Our One-Year Anniversary: 20,000 Readers + a Free Gift For You!

Thank you, fellow entrepreneur

Author

Steve Strauss
November 13, 2025

Tonight, my friends and fellow entrepreneurs, marks one year of Notes to an Entrepreneur

When I sent the very first issue, I had no idea what would happen. I hoped people would care. I hoped they would like (or love!) the stories. I hoped the idea for this newsletter would have legs.

A year later, more than 20,000 of you show up every week. Almost half of you open almost every issue. The stories get tons of clicks, likes, shares, and comments. That still surprises me in the best way.

Thank you. Truly.

To celebrate, I want to give you something special. A small anniversary gift. Something you can use right away. So here you go, a tool to help you continue to be like the entrepreneurs in this newsletter - bold, brave, iconoclastic, driven, a little bit nutty, but following your own vision:

The One-Person Empire: A guide to building a profitable, meaningful, high-leverage business with a team of one.

Now there is one more thing I want to share.

Most of you were not here on Day One. Only a few hundred people received the very first Notes story I ever sent. It is still one of my favorites. It is fun, a little wild, and it set the tone for everything that followed.

It is the story of Tommy Hilfiger, a single billboard in Times Square, and the moment he decided to bet on himself long before the world knew his name.

Here is that original issue and story:

“One thing I noticed is that often in the entrepreneurial journey, there is a breakthrough moment, a time when the entrepreneur figures out their secret sauce that ends up making all the difference. 

Those stories are the most interesting.

For example, do you know the unbelievable story of how designer Tommy Hilfiger became the brand TOMMY HILFIGER? 

As an unknown, frustrated designer in his mid-30s, Tommy knew he needed to do something to break out. He hired a PR guy who suggested an audacious plan:

He suggested Hilfiger buy a billboard in Times Square and compare himself to the other great designers of the day - Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein.

Hilfiger knew it was a crazy idea, but he also knew he had to do something bold or he would forever be stuck. He spoke with his investors, they agreed, and here it is:

The next week, Hilfiger was a guest on the Tonight show, and he never looked back.

These sorts of stories are both inspirational and valuable. So much so, that I have decided to launch this new newsletter (which I have mentioned before) called Notes to an Entrepreneur.

A couple of evenings a week, I am going to sending you one of these stories, along with ways you can "steal this strategy!" My hope is to send you to bed inspired . . . and then armed the next day with a potentially great new idea for you.”

And there we have it, Year 1, Issue #1. Not bad, not bad at all.

And coming up, be on the lookout for some new offerings from Notes Media: A micro-newsletter called Shoestring Marketing Daily, and the next extension of this brand, Notes to an Athlete.

Most of all, thank you. Getting to tag along on your entrepreurial (ad)venture is a real treat.

You got this!

- Steve

About Steve

Steve Strauss is the best-selling author of The Small Business Bible (and 17 other books), Inc.’s small business columnist, a lawyer (non-practicing), and an entrepreneur. He sold his last venture, TheSelfEmployed.com to Mark Cuban & Zen Business. Need a ghostwriter or a newsletter for your business? Contact Steve

“Be bold! For boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.”

- Goethe

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