The Savvy Entrepreneur

Jenn, I love your honest approach in your marketing, on your site and on your blog. It makes me feel like I know you so well, even though we've never met (and we have yet to speak on the phone!!).

I'm realizing that what I say will not please everyone, nor do I want to please everyone. I refuse to take the "safe road" by being general or non-controversial.

My fears stem from not wanting to sound "stupid" or from having someone disagree with me (imagine that!!). I now know that someone who disagrees with my thought is not an attack on me, but remains what it is -- one person's opinion differing from another!

Julia, thanks so much for sharing your insights from a therapist perspective. I can see why, in your field, it may be necessary to draw a clearer boundary, but I agree that "hiding behind a mask of 'professionalism' only makes you less human."

I know my own therapist (yes, I have a therapist) uses his own real life examples and it only makes him more approachable, since I get that he gets what I'm going through. It makes me feel safe and not so crazy or alone ("OK, so I AM normal for thinking this way, because he went through something similar.")

I'm glad to hear you customized your business model to something that matches your personality as opposed to creating a cookie-cutter model based on what others say you "should" do!

Please keep us updated on your progress!

As a psychotherapist, we're taught early on in our training that self-disclosure is a "dangerous" thing to be used cautiously and sparingly, and only if it could benefit our clients in some way. So when I was a novice therapist, I developed a false sense of what I thought a professional should act like, which bordered on cold. It was only once I witnessed a cotherapist behaving this way in a group therapy session, that I realized how unhelpful this really is.

Hiding behind a mask of "professionalism" only makes you less human, and in any field where the RELATIONSHIP is what matters, e.g., therapy, networking, consulting, coaching, etc., this will only hurt you. Be real. Have an opinion. The more comfortable I get with being myself in my own work, and opening up about my own personal experiences, the more I am able to form a genuine relationship with my clients. This helps to build the know-like-trust factor, as you call it. If someone doesn't like who you really are, then they aren't your ideal client anyway.

Well, Cristina - I think you're doing a lovely job! Your blog is one of my favorites :)

As for being completely honest... I feel that I am. The service that I provide my clients goes beyond teaching them the fundamentals of building a business.

My forte is in helping my clients over come the demons that hold them back - the emotions, the fears, the invisible barriers that hold them back in business.

I know these things intimately because I went through them and overcame them while building my first business.

I am brutally honest with my clients about everything I went through to build my self-esteem, to get rid of fear, to believe in myself.

I remember how awful I felt about how slowly my business was growing the first time around. I remember feeling disgusted, and not really understanding what I was doing wrong - everyone else seemed to be experiencing this amazing success, while I struggled and struggled.

I remember how frustrated I was. I remember how inferior I felt.

In my business today - it's incredibly important for me to share these insights and those honest moments with my clients.

This way, I really build a connection with the people that I work with.

I think being authentic in your business is the only way to build a really strong business. You can try to hide who you are, but eventually, the "real" you will rise to the top - demanding to be heard!

This is a great topic... I feel a blog post of my own coming on - with a link back here of course ;)