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You are here: Home / Blog / What is the question that people ask you most often?

What is the question that people ask you most often?

July 29, 2020 by Michael Frew

The Problem with Limited Self-Promotion

If there is one question I hear from every friend of mine, it’s a variation of the question, “I’m sorry I don’t already know this, but what is it you do again?”

Wouldn’t this be the best time to have a smooth answer like “I’m sorry, I’m not authorized to tell you that”?

But alas, the truth is much less dramatic.

My teaser answer is, “I work in software.”

90% of people pull up, full stop, and move along to the next topic. Just saying “software” pulls many people into an area they know little about. It’s a field many aren’t excited to talk about at social events.

If there is a follow-up question, I’ve rehearsed my true answer, “I acquire and operate companies, primarily software businesses, in the B2B and cloud application space.”

What They’re Really Asking: “How Does This Guy Make a Living if I Never See Him Working?”

I do zero self-promotion and rarely talk about my career. I’m a proud introvert and a private person. I enjoyed the anonymity and privacy of this type of career choice afforded.

I am comfortable asking many questions about other people while volunteering almost nothing about my own background. When I seem more people-focused, it’s because I’m a well-rehearsed “professional extrovert.”

This fact has led many of my friends to be really close to me without really any understanding of what I love to do, what gets me up in the morning, or what I do all day.

They only know I don’t go to an office, don’t appear to have any job, am rarely out of flip flops, and seem to travel a lot.

With an entirely virtual set of business lines, traveling and working in a bathing suit is not that unique in our industry. The disconnect is that none of my friends knows anyone else that works entirely virtually and online. Since I do almost no self-promotion, almost nobody – including most of my close family – has any idea what I’m doing all day.

The Need For a Bit More Self Promotion

I want to start sharing my work product and lessons learned with my close friends and the world. Hopefully, these essays about my experiences as a software engineer turned online business owner will help.

I believe there is a strong future in the self-directed, small business online investment profession. I likely have a lot to share from what I’ve learned this past decade. If you’re interested in a similar career, hopefully, I can help.

Plus, now when someone asks me what I do all day, I can send them to my own website. Likely, they will find so much more about my career than they ever wanted to know!


Online Business Ride AlongWant to learn more about my journey acquiring and operating online companies, including other failed acquisition lessons learned?  Check out Online Business Ride Along, a monthly deep dive into my journey, with actual online investments and monthly P&L’s for each businesses.



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Who Am I?

Moving to Grand Cayman
Acquisition Entrepreneur (a hoity-toity way to say I get really excited about buying and running companies) based out of Las Vegas, NV.

I write essays about my experiences as a buyer of online businesses at MichaelFrew.com, steward the The Best Damn Newsletter for Buying Online Businesses, and provide back stage insight into running a real online business portfolio at Online Business Ride Along.

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Online Business Ride Along

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Online Business Ride Along is an all-access backstage pass to learn how I manage my 7-figure portfolio of Internet-based businesses. I share exactly how I’m operating these companies, the monthly P&L’s, and all the behind the scenes activities of managing multiple online companies.

If you ever found yourself saying “I’ve spent years taking courses to learn more about online business, but none of them explain what is it really like?”, then this is your answer.

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