Issue #25: The Perfect Wedge (No, Not The Golf Club)

Here's what's been keeping me up at night:

• 25 issues in and somehow you're still here (thank you!)

• Finally embracing the "consultant" label (it stings a bit)

• Discovered that LinkedIn gurus occasionally make sense

• Discovered what an "offer" is (sort of)

• First official "$100k in a Day" booked (more on that below)

Also this quote:

Live your life…

SCENE: Wednesday morning. The living room has become a war room of sticky notes and empty coffee mugs. I'm sprawled on the couch, doom-scrolling LinkedIn while Kirsten actually works at her computer at the Kitchen table.

"Look at this diagram," I say, thrusting my phone screen toward her. "It maps out comfort zones versus growth zones. Which one do you think I'm in?"

She doesn't look up from her laptop. "Is this another one of those LinkedIn motivation posts?"

"No! Well, yes. But this one's different. It's about growth zones and..." I squint at my screen. "According to this guy with 300k followers - probably mostly bought - I'm straddling the Fear Zone and Learning Zone. That's like being professionally bipolar!"

The sound of typing pauses. "You mean like how you're both terrified of and obsessed with building a consulting business?"

"I prefer 'strategically cautious,'" I mutter, sinking deeper into the couch. "The post says it's perfectly normal when transitioning zones."

"Is this the same guru who posted about 'hustle culture is dead' while promoting his hustle culture course?"

I study my phone with sudden intensity. "Maybe. But look at the diagram! I'm textbook Fear Zone - 'influenced by others, making excuses, low confidence.' Though I prefer to think of it as 'selectively confident.'"

She finally looks up, that knowing smile playing at her lips. "And the Learning Zone?"

"That's the weird part. I'm there too! 'Taking on challenges, solving problems.' It's like I'm straddling both zones, which is probably terrible for my back."

"So what you're saying is," she says slowly, "you're finally accepting that being an consultant isn't a step down from your corporate days?"

The silence stretches between us. Outside, an Amazon truck rumbles past. The dishwasher gurgles its last cycle.

"...I guess I am," I finally admit. "But did I have to figure it out from a LinkedIn post with more emojis than punctuation?"

That's when it hit me.

Maybe being a consultant wasn't Plan B.

Maybe it was Plan A all along, and I just needed to get out of my own way.

Speaking of which, wait until you hear about my late-night adventure into the world of "offers" (apparently, that's a thing now)...

The Day I Learned I Need an "Offer" (Whatever That Is)

Early Morning, Can’t Sleep, Home Office

I'm scrolling through Twitter while pretending to work on client proposals. Kirsten is asleep because normal people don't research business stuff at 4 AM.

My DM inbox pings with temptation:

"Great to meet me…well well...maybe I am important…"

Then another: "Real Estate veteran…yes getting some respect…finally…"

20 DM’s later…

The Twitter Trap

Then a guy with "CEO" and "7-Figure Business Coach 🚀" in his bio slides into my DMs.

"Saw you're starting consulting. What's your offer stack?"

I quickly google "what is offer stack" while typing. "Oh you know, the usual stuff. Land development... consulting... things."

"No no, what's your WEDGE offer? Your tripwire? Your value ladder?"

I wonder if I've accidentally wandered into some kind of business cult. "I help people not lose millions on bad land deals?"

"Bro. You need a low-ticket digital product. Something that builds your list. Maybe a PDF about 'Top 10 Land Development Secrets' for $27?"

"You want me to take 30 years of real estate development experience and turn it into... a PDF? For twenty-seven dollars?"

"Then you upgrade them to your $997 course 'Land Development Mastery' and finally your $25K VIP Day!"

"I... I just want to help people build stuff without going broke."

"That's your problem. You're thinking about helping people. You need to think about building your funnel!"

Flashbacks to engineering school and actual funnels. "Like... for concrete?"

"Look, jump on my free masterclass 'How to Turn Your Knowledge Into a 7-Figure Consulting Empire While You Sleep' and..."

I close Twitter and stare into the void.

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The Late Night Revelation

It's funny - I can negotiate multi-million dollar land deals, but apparently, I'm clueless about modern consulting. All these people talking about:

• Value ladders (is that like a money ladder?)

• Sales funnels (still thinking about concrete)

• Tripwires (pretty sure that's from Die Hard)

• Lead magnets (sounds dangerous)

And here I am, just trying to stop landowners from making expensive mistakes.

The real kicker? After three hours of research and four energy drinks, I realized these "offer" people might be onto something. Not the weird cultish parts, but the basic idea.

Make it easy for people to say yes to working with you.

From Confusion to Clarity

That's when it hit me - I don't need to promise to

"BUILD YOUR REAL ESTATE EMPIRE 🚀" or

"BECOME A LAND DEVELOPMENT GURU 🔥".

What if I just... helped people not lose money? Like, a lot of money. In one day.

Hence, the "100K in a Day" was born. One day, one meeting, finding $100,000 in savings for landowners and developers. Because while I might not understand what a "value ladder" is, I do know how to stop people from making million-dollar mistakes.

$100k in savings or opportunities or risk identification for $1000…wedge offer.

The “$100K in a Day” Wedge

I wasn't just a corporate executive. I was the guy who could walk into a room, spot the million-dollar problem nobody else had noticed, and fix it before it became a disaster.

Here's the thing about land development - everyone hires specialists. Engineers for engineering stuff. Lawyers for legal stuff. Planners for planning stuff.

But who's looking at the whole picture? Who's making sure all these brilliant specialists aren't accidentally creating a really expensive game of telephone?

That's where I come in.

One day. One deep dive. Finding at least $100K in savings, missed revenue, or risk avoidance.

It's not about solving all their problems at once. It's about proving I can spot the expensive ones they didn't even know they had…and maybe a wedge deeper into the client’s business.

Here is an early prototype landing page created in ChatGPT in about 20 seconds (full React code included).

It might be too similar to Peter Giordano’s $10k in a day (see below).

So, I had Gamma take a crack at it; click the image to go to the full page:

It will probably end up somewhere in between those two landing pages.

Is it a proper "offer"? Maybe not. Will the Twitter gurus approve? Probably not.

But at least I understand what I'm selling. Even if I still think "tripwire" sounds like something from an action movie.

Note to self: Ask Lawyer Jeff if "funnel hacking" is something I should be concerned about. Sounds illegal.

Standing On The Shoulders of Giants

I should mention something - that "100K in a Day" idea? I borrowed it from Peter Giordano III's brilliant "10K in a Day" program. As Austin Kleon says in "Steal Like an Artist", good artists copy, great artists steal... but the best artists give credit where it's due.

The thing is, while Peter's framework inspired the name, our service is quite different. His program helps consultants optimize their business. We're helping landowners and developers avoid million-dollar land mines (sometimes literally - you wouldn't believe what we find in soil tests).

Maybe "100K Day" isn't quite right. It feels a bit... derivative. We need something that better captures what we actually do:

• "Development Day"?

• "Land Deal Audit"?

• "Million-Dollar Mistake Prevention"?

• “100x Deep Dive”

(Hit reply if you have a better name - I'm clearly not winning any creativity awards here)

Speaking of learning from others, I'm diving into Jay Melone's wedge offer masterclass on March 19th. Figure if I'm going to steal... er, "get inspired by"... these concepts, I should probably learn how to do them properly.

My first “100k in a Day” is today…I’ll debrief next week…

Cool Stuff I Saw This Week

Find AI Tools: Discover the perfect tools for your projects. Just describe what you need, and it will find the best solutions.

LinkedIn Course: How to turn a few selfies into AI-generated videos in minutes (view post).

News?: Nokia is putting the first cellular network on the moon.

Awkward: The list of famous white men who appeared in ads during Super Bowl 59 is long.

Getting Sh*t Done: A web application that assists users in organizing and managing daily tasks

Marketing: the Duolingo dead-owl stunt is working.

I Have a Deck For That: Generates PowerPoint presentations from documents or titles with AI.

THAT’S A WRAP

Speaking of stumbling awkwardly, next week, I'll tell you about my first official "100K in a Day" session.

Stay curious and keep offering,

Greg "Still Finding My Zone" Mills

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Here are some back issues if you are just not sure yet:

Issue #24: We Saved The TikToK Livestream 

Issue #19: $2,295/Month To Avoid Talking To Humans 

Issue #14: The $27,000 Pandemic Side Hustle Experiment 

Issue #12: Three Easy Steps To Get Thrown Out Of A Convention 

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