Read my latest column on why accepting rejection is one of the keys to success for entrepreneurs and business owners.
There are always 3 constants in my weeks: they are hectic, varied and always include a lot of marketing related activities!
Whether it is studying the latest marketing theories, creating content or creating and implementing marketing strategies across my businesses, marketing always forms a major part of my agenda. That’s because I love it but also because I think it is one of the most important activities within a business and something any CEO or entrepreneur should have a massive hand in.
A large part of my time is spent on content creation – recording podcasts, writing blogs for my website or content for this newsletter, social media posts and live broadcasts. Building a brand is essential for both lead generation and maximising sales opportunities, ensuring high margins are achieved.
“Without a brand you are a commodity, and selling a commodity is a race to the bottom.”
Matt Haycox
One of the biggest mistakes business owners make when it comes to their business or personal brand is farming it out to a third party and leaving them to it. I always say that the clue in the words ‘personal brand’ is the ‘personal’ bit.
For a personal brand to be truly successful it should be created and managed by the individual themself – or they should as a bare minimum have a major hand in it.
But one of the main factors that prevent people from properly building a personal brand is the fear of trolling – people dishing out the hate and the horrible comments online.
If you want to be an entrepreneur or a successful business owner, then you need to get comfortable with rejection.
And this means rejection from customers. Rejection from banks and investors. Rejection from potential employees you are looking to hire. The list is endless.
The quicker you learn to accept rejection and get comfortable with it, the better. Sweating it, overthinking it, trying to fight it will just consume time and energy, achieve nothing and fuck with your mind.
Trolling, the online hatred and negativity, is just another form of rejection. If you have followed me for a while, you will know that when I receive abuse online I usually repost it on my social channels, with a bit of banter back at the sender. I do this as it amuses me and I do it to try show you guys how little it affects me, and how little it should affect you.
The way I see it is this…most people in life are good and supportive. It’s the absolute minority who are bitter, negative and abusive. So, for every 1 person writing shit about me online there will be at least 25 people writing something positive and nice.
So, what does it mean if I get 5 or 10 negative comments? It means not enough people know who I am, or I would be getting a lot more! I need 1000’s of people hating on me! Because that means I will have millions who know me. And the more people that know me, the more people who can transact with me – and that is ultimately the whole reason for doing this right!
FINAL THOUGHTS: Go think about that for a minute. Instead of fearing the hate, court it. A simple shift of perspective can change everything. And if you can learn to think like this, you’ll never be feeling anxiety from social media ever again.
CREDIT: Image by Tara Winstead and Karolina Grabowska
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