day and do the: 
 
Same actions 
Same processes 
Same conversations 
 
Over and over. 
 
It's hard to see new things when you get in that habit. 
 
So you need to make a conscious effort to reprogram your daily rhythm. 
 
For example: 
 
Instead of walking straight in the door, pause for a moment and see the place like a customer would. 
 
Look around like they would. 
 
Stand where they would stand. 
 
Sit where they would sit. 
 
It's powerful stuff when you do things like this daily. 
 
You start to see improvements everywhere that make your business better instead of just walking in on autopilot. 
 
The key is to program the right things into your daily rhythm that sustain what's there as well as growing it.

It's tempting to relax a bit once your business is out of the start-up phase. 

And after years of working your face off to build something from scratch, who can blame you? 

But complacency can destroy things. 

If it's about getting your time back, delegate things instead. 

If it's about enjoying yourself, find someone who's hungry to grow your business for you.

Because even if you deserve a break.

Even if you don't have competitors chasing you. 

Things that are hard to build can be shattered easily. 

And the bottom line is, instead of taking your foot off the gas at the first sign of success.
 
It's best to use that time to double down on what's working and leap further ahead after years of grinding.

Business isn't cut-throat. It's just that some people playing the game think there's not enough to go around...

Which can send them a little mad trying to keep everything to themselves.
 
Here's what happens when you stop competing and start collaborating: 
 
Seeing everyone as your competitor is one of those old-school things you hear and then adopt without question. 
 
It makes sense but it's also incredibly limiting in business. 
 
It makes you think that there's not enough to go around. 
 
That you can't share ideas, resources or even your kindness with others on the journey.
 
I mean, why help another business get ahead of you right? 
 
It's a bullsh*t mindset. 
 
And I think realising that takes a whole lot of time/experience. and a few nudges to snap out of the negative mindset.
 
For me, I started shifting my perspective the more I learned about positioning and understanding that execution is everything. 
 
For example - You can give people all the opportunities, ideas and knowledge, but they rarely act on it. 

At least not with any urgency. 
 
It was the starting point for having the confidence to stop holding on and start living a more open life in business. 
 
Sharing information, spreading creativity and helping others get ahead. 
 
Some of the most successful and accomplished entrepreneurs are the ones who believe in collaboration over competition. 
 
They surround themselves with supportive, like-minded individuals who challenge them, inspire them and help them achieve their most ambitious goals. 
 
Sometimes these can be competing businesses! 
 
So ditch that 'lone wolf' mentality and start looking for shared wins. 
 
When you help others level up, you all level up together.

Unique 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲s are 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 today.

Everything else can be copied or purchased.

Even though we don't always nail it, we're pursuing excellence in this space. Constantly meeting about it, doing case studies on others and testing ways to level up our game.

Fundamentally, service needs to be part of your culture if you're striving for long term customer delight. 

If you get that bit right, it's nearly impossible for competitors to buy the trust and connection you've established.

But the problem is, most established companies are on autopilot.

They're so busy just keeping up with the volume of work these days that they've shifted their focus from delight, to delivery.

Nailing it doesn't mean transforming your business, it's about leaning into a few key moments in your customer journey. 

If you're an established business looking for ways to retain clients and build a stronger organisation, I talk about what we've done often in my weekly newsletter.

I share real strategies that are working right now to build culture, increase retention, and drive impact.

I'd love to see you there when you're ready.

Dan Prudhomme

Senior Director

Futuri

Futuri empowers broadcasters, digital publishers, and content creators with AI-driven solutions that maximize audience engagement and revenue. 

With 20+ patents in Al, broadcast technology, and public safety, we help companies stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Director of Partner Success

Segment Sage

Your audience isn’t random. Your strategy shouldn’t be. Segment smarter. Convert better. Scale faster.

Join 12,000+ service-based pros syncing message, moment, and market to turn audience signals into sales.

Writer

Rollins College

Areas of Specialization: Integrated Digital Marketing; Sales & Business Development 

Sample course taught: Fundamentals for Digital Marketing; Social Media Marketing for Impact

Adjunct Professor

HomePros

A multimillion-dollar enterprise with national reach and a robust digital presence. We connect businesses with homeowners, delivering community savings through integrated strategies. Key solutions include programmatic display, video (OTT/CTV), email, and SEO.

Vice President, Digital Strategy & Ops

Trade association representing the local broadcast television industry.  Responsibility for revenue generation across platforms, partner acquisition, integrated sponsorships and conferences. 

Areas include Linear, Digital, AdTech, MediaTech and OTT/CTV.

Senior Director, Partnerships

DirectiveGroup Digital Marketing Agency

Business-strategy driven marketing and sales enablement agency that delivers complete solutions for B2B and B2C companies looking to develop regional, national or global audiences for their products or services. 

Technology solutions and online marketing are provided for manufacturing, industrial and technology-based companies as well for SaaS and eCommerce businesses.

Cox Media Group

Consultative and proactive leader responsible for the CMG Orlando multimillion digital solutions sales operations, retention and fulfillment plan.  Drive the execution of strategic planning, facilitiating the process to clearly articulate client companies' vision, mission, value proposition, brand architecture and positioning. Lead a cross-functional team in implmenting post sales strategies to maintain revenue goals. Coordinated creative campaigns and programmatic buying to support cross-promotion efforts. 
•	Grew and retained annual budget by 25% year-on-year.
•	Led one platform migration for Operative and the billing system transition with it.
•	Modified and enhanced campaign breakdown and rate feedback to maximize margin.
•	Team generated reports that told a story by leveraging data to impact ROI.

Director, Digital Sales Operations

Consultative and proactive sales leader responsible for the CMG Orlando TV multimillion digital revenue and operations fulfillment plan.  Lead a cross-functional team in implementing pre and post-sales strategies to maintain and grow revenue.  Coordinated creative campaigns and programmatic buying to support digital cross-promotional efforts.  Developed advertising sales presentations. Grew wftv.com Home Experts. Shaped digital marketing and leveraged Local Solutions powered by CMG Orlando. Collaborated with research, marketing, news, production and CMG Orlando Radio.  

Led national revenue from Centro for Cox Media Group TV and grew to 8 figures. 

Ushered sales strategies, facilitated sales negotiations, pursued new business development opportunities, directed needs analyses and account consultations- contributing to YOY ad revenue increases.  
•	Grew annual budget by 25-30% on average year-on-year.
•	Designed and implemented processes and systems to grow revenue 289%. 
•	Led three platform migrations including DSM/XSM, one billing system for WideOrbit and two content management migrations including Lakana. 
•	Modified and enhanced campaign breakdown and rate feedback to maximize margin.

Director, Digital Sales

Cox Television

WFTV/WRDQ/wftv.com

Led pre-sales strategies, facilitated sales negotiations, pursued new business development opportunities, directed needs analyses, managed fulfillment and account consultations-contributing to YOY ad revenue increases and post-sales optimizations. Budget revenues were up by 15 percent year-on-year.

Internet Sales Manager

Internet Broadcasting

Sold multi-million in advertising to key IB broadcasting partners including CNN, ABC, NBC Universal, Cox Television, Meredith Broadcasting, Post-Newsweek Stations, McGraw-Hill Broadcasting, and Hearst-Argyle TV. Liaised with top interactive agencies including Nurun, Avenue A/Razorfish, Moxie Interactive, Modern Media, Centro, Carat, Fitzgerald & Co., Crispin Porter and Bogusky, Sapient, and Media Two, developing strategic relationships with the C-Suite. 

Grew revenues through Integration, Sponsorships, Niche Targeting, Rich Media, Ad Banner Development/Optimization, Consumer Promotions, and TV/Web convergence campaigns. Conceptualized and implemented new and renewal ad strategies and revenue goals.
•	Orchestrated the successful launch of the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic offices, responsible for 50% revenue growth.
•	Produced half a million dollars in first seven months and just under one million in revenue the first year.

Senior Account Executive

Cox Newspapers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/ajc.com

Established, nurtured, and sustained strong relationships with key decision-makers at national agencies/clients, including Paramount Pictures, Equifax, Verizon Wireless, Simon Mall Group, Woodruff Arts Center, Razorgator (formerly Encore Tickets) and South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee Tourism. 

Promoted to chief point-of-contact for the Centro account's campaigns and RFPs. Grew, maintained and handled 7 figures. 

Provided overall management and support for retail territory team of 80 in four departments including Account Executives, Sales Managers, Account Reps, and Online Account Execs alongside multimillion dollars in revenue. Developed and implemented effective sales tools - Health Awareness, Online Movie/Education Showcases.
•	Grew annual budget nationally 65% year-on-year and locally 50% year-on-year.
•	Online Salesperson of the Year (SPOTY) for outstanding leadership and revenue, 2006.
•	Awarded Salesperson of the Quarter (3 times) and Salesperson of the Month (4 times).

Online Account Executive

•	Grew annual budget by 15% year-on-year.
•	Awarded Salesperson of the Quarter (2 times) and Salesperson of the Month (6 times).

Account Executive

Helping business services fix audience misalignment to maximize ad performance & ROI.

With deep expertise in sales-driven segmentation, digital marketing, and strategic business development, I help businesses turn audience signals into revenue using intelligent targeting & precision marketing.

I ensure every venture is executed with the right team, the right data, and the right strategy. I leverage research and industry tools to drive business growth—without increasing costs.

What I Bring:

🎯 Industry Expertise: Proven track record in advertising, media, and digital strategy, leading high-impact revenue growth for brands, agencies, and SMBs.

🎯 Revenue Impact: Scaled budgets by 25-30% annually and drove 289% revenue growth using precision targeting & segmentation.

🎯 Strategic Leadership: Led digital transformation across traditional & digital sales, optimizing campaigns for maximum ROI.

I help businesses align audience insights with sales outcomes, ensuring their marketing is data-driven, strategic, and profitable.

➡️Follow for insights on audience segmentation, digital strategy, and business growth.

➡️Let’s connect!

You don’t need more leads. You need fewer steps.


Most service pros think their pipeline is slow because demand is down. But the real issue is simpler. Your path is confusing your buyers. 

Here’s how misalignment kills traction:
• Too many options -> buyers freeze
• No clear next step -> buyers drift
• Slow proposals -> buyers forget
• Conflicting messages -> buyers lose trust
• One path for all -> wrong buyers move, right buyers wait 
• No sequence for silent buyers -> quiet intent dies

You don't fix this with more ads. Or more posts. Or more traffic.
You fix it by removing friction from the path.

Right message. Right time. Right next step.
That’s the difference between a busy pipeline and one that actually converts.




 Follow Dan Prudhomme 🧭 for Signals Into Sales
 Segment Sage | dcprudhomme.me

Dan Prudhomme 🧭

Marketing & Sales Segmenter | Aligning message, market & buyer path for service pros, trades & agents | Smart targeting. Clear messaging. Simple steps that close more deals.

Mindset doesn’t move your business forward. Clarity does.


You can be positive. You can grind harder. You can push the team all you want. But if you’re targeting the wrong customers, your message isn’t clear, or your next step isn’t obvious, your effort leaks instead of grows.

Most service pros don’t have a mindset problem. They have a clarity problem. When the right people know what you do,
why you’re the best choice, and exactly what to do next, you don’t get motivation. You get momentum.

Right segment. Right message. Right path.
 
That’s how service pros turn steady work into real growth.





If this hit you, follow Dan Prudhomme 🧭 + share.
Clarity. Alignment. Real growth.

Clarity Creates Momentum.

River Pools didn’t scale by selling harder. They scaled by telling the truth.


While competitors hid their pricing, River Pools published it.

While others chased more leads, they clarified one message. While the industry got louder, they got clearer.

And that’s when everything changed.

When the recession hit, the phones went silent. Leads dried up. Fear took over.

Marcus Sheridan could’ve doubled down on ads or discounts.

He instead aligned. He synced himself first - calm, transparent, intentional - and the business followed.

One article changed the entire trajectory:
“How much does a fiberglass pool cost?”

That clarity did more than campaigns ever did:

-> Most-read pool article in the world
-> 80%+ of buyers read it before calling
-> Franchise expansion
-> Trust restored
-> Consistent demand
-> Predictable growth

Here’s the contradiction service pros ignore: You grow faster by answering what others avoid. Clarity becomes your competitive edge.

Self Sync always comes before sales sync. Alignment -> traction -> profit.

Builders don’t chase everything. They choose what compounds.

Which part of your business needs clarity right now - message, audience, or path? 






♻️ Share if clarity > clutter
➕ Follow Dan Prudhomme 🧭 for alignment, signals, and growth
🌐 dcprudhomme.me

Most teams think they need a new audience. They don't.


They just keep talking to a segment that doesn't exist. 

A local roofer thought he had a lead problem, but 27 buyers had clicked his schedule inspection link twice with no follow-up step on the page. Not an audience issue. It has an alignment issue. 

Sync with the buyers who are already showing behavior, and the path fixes itself.

Which behaviors are real buyers showing today? 




If this helped, follow Dan Prudhomme 🧭+ share.

When 4 companies under one parent brand all use the same marketing message…
 

Different products. Different audiences. Different goals. Same copy.

The problem is that you didn’t align your message. You flattened it.

Shared strategy ≠ shared script.

Each brand needs its own segment, voice, and buyer path. One-size-fits-all messaging doesn’t scale clarity. It kills it.

Align the intent, not the tagline.





♻️ Share if you’ve seen corporate copy-paste kill great positioning.
➕ Follow Dan Prudhomme 🧭 for signals that align.
🌐 dcprudhomme.me

If customers can’t see the next step, they won’t take it.


This picture is every buyer path I audit:
• Steps are there
• But buried
• Hard to follow
• Easy to quit

You don’t need more leads. You need a path people can actually walk.

Clean the steps. Give one clear action. Watch your close rate jump.

Simple wins.




If this helped, follow Dan Prudhomme 🧭 + share.

Someone told me last week, “I thought you were asking for something different.”


No conflict. No issue. Just a tiny misunderstanding caused by one unclear line.

And it hit me. This is exactly how most businesses lose buyers.
Not because the offer is bad. Not because the audience is wrong.
But because the message wasn’t crystal enough for someone to move.

Message alignment isn’t louder. It’s cleaner. Clear words create confident buyers.

If one unclear sentence can stall a job, imagine what unclear follow-up does. What needs tightening first?




If this helped, follow Dan Prudhomme 🧭+ share.

Your audience isn’t too small. Your message is too forgettable.


Most service pros blame reach. The real problem is their message could belong to anyone so it belongs to no one.

A financial advisor pushed “We help everyone plan for retirement.” Silence. 

Then they tightened the message to: “Retirement strategies for physicians earning $250k+.” Same advisor. Sharper audience. Faster conversions.

When you sharpen who you’re speaking to:
▪️the wrong people fall away
▪️the right ones lean in
▪️signals get louder
▪️sales get easier

You don’t need bigger numbers. You need deeper resonance.

Clarity is a magnet. Generic is a repellent.





♻️ Share if you’re done chasing crowds.
➕ Follow Dan Prudhomme 🧭 for clarity that converts.
🌐 dcprudhomme.me

Your next level of growth won’t come from adding anything. It’ll come from deleting the right thing.


Most service pros don’t have a lead problem. They have a lag problem. Tiny friction points that stall real buyers.

Delete the 6-day delay between quote and follow-up. Delete the 12-option proposal that creates confusion. Delete the “call us back if interested” message.

Growth isn’t magic. It’s math:
 Less friction -> more decisions -> more sales.

Your pipeline isn’t stuck because it’s empty. It’s stuck because the path is cluttered.





If this hit, follow Dan Prudhomme 🧭+ share.

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The Battle

Jarrod Deaton

Dan Prudhomme

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Performance ScoreJarrod Deaton's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDan Prudhomme's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Jarrod Deaton

Dan Prudhomme

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jarrod Deaton's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDan Prudhomme's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJarrod Deaton's LinkedIn Performance