It is an established fact that promotion, PR, marketing or whatever you call it is the driving force behind any successful business. No matter how good you are at your craft if you don’t properly promote it you will fail or at the very least fail to grow.
Take a look at what some of the most successful players in America have done to get where they are. If you are a faithful follower of my columns you have already read the E-Myth and you know that your real job is not baking the cakes or shooting the video – it is growing your business. Ultimately, your business is your product. If you don’t look at it from that point of view your business will fail to thrive over time.
Even if you never aspire to international fame and fortune, if you only want your business to grow to a manageable size it is still smart to take a look at how the big boys got where they are. People like Colin Cowie, Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray and Donald Trump didn’t start out at the top. They worked hard to get there and they all did it the same way.
I read an interesting interview with Martha Stewart recently. Her advice was to find something you are passionate about and use that passion. Here is the kicker, the thing she is passionate about isn’t lifestyles or cooking or decorating. It is promoting Brand Martha. Did you get that, promoting ‘Brand Martha’. Now I will grant you that in the early days her job also included cooking and catering parties but that was only a means to an end. With out that point of view she would still be catering weddings in the Hamptons. So how did she do it?
Oprah Winfrey, Rachel Ray and Donald Trump know how she did it because they have done it too. I have got news for you, Rachel Ray isn’t the greatest chef out there but she is a master at promoting Brand Rachel. Like Martha, Ray has never passed up an opportunity to promote herself.
So how can a humble baker in Michigan or a videographer in Memphis get on the kind of trajectory that these people got on? First you have to change your point of view. Once you have developed the product your business sells use your time and skill to develop the brand. Use the media to your advantage and put yourself in a position to meet the right people.
One of the best ways to get the ball rolling is to donate your time and talent repeatedly to high profile charity events. Notice I didn’t say money. Anyone can write a check but unless it has an abundance of zeros on it you will get little more out of it than a nice thank you note. You have to get personally involved. This puts you in a position to meet the people that can take you to the next level. Yes, this is your basic networking. The difference is that it is in different circles. We all network within the industry now it is time to expand that circle to the larger world.
There is a planner in my area that is starting to get some really sweet national press. I am constantly hearing people question how she is doing it since locally she isn’t perceived as all that. I’ll tell you how she did it. She started by going the charity route to meet some of the high rollers locally. That got her the chance to bid on a few high profile weddings. That was only the beginning. She used those to get her in front of the connections at the next level, always expanding her sphere of influence. She is constantly and persistently reaching out and up to the next level. She is so good at shameless self promotion that I personally find her a joy to watch! Did she start out with a huge bankroll? No, she started out with a vision and in that she has never wavered. I have no doubt that her signature brand will one day stand beside the Colin Cowies and Martha Stewarts of the world.
Your brand can too if you change your point of view.
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