Jon Brosio recently shared something that caught my attention: "If you think success is about being the best-this will change your mind. Because here’s what actually creates momentum: Effort. Consistency. And the willingness to look a little stupid for a while."

That last line is the one most people skip past. We all want the version of growth that looks clean: smart plan, perfect execution, instant validation. Jon is pointing to the opposite. Momentum is usually built through unglamorous repetition, public imperfection, and enough patience to let the boring parts compound.

In this post, I want to expand on what Jon is really getting at, and turn it into something you can apply if you are building a solo business, selling a service, or trying to create content that actually converts.

The real enemy is not competition, it is stagnation

Jon wrote that most people are "chasing the perfect strategy" and the "overnight win," but what they need is "movement." I agree. The biggest hidden cost in most solo businesses is not a bad idea, it is the long stretches of no reps.

When you do not take reps, three critical things do not happen:

You do not get feedback from reality
You do not build the skill of shipping under uncertainty
You do not collect proof that you can handle discomfort

That third one is what people call confidence, but it is really evidence. Confidence is built when you repeatedly do something that feels risky, and you survive it.

Key insight: movement creates information. Information creates better decisions.

Effort and consistency are a strategy (even when it looks unsophisticated)

A lot of advice online makes it sound like "strategy" is something you discover first, then execute. In practice, especially early on, strategy is often what emerges after you have done enough consistent action to notice patterns.

Jon’s formula is simple on purpose:

Effort
Consistency
Willingness to look a little stupid for a while

If you have ever tried to sell a service, post content daily, or DM potential clients, you already know this is the tax. You pay it either upfront with awkwardness, or later with regret.

What "looking stupid" actually means in business

It rarely means being incompetent. It usually means:

You publish a post and it gets 3 likes
You record a video and hate your voice
You send a pitch and do not get a reply
You make an offer and the first version is not landing

None of that is a signal to stop. It is the normal price of acquiring leverage.

Reps, feedback, refinement: the loop that creates momentum

Jon listed the engine of progress as "Reps. Feedback. Refinement." That is a full operating system in three words.

Here is how to make it practical.

1) Reps: choose a small action you can repeat

If your weekly plan relies on big bursts of motivation, it will break. The goal is a repeatable rep that is slightly uncomfortable but doable.

Examples of reps for a solo service business:

Publish 3 targeted posts per week
Start 5 relevant conversations per day
Send 3 tailored outreach messages per week
Pitch 1 clear offer per week
Ask 2 clients for feedback after delivery

The point is not the exact numbers. The point is to pick a cadence you can maintain long enough for compounding to kick in.

2) Feedback: turn the market into your coach

Feedback is not only comments and likes. It is any signal that shows what the market understands, values, or ignores.

Collect feedback by watching:

Which posts get saves, replies, and DMs (not just impressions)
Which phrases prospects repeat back to you
Where sales calls stall or objections cluster
Which offers get a fast yes versus a slow maybe

A simple habit: keep a running document called "Market Language." Paste exact phrases prospects use. Those phrases become your future hooks, headlines, and offer bullets.

3) Refinement: adjust one variable at a time

Refinement is where people either level up or spiral. The common mistake is changing everything at once, then not knowing what worked.

Instead, treat your content and selling like small experiments:

Keep the offer constant, change the angle
Keep the angle constant, change the CTA
Keep the CTA constant, change the format (text to carousel to video)

Key insight: refinement is easier when your actions are simple and repeatable.

The hidden pattern behind "overnight" success stories

Jon gave three examples that matter because they normalize the early stage:

"The consultant who closes $10k clients? She used to flinch every time she pitched."
"The coach with the waitlist? He made 6 offers before anyone said yes."
"The creator with momentum? Her first 90 days were pure trial and error."

Those are not just motivational anecdotes. They describe a predictable pattern: volume first, elegance later.

If you are not getting results yet, you might be missing one of these:

Enough iterations of the offer
Enough exposure to the right audience
Enough clarity in the promise
Enough proof points and examples

Not enough genius is rarely the issue.

What this looks like in a solo business: a simple blueprint

Jon summarized the solo business path as:

One clear offer
Targeted content that starts real conversations
Simple, repeatable actions-done consistently

Let’s make each piece concrete.

One clear offer (so people can say yes)

If your offer is fuzzy, your content has to do too much work. A clear offer helps the right people self-identify.

A practical offer checklist:

A specific audience (not everyone)
A specific outcome (not vague improvement)
A clear mechanism (how you create the result)
A clear timeline or scope (what is included)
A clear next step (DM, call, application)

If you cannot explain what you do in one sentence without qualifiers, you probably have an offer clarity problem, not a content problem.

Targeted content that starts conversations (not just impressions)

Jon’s point about targeted content is critical: content is not just broadcasting. It is a filter and a conversation starter.

I like to ask three questions before posting:

Who is this for, specifically?
What emotional state are they in right now (confused, skeptical, overwhelmed, ambitious, stuck)?
What is the next conversation I want this to trigger?

When your content is specific enough, the right people do something small but meaningful: they reply, DM, ask a question, or admit a problem. Those are sales seeds.

Simple repeatable actions (done long enough to compound)

This is the part people underestimate. Consistency is not heroic. It is scheduled.

A simple weekly rhythm might look like:

Monday: publish one problem-aware post
Wednesday: publish one proof or case-study post
Friday: publish one offer post
Daily: comment on 10 posts where your buyers already are
Weekly: reach out to 5 people who engaged and start a real conversation

It is not glamorous. It is effective. And it creates the compounding Jon is talking about.

A final reframe: qualify yourself by doing the work

Jon wrote, "They didn’t wait to feel qualified. They just kept going." That is the mindset shift.

Feeling qualified is not a prerequisite. It is often the result of repeated exposure to the exact situations you fear: pitching, posting, following up, refining.

If you want a simple metric to focus on this week, use this:

Did I take enough reps to earn new information?

If the answer is yes, you are moving, even if results are not loud yet. If the answer is no, the solution is rarely a new idea. It is a smaller action you can repeat starting today.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by Jon Brosio, Your skills + The One Page Offer™ + 16 weeks = $10k/mo recurring profit | DM me "ONE" for details. View the original LinkedIn post →