TAKE THE NIGHT SHIFT ↓
EX SŌLUS (LAT.) — OUT OF SOLITUDE. FROM LONELINESS.
EST. AFTER HOURS · EXSOLUS.COM

EXSOLUS

A newsletter about working alone: the tools, the trials, and the hour of night at which they occur.

Written by a self-employer (of himself) — one who consults out of loneliness and is often up too late. Occasional detours into other jobs the night runs on. New episodes monthly.

IT'S ALWAYS 2:47 A.M. SOMEWHERE ✦ THE DOOR SAYS YOUR NAME ✦ NO ONE IS COMING — THAT'S THE JOB ✦ TOOLS · TRIALS · TESTIMONY ✦ BILLABLE ≠ BEARABLE ✦ IT'S ALWAYS 2:47 A.M. SOMEWHERE ✦ THE DOOR SAYS YOUR NAME ✦ NO ONE IS COMING — THAT'S THE JOB ✦ TOOLS · TRIALS · TESTIMONY ✦ BILLABLE ≠ BEARABLE ✦
ON AIR — LATEST EPISODE · S01E06
The Consulting Court of Common Grievances

Three counts of "let's do it" with no intent to sign. The defendant arrives at 9:22 holding an energy drink. The court bills for its time.

AIRED AUG 4, 2026RUNTIME 7 MINREAD THE EPISODE →
MOON, WAXING. LIKE THE BACKLOG.
THE ARCHIVE
SEASON ONE — 6 EPISODES
S01E06The Consulting Court of Common GrievancesThe court hears Solo Practitioner v. Gen Z Founder.AUG 4, 2026
7 MINS01E05Nobody Bills the Hours You WorryWhat the retainer actually retains.JUL 28, 2026
11 MINS01E04The Notes App Full of Other People's ProblemsA tour of the stack: what a one-person firm runs on, and what it merely pays for.JUN 30, 2026
9 MINS01E03The Retainer Always Rings TwiceOn pricing: the number you said, the number you meant, and the silence in between.MAY 26, 2026
12 MINS01E02Scope Creep at 2:47 A.M.A "small favor" enters phase two. Our operator draws a boundary, in pencil.APR 28, 2026
8 MINS01E01Hang the ShingleYou leave the firm. The firm survives. A door gets your name on it, and the night gets longer.MAR 31, 2026
10 MIN
THE WORKFLOW
FLOWS & TTPS — WRITTEN DOWN SO THEY SURVIVE CONTACT
WF-01Client IntakeThe same twelve questions, every engagement. Three of the answers are always lies. The procedure finds which three.DISCOVERYWF-02Proposal in One SittingScope, price, and terms drafted within 24 hours of the call, before the confidence wears off.SALESWF-03The Follow-Up CadenceThree days, seven days, thirty. Run from the spreadsheet, ignored by no one twice.PIPELINEWF-04The Friday CloseLedger reconciled, invoices chased, pipeline reviewed. The week is not over until it confesses.OPERATIONSWF-05The Post-MortemEvery engagement ends with a filing: what worked, what billed, what will not happen again.NOTES
THE DAILIES
FULL LOG →
DAY 0144Production update on last night's trial.GEN Z FOUNDERDAY 0143THE GEN Z FOUNDER pled "let's do it." The court noted that is not a plea.GEN Z FOUNDERDAY 0142The Founder asked for five minutes. The calendar says it was forty. The invoice will agree with the calendar.THE FOUNDER
The operator, after hours.
THE "OPERATOR"

Consultant. Advisor. The only name on the door — which keeps the meetings short.

Fifteen-odd years advising other people's companies; several now advising my own. Exsolus is where the notes go — what worked, what billed, what kept me up.

No frameworks are sold here. A few are mocked.

THE SUBSCRIPTION

Take the night shift.

One episode a month. No reruns, no clip shows.

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