Brand New Name

"Brand New World" is now "The Age of Independents"

I started this newsletter to share a point of view: that brands and their stories shape the world in ways we don’t pay much attention to. This isn’t just a feature of the modern economy, and brands aren’t limited to business—they’ve been the foundation of how we create culture and society since the beginning of human history. It’s a fascinating topic, and still a way I see and understand the world.

But starting last year, the focus of my work and my writing shifted. Writing about brands began to feel a little too theoretical. Fascinating, of course, but not urgent.

We’re living together through a moment of historical change. Everything feels like it’s changing fast, and changing all at once. I don’t think we’re prepared for it.

So I went back to indie.biz—a project I started ten years ago to help anyone plan, launch, and grow their own independent business. This year I relaunched it with “What is Business?”, a course on business literacy. And I wrote a new book, Unfinished Business, putting forward a new story about capitalism and human flourishing. It comes out June 15th, and it’s available for pre-order now.

So I’m relaunching this newsletter too, with a new name. The Age of Independents was what I called my podcast when I first launched indie.biz. I’ll be writing about our economy, our markets, and the transition to a world of independent work. And I’ll probably still write a little about brands, too.

Next week, I’ll start with a two-part piece on capitalism’s brand problem—and why I think there’s a better story we’re not telling. More soon.