Half a Bubble Out

Half a Bubble Out Half a Bubble Out is a Marketing Consulting, Leadership Coaching & Business Development Agency.

We take a holistic approach to growing your business, and share insights in our newsletter, The Leadership Contrarian.

Bad meatloaf usually isn’t made by someone who didn’t try. They bought the ingredients, spent the time, followed a recip...
09/08/2026

Bad meatloaf usually isn’t made by someone who didn’t try. They bought the ingredients, spent the time, followed a recipe, and put in the effort.

And yet... the result can still be mediocre. Leadership can work the same way.

You can put in the hours, care deeply about your people, build a profitable company, and still reach a point where working harder doesn’t seem to move the business forward like it used to.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve reached your limit. You may have reached the limit of what your current way of leading can produce.

The good news is, hitting a ceiling doesn’t mean you’re done growing. It may simply mean it’s time to develop a better way of leading.

Click the link in the comments to read issue #037, "Bad Meatloaf Isn't Made by Lazy People."

The relationships you need most in a hard season are usually built long before the hard season arrives.That’s why making...
09/04/2026

The relationships you need most in a hard season are usually built long before the hard season arrives.

That’s why making time for other leaders matters, even when business is busy and there’s always more work to do.

Have the lunch. Make the call. Ask the deeper questions. Invest in those relationships.

Some relationships matter most in moments you never saw coming.A hard phone call. An unexpected loss. A season where you...
09/02/2026

Some relationships matter most in moments you never saw coming.

A hard phone call. An unexpected loss. A season where you can’t quite see the situation clearly yourself.

That’s when you realize the value of having people around you who know you, understand the weight of leadership, and are willing to simply show up.

But those kinds of relationships take time to build.

Community isn’t something to save for when you need it. It’s something worth protecting along the way.

Click the link in comments to subscribe to The Leadership Contrarian and get helpful leadership insights straight to your inbox.

Three wins, one painful loss, and all in about 36 hours.That’s the part of leadership nobody really prepares you for.The...
08/31/2026

Three wins, one painful loss, and all in about 36 hours.

That’s the part of leadership nobody really prepares you for.

The wins and losses don’t take turns. A great opportunity can show up at lunch, difficult news can hit a few hours later, and somehow you’re expected to keep functioning through all of it.

You don’t get through a roller coaster ride like that just by being tougher. You get through it because of who’s sitting next to you. And sometimes you sit next to them before you even know you need them.

In the newest issue of The Leadership Contrarian, I'm sharing what happened during a recent trip to Austin and what it reminded me about the people we surround ourselves with when leadership, business, and life take an unexpected turn.

Click the link in comments to read Issue #036.

You can be surrounded by people who love and support you and still feel alone.For leaders, sometimes what’s missing is h...
08/28/2026

You can be surrounded by people who love and support you and still feel alone.

For leaders, sometimes what’s missing is having someone who truly understands the weight you’re carrying, without needing the whole thing explained.

You weren’t created to lead alone.

Leadership carries experiences that can be difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t lived them.The pressure of making ...
08/26/2026

Leadership carries experiences that can be difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t lived them.

The pressure of making payroll. The weight of a decision that affects your team. The discouragement when business slows down. Even the excitement of finally landing the opportunity you’ve worked toward for months.

The people closest to you can love and support you deeply and still not fully understand what carrying a business feels like.

That’s why community with other leaders matters.

A few people who understand the highs and the lows, can offer perspective when you need it, and give you space to be known.

Who do you have in your life who truly understands what you carry as a leader?

Click the link in the comments to read issue #035 of The Leadership Contrarian "You Weren't Created To Lead Alone"

You can be surrounded by people and still feel completely alone.For business owners and leaders, that kind of loneliness...
08/24/2026

You can be surrounded by people and still feel completely alone.

For business owners and leaders, that kind of loneliness can be especially difficult. You carry decisions, pressure, responsibility, wins, and setbacks that even the people closest to you may not fully understand.

Somewhere along the way, we accepted the idea that “it’s lonely at the top” as simply part of leadership.

But what if it doesn’t have to be?

Click the link in comments to read the newest issue of The Leadership Contrarian, “You Weren’t Created to Lead Alone.”

Mistakes can teach us valuable lessons, but somewhere along the way, we started giving them credit for the practice, exp...
08/20/2026

Mistakes can teach us valuable lessons, but somewhere along the way, we started giving them credit for the practice, experience, and good decisions that actually helped us grow.

The goal isn’t to avoid mistakes at all costs. It’s also not to treat making them like a learning strategy.

Study the fundamentals. Get your reps. Learn from what went wrong AND what went right.

Because mistakes belong in the picture. They just don’t deserve to tower over theory and practice.

Click the link in the comments to read “The Cat on the Ladder Is Lying” in The Leadership Contrarian.

We’ve all heard leaders get asked "What taught you the most?" and usually the response is "My mistakes."It sounds like g...
08/17/2026

We’ve all heard leaders get asked "What taught you the most?" and usually the response is "My mistakes."

It sounds like good advice. But what if it’s only partially true?

Because mistakes belong in the learning process. It just doesn't deserve all the credit.

And if most of your learning is coming from what went wrong, you may be overlooking one of your best opportunities to learn...what went right!

Click the link in the comments to read issue #034 of The Leadership Contrarian "The Cat on the Ladder is Lying"

Today, take a moment to encourage a leader in your life. Be specific. Tell them what you see, what you appreciate, and w...
08/14/2026

Today, take a moment to encourage a leader in your life. Be specific. Tell them what you see, what you appreciate, and why what they're doing matters.

A few words of encouragement may mean more than you realize.

Click the link in comments to read issue #033 of The Leadership Contrarian, "Who Encourages the Leader?"

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