As entrepreneurs, we are inclined to view the exit of our companies as the last word North Star. I’ve sat in numerous Boards or different EO conferences the place, as quickly as somebody shares the information of an exit, everybody nearly in unison says: “Congratulations!” We don’t even know whether or not it was a successful exit, however the occasion itself evokes celebratory reactions.
I keep in mind studying a Harvard Business Review article through which the creator shared that, after congratulating him on his exit, his mentor adopted up with, “Now prepare for a melancholy.”
It’s the darkish aspect of an exit that’s hardly ever talked about. As entrepreneurs, we’re so pushed to work tirelessly towards our imaginative and prescient that we seldom consider what awaits us after that imaginative and prescient turns into a actuality.
The Emotional Affect of Exiting a Enterprise
But the darkish aspect of exiting is a actuality, largely for essentially the most comprehensible motive. Our companies are such a core a part of our identification that, once we not have them, the query inevitably turns into:
“If I’m not a enterprise proprietor, then who am I?”
I run a private branding company, and we work with many post-exit entrepreneurs who come to us with that actual query. Our private manufacturers are an expression of who we’re — however who’re we once we are not enterprise homeowners?
Many post-exit entrepreneurs inform me that all of a sudden, they really feel irrelevant. Some will vulnerably share, in true EO 5% vogue, that they really feel by exiting their enterprise, in addition they exited the status they carried. Some are shocked to understand that the telephone all of a sudden stops ringing and that a big a part of their social community appears to exit together with their enterprise.
Discover Your Distinctive Worth Proposition
Submit-exit journeys differ. Some entrepreneurs retire utterly; others begin new companies from the bottom up. I’ve seen many EOers make the choice to turn into a enterprise coach after an exit. The WHY is evident: to assist fellow enterprise homeowners obtain success and to share the knowledge accrued alongside their very own means. And but, the journey of launching a enterprise of 1, constructing a model round themselves, and fascinating in energetic self-marketing is so completely totally different from what most skilled whereas constructing their 7+ determine companies.
So, what’s the sport plan for a profitable enterprise proprietor all of a sudden turned enterprise coach? Listed here are 4 steps to speed up your success by rebranding your self:
1. Establish a really clear differentiator.
Whether or not you’re a Scaling Up coach, EOS coach, or use a completely totally different methodology altogether, likelihood is there are a lot of different coaches competing for a similar viewers. What’s your distinctive angle? How will you position yourself in a means that can permit you to stand out?
2. Pinpoint the way you need to be perceived.
As you put together to self-market (and self-market, you will need to as you start to advertise what you are promoting of 1), how do you need to place your self? Will your content material be brief and to the purpose? Humorous? Inspiring? Authoritative? Construct lists of particular phrases that describe the way you need to be perceived and what you need to keep away from. The clearer you are on the way you need be perceived, the extra doubtless your self-marketing initiatives – whether or not executed by your self or by a 3rd occasion – will align along with your genuine self.
3. Discover the appropriate platforms.
You might be your individual advertising and marketing division now. And whether or not you prefer it or not (and let’s be trustworthy: most of us cringe on the thought of getting to self-promote), advertising and marketing your self is crucial. It’s the one solution to set up authority, position yourself as a thought leader, create belief, and construct a pipeline of related shoppers. Discover the platforms that talk to you.
4. Be constant.
I can’t inform you what number of shoppers rent us to create their LinkedIn content material, solely to surrender after a few months due to the trouble it takes. Sure, you could find a ghostwriter or a private branding company to assist ease the workload, however the thought management continues to be yours. For a constant presence on LinkedIn, you will want to funds no less than three hours per thirty days, even for those who get high-caliber assist. The ROI of a robust LinkedIn presence is plain: with merely two or three posts per week, the algorithm is more likely to place your content material on the prime of your contacts’ feeds. And this implies you stay top-of-mind in your community with out having to comply with up with them incessantly. From there, belief is constructed, and alternatives quickly comply with.
There you’ve gotten it: the subsequent section of your entrepreneurial journey, pivoting from enterprise possession to enterprise teaching. The journey of rebranding your self could also be a difficult one to embrace however, finished proper, it units you up for fast success. Rebranding isn’t about making a brand or a punchy byline; it’s about differentiating your self in an actual means by reflecting on what actually units you aside and speaking that to your community constantly.
Teaching could also be a brand new identification for you, and whatever the challenges you could face in reinventing your self, one factor is evident: You at the moment are poised to encourage, to show, and to impression at scale. What an thrilling and significant function to pursue!
Contributed to EO by Marina Byezhanova, an energetic member-leader inside EO and a member of EO Canada Bridge chapter who lately wrote about her experience on EO’s Tanzania Exploration. An entrepreneur, global speaker and college teacher, she is on a mission to encourage entrepreneurs to face out, communicate up and be radically genuine. She is the co-founder of Brand of a Leader, the private branding company for entrepreneurs.
For extra insights and inspiration from in the present day’s main entrepreneurs, try EO on Inc. and extra articles from the EO blog.
