Rule #12: Promote yourself.
This incredibly simple concept has been responsible for the entire trajectory of my career, both as an employee and a business owner.
No one cares what you can do, everyone cares what you can do for them.
Whether you're building a software company, a productized service business, an information product, proof of work will accelerate your journey.
"Show me, don't tell me."
Now, not all of us are designers or think of ourselves as being able to produce "tangible" assets that represent what we do.
I am here to call BS on that idea.
Whatever it is you do for a living, at some point in the process you have to communicate the result of your effort to someone.
A document, a video, a presentation, a voice recording. Find a way to turn your results into assets that continue to build equity.
Private businesses are not obligated to share the details of their operation, and most don't - in the public markets, information about the performance of a company drives its value. The same is true for you.
Show you can solve a problem and you'll earn attention and capital.
Here's an example:
It's also worth noting that you're creating proof in real-time when you work.
Use tools like Screenflow and Loom to capture your process, and promote it on the front end - we'll go deeper into this in Sell your Sawdust later on.