The Plan Never Goes According to Plan—Here’s Proof

My First Marketing Pitch—Here’s How It Actually Went

North Signal becomes official on Thursday. I gave my first pitch two hours ago. And I’m pretty sure I’m not getting the client.

That’s where we are.

Why North Signal exists

Most people don’t know this, but North Signal isn’t just a stepping stone. It’s actually the long-term dream — just happening earlier than I planned.

The original plan was to work for a few other firms first. Learn from people who’ve been doing this longer than me. Build my skills in someone else’s sandbox before starting my own. But the internship market had other ideas, and MotoAid needed business credit, and here we are.

MotoAid is my motorcycle roadside assistance startup — think Uber meets AAA for riders. I’ve been building it for over a year. Won a pitch competition with it. Have a waitlist growing. But when I started looking into funding, I kept hitting the same wall: you need at least a year of business credit before anyone takes you seriously for a loan.

So I built North Signal. A marketing consulting firm that brings in real revenue, builds real credit, and lays the foundation I need to eventually get MotoAid funded the right way. And one day, when MotoAid is where it needs to be, North Signal becomes what I always wanted it to be — my own firm, built the way I want it.

It’s not the detour. It was always the destination. I’m just getting there in a different order.

I always say the plan never goes according to plan. I just didn’t think I’d be proving myself right this fast.

What the process has actually looked like

Figuring it out as I go. That’s the honest answer.

I got the Instagram page up. I figured out the website after it wouldn’t load for days — I was paying $200 (a year) for a page nobody could visit. I’ve been making content, trying to get people aware that North Signal exists, and working toward that first client.

And I’ve been learning things after the fact that I wish I’d known sooner. Like the fact that California charges you $800 a year just for having an LLC. Not for revenue. Not for profit. Just for existing as a business. Nobody put that in the brochure.

If you’re thinking about forming an LLC, write that down. $800 a year, California franchise tax. You’re welcome.

The pitch

Two hours ago I gave my first pitch. To my mentor. Someone I trust and respect.

The pitch landed. She liked it. She just likes someone else more. I find out officially on Friday but you know how it goes — you can read the room. You know when you’re not getting the job before they tell you.

I’m mad. I’m annoyed. I’m defeated. Not because of pride — because I need this to work to survive. I need a minimum of $50k a year after taxes just to cover my bills. I still haven’t locked down a summer internship. I graduate in a year. The clock is running and the pressure is real.

And I’ve been feeling lately like nothing I’ve done in the past six months has moved the needle. Like I’ve been grinding and grinding and nothing is showing for it yet.

One thing goes right. Another thing goes sideways. That’s the whole story of this week.

I’m writing about it anyway because that’s the point of this newsletter. Not the cleaned-up version after things work out. The real version, while I’m still in it.

If you’re in it too — the pressure, the feeling that nothing is adding up yet — you’re not alone. I’m right there with you. The work counts even when it doesn’t show. Even when someone picks someone else. Even when the plan isn’t going according to plan.

I’ll keep going. And I’ll keep telling you about it.

If you have any helpful or hopeful advice please leave a comment :)

— Sydney