Flying ✈️ Solo #07

#07

Hello!

Somehow it's already mid-September. The summer break feels like a blur of half-finished to-do lists and the odd summer stroll, and now we're straight back into it. For me, that means pulling together the last details for Craft+Work London and Toronto — two days I'm really looking forward to.

Alongside that, I've pulled together a few updates, some ways I can support you this autumn, and my usual stash of links and recommendations.

Let's dig in!

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In This Issue

• Craft+Work: London & Toronto
• First Officer: Coaching & Advisory
• From The Vault: Links, Tools & Distractions

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Craft+Work: London & Toronto

If you're a soloist, founder, or leader in the Shopify Partner ecosystem, these are for you!

• [UK] Craft+Work: London — Friday 26th September 9am–5pm
• [Canada] Craft+Work: Toronto — Tuesday 21st October 9am–6pm

If you're new to Craft+Work, you can read all about it on the Story so Far page.

Get Your Tickets →

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First Officer: Coaching & Advisory

First Officer is my ongoing, flexible, month-to-month coaching and advisory service that gives you steady support, perspective, and accountability — part strategist, part mentor, part co-pilot.

Most of my work focuses on things you could classify as marketing and business development (but not always). Here are five ways I can support you:

• Positioning and Messaging — Making sure you're crystal clear on what you/your company/your app do, who it's for, and why it matters.
• Marketing — Reviewing your current marketing efforts to spot what's working, what's missing, and where the gaps are.
• Content — Helping you come up with content ideas, reviewing what you've written, or building out a full content plan.
• Event Strategy — Whether you're hosting, sponsoring, or attending, I can help you plan your approach, maximise visibility, and make the most of every opportunity.
• Creative Direction — Need a fresh idea, a second opinion, or a gut check? I'm here for that too.

I've currently got a couple of First Officer slots available. If you'd like to learn more, let's book a call to chat.

Book a Call →

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From The Vault: Links, Tools & Distractions

This time I've cast the net wide — a mix of articles, books, tools, and random finds worth a look.

BTW, you can find even more links to distract/interest you in The Vault (105 links and counting).

• Strategies for Thriving on Your Own — Loved this! So many good ideas for the soloists amongst us.
• How to Increase Your Surface Area for Luck — "You should just do things".
• Leader Blueprint — Introduced to me by an old Shopify colleague (thanks, Tiff), this is a simple but highly effective way to get to know your work colleagues better.
• Footers — Am I the only one obsessed with footers? Well, clearly not, as someone has gone to the trouble of creating a site full of them!
• TinyWow — Lots of PDF, video, image and other online tools all for free!
• Favicon Extractor — A neat little API that allows you to instantly check and download favicons from any website.
• Unreasonable Hospitality — Quite possibly my favourite "business" read of the last couple of years.
• Deck.Gallery — Simply put, "good deck well documented"!
• The People's Graphic Design Archive — Fill up the Nalgene, get comfy and get that mouse finger ready, as you'll be in it for the long haul once you start clicking around this site.
• For Starters — My favourite "new" email newsletter of 2025.
• "I am not a fan of the deliverable activity" — One for consultants! David C. Baker on how, in the early parts of an engagement, the only deliverable is good communication.
• Penco — A "pen company" (and more). Simply lovely stuff for your desk and beyond. Melamine mug, anyone?
• Presentation Tips — 15 things to remember when presenting. Also impressive use of line length for effect!
• So Many F*g Conferences — An interesting take, what's your take?
• Mopak Weekender Duffel Bag — I love a bag, it's kind of a problem. This duffel from Mopak is great — perfect for a couple of days away.

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Right, that's enough rabbit holes for one issue. Do you have any premium (or not-so-premium) links of your own? Hit reply — I'd love to see them.

As always, thanks for reading,
Keir

PS: Even if you can't make Craft+Work: London, perhaps you can make the meetup the night before?

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This is Flying Solo issue #07 by Keir Whitaker. Why not connect on LinkedIn and follow me on Bluesky? Subscribe for future updates.