Startups: Why Being Vulnerable Makes You a Better Entrepreneur
Being an entrepreneur, you’ve probably heard that you should be tougher, leaner, and quicker at decision-making. And while all of these traits are important, you might have never heard that being vulnerable could help you as an entrepreneur.
Recently, on Women in Business Today’s (#WIBT) hangout on air, we discussed Brene Brown’s TEDxTalk on vulnerabililty. Brown is a scientist who takes years–and a stint in therapy–to discover how to be vulnerable.
Vulnerability Gives You Courage
As an entrepreneur, you’re investing in the future of your idea or startup. And while you may believe you have the best idea in the world, there are so many things that could go wrong. People and brands think they have the answer to all the prayers of the known world, but people are emotional creatures. CEOs often forget this. We all make decisions based on emotion. Thus, a potential client may love the idea a startup has, but what if that client hates the company for the way it advertises or treats its employees? What if the idea is terrific, but the timing is off? Or what if the funding doesn’t come through for your high-tech widget?
There are so many reasons why people don’t buy. And every company takes a flying leap into the dark when it puts an idea or product out into the world. Realizing your own vulnerability and being honest about it can open doors where none were open before. By the way, Inc. has a terrific article about the Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship, and the “fake it til you make it” attitude that plagues many entrepreneurs.
Vulnerability Gives Your Employees Courage
Why do your employees decide to work with you? Your product may be no different than anyone else’s. But if you’re authentic, and tell people who work for and with you the truth, the chances are that your employees will feel more courageous, too. They’ll want to stick with you during the hard times, they’ll feel motivated when they get up in the morning. and your product or service will have its differentiator.
Vulnerability Makes You Stand Out
Startups: Why Being Vulnerable Makes You a Better Entrepreneur
When you’re vulnerable, when you treat your own employees like family, those people will travel miles to do business with you and to work with you. Once I’m a raving fan, I’ll drive past other businesses to do business with those who treated me well. Often, it’s that emotional vulnerability that is the glue that makes me stick with them. Often I’m willing to do nearly anything to buy something from the company that shows its vulnerability–its heart, if you will. And I’m not alone in this, either.
Emotional Quid Pro Quo
Every time I show my vulnerability in my writing, I’m scared. All those thoughts of “I’m not good enough” emerge from their deep closet. And yet, every time I’ve been rewarded by people saying “Me, too! That happened to me!” Or “OMG. Do you need anything?” Or a story from them, in an emotional quid pro quo. In other words, now that you’ve opened up, I feel that I can, too. And they share something with a similar emotional weight to what I’ve shared. That’s the same way it works for a bigger brand; your emotional vulnerability makes you fans both inside and outside the company.
When Has Vulnerability Helped You?
Have you ever been intentionally vulnerable? Or were you forced into a vulnerable position? Please let me know in the comments!
Pinterest: Top Ten Tasks (and Power Tips)
Top Ten Pinterest Tasks
You may have seen my previous post on Top Ten Twitter Terms. Here are the first tasks you should tackle on Pinterest. If you’re more advanced, skip to the “Power Tips.”
Set Up Your Profile
Fill out your profile. Go to “Settings” on the top right, scroll to Profile, upload your picture or avatar and fill out the “About You.” Connect your Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can invite friends at the top left of your home page. If you plan to sell on Pinterest, you’ll need to set up a business account.
Power Tip: Use Location for a short descriptive sentence, if you prefer. Make sure to click “save settings.”
Create Boards
Boards are how you organize pins on Pinterest. Choose an easy name for your boards—nothing fancy. For instance, Blogs, not Words Words Words, will be found easier. Create a category and description for each board. And, since Pinterest is a visual medium, make sure your board covers are pretty!
Power Tip: Create at least 5 boards of 5 pins each before you start following anyone. People want to know what your pins are like, and what your interests are before they’ll follow you.
Add Pins
A pin contains an image and description. Upload an image from your computer using the red plus icon at the top right of your Pinterest account, or use the Pinterest browser button, available from Pinterest.
Power Tip: Fill out each pin’s description completely. If you’re repinning, change the description to make it yours. Think about how people would search for that pin. For instance, if you’re pinning a watercolor painting, you could use the words, water color, painting, and art. You might also add the dominant colors and the topic, since people sometimes search that way.
Find Others to Follow
Pinterest is visual, so make your boards pretty!
Click on the icon–which turns red when you hover over it–in the top left corner and you’ll see all kinds of categories. Explore your interests and find boards and pinners to follow.
Power Tip: You can follow a single board or an account. If you don’t like one or two boards, follow all, then unfollow the boards you don’t enjoy.
Repin
When you find a pin, either through search, or through discovery in your own stream, you can repin it. When you repin it, change the comment.
Power Tip: Click all the way through a pin to discover where the pin leads. If a pin leads nowhere or to spam, don’t repin. You can report spam and Pinterest is pretty good at removing it.
Like
A “like” is not as strong as a repin. You might “like” a pin rather than comment, if it’s outside your niche.
Comment
People rarely comment on Pinterest. It’s a very powerful way to be noticed by influencers.
Power Tip: If you want to be noticed, comment. You can ask questions or tag others in a comment, too.
Give Credit
Pinterest usually gives credit to the destination of the original pin. Authors and artists also appreciate getting credit.
Power Tip: If you don’t know whose image you’re repinning, you could ask your followers right in the comment of the pin, such as “Does anyone know whose image this is or have any more information?”
Know Your Audience
As with all other social media platforms, know what people are looking for. For instance, if you’re a spa owner you might also pin tips on relaxation, how to get good sleep, smoothie recipes, etc.
Power Tip:After awhile, you’ll get a feel for what your audience likes by what gets repinned. Repin more of the popular content.
Clean Up Boards
Occasionally, you can delete pins that don’t get much traffic.
Power Tip: At first, none of your pins may get much traffic. If you believe something will get traffic (but wasn’t seen the first time you pinned it), you can repin it to the top of the same board, and delete the one further down.
Did I Forget Anything?
Please let me know in the comments! Thanks!