Weekday Wisdom, Episode 19
Are you promoting what you do? That’s what we’re going to talk about in today’s Weekday Wisdom.
The next entrepreneurial trait for success is that successful entrepreneurs promote themselves. I encourage you to watch the video because it shows off some of my geeky sides and there are bloopers at the end. But, here is the content in a nutshell:
If you are an entrepreneur, whether it is based on a hobby or not, you are going to have to promote yourself. Which means if you are very modest, and feel that “Oh, I’m not all that and a bag of chips,” you’re gonna have to get over that.
You’re going to have to promote yourself and what you have to offer. Because if you don’t, no one is going to have the confidence to purchase what you’ve got.
Successful entrepreneurs know they have to boldly self-promote. That does not mean being pushy because there are people who do that — and that’s just annoying. In addition, that behavior pushes away clients.
Bold self-promotion means being able to stand in your power and your confidence and your belief in what you have to offer. And promote it. Promote it appropriately, at the appropriate times, and in the appropriate ways.
Don’t be afraid to brag about what you’ve got. If you truly are a hobbypreneur, that means you are passionate about whatever hobby it is that you are creating products around. So, of course, you should promote boldly!
For example, I’m building a product — I’ve been doing it since grad school, slowly but surely, because it’s a big project. It’s called Yesteryear’s Future and is about the history and sociology of science fiction. My big vision is that it’s going to be a TV show and with an accompanying a book, kind of like Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. When you get me talking about this project, I get really excited and I start talking faster and faster. It may not be coming along as quickly as I’d like — life has a way of getting in the way — but I know it’s going to happen. That’s one project I’m doing as a hobbypreneur.
Another hobbypreneur business I have is Public Speaking Super Powers. As I’m mentioned before, I’ve been working on it since 2010. (You can tell I have a tendency to let life get my way.) It’s a book I’m writing where I interviewed 89 speakers. Some of them were professional speakers. Some of them were business owners who promoted themselves through public speaking. Some of them were speaker trainers. I talked to them about what they thought their super powers in public speaking were. And it’s coming together is a really strong book. (I just finished the first draft of the Introduction, which is about skills vs. talent, this weekend!) This is another hobbypreneur business I’ve got going because I love speaking in public.
What I just did was model two examples of me boldly self-promoting my hobbypreneur businesses. This is what successful hobbypreneurs, and entrepreneurs in general, do. When the time is right, they talk about their project with passion and excitement. And, if they happen to be talking to someone who’s in their ideal target market, that person is going to pick up that passion and go, “Ooh! I want some, too!”
Don’t be afraid to boldly self-promote. Love what you do and love on it to other people. Again, appropriately and in the appropriate context.
Remember:
Don’t box yourself in.
Spread your wings and fly.
You are capable of more than you know.
If you enjoyed this episode, please comment below. Let me know what you want to know about in future videos because I’m always looking to answer your questions and make the Weekday Wisdom something that you value and look forward to watching.
Video Version
0 Comments