As entrepreneurs, we are inclined to view the exit of our companies as the final 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 profitable exit, however the occasion itself evokes celebratory reactions.
I bear in mind studying a Harvard Enterprise Overview article during which the writer 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 not often 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 Impression of Exiting a Enterprise
But the darkish aspect of exiting is a actuality, largely for probably the most comprehensible purpose. Our companies are such a core a part of our id that, after 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 precise query. Our private manufacturers are an expression of who we’re — however who’re we after we are not enterprise house owners?
Many post-exit entrepreneurs inform me that abruptly, they really feel irrelevant. Some will vulnerably share, in true EO 5% style, that they really feel by exiting their enterprise, in addition they exited the status they carried. Some are shocked to comprehend that the cellphone abruptly stops ringing and that a big a part of their social community appears to exit together with their enterprise.
Discover Your Distinctive Worth Proposition
Put up-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 out to be a enterprise coach after an exit. The WHY is obvious: to assist fellow enterprise house owners obtain success and to share the knowledge gathered alongside their very own approach. And but, the journey of launching a enterprise of 1, constructing a model round themselves, and interesting in lively self-marketing is so fully totally different from what most skilled whereas constructing their 7+ determine companies.
So, what’s the sport plan for a profitable enterprise proprietor abruptly 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, chances are high there are lots of different coaches competing for a similar viewers. What’s your distinctive angle? How will you place your self in a approach that may mean you can stand out?
2. Pinpoint the way you need to be perceived.
As you put together to self-market (and self-market, you should as you start to advertise your enterprise of 1), how do you need to place your self? Will your content material be quick 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’re on the way you need be perceived, the extra possible your self-marketing initiatives – whether or not executed by your self or by a 3rd occasion – will align together with your genuine self.
3. Discover the proper platforms.
You might be your personal advertising and marketing division now. And whether or not you prefer it or not (and let’s be sincere: most of us cringe on the concept of getting to self-promote), advertising and marketing your self is important. It’s the one option to set up authority, place your self as a thought chief, create belief, and construct a pipeline of related purchasers. Discover the platforms that talk to you.
4. Be constant.
I can’t let you know what number of purchasers rent us to create their LinkedIn content material, solely to surrender after a few months due to the trouble it takes. Sure, yow will discover a ghostwriter or a private branding company to assist ease the workload, however the thought management remains to be yours. For a constant presence on LinkedIn, you will have to funds no less than three hours monthly, 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 prone to place your content material on the high 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 got 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, accomplished proper, it units you up for rapid success. Rebranding is just not about making a brand or a punchy byline; it’s about differentiating your self in an actual approach by reflecting on what actually units you aside and speaking that to your community persistently.
Teaching could also be a brand new id for you, and whatever the challenges chances are you’ll face in reinventing your self, one factor is obvious: You at the moment are poised to encourage, to show, and to affect at scale. What an thrilling and significant function to pursue!
Contributed to EO by Marina Byezhanova, an lively member-leader inside EO and a member of EO Canada Bridge chapter who not too long ago wrote about her expertise on EO’s Tanzania Exploration. An entrepreneur, world speaker and college teacher, she is on a mission to encourage entrepreneurs to face out, converse up and be radically genuine. She is the co-founder of Model of a Chief, the non-public branding company for entrepreneurs.
For extra insights and inspiration from in the present day’s main entrepreneurs, take a look at EO on Inc. and extra articles from the EO weblog.