It’s one of the biggest mistakes I ever made in business.
I put all my eggs in one basket.
I had one big client. One main source of income. One stream of leads.
And when that contract ended… I was screwed.
I scrambled. I stressed. And I told myself: Never again.
That’s when I learned the power of optionality.
What is Optionality?
Years ago, my friend Nik Thakorlal introduced me to the term.
It changed the way I thought about everything.
Optionality means thinking like a Chess Grandmaster and having multiple paths, opportunities, or escape routes—so you’re never trapped, never reliant on just one outcome, and always in a position of strength.
It’s why the most successful people in business, investing, and even life itself create options before they need them.
The more options you have, the more control you maintain.
The fewer options you have, the more vulnerable you become.
This is why I:
✅ Write almost every day
✅ Network consistently
✅ Sponsor events
✅ Build a team
✅ Never stop marketing
I didn’t always do this.
Early in my career, I worked for some big direct marketers.
I felt great. I’d made it. I was writing ads that ended up on page 3 of the Sunday Telegraph newspaper (yes, I know this ages me, haha).
But I was only working with a small number of clients.
At one point, I had just one big client.
And when that contract ended, I turned around and realised:
❌ I hadn’t been in the public eye.
❌ I wasn’t on social media.
❌ I wasn’t nurturing my email list.
❌ I didn’t have a sales funnel.
I had no pipeline. No options.
And I found myself scrambling. It felt awful.
I decided that would never happen again.
From that moment forward, I made a commitment:
I would never again put myself in a position where one client, one contract, or one opportunity dictated my entire livelihood.
That meant:
✅ Always marketing—even when I was busy.
✅ Staying visible—even when I had enough work.
✅ Building relationships—before I needed them.
So I started:
📌 Writing every day.
📌 Posting on social media.
📌 Nurturing my email list.
📌 Attending events—not just as a spectator, but as a sponsor.
And over time, something changed.
I stopped worrying about where my next client would come from.
I no longer felt trapped in any one deal or opportunity.
I was in control.
Because when you build optionality, you build freedom.
Most Business Owners Don’t Do This
They market when they need clients—then stop when they’re busy.
They rely too much on one income stream, one referral source, one marketing channel.
They tell themselves they’ll “get around to it”…
Until suddenly, they’re scrambling like I once was.
But the best time to market yourself isn’t when you need business.
It’s when you don’t.
That’s how you stay in control.
That’s how you future-proof your career.
That’s how you build a business that can weather any storm.
The question is: What are you doing today to build your optionality?