The Path From Business Startup To Conquering Your Industry #79

I'd like to explore the future of your business journey in this post.

Together, we will uncover the pivotal steps you need to take in order to move from your current success as an entrepreneur, albeit a stagnant one to being a truly transformative leader – to become an In-demand Entrepreneur.

First I need to differentiate the 4 types of entrepreneurs:

1. Amateur Entrepreneur, who love what they do but aren't yet getting paid for it.
2. Struggling Entrepreneurs, who work long hours and need lots of clients/customers just to make ends meet.
3. Stagnant Entrepreneurs, who get new customers/clients one conversation at a time. Over time, they produce a word-of-mouth business, they are making some money - with good months and some pretty bad months. Their business potential is limited.
4. And then there are In-Demand Entrepreneurs. These are thought leaders. They are like a magnet to their dream clients. They command fees and able to price their offers beyond the range of most of their competitors in their industry, They have a wide audience and a vibrant community. They are known by experts in other fields. They can take extended vacations, and they can make money while they sleep.

I've spent the past 5 years helping thousands of women starting business and becoming in-demand. 

I'm going to teach you how to move beyond stagnant, to become truly Influential.

But first, I need to distinguish between two words: influencer and influential.

1.  An influencer is someone who uses social media to command attention.

An influencer might have a lot of followers, but they're not necessarily making a big impact or making a lot of money. Likes and views won't pay bills.

In fact, the average payment per post, if you have under 10,000 followers, is less than $100. Even if you have between 50K followers to 75K followers, you'll still only make about $200 per post.

Everyone and their mother calls themselves an “influencer” these days. In fact, The Wall Street Journal reports 50 million people identify as content creators, with fewer than 100 accounts generating enough income to support themselves for more than five years.

2.  An In-Demand Entrepreneur is one of the most highly valued and highly paid people in your industry.

They're seen as experts, their opinions and insights are valued and sought after, and they can command extraordinary fees.

When you're seen as an expert, clients knock on your door.

When your opinions and insights are valued and sought after, you make a big impact inside and outside your field.

When you're in high demand, you have more people wanting to work with you than you are able to take on. Therefore, you can increase your price and people would still say yes.

It’s just a matter of supply and demand.

Storytelling is the #1 superpower of an In-Demand Entrepreneur

One of the most important things you can do is become a better storyteller. When you tell stories, you stir people's senses. You draw them in and make them want to listen.

And the best stories are the ones that are raw and unfiltered. They're the stories that show your flaws and your struggles, as well as your successes. When you do that, you command people's attention. And when you tell their story, they'll love you forever.

1. Tell stories

Stories gather attention and generate curiosity. They don’t even need to be your own…

You can literally read it from a book. As long as it draws people in.

If you want to get good at storytelling, start collecting stories and begin telling stories.

Create a story bank. 

Every day before you go to sleep make a note of something interesting you saw, heard or experienced. Stories can be smaller than you think.

Here's an example of a small story: Last week, a client of mine told me that she was exhausted, she has lost confidence. I asked how much money she'd made so far this year. She told me she'd made $360,000 – and I asked if she had considered taking the rest of the year off. It blew her mind because entrepreneurs rarely consider setting an upper limit for themselves…

Now that's a small story and I deliberately didn't spend time making it sound better. But I wrote it down at the time because I knew it would be interesting to my community at some point.

2. Tell your story

An influencer posts selfies on social media projecting a future they wish they had. 

An In-Demand Entrepreneur shares stories they're proud of, stories they're embarrassed by, and stories about the difference that they've made. That's much more attractive.

Lay out your raw, unfiltered story. Share your struggles. They draw people in.

Share your successes. It's not bragging if you've done it. And your successes are attractive to your people.

Share your unique value. And as a founder and CEO of your business, your unique value is often the value your business possesses or stands for. 

Put humility to one side. What can you or your products do that no one else on the planet can do?

Most entrepreneurs hold back on telling people about themselves and their business because they don’t want to brag. They’s say - I’m not into self promotion. But sharing stories isn’t self promotion.

As you tell your own raw and unfiltered stories, you learn about yourself, and people get curious to know more. When you like yourself (including your flaws and your struggles) you feel confident – and that’s deeply attractive. 

And when you trust yourself, others trust you and your business. I've shared openly for years about my struggles with parenting, being a women in the business world and coaching. I've been open that my struggle with self-confidence, how I failed and lost tons of money, taking leaps into the unknown with my businesses. Does me being this real turn you off, or help you trust me slightly more?

When you can share your stories, people get to really know you. When they know you, they begin to like you. When they like you, they begin to trust you.

When people know, like and trust you, they feel safe. When they feel safe, they’re happy to do business with you.

3. Tell your clients’ stories

Your clients are superheroes. And they often don't see it or know it. Tell the world how extraordinary they are. Brag for them.

Write down their stories and share them with others. Video their stories, record their stories for a podcast.

Do whatever it takes to give your clients’ stories the platform they deserve.

It may be scary. But you can do it scared.

In the book, “Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty,” Patrick Lencioni describes the three primary fears that coaches often encounter:

1.  Fear of Losing the Business: We avoid difficult situations where we feel vulnerable.
2.  Fear of Being Embarrassed: We hold back from asking questions or suggesting ideas that could expose our lack of knowledge or understanding.
3.  Fear of Feeling Inferior: We try to avoid situations where we might be viewed as unimportant, or unable to influence outcomes.

Becoming an In-Demand Entrepreneur is not for everyone.

It requires courage.

The courage to be seen as cringy. 

The courage to risk being embarrassed. 

And the courage to speak out even when you feel less than influential.

Becoming an In-Demand Entrepreneur is not about seeking fame, but about being the figure who shakes up your industry, the person others aspire to be, the person your customers are drawn to.

So, what are you waiting for? Start telling your stories today!

https://www.momboss.academy/

What stage of business are you in? Find out by taking our quiz here and start becoming In Demand!