My guest, Steven Lewis, broke one my big rules. It is ok, to make mistakes, you just don't want to make the same mistake twice. And he did.
Yep, Steven started not one, but two businesses that were—how shall I say this?—a bit too far ahead of their time. And in this candid chat, we unpack what he learned, how it shaped the work he does today, and what you, as a business owner, can take away without having to make the same mistakes.
Key IdeasTiming is Everything (But Not Everything) Steven launched a web business in 1994 and a social media agency in 2004—both solid ideas, just way too early. He found himself selling websites before people knew what the internet was, and social media services before anyone knew what a tweet was. The market wasn't ready, and he learned the hard way that even the best ideas need the right audience at the right time.
Sell the Symptom, Not the Cure Like a podiatrist treating knee pain, Steven learned that people don’t buy solutions to problems they don’t know they have. If your audience thinks they have a sore knee, don’t talk about fixing their feet. Speak to the symptoms they’re experiencing, not the root cause you see. Then gently guide them to the solution.
Your Cool Idea Isn’t Enough Steven built those early businesses around what he thought was cool—websites, podcasting, blogging—but he wasn’t solving a problem his audience recognized. Today, he’s flipped the script and focuses first on his audience’s pain points. It’s not about what you can do—it’s about what your audience needs right now.
Use Tools That Think Like You—Or Smarter Now Steven helps clients build their own AI-powered CMO, trained on their business to give them advice they can actually use. Essentially, he created the strategic brain he wished he had back then—and now he shares it with others.
Steven Lewis Steven runs the Sydney-based marketing agency, Taleist, which specializes in direct-response copywriting, and the agency has been using AI copywriting tools to do that since February 2021. Taleist’s team has developed techniques to use AI to research topics and audiences and then write copy that can be as close as 80% ready for publication. This is the link for a free mini course teaching people how to get ChatGPT to write exactly like them: Where to find Steven LinkedIn:, YouTube, and at The Taleist Agency Be sure to look for my other conversation with Steven
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