The second mega myth about entrepreneurship is freedom. Freedom, in this case, is a definition YOU make, not necessarily the lifestyle most people seem to think it is. You can see it plastered all over Instagram, making it easy to believe that freedom is about no work and all play. For example, as many of you know, I live in the beautiful state of Hawaii. I literally have beaches right down the street from me, but guess what I’ve been doing? I’m in my home office keeping up the hustle since the early morning, wearing what I want while being able to provide a steady stream of income for my family, not just from me, but also for my man who happens to work alongside me. Furthermore, as a parent, I have that freedom to be able to raise my children as well as spend more time with them. That, my friends, is what the real concept of freedom is and should be all about. Now, that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy myself while I’m working, however. There are times where I’ve Periscoped with you from some of Hawaii’s beautiful beaches, but get this: I chose to be there.
Creating a business is hard work. It’s definitely a lot easier to simply pick up a regular 9-to-5 because let’s face it, having a job means that you’re able to provide for yourself a financial and mental stability than building a business from the ground up.
But why are more than 70% of Americans are unhappy with their jobs despite these perks?
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Build your brand and your business, with all of
the fun and none of the fluff.
If you were to do a Google search on how to become a successful entrepreneur, I guarantee you that you would find loads of people trying to convince you that they can show you how to make six figures in six months or even six figures in six weeks. The truth is, is that there’s a lot of hype in those promises and not a lot of reality. Want to make a million dollars? Well, I want you to know that in order to get to a million you gotta make make six figures first. But before six figures you gotta make five figures, and before you make five figures you gotta make four figures, AND sometimes before you make four figures you’re gonna have to learn how to make two or three figures. The point is, is that it’s not magic, you’ve gotta do the work.
So how do you become a successful entrepreneur?
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Build your brand and your business, with all of
the fun and none of the fluff.
In your business do you find yourself being Authentic or Transparent? Here’s the thing, you have a responsibility to be yourself and to be able to be clear with your audience as to how they can kinda step into your world. It’s okay to agitate and make them a little uncomfortable but you don’t want to completely repel them. There are certain things, frankly, that you don’t need to tell your audience. Depending on your archetype, being overly transparent can be irresponsible. Now, if the personality of your brand is rebellious or what we call a provocateur then being completely transparent with all your drama might be okay, as long as you’re consistent all the way through. But, authenticity should always be your priority because people like real people. People want to see themselves in your story.
For the most part I believe that people go into transparency mode because they think, “Oh that’s the same as authenticity,” and it’s not.
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Build your brand and your business, with all of
the fun and none of the fluff.
What an amazing week of service it’s been! If you’ve been following us on Facebook in our Paid to Be You Posse, you know that we went from team planning a rockin’ 2017 to serving almost a hundred people live in Brooklyn. While most of my team headed home, I went down to ATL to continue serving in yet another live event, and then headed back to New York to start marketing my upcoming book.
Why? Because dreams matter. Your dreams matter. And how you build your dreams within your brand definitely matters.
So today I want to look at a frequently asked question I hear from coast-to-coast: “Jen, what does it truly mean to build a brand?” To me, building a brand looks like taking the specific end-to-end experience of your business and building a following that loves you.
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Build your brand and your business, with all of
the fun and none of the fluff.
Here’s the truth in entrepreneurship: you will get judged (you really will).
Now I know most people don’t want to hear that, but it’s the truth. The more you put yourself out there, the more you’re open to negative comments, the more you’re open to the haters, the more you’re open to people saying funky things to you. I’m gonna tell you right now, that that is a necessary part of the journey, so let that feed you not prevent you from making your mark in the world.
The best brands don’t just attract. The best brands repel. (Write that down.)
And the reason why the best brands don’t just attract, but also repel, is because you don’t want every momma and poppa in your group. Those people may hear and see you, but they’re never gonna buy from you. Not everyone is for you, but you won’t know who’s for you until you’re willing to speak the truth about who you are and who you serve.
So be willing to repel.
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Build your brand and your business, with all of
the fun and none of the fluff.
I feel like it’s really important to talk about models of both good and bad things that happen in my brand. And the same is true for your brand. Now when I say, “bad things” I don’t necessarily mean mistakes or failures. In fact, I want to challenge you to look at “bad things” as areas that can be improved instead. Nothing more, nothing less.
But in entrepreneurship, I have definitely learned more from people who have told me what not to do than from people who’ve told me what to do. I’m gonna repeat that:
I have learned more from people who have been willing to tell me what not to do than what to do.
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Build your brand and your business, with all of
the fun and none of the fluff.
