I’ve officially been running this business of mine for three months- one quarter down!
[Insert celebratory margarita emojis here!]
Last week, I published my latest Becoming CEO update on the blog and received some awesome feedback from my community.
For anyone considering going solo, these posts are super helpful and a must read. https://t.co/fFADjPMCiG
— Stephen App (@StephenApp) May 5, 2016
@jesslaw awesome that you have opened up your experiences to everyone. Really interesting and insightful. Sounds like you’re doing great!
— Zach Chizar (@zchizar) May 5, 2016
So many of you have thanked me for being so open and transparent about my journey and for detailing step-by-step exactly how I’m making this work. A few people have asked me why I’m so open- so willing to share not only the good things that happen in my business, but also the challenges and the things that just plain suck.
My first instinct is to respond, “Because I don’t know how to be any other way.”
Which is definitely true. I started the Get Gutsy blog nearly four years ago for the sole purpose of being real, in a sea of blogs aiming to achieve Pinterest perfection.
But besides that, there are other reasons I choose transparency.
It builds community and connection.
Deep down, we are all the same. I just happen to have a blog and platform that allows me to speak to a larger audience. We all have similar struggles. We all share similar experiences that bring us joy.
When I open up about my life and you can relate, we create a connection. Isn’t that what being human is all about?
It keeps me accountable. Sharing what I’m up to (especially when it comes to sharing my income) keeps me accountable and motivates me to keep doing good work so I can proudly report back each month.
Now that I am running my own business and make my own schedule, I need all the accountability I can get!
By telling you what I’m doing (and what I plan to do in the future) I hope that you will ask me questions and leave me comments. When you do this, it lights a fire in me to keep pushing forward. I don’t want to let you down!
It gives me a month-by-month history of my business (and life).
I’m a super nostalgic person. I have a drawer full of diaries from middle school and high school that I can’t bring myself to throw away.
Documenting my business and my life in this way gives me something to look back on (and it takes up way less space in my desk drawers!)
It will be interesting one year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now, to read these posts and remember exactly how I was feeling and what was happening in my life.
It allows me to share with others the type of work that I’m doing.
Explaining my new career path isn’t always easy, so being able to point people to blog posts that communicate the type of work I do is quite useful.
Also, to be completely frank, it’s good for business. From a strategic standpoint, blogging about the work I do lets people know how exactly I might help their company or brand.
Most, if not all, of my clients and prospective clients have found me through this very blog.
I hope that it encourages you to chase your dreams.
Most importantly, the reason I share so openly is because I want you to see that if I can make this happen for myself, so can you.
Even if your goal isn’t to quit your job and run your own business, I hope you can apply these same strategies and ideas to the dream that YOU want to make a reality.
Have any questions about why I’m so transparent, my #BecomingCEO journey or how I make money? It’s about time for another Q&A blog post. Leave your questions in the comments below and I will answer them in an upcoming post.
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