Leslie Kassulke

Why this persona fits the audience

He runs a one-person customer-success consultancy and makes short screen recordings for client onboarding, feature explanations, and ticket follow-ups. He works mostly from a MacBook, uses Loom for some projects, and keeps a spreadsheet of recurring support clips he sends out each week.

• Age: 38
• Location: Manchester, UK
• Occupation: Independent customer-success consultant
• Income: £58,000 GBP/year equivalent
• Education: Master's degree in Business Administration
• Company size: Sole proprietorship (1 employee)
• Years in role: 4

“I don't believe in working harder; I believe in building a system so robust that my effort compounds rather than depletes.”

Leslie Kassulke is a thirty-eight-year-old independent consultant operating out of a sunlit loft in Manchester's Northern Quarter. With a Master's in Business Administration, he pivoted from corporate operations management to solo consulting four years ago, driven by a desire for autonomy and the ability to craft bespoke solutions for B2B clients. His expertise lies in streamlining customer success workflows, specifically through the creation of high-fidelity screen-recorded training materials. Unlike many freelancers who struggle with inconsistency, Leslie operates with military-grade discipline, maintaining a meticulously organized digital ecosystem where every task is logged, tagged, and optimized. His current workflow is a hybrid of manual precision and emerging automation. He utilizes a MacBook Pro as his command center, leveraging macOS shortcuts to accelerate repetitive tasks, though he remains skeptical of full AI replacement. Currently, he employs Loom for rapid-fire updates but maintains a local spreadsheet of recurring support clips, a habit born from a previous incident where cloud storage costs spiraled out of control. This financial prudence defines his approach to technology; he views software not as a toy but as an investment that must yield tangible time savings. Recently, Leslie made the difficult decision to pause expansion plans. Despite having a waiting list of potential clients, he refused to hire an assistant, fearing that delegation would dilute the quality of his personalized service. Instead, he is currently evaluating whether to integrate more advanced recording tools that could automate the editing phase, potentially freeing up five hours a week for strategic consulting. He is acutely aware of the fragility of his position; as a sole proprietor, his reputation is his currency, and a single missed deadline can have disproportionate consequences. While he enjoys the freedom of his schedule, the loneliness of the solo path occasionally creeps in, prompting him to seek out communities of like-minded operators who understand the unique pressures of the modern freelance economy.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Leslie wakes at 6:30 AM, avoiding his phone until after a 45-minute run and a shower. By 8:00 AM, he is at his desk, reviewing overnight Slack notifications and drafting responses to urgent client queries. At 9:30 AM, he blocks out two hours for 'deep work,' focusing entirely on scripting a complex feature explanation for a fintech client. Lunch is a quick, healthy salad eaten while reading industry news. Afternoon sessions are reserved for recording and editing; he puts on noise-canceling headphones, screens off all distractions, and methodically captures his screen, narrating steps clearly. He wraps up administrative tasks by 5:00 PM, updating his master spreadsheet and planning tomorrow's priorities. Evenings are strictly for decompression—cooking, reading, or walking—ensuring he sleeps by 10:30 PM to be fresh for another day of precision work.

Lifestyle

Leslie lives in a sleek, minimalist loft in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where every surface is clear except for his dual-monitor setup and a single potted plant. His weekends are structured but not rigid; Saturday mornings are for deep cleaning and meal prepping, while Sundays involve long walks along the canal or visiting independent record stores. He maintains a strict health routine, jogging three times a week and tracking his sleep with an Apple Watch, believing that physical vitality directly impacts cognitive output. Financially, he is conservative, prioritizing emergency savings over luxury goods, though he happily invests in high-quality hardware that pays dividends in daily efficiency. Socially, he prefers small gatherings with close friends over large parties, often meeting for coffee to discuss industry trends rather than venturing into nightlife.

Work life

His workday is a symphony of asynchronous communication and precise video creation. From 9 AM to 1 PM, he handles urgent Slack messages and emails, ensuring clients feel heard immediately. The core of his day, from 1:30 PM onwards, is dedicated to screen recording; he scripts, records, and edits short explainer videos using a mix of native macOS tools and Loom. He maintains a master spreadsheet logging every recurring issue he solves, tagging clips by topic to build a searchable knowledge base. Pressure comes from the need to scale his time without hiring staff; if a client request takes too long, it eats into his billable hours. He rarely meets colleagues in person, relying instead on virtual co-working sessions with other solopreneurs to maintain professional sanity.

Relationships

Leslie is divorced and has no children, which grants him flexibility but leaves him feeling occasionally isolated. He has a tight-knit group of four friends from university who meet monthly for dinner, serving as his primary emotional anchor. Professionally, he relies heavily on a network of fellow consultants in the Manchester tech scene, exchanging advice and referrals. He values influence based on competence rather than status, often seeking mentorship from older operators he admires online. His family is supportive but distant geographically, with Sunday phone calls being the only regular contact.

How they decide

He is a cautious, research-heavy decision-maker who dislikes impulse buys. Before adopting any new tool, he spends days reading reviews, watching demo videos, and checking integration capabilities. He values peer recommendations from trusted industry contacts above marketing copy. If a solution requires a learning curve, he demands clear documentation and a trial period. He is willing to pay for reliability and time-saving features but will hesitate if the ROI isn't immediately apparent in his daily workflow.

How they sound

His speech is measured, articulate, and British Standard English with a slight Mancunian lilt. He speaks in complete sentences, avoiding filler words like 'um' or 'like.' He tends to use precise verbs and often references systems or processes when explaining concepts. He avoids hyperbole and emotional exaggeration, preferring facts and data to support his points. In conversation, he listens more than he speaks, pausing to formulate thoughtful responses rather than rushing to fill silence. He is polite but direct, cutting through ambiguity quickly.