You tell ‘em, Sammy Davis Jr. (full lyrics to “I’ve Gotta Be Me”)
Being an entrepreneur, especially a solo-entrepreneur, and lacking confidence or not being yourself is going to annihilate your possibility for success. If you’re not confident in yourself, it’s going to show… on your website, in your marketing materials, in your communication with others. You may be sitting there saying “Duh!” but this really goes deeper than that.
No matter how good you are, there is always someone better than you… no doubt about it. Skill-wise, you are replaceable. Sorry, it’s true. There’s nothing you can learn that someone else can’t learn. But what can’t be replaced or replicated is you (unless we’re talking growing a human ear on a mouse kind of replication, but I digress). It’s taken me longer than it should have to realize this.
You see, I am great at what I do. But there’s A LOT of people that are good at what I do and many more that will become good at it. My website used to be void of personality, mimicking the types of sites many law and accounting firms have… BORING. Pretty much a pamphlet on steroids. After being hit over the head by inspiration (see credits below), I’ve decided that it’s time to just be me. That’s the one thing no one else can be.
I know I’m a little raw. I:
- Drop the f-bomb frequently (when not around my kids).
- Listen to hard rock and metal.
- Am fiercly competitive.
- Tell really crude jokes.
- Am a gamer.
- Like my in-laws (does this count?).
So what if I’m not the typical soccer mom?
Will my potential clients read this and decide that I’m not the right fit for them? Maybe. And that’s OK. I want clients that can see a little of themselves in me. I want to make that connection with the people that I am surrounded by. To do that, I needed to be confident in me.
Credits
@Shauna Callaghan: Shauna’s awesome, a client of mine, and I’m not getting paid by her to include her here 
Shauna’s a killer blog designerand we have lots of fun on Skype. I sometimes find it difficult to charge her because I consider her a friend.
@Kai Rostcheck: New client, but I already know he’s cool. Kai was the first victim after my “enlightenment” and was not offended when I referred to myself as a BAMF. He’s putting the finishing touches on a new program, Free Marketing Made Easy. If you need help with Internet marketing, check out the website.
@Scott Stratten: I twitter stalk this guy. You should, too. He’s kind of a big deal on twitter and has the t-shirt to prove it. Seriously, I admire this guy because he’s real and knows how to virtually connect with people. Check him out online at UnMarketing.
You are spot on in this post. So glad you wrote it! You are amazing to work with! And the “raw” stuff makes it even better. You wont believe this but I get along with my inlaws too! Crazy, huh.
Ditto to Shauna (and hey, I get along with MY in-laws too! This is getting weird…).
I’m really glad to hear that you are coming out of the box, Hilary. Because you do kick serious butt on the professional side (I’m already attached to your hip, and learning how to actually delegate for once instead of trying to do everything on my own) but also because you are just flat-out cool. And what’s the benefit of being an entrepreneur if I can’t build a team of cool people around me? If I wanted to work with stiffs I’d be working at any old corporate job.
That said, to anyone considering hiring you I’d say this:
While you are SO good that part of me doesn’t want to share you, the truth is that you are upfront and unafraid. You’ve been direct with me about what you can do, and what you’ll need from me in order to complete our projects. Then viola! Just like that, stuff is getting done without me sweating it.
Now I’m off to crank up some Deep Purple, mix a podcast then walk in the woods before the kids get home. Let me know when everything else is done, ok?