This week marks one year of this newsletter.
Fifty-two editions. Roughly 120+ hours of thinking, drafting, refining, pressing send.
If I approached it step by step each week, “What do I write next?”, “What feels urgent?”, “What topic now?”, it would’ve collapsed. That’s not how I build anything. I work backwards.
Macro first. Finish line first. Then reverse engineer.
That’s how I manage 30+ strategic sessions a year. That’s how I advise companies on value growth. And that’s how I’ve treated this newsletter.
The Mistake: Starting at the Micro
Most business owners plan from the bottom up.
- “What should we do next?”
- “What offer should we launch?”
- “What should we post?”
- “Who should we hire?”
That’s micro thinking. It creates activity. It does not guarantee alignment.
Strategic builders start differently. They ask: What is the end goal? Then they reverse engineer the path.
Example: $1.5 Million in Revenue
Let’s say the only revenue driver is a branding package at $3,000. If the only driver is this branding package at $3,000, you need 500 clients in one year.
Now let’s talk delivery.
Each branding package takes 60 hours. Strategy, revisions, presentation, final files. Properly done.
500 x 60 hours. That’s 30,000 hours. Do you personally have 30,000 hours this year? Of course not. Even if you worked nonstop, the math doesn’t hold. So now we don’t panic. We think.
Maybe the solution isn’t 500 branding packages. Maybe the solution is adding other lines of service that carry more revenue per client. Maybe it’s layering in strategy retainers with recurring fees instead of one-time projects. Maybe it’s reducing volume and increasing pricing so fewer clients carry more weight. Maybe it’s restructuring the package into tiers so the average ticket increases.
The point is the model adjusts before the workload crushes you. If the math requires more hours than I’m willing to give, the structure changes. Not my sleep schedule.
If it requires more client volume than I want to manage, pricing shifts. Or positioning shifts. Or the model evolves. But something changes.
That’s what most people avoid. They build first. They calculate later. And then they’re stuck inside something that technically “works” but doesn’t fit their life.
Why This Matters for Value Growth
Enterprise value increases when growth is intentional and scalable. If your revenue goal requires:
- Unsustainable founder hours
- Underpriced services
- Untrained staff
- Reactive decisions
That is neither sustainable nor helpful for growth. Working backwards forces you to confront:
- Capacity constraints
- Margin reality
- Pricing discipline
- Team leverage
- Infrastructure gaps
Planning forward feels exciting. You get to design, announce, create momentum. This is the unsexy part of growth. The spreadsheets. The projections. The capacity conversations.
But this is the part that keeps you from resenting the thing you just built.
How This Ties to the Newsletter
When I started this newsletter, it was simple. But at some point, I asked what role this plays long term. Is it:
- A thought archive?
- A positioning tool?
- A credibility asset?
- A filter for serious business owners?
If yes, then it needs structure. Intentional themes. Clear positioning. Repurposing strategy. Once I answered that, the structure became obvious.
Macro: Build authority and attract aligned clients.
Micro: Blog. LinkedIn. YouTube. Client conversations. Speaking opportunities.
Reverse engineered. That’s how something small becomes strategic.
Implementation: Your Reverse Engineering Session
Block 90 minutes this week.
Pick one goal: Revenue. Exit. Expansion. Hiring. New service line.
Now do this:
- Write the finish line clearly. “$3M revenue.” “Sell in 5 years.” “40% gross margin.” “10 recurring advisory clients.”
- Ask: What must be true for this to happen?
- Break it into: Revenue model Pricing Volume Hours required Team capacity Margin impact
- Identify: Where is the bottleneck? Is it sales? Is it pricing? Is it skill? Is it systems?
Then make decisions from there.
Cafecito Takeaway
Most entrepreneurs plan forward. Strategic leaders plan backward.
Stop asking “What should I do next?” and start asking “What has to be true for my goal to be inevitable?” Then build from there.
One year into this newsletter, I’m not proud only because it exists. I’m proud because it was built with intention. Big picture first. Then reverse engineered.
That’s how you build authority. That’s how you build scalable revenue. That’s how you build value.
Now it’s your turn.
