How I'm Showing Up Differently Part One – Doing the Work as a Business Owner

It’s been another rollercoaster of a year and it’s taken hard work and grit to navigate all of the changes. For me, 2022 has also been a year of transformation. In addition to SMITH co. entering the terrible twos, I’ve been thinking about how to show up differently.

At the beginning of the year, I took a deep assessment of what went well and what did not go well in 2021. I made some very purposeful decisions about what mistakes I did not want to repeat in 2022. And I decided that, in order to grow my business, I needed to make a few changes.

Here’s how I’ve been showing up differently—and dare I say courageously—this year.

I hired a business coach.

My initial assumptions for my target market when I started the company did not align with my services. After trying for months to clearly identify who my ideal target market was, it became very clear to me that I needed to invest in the business and bring in someone who had the right expertise and objectivity to solve the problem.

One of my core services is to assess and diagnose obstacles in a B2B sales process. It takes vulnerability for a client to open their books and expose potential obstacles. It dawned on me—if I am asking my clients to be vulnerable I need to do so as well. Otherwise, I’m not showing up authentically as a consultant.

Finding the right business coach for me was not an overnight process. I spent a great deal of time working to clearly articulate the issue so that I could find just the right match. Through a series of homework assignments and intensive exercises, the connection between my service offering and the organizations that need the services the most became clear. One of the most interesting exercises involved analyzing all my past sales experiences to better understand what worked, how I achieved the sale, and who I was selling to. 

My big a-ha moment throughout this process was that my greatest successes were with other female-led organizations, therefore, I should lean in. As a female-led consulting business myself, my goal for 2023 and beyond is to focus on and support other female-led and BIPOC organizations. As women leading organizations, we have often been labeled aggressive or emotional. I empathize with this. Part of my “why” behind starting SMITH co. was the desire to bring 100% of my skillset to the marketplace; something I felt like I was never able to do when I was in corporate America. 

When we show up unapologetically as our authentic selves, we can start to create space for others to do the same. That is where I want to be. 

 I strategically leveraged social.

As a solo entrepreneur, I understand that I am the brand and social media is a powerful and cost-effective tool for building brand awareness. It’s also a great tool to better understand the customer’s point of view (POV), so I have used social to better determine what resonates with my audience. I hired a social content strategist to provide expertise and execution. Rather than jumping on multiple social platforms just for the sake of being there, I’ve focused specifically on LinkedIn and consistently leveraging that platform. Once I felt I had traction, I added an Instagram page.

I committed to getting on the stage.

At the beginning of the year, I made a goal to add more speaking engagements in 2022. Why? If I am the brand, no one is better to build that brand than I am. I can confidently say I achieved my goal by contributing to Forward Fest, taking the main stage at Twin Cities Startup Week, booking guest spots on podcasts, and delivering virtual and in-person training sessions to sales teams. I’ve always liked public speaking and plan to keep adding engagements not only because it energizes me and fills my cup but also because I’ve met some truly amazing and inspiring people this way.

Sharing why introverts make the best salespeople at Twin Cities Startup Week 2022.

I’ll be honest, this year hasn’t been easy, and I’ve had to force myself to show up every single day.

It’s been incredibly challenging to retrain my brain from a “more, more, more!” (Business development! Clients! Revenue!) mindset to an “enough” mindset, and some days, I just don’t have the energy.

But I do it anyway. 

And I’m going to keep doing it. Because I love what I do. I put my heart and soul into my clients’ success and I want to be there for everyone who has shown up for me along this tough-but-worth-it journey. I wouldn’t have it any other way.