It’s important for those who seek to employ and empower themselves to fully grasp who they are and what they’re doing.
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I don’t sell anything I wouldn’t buy and I don’t write anything I wouldn’t read—that’s my rule as an entrepreneur and journalist. Before pitching a product or publishing an article, I always view what I’m presenting as a hard-to-sell consumer. If it’s a proposal, I’m aiming to convince to myself to say yes within the first two paragraphs. If it’s my story I’m critiquing, I ask myself: “was there a challenge, choice and outcome?”
I’m extremely inquisitive of myself, thus I’m usually the same with others; but that allows for greater insight, which in turn enables me—and those I associate with—to clearly see the uniqueness, relevance, and more importantly, potential in any entrepreneurial effort.
It’s important for those who seek to employ and empower themselves to fully grasp who they are and what they’re doing; because, despite what you’ve been told, you are your first customer. The repeat business you should be aiming to acquire when you launch your venture is your own; particularly your commitment to follow through every day on the mission you wrote for yourself.
Far too often—at least in the spaces I’ve entered—entrepreneurs are so excited about what they’re branding, that they fail to asses why anyone else would give a two sh*ts and kidney stone about what they’re selling. If the value, relevance and urgency of the product or service that you’re investing in isn’t clear to you as the principal, it won’t be clear to the consumer you’ll attempt to court. To avoid failing your first customer I recommend following these two methods religiously.
- Ask yourself the hard questions: Don’t waste your time pursuing a catchy slogan, fancy logo and tricked-out website before you comprehend the market and how your brand will be a leader in it. Asking yourself hard questions, such as “How can I bolster the perceived value of my brand through innovation and strategic partnerships?” will yield more internal cohesion and efficiency than a question like: “How many likes can we get on our Facebook page if we giveaway gift cards?”
- Act as if: Many entrepreneurs create brands without realizing business is about relationships. Speaking for myself, most of my closest business associates couldn’t recite Techbook Online’s slogan on command, and they don’t need to; that’s not the point of business, in my opinion. Business is about being established as someone who can handle tremendous responsibility, execute ideas and grow communities, while still providing exemplary customer and client services, and expanding the brand to new markets. In order to accomplish all of that and more, it’s going to take an overwhelming amount of belief in self. That may seem like a given, but many entrepreneurs create brands and strategies while not fully convinced they’ll succeed. Doubt plays out in strategy, thus it’s critical that entrepreneurs believe they’ll be successful. And until that thought process is cemented into their brains, entrepreneurs need to act as if. Act as if you run a multi-national, publicly-held corporation, when in reality you’re fundraising to legally incorporate your company. Act as if you just lead a billion dollar merger, when truth is you convinced a few friends to wear your company’s t-shirts to hand out flyers. Bottom line: the entrepreneur who thinks they can, and the one who thinks they can’t, are both right; it’s all a matter of mentality and how you perceive yourself.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
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Photo: John AM Nueva/Flickr