George KaoBusiness coach for soulpreneurs since 2009. Author of 4 books & 20 courses re: Authentic Marketing & Joyful Productivity

SONG: Tiny Audience, Great Business

14 Oct 2026 · 3 min

Open source

Business Tao with George Kao

14 Oct 2026 · 3 min

0:00

In this spoken‑word piece, the speaker recounts how they reduced a 10,000‑person email list to a few hundred highly engaged contacts they personally know and care about. By deleting the inactive or low‑engagement subscribers, the business continued to thrive, driven by word‑of‑mouth referrals and deeper relationships. The speaker celebrates the joy, pride, and profitability that come from serving a small, intimate audience rather than performing for strangers, emphasizing a model where each client brings two friends who each bring two more, creating sustainable growth.

Chapters

My email list passed 10,000 names. I check the count most every day. My inbox filled with pick your brain and other people's launches to share. So I kept the ones who engaged the most and let the other thousand Thousands ago, I pressed delete and held my breath, yet the business kept on going strong. Tiny audience, great business. A few hundred names, no more. People I know and care about. Tiny audience, great business. I don't perform for strangers now. I write the way I talk to 3, 3 clients each told 2 friends, and each of those told 2 more. Tiny audience, great business. A few hundred names, no more. People I know and care about. A friend with a huge following wrote me a private note one day. I wish my business were small like yours. Tiny audience, great business. Small and proud and joyful too. Profitable with people I know. Tiny audience, great business.