A LOT with Audra

Ep35
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​[00:00:00]

Audra Dinell: Hey, welcome to a lot with Audra. I'm so glad you're here this week. Today I'm gonna talk about something that was really, really helpful to me when I first started my business, the thread.

The Coffee Meeting That Changed Everything
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Audra Dinell: So I went to coffee with an entrepreneur who I messaged on Instagram. She was a local entrepreneur, is a local entrepreneur, and I saw what she was building and had a lot of respect for what she was doing, and really just looking to reintegrate myself in my [00:01:00] hometown, meet some new people.

Connect with people who I thought were doing cool things. And so one Saturday morning, I think it was like in January, it was snowy, it was cold, it was the perfect morning for coffee. We meet up and we have coffee and we're connecting and I'm learning about her and she's asking about me. And you know, I take that opportunity to try and learn something from her in addition to just getting to know her.

Connecting with her, because that's always kind of where my mind is. I think we can learn something from everyone, especially someone who's a few steps ahead of us in whatever pursuit we are going after.

Struggles with Promoting My Business
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Audra Dinell: And I said, you know, I'm just really struggling with promoting my business. I was thinking about social media and really just kind of that, I don't know if it's imposter [00:02:00] syndrome or self-doubt, or desire to not look too showy or too proud or like, I think I am amazing.

But I was talking specifically about, you know, showing up on social media and how I just really didn't want this business to be about me. I was just like the vehicle, the voice, the founder. But this business was really about, all of these women I was excited to serve and I was just telling her about this insecurity I had, and she gave me such good advice, she said.

Audra, you are making it about you when you're thinking this way, and instead of doing that. She gave me a tip that really changed [00:03:00] everything, and I'm gonna share it with you next.

The Insecurity of Social Media Presence
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Audra Dinell: Before I do that, I wanna say, gosh, I am so not alone in this. I have gotten the opportunity to coach many women who have amazing projects out in the world, whether it be a book or opening a franchise, or starting a new business, or.

Just having an ambition in their heart. That they're just really scared to talk about. So I have been on that coaching end where I'm like, oh, I can do a little mentoring right here, because I have been there too.

Empowering Women Through Coaching
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Audra Dinell: I have had something on my heart that I was so scared to share with the world. The first time I posted on social media about my business, I felt like I was gonna throw up.

It was just this vulnerability hangover, you know, that I got immediately. So you're not alone. I'm not alone. This is a thing that continues to come up in coaching. It comes [00:04:00] up at lunch with friends, you know, as women, it's like we're told, to always be small and quiet and. Humble about what we're doing and let others just see for themselves and give us credit.

Then like not talk about the work we're doing in the world. But gosh, that just takes away all of our power. Now I totally want to be a person who is authentic and confident. And humble. And I think my way of doing that is to share the mess along with the magic and not in a self-deprecating way of like, Hey, you have built this great [00:05:00] business me being humble would not be me saying, oh my gosh, I know, but it's really not that big.

You know? I want to be a woman that says. Thank you. This has served me and given me so much. I absolutely love what I do, and I'm grateful to do it. That would be me, you know, showing up in that confidence, in that authenticity. But also when the time is right, you know, sharing it, it's not easy or it's not always as good as it looks, or I have failures, or I stumble, or I still struggle with X, Y, Z.

So I just say that to just normalize that. Gosh, being scared to talk about what you're doing, to promote what you're doing, to share what you're doing. It happens to me. It happens often [00:06:00] to many women that I am in community and life with. So just normalizing it off the bat.

The Power of Making It About the Work
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Audra Dinell: So here's what my now friend then at the time, you know, new acquaintance told me, she said, make it about the work.

It is not about you. And so she went on to talk about how, yes, she struggled with this too when she was first opening her business, but she thought about all the people that her business would help if she started it. And so that's how I started to adopt it too. Anytime I would get in my head about the things I felt like I needed to do to grow my business, which would be post on social media.

Maybe it was making sales calls at one time. Maybe it was just being bold and, sharing, you know, with others in conversation what it was up to. Maybe it was actually like making an [00:07:00] ask. I would remember that.

Overcoming Self-Doubt in Business
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Audra Dinell: It's not about me. Yes, of course I financially benefit from the business that I'm building, but I'm building a business that is meant to impact others and that's what it's doing.

So I just always encourage anyone to think about who they are serving when they are getting in their head about not wanting to promote their work because. If we don't promote our businesses, our books, our projects that we're working on, perhaps the people who need to find them won't ever find them at all.

So make it about the work, the good work that your business is accomplishing. Remind yourself that it's not about you. It's not about me. I like to picture the end [00:08:00] result for the person who is going to get value out of what I'm offering.

The Journey of Starting a Podcast
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Audra Dinell: And so even with this podcast, this podcast was, you know, years in the making.

I'd wanted to do it, but what do I have to say? You know, I went through the same process and then I got really clear with one of my teammates. We did some, brand personas of who do I think will listen to this podcast. And side note it has. Really, honestly shocked me. All of the different people who have commented and shared that they listen.

I feel seriously humbled and crazy grateful. When I started this podcast, I had a couple of people in mind, and one of the people I had in mind was, you know, a woman who has a business inside of her or who has a side hustle or who has something. Small and she's scared to fully step into it and own it and make it everything she [00:09:00] dreams that it could be.

So picturing that person helped me just show up week after week and continue to post. The episodes on social media continue to do things that push me out of my comfort zone. So I hope that could help you to remember to focus on who you're serving. Remind yourself that it's not about you, and people aren't necessarily thinking about.

You, you are trying to reach the people that you're serving because you know what you have to offer is going to be of value to them. And you picture them at, the end point of when they have completed the process or bought the book and are reading it to their kids and they're learning a story [00:10:00] about.

Character and they're reading it from a local author and all the goodness that will come, from that, all the little seeds that you plant. So the other piece of advice with this mindset is, okay, that's one thing to be like, all right, I'm gonna show up. It's not about me, it's about reaching the people I.

Serve because I have to reach them to be able to solve this problem for them or provide this value to them. So the other tip, the other end of it is it's not really a one and done.

Consistency is Key
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Audra Dinell: I feel like you have to just keep doing it until it's no longer uncomfortable. I, I, you know, remember posting on LinkedIn about my business and, just having a goal at one point of posting with a certain cadence on my personal page, and at some [00:11:00] point along the way it just became, Hey, this is what I do. This is part of my marketing plan, and I will say every new. Thing that I try, I still feel like that uncomfortability, but I have done it enough times to know that it's just gonna feel that way.

And perhaps it's not for everyone, and that's okay. But for the people, it is for this could be the time that they find the solution. So for me and the thread. You know, we have our 10th cohort coming up and talking about it and posting about it. I mean, we have women who look at our social media for years and they tell us this, I've been following along for years.

I've just been waiting for the right time, and I finally am ready or have the capacity X, Y, and Z. And I just think about, oh my gosh, [00:12:00] what if I gave up and. Didn't post. You know what, if I gave up and hadn't been posting for those years,

they would never have, found this thing that could be really altering for them. That could be really helpful for them. That could be the thing that they need in this season of life. So I wanna encourage you.

Final Thoughts and Encouragement
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Audra Dinell: It's not about you. Anytime you're getting self-conscious about that, remind yourself, Ooh, I'm making it about me.

And it's not about me. It's about the work. It's about the people I'm serving and picture them. Getting that value that you service or book or business or project can offer. And rinse and repeat. Keep doing it until it doesn't feel uncomfortable anymore. All right. I hope this was helpful. If so, I'd love for you to review the podcast.

Leave me a five star review. If you are a listener, subscribe so you get every week's episode. Share this on social media. [00:13:00] Tag me. I just really appreciate you helping me spread the word about this project that I'm doing alright, until next week, talk to you soon.