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 Everything we implemented was soon outdated.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

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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.

Helping visionary founders & execs be radically original on LinkedIn using The Creative Catalyst Method | Building $1M+ pipeline strategies | Founder @ Kennedy Creative

Most executives treat LinkedIn like a resume.

I treat it like a revenue engine.

I work with enterprise B2B executives and founders in the 7–9 figure range to turn authority into measurable growth.

Through The Creative Catalyst Method — a system built on content + outbound — my clients transform visibility into deal flow, building 7+ figure pipelines in as little as 6 months.

And the results speak for themselves:
	
• 30+ MQLs generated in less than 60 days
• Clients getting 3+ leads every week with content + outbound
• A 5-figure deal closed by an agency in under 60 days
• $100K pipeline built in less than 90 days for a SaaS company

What makes this possible isn’t just content.

It’s the combination of strategic positioning, executive voice, and consistent outbound touchpoints that makes your brand unforgettable — and turns authority into revenue.

If you’re an executive ready to move from authority → pipeline → growth, let’s talk.

👉 Book a call or connect with me here on LinkedIn.

Doug Kennedy

10 things I’m thankful for…

1. My wife, who holds everything together
2. My kids, who remind me what joy looks like
3. My clients who trust me
4. The opportunity to build something from nothing
5. The ability to provide for my family
6. Early mornings with coffee and quiet
7. The people who sharpen me and push me forward
8. The hard seasons that taught me more than the easy ones
9. The friendships that feel like family
10. The grace of God over my life, which is more than I deserve

Happy Thanksgiving! 

What are you thankful for?

Helping B2B executives turn authority into revenue on LinkedIn | Building 6+ figure pipeline strategies with content + outbound using The Creative Catalyst Method | Founder @ Kennedy Creative

You’re an 8- or 9-figure founder. You’ve got traditional lead channels dialed in.

• SEO brings in steady traffic.
• Paid ads keep the pipeline full.
• Maybe you even run some TV spots.

You might even post on LinkedIn here and there.

But organic LinkedIn?

That’s for smaller founders. For personal brands. Not for serious companies.

Right?

Wrong.

Here’s why organic LinkedIn isn’t beneath you, it’s your biggest missed opportunity.

1. Your buyers are here. Every day.
	
• LinkedIn isn’t just for job seekers—it’s where decision-makers spend their time.
• The same C-suite execs you’re trying to reach through ads and outbound? They’re scrolling LinkedIn between meetings.
	
2. People buy from people, not just companies.
	
• A great company page is nice. A founder-led brand builds trust faster.
• Look at the biggest B2B companies crushing LinkedIn…their leadership is front and center.
	
3. Your competitors aren’t doing it (yet).
	
• Most 8-9 figure founders ignore organic LinkedIn, which means the ones who show up consistently win big.
• If your competitor’s CEO is in the feed every day, and you’re nowhere to be found… guess who has the advantage when buyers start paying attention?

Organic LinkedIn isn’t beneath you.

It’s your unfair advantage if you take it seriously.

Ready to get started? Send me a DM!

So many people post on LinkedIn without understanding why people engage.

But attention isn’t random, but it’s psychological.

Here are 10 growth tips backed by psychology and neuroscience to help you grow your audience and keep their attention 👇

1. Start with emotion: people decide emotionally and justify logically.
2. Mirror their language: we trust people who sound like us.
3. Use the Zeigarnik Effect: open loops keep readers hooked.
4. The “You” ratio: talk to one person, not a crowd.
5. Tell micro-stories: emotion makes content memorable.
6. Repetition builds familiarity: familiarity builds trust.
7. Use social proof: proof creates belief.
8. Create pattern breaks: variation resets attention.
9. Follow the rule of 3: our brains love rhythm and structure.
10. Stay consistent: credibility comes from showing up.

Each one of these principles taps into how the brain actually works and when you use them, your content connects deeper, faster, and longer.

If you want a library of ideas to put these tips into action:

👉 Comment “101” and I’ll send you my free guide: 101 LinkedIn Post Ideas

It’s the fastest way to stop guessing what to post and start growing with purpose.

10 LinkedIn Growth TIps

It’s almost 2026 and I still need to say this:

LinkedIn has changed since 2016. 

Far too many founders and CEOs don’t even have a banner on their profile. 

Here’s the change and why it’s important 👇 

LinkedIn 10 years ago: 

➔ Digital resume, listing work experience and education
➔ Networking was mostly connections, not conversations
➔ Primarily a job-hunting tool
➔ Company pages: basic info and job listings
➔ Content: text-only, low engagement

LinkedIn TODAY: 

➔ Hub for articles, videos, and thought leadership
➔ Used for recruitment AND sales 
➔ Engagement drives everything—comments, insights, discussions
➔ Personal branding takes the lead
➔ Multimedia: videos, polls, live streams, and more
➔ Two-way conversations that spark real connections

The companies that are going to dominate the market are already taking advantage of the platform to:

- build founder-led and executive brands
- establish authority in their niche
- fill their pipeline and drive sales

Those who don’t will lose opportunities. 

Are you still living in the past on LinkedIn, or are you building something to own the future?

I used to think I was a good writer.

I didn’t have the training.

I just enjoyed writing, so in my head…that meant I was good at it.

Then I joined this tiny chat group with a few guys who wrote online. 

Nothing fancy. Just a handful of people trying to get better and calling each other out.

And the rule was simple:

→ Drop your draft
→ Take the feedback
→ No hurt feelings

The first time they went through one of my posts, I felt it.

I wasn’t nearly as good as I thought.

I realized I had a few habits that were holding me back:

→ I wrote sentences that sounded great in my head but didn’t land
→ I rambled when I wasn’t sure what my point was
→ I relied on passion instead of clarity
→ I used extra words to make weak ideas feel stronger
→ I had a “voice,” but no real structure behind it

That group changed everything for me.

They gave me something I didn’t have before: a standard.

And once you see that higher bar, you can’t unsee it.

- You start noticing what makes writing sharp.
- You start tightening your ideas.
- You stop hiding behind fluff.

Here’s the part that stuck with me:

Most people aren’t bad writers.

They’ve just never had their writing pushed.

You don’t get better by writing alone in your corner. You get better when you let people tell you the truth about your work.

That’s when the real growth happens.

If you want that same push for your content and your brand, send me a DM and I’ll send you the one-pager for my Growth Partner Catalyst Program.

“Good news….your personal brand is gonna make it.

But you need to strengthen your message a bit.”

- Dr. Doug 

Most leaders don’t catch clarity erosion early because they’re so close to their own expertise.

Everything sounds great until you realize…”oh my audience isn’t interested in what I have to say.”

Here’s the checkup I give when I’m assessing a CEO’s messaging clarity:

1. The Identity Check

Can you explain who you are professionally in one clean sentence?

If it takes a paragraph, your authority is scattered.

2. The Expertise Line

What are the 1–2 things you want to be known for?

Executives who pick two lanes build influence.

Executives who pick ten build confusion.

3. The Stakes Analysis

Why does your work matter?

Leaders lose attention because they talk about tasks, not impact.

Stakes = what changes because of you.

4. The Repeatability Test

Could your ideal buyer repeat your message after reading two posts?

If not, it isn’t sharp enough.

Repeatability is the real KPI of positioning.

5. The Resonance Review

Are you speaking to the right people or the loudest people?

Executives who write for “everyone” get engagement.

Executives who write for someone get opportunities.

Your message is the foundation.

When it’s clear, everything else (trust, visibility, inbound) becomes inevitable.

If you want me to run this same checkup on your profile and content, DM me “AUDIT.” I’ll tell you exactly where your message needs to be strengthened.

The other day, I shared the last 10 years of my life with someone I had just met.

•  My relationship with God.
•  How I met my wife.
•  Why I moved to Delaware County, PA.
•  How I started writing on LinkedIn and X.

It’s a crazy story and I didn’t expect him to be all that interested. 

But to my surprise, he was locked in, listening to every word.

That moment reminded me:

→ Someone out there needs your story. People are drawn to real, authentic journeys.

→ Gratitude shifts everything. Telling my story reminded me of how good God has been.

I’m stepping into 2025 with excitement and gratitude, ready to build relationships that matter.

Your story matters too. 

Who’s someone you could share it with this week?

I posted something yesterday and my first thought was: This is horrible.

Not because the idea was bad…but because it didn’t sound like me at all.

Here’s what my post was missing (and why it matters):
	
1. Personality

My post had zero flavor. No beard jokes. No Star Wars references. Nothing that sounded like Doug.

And here’s the truth: personality is what makes writing memorable. It’s the quirks, tone, and edges that make a post feel alive.

When you strip that out, your content becomes generic, technically correct, and emotionally empty.
	
2. Deeper insight

I shared a point, but none of the meaning behind it. It was shallow, like a headline without an article.

Great content doesn’t stop at “what.” It digs into the “why,” the “how,” and the lived experience behind the idea.

Insight is the difference between a post people skim… and a post people save.
	
3. A unique angle

My post could’ve been written by anyone. 

No twist. 
No tension. 
No reason to stop scrolling.

Your angle (your worldview, your story, your interpretation) is the differentiator.

It’s what turns common ideas into uncommon content.

4. A strong hook

My hook didn’t hook ME… so it wasn’t going to hook anyone.

The first line is the gatekeeper. It creates curiosity, contrast, or a moment that forces someone to keep reading.

If the hook is weak, the rest of the post never stood a chance.

These 4 ingredients are what take a post from “fine” to “worth reading.”

Miss one and the post suffers.

Miss all 4 and…well, you get yesterday.

(I deleted the post so don’t even try to go back and read it lol) 

It happens.

• Sometimes we drift from our own voice.
• Sometimes we write fast instead of honest.
• Sometimes we forget what makes us us.

The fix is simple:

Re-center.
Reconnect.
And write from who you actually are.

That’s where the best content lives.

Have you ever lost your voice in your content?

The fastest way to lose sales on LinkedIn is weak positioning.

You can be great at what you do.
You can post consistently.
You can share valuable insights.

But if your positioning is unclear, broad, or generic…buyers won’t see you as the person to hire.

After writing for founders, CEOs, and operators across multiple industries,

I’ve noticed the same positioning gaps show up over and over and they quietly destroys trust, authority, and inbound

So I broke down the 7 biggest positioning mistakes and how to fix each one

👉 Swipe through the carousel

7 Positioning Mistakes That Destroy Your LinkedIn Sales

It didn’t click right away…

If I’m honest, it took closer to 6–8 months before anything meaningful happened.

In the beginning, it felt like I was talking into the void:

→ Posting late at night after work
→ Getting a handful of likes
→ Wondering if anyone was actually reading
→ Fighting the quiet urge to stop because “maybe this isn’t working”

But I showed up anyway…not because of motivation, but because I understood one thing:

Brands are built on repetition, not reactions.

And then the shift started…slowly, then suddenly:

→ Someone messaged, “I’ve been following your content for months.”
→ Someone else booked a call because “your posts changed how I think about this.”
→ People recognized my name before I even introduced myself.
→ Prospects showed up warm, already trusting me without a single sales pitch.

That’s when it clicked:

Personal branding works, but it works on compound interest, not instant gratification.

• Every post is a deposit.
• Every story is a seed.
• Every insight is one more brick in a relationship you don’t even know you’re building.

Most people quit right before it compounds. 

Right before the trust, the visibility, and the opportunities start stacking!

If you stick with it for 90 days with:

→ a clear message
→ a repeatable content rhythm
→ and consistency that outlasts the noise

…everything changes.

If you’re serious about building that kind of momentum, you don’t need more hacks….

you need a plan, accountability, and a system that removes the guesswork.

If you want a structured 90-day plan and someone in your corner each week, my Growth Partner program is built for that. DM me “GROWTH.”

A CRE leader didn’t say it directly, but I could tell he wasn’t convinced LinkedIn could work for him. 

But he heard it worked for other people and wanted to take the risk.

A fair place to start.

He didn’t want engagement. He wanted pipeline.

So we focused on the fundamentals:

→ Tightened his positioning
→ Clarified his message
→ Built content around the real problems his CRE buyers face
→ Paired it with a targeted DM strategy designed to start real conversations

By the end of our first week together: 

8 leads.

Here’s why this worked:

1. He got specific.

We stopped writing broad “real estate” content and shifted to content that spoke directly to decision-makers:
	
• buyer frustrations
• deal blockers
• investor mistakes 
• CRE challenges he sees every day

When your content speaks to the right people, the right people respond.

2. He wrote from real experience.

No generic market updates.

No surface-level industry takes.

We used:
	
• deals he’s worked
• objections he hears
• patterns he sees weekly
• insights only a practitioner would know

This builds trust faster than anything else.

3. His message and his outreach worked together.

Most people post and pray. We built a system.

His content attracted attention.

His DMs converted it.
	
• DM people who engaged with posts
• DM people who viewed his profile
• Open conversations with his ICP
• Outreach that matched his positioning

Content creates interest. DMs create opportunities.

He came in a tad bit skeptical.

He became a believer by the end of Week 1.

If you want your profile, content, and DM strategy reviewed and a plan to turn visibility into booked calls, book a call or DM me “AUDIT.”

taplio

The Battle

Jarrod Deaton

Doug Kennedy

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Performance ScoreJarrod Deaton's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Jarrod Deaton

Doug Kennedy

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 ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJarrod Deaton's LinkedIn Performance