Growth and productivity should not come at the expense of health and happiness. Rand Fishkin learned that the hard way with his first startup, Moz. When it came time to start SparkToro, he knew that he wanted to build a business differently. 

SparkToro is an audience research software tool that lets you discover the behaviors, demographics, and sources of influence for any online group.

Startup hustle culture tries to teach us that sleep deprivation and good decisions can go hand in hand, but they can’t. There are plenty of studies that bust that myth. When you are in your best head space and health space, you can do your best work. 

In this episode, Rand discusses how he’s finding ways to grow a business without creating a stressful and unhealthy culture.

Show Topics

• Don’t put growth and productivity in front of health and happiness
• Get rid of micromanaging
• Use a different fundraising model
• Build brand and sources of influence
• Find your way to your audience through relationships
• Spend less time on metrics
• Dendrobates frogs (you’ll understand when you get there)

Show Links 

• Check out SparkToro
• Follow Rand Fishkin on LinkedIn or Twitter

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sean Blanda (Crossbeam), Ilona Abramova (AppSumo), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

020: Spark Creativity and Generate Memorable Content with Ryan Law (Animalz)

041: Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

045: Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

009: The Long Game Podcast: Building Communities, Teams and Companies through Marketing with Sabel Harris

019: Peak Performing, High-Earning Freelance Writing with Michael Keenan (Co-Founder at Peak Freelance)

028: Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)

Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

015: Should You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?

017: How Do Growth and Content Overlap?

027: Is Organic Traffic the Best Traffic?

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Listen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/