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How Giving the Virtual Finger to the World Can Help You Succeed

Posted By Guest Blogger 28th of July 2012 Miscellaneous Blog Tips 0 Comments

This guest post is by Shelly Cone of beachbettypr.com.

Every business person has those customers that they can’t stand working with but can’t away, because after all, those difficult customers have the duckets. They are offering you their money and you want to accept their money.

Do you realize that there is a very simple way to stop getting those horrible customers? Stop seeking them out. Yes, I said it’s your fault that you get hard-to-work with customers. If you are getting an undue amount of customers you hate it’s probably because you aren’t being true to yourself and your business image.

Why? Because you are listening to everyone’s advice about your business and making changes that appeal to a wide demographic (a wide demographic means a demographic that includes idiots with money to spend) instead of attracting like-minded customers.

Stop appealing to those suckers, be true to your image, and you’ll start attracting clients and customers you actually like. You’ll be happier, they’ll be happier and you’ll find more success.

Here’s how to stand up and let people know the real you.

1. Tell your friends and family to shut their pie holes (respectfully, of course)

When you have a great business idea it’s natural to seek out advice from those closest to you. Those closest to you however, usually don’t have the proper credentials to succeed in business. Even if they do they may not know what’s best for your business.

When I started my site a few years ago, I listened to a lot of people who advised me to tone down my persona to conform. It took me a long time to shake that advice and let my identity shine through.

Friends, family, “gurus,” and even your inner voice will all give you advice. What you really need to do is tell all those voices—the ones outside your head as well as in—to shut up and keep their opinions to themselves. After all, you are the creative genius. It’s your business. Own it.

2. Start believing in what you are doing with your whole creative—if slightly twisted—soul

No one wants to be different, but that’s the only way your blog is going to stand out in the noise of cyberspace. Believe in your unique ideas and put them out there. There are a million, bazillion users on the internet, in every country in every corner of the world. Of those gazillions of people, there is a group that get you, that think the way you do. Focus on them.

Those are the people you want as your customers, and everyone else can go eat pie. But you won’t reach your people if you go about making the changes that everyone else says you should. I mean, certainly, there are people who have been there and done that—those are your mentors and you should listen to them and give them credit in your first best-selling book, but the creative genius needs to be all you.

3. Just do it

I’ll bet there’s something you’ve been wanting to do with your blog that you’ve been afraid to do. Maybe it’s a well-thought out blog post that you think might be too scandalous. Maybe it’s a graphic. Maybe it’s that in-your-face tagline that succinctly sums up what you’re about but you’re afraid of what “they” would think—whoever “they” are.

Just do it.

Pull up that scary-but-probably-brilliant blog post, tagline, anecdote or whatever, take a deep breath, and press publish. Or schedule it to publish and make yourself forget when it’s going to publish. Then send me the link, send it to a friend, send it to the world. Then close your laptop and walk away for the rest of the day.

When you come back I assure you the Internet will still be there. Your shocking idea won’t cause a major disruption on the web, but it may just shake up your mindset and give you the courage to step out there and be the real you.

Don’t doubt what you are doing simply because it hasn’t been done before. Maybe it hasn’t been done before because the universe was waiting for you to do it first. Go ahead, be the first to believe in your idea, and lead the way for others to follow. They will.

Shelly Cone is an award-winning journalist, author and humor columnist. She blogs at Beach Betty Creative, helping creative companies grow and imaginative entrepreneurs design a positive, live-out-loud lifestyle through copywriting and marketing design. Visit her website at http://www.beachbettypr.com.

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Comments
  1. This seems to fly in the face of common sense; stupid postings CAN and DO happen. Think about people like Gilbert Gottfried and Voula Papachristou. All it took was one stupid tweet and they both lost their careers, as well as a lot of respect. So no, DON’T “just do it.” Look and think about what you’re saying. If you’re not comfortable with what you say being linked to you forever, don’t do it.

  2. I’ve been regretting my actions and the resulting blog post ever since it went up worrying about how I’ll be viewed. But, I needed to put my experience out there. Thank you for this post today… I do need “to let my identity shine through”!

  3. That was a really inspiring post, especially when i read the 3rd point “Just do it”. Yes if you have something in mind don’t be afraid, don’t think of world, Internet won’t shut down due to your post, click on publish and leave everything else.

    Even if you think your ideas won’t be respected and are unconventional well put them infront, everyone wants something different and to succeed you have to provide it.

  4. The main problem with getting advice from friends and family is that they don’t want you to be hurt. Even if they are business professionals, they’ll probably either consciously or subconsciously try to protect you. In some cases this can be so extreme that it’ll feel like they are trying to sabotage you, or point out all of your failures as reasons why you shouldn’t even try. Of course, some of them are doing just that— get rid of those people.

    Maybe Warren Buffett can give totally objective advice to his friends and family, but I doubt it.

  5. Thank you for the thread! The title was pretty interesting, so when I went to look at it, and it was very interesting to see. Great advice, I really appreciate it and thank you.

  6. Hi Shelly,

    Maintain full clarity in what you do. At this point you feel no need to even flip people off. You convinced yourself of your mission, your purpose, and express yourself without a care in the world about what others think, say or do in response to you being you. Love the insight here.

    What people think about you has nothing to do with you. Carry on, help others, express yourself and allow their opinions to fade away. Live your life, and embrace any criticism which comes your way as a sign that YOU are clear on how you’re living and the OTHER PERSON is not.

    Thanks Shelly!

    Ryan

  7. It is never easy to start and grow a business if you can’t connect with your target audience. I like the post because it brings out a fresh and innovative perspective to help business owners grow their business and provide more value to their customers.

  8. Lately, I’ve been sort of regrouping creatively and decided to take a more individualistic approach to blogging and using web resources to further my own creative pursuits. It’s a bit daunting to just shut out the voices of the naysayers and the chronic advice givers and just do one’s own thing. It’s reassuring to learn that someone else understands where I’m coming from.

    Thanks for sharing your thought on this. This post provided some great encouragement just when I really needed it.

    Take Care.

  9. I loved your advice to tell friends and family to shut their pie holes.

    Too often the biggest critics are those who don’t fully understand what they’re criticising.
    I quite often hear that I’ll never make a living on the internet. How do they know?
    I don’t see any proof that they have any experience to judge what I do.

    If I listen to them and stop believing in myself and what I’m doing, then yes, I more than likely will fail.
    Quit raining on my parade! Give me chance to prove you wrong!

  10. Well now. This has to be the best post I’ve seen in a while. I’ve had a few ideas churning in my mind, like how most of commerce and industry looks like animals in a zoo fighting over scraps.

    Maybe it is time to bust out of the cage.

  11. There’s so much content out there, being unique and even scandalous is sometimes the only way to stand out. Whatever your topic, if you have a strong opinion, chances are you will find other people with a similar opinion. People need to be told that they’re doing something wrong, that something needs to change. Otherwise, you’re just preaching to the choir.

    Thanks for the kick in the pants Shelly!

  12. Hee… Darren Rowse,
    i like this, what yours share…. : ” Why? Because you are listening to everyone’s advice about your business and making changes that appeal to a wide demographic “.
    Ok…Support U…!!! thanks u .

  13. Very Loving Article!!

    Can i make it my inspiration in blogging??
    =D

    http://webberita.com/eyriqazz-vs-denaihati.html

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