Ya gotta own it

It all started with a Gmail address.

I received an email from a woman who asked me if I was interested in a learning platform for my clients, and requested a conversation. She referred to "we" in her email, yet didn't mention a company or partners. And her email came from a Gmail address.

I was underwhelmed. Who is this "we" you speak of, and why don't you have a professional email address? The email was also a little generic, referring to how I "empower confidence." Hmmm. I get so many of these. I ignored the email.

A week later, the woman reached out again. Realizing that she was a real person and not a spammer, I replied, asking her for more information about her company before scheduling a call. Her reply explained a little bit more: "This would be more of a learning call from your years of expertise to shape what we build - we don't have anything to sell." Aha.

I booked a time on their calendar to learn more about the platform they were building. Still in the dark, but a little more intrigued.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered these two women each have more than a decade of high-level experience in their respective fields, software engineering and marketing, are highly knowledgeable and well-studied on what they're offering, and are women of color in a traditionally male industry.

We had a great conversation. I'm hoping to support their product as they develop it, and I did give them this feedback: Ladies, you've gotta OWN IT.

Perhaps because they weren't pitching me for funding, they didn't feel the need to establish their credibility. Or maybe, as newish entrepreneurs, they're experiencing some insecurity about what they bring to the table. It's possible they're not used to "tooting their own horn."

Whatever the reason, they initially came across as lacking professionalism and credibility, when in fact they're very professional and extremely credible.

I'm directing this to the women in my community, as we are all WELL aware of the difficulties women have around self-promotion. But perhaps some men need to hear this, too.

🥳If you don't toot your own horn, no one else will.

🎓If you don't believe in your own authority, expertise and credibility, no one else will.

💎If you don't promote the value you bring to the table, no one else will.

So ladies (and gentlemen): Ya gotta own it. And ya gotta share it. In your communications, in your marketing, in your branding. And yes, in your email address!

Who's with me? Ready to own your power... in your presentations? Schedule a call and let's get started!

____________________________________________________
On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!