How to Design an Inbound Business with Nick Broekema

In this episode, I sit down with designer, educator, founder, and category creator, Nick Broekema, the mind behind the booming discipline of Content Design and one of the most recognizable visual brands on LinkedIn™.Nick has built something rare: a business that’s 100% inbound. No outreach. No cold emails. No chasing. Just magnetic, systematic content that compounds.We go deep on:How Nick built an audience of 80k+How Content Design became a category, and how he's leading itThe exact steps he took to turn random posting into a businessWhat most creators get wrong on LinkedIn™Why alignment beats hustleThe role of clarity, positioning, and ICP refinementHis pivot from Done-For-You to Cohorts + CommunityAnd the mindset shifts required to scale a highly creative business sustainablyThis is a masterclass in positioning, design, systems, and treating content as a strategic asset - not decoration.Whether you're a founder, a coach, a designer, or someone reinventing their career on LinkedIn, this is a conversation you will want to save.Chapters:00:00 - Teaser Intro00:41 - Re-Framing, Re-Building01:08 - The Early Days & Becoming a Category of One02:50 - From Crickets to Clarity04:10 - The Coach Who Sparked a Category05:23 - Why LinkedIn™? Why Now?07:41 - Quitting, Drifting, and Rediscovering Entrepreneurship09:20 - Choosing LinkedIn™ Over Instagram09:53 - What a Carousel Really Is (and Why It Works)11:30 - Why Visuals Must Be Simple, Clear, and Fast13:49 - How to Build Leads on LinkedIn From Scratch15:44 - Compounding Through Conversation17:05 - The Turning Point: Selling Through Content18:38 - The Three-Month Danger Window19:45 - Quantity → Quality (No Other Shortcut Exists)22:16 - Why You Should Post BEFORE You Need To26:15 - The Multiple Facets of Content Design28:21 - Nick's Design Rules (And Why They Work)30:30 - How His Client Grew 8k Followers and 80k in Revenue32:22 - Trim the Offer: Why Less > More34:28 - The 60% Rule for Positioning36:22 - D.F.Y → D.I.Y: A Pivot That Scales37:52 - Nick’s Current Business Model40:10 - Why He’s Leaving Done-For-You Behind42:53 - The Rise of In-Person Events44:58 - Why Build a Community?46:32 - Screen-Sharing, Transparency, and “Winging It”48:06 - Jeff’s POV on Clarity, Story, and Power of Voice52:02 - Reframing Stage Nerves into Excitement53:36 - Nick’s Public Speaking Trauma (And How He Overcame It)55:54 - Expertise + Stories = Unshakeable Confidence57:15 - The Anchor of Inbound-Only58:10 - Jeff on Remembering Your Own Value59:41 - Jeff’s Storytelling Background & Business Model01:02:52 - Naming, Positioning & Not Getting “Too Cute”Connect with Jeff Abracen on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffabracen/]If you are or know a disruptive influencer who would make a great guest, we'd love to hear from you. Every Like, Share, Subscription and Review means a lot.Cover art by Daniel DevoyMusic by Stephen Voyce©2024 The Disruptive Influence Podcast - Jeff Abracen