👾 Leveling Up 👾

Welcome to Leveling Up. Today’s newsletter is a 4-minute read. 

Here are some things we’re going to cover: 

• What you can now do with the newest OpenAI model

• The thinking that is killing your business

• Why we need CEOs

Do you need a marketing plan to launch your business to new heights?

Chat with our experts here (link).

Thanks,

Eric Siu :)

Actionable Tip

The most updated version of ChatGPT – ChatGPT-4o – has been out for over a week now.

The capabilities are even bigger than before.

Here’s 10 things that you can do with it today (link).

Links You Might Like

Here are some of the best links I’ve found since our last email. 

📈 SEO

Google’s search dominance has dropped to a 15-year low (link)

🏢Business

The type of thinking that kills companies (link)

✏️ Writing

Constructing an argument in your writing (link)

🤖 AI

7 AI sites that you can use in business (link)

📲 Social media

A fool-proof guide for creating social content (link)

Deep Dive: Why do we need CEOs?

I used to think that CEOs didn't do nearly enough to deserve their high pay.

That is until being in the trenches made me realize that a CEO (especially a founder CEO) is a role of ultimate sacrifice.

Let's explore:

1. Nobody is going to pat you on the back - if you're expecting validation, don't. If things go well, it's because of your team. If things go poorly, it's because of you.

2. You're always eating glass - there's a great chapter in 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things' (the most recommended book on my podcast) that talks about running a startup like eating glass. Get used to it because once you think you're done, there will likely be another helping of glass for you to chomp on.

3. If the company is losing, you're the last to eat - if the company is losing money, you need to make sure that it's properly funded to take care of payroll and other expenses. Not only that, you're first on the chopping block in terms of cost-cutting. Most people aren't willing to make that type of sacrifice (and rightfully so). By the way if it's a bootstrapped company, you're probably funding it with your own money because no one wants to give loans to a company that isn't doing well.

4. All the 'people problems' are yours to deal with - yes, you can delegate leaders to manage people, but ultimately all the people problems will roll up to you. As long as you're in the CEO slot, every little problem that people don't want to deal with becomes your problem. Does this mean you hired poorly? Probably. Does this mean that your leaders aren't equipped to handle people problems? Likely. Is this all your fault? Definitely.

When a company isn't doing as well, it's learning the most.

When a company is doing really well, it's learning the least.

The CEO's job is one of sacrifice and giving. It's NOT one of reward and recognition.

How I Can Help You

If you enjoy this newsletter and would like to collaborate with me, there are a few options available:

1. You can apply to work with my agency (link)

2. You can join my Skool community (link)

3. You can apply to join my mastermind (link)

Interested in working at Single Grain? We have some new open roles:

• Paid Media Manager (link)

• SEO Manager (link)