Being authentic in business sounds easy. Just be honest, right? Well, yes and no. Authenticity goes beyond simply being a good person; it encompasses who you really are, your why, and all your unique characteristics.
We often feel like we must ‘be more’ to succeed. We must be more like the entrepreneur we look up to, we must be more assertive, more confident, and even more interesting. This is not authenticity. Authenticity comes from knowing yourself and creating a business that plays well with all of you. Easier said than done, but learning to let your authentic self take the wheel in business is crucial if you want to achieve your goals.
Here are 3 reasons authenticity is key to unlocking success in your business.
Think of the entrepreneurs and brands you love. What is it about them you like? In most cases, the things you list are authentically them.
Apply this to your own business; As an entrepreneur are you creating a brand that is absolutely true to yourself or a version of what you think you should be? An easy way to answer this question is to answer another: when you’re creating marketing materials, reaching out to potential clients, or choosing what you want to look like each day, are you trying to emulate someone else to what you think others want or are you choosing what you truly want and how you want to connect with others?
It may sound simple, but if you are true to yourself when running your business, you will have more success. Acting in a way that you think you should, rather than what is authentically you simply won’t feel right. You will feel less than honest with both your clients and yourself, and will always feel that there’s something wrong. Worse, your potential clients will either feel it too and not hire you, or you’ll attract the wrong clients for your business.
Have you ever worked with a client that was a nice person but just not aligned with you, whether it’s your values or how you want to conduct business. If you’re not authentic, you’re not going to attract the people (clients, team members, partners) you’ll thrive with in business.
By serving the wrong clients, work won’t flow smoothly and you may not get the rave reviews your business needs. You’ll then find marketing and doing the work harde, and have more problems.
When you’re authentic, clients will be willing to grow with you and your business because they know, like, and trust you. Similarly, you’ll get significantly fewer clients who want to haggle on your prices and question your expertise.
Authenticity builds strong connections with the right people who will become life-long customers and sing your praises to others.
When you are authentic to yourself, you stop trying to live up to what others expect you to be, do, and say. You then become more honest with yourself about your own strengths and weaknesses. In business, you’ll then be able to outsource more easily the tasks you know you’re not good at, and say no to projects that don’t play to your strengths. Essentially, authenticity allows you to say no to stress and drive straight toward your vision.
As an entrepreneur, you love the big picture. For most of us we’d be happy to sit in that daydream each and every day. The problem is that we’re often so busy limiting ourselves
(I can’t achieve that until I’m more X and less Y) that we lack the courage and strength to actively fulfill our grand plans. Authenticity in business doesn’t mean you have to bare all – but it does mean you need to be aware of your strengths and play those up. And to know your weaknesses so you can work around them. Of course, we should grow and change, but we can’t become something we’re not. Pretending we are is not only exhausting, but it repels customers. Authenticity makes you a magnet for your ideal customer.
Of course, it’s not just about getting more business. It’s also that you feel the best when you’re being yourself in your business. That makes not only your work life better but the rest of your life as well. To learn more about how to implement authenticity in your business, read The Authentic Marker.
