Hi there and welcome to the Everyday Entrepreneur podcast where I, Caitlin Fritz help you reach your entrepreneurial potential. Together we can build your dream social impact business so that you can leave a legacy beyond your nine-to-five. Hello, hello, and welcome to this week's episode of Everyday Entrepreneurship. My name is Caitlin, and if you're joining for the first time and maybe thinking, who am I listening to? I just want to give you a quick introduction. I have been in your shoes, so rest assured. I know what it's like to take an idea on paper, A sketch, a prototype, and turn it into a business that has led me to be recognized by the likes of Startup Magazine and Forbes, but more importantly, I've been able to use my personal experiences and working with over 700 founders worldwide to Thank you. share with you some lessons, tips, tricks, and also really awesome, inspirational interviews with entrepreneurs, because I believe we should be lifting up the everyday entrepreneur just as much as we lift up the millionaires next door. So on today's episode, I want to talk about kind of the underbelly of marketing that early stage founders and business entrepreneurs. Forget about. And that is not the fancy Instagram campaigns, not the LinkedIn advertising, or, you know, chic, shiny branding. That's a tongue twister. I want to talk about you. You as a founder, as a business owner, are your biggest, Microphone. You are the megaphone for your mission, for your vision, and for your impact. And oftentimes we get so focused and hung up on promoting our product, promoting our offerings or our service that we forget about us. And I did a conversation earlier this year around basically how thought leadership doesn't have to feel icky. So this is kind of a continuation of that conversation in a very practical sense. So, as a founder, you are your biggest and most underrated marketing asset. Because guess what? There might be other DEI consultancies, there might be other amazing consumer good products, but there is only one founder. You, and as a founder, you have a unique selling proposition just as much as your business service and product. That's because no one else has your viewpoint or lens on the problem you're aiming to solve. And every founder I work with has a really unique, nuanced story. Your experience is unique. You're problem solving ability, your tenacity, those are elements you should be promoting and marketing in your personal brand. Once again, I feel like personal brand is one of those terms that maybe feels a bit weird, but I just want you to take it as it is. your viewpoint stance in the world. So as a founder you have authority in your own arena and you have a voice on the problem you're aiming to solve. You need to be sharing that. You need to be shouting about your experience You need to be highlighting your mission, your vision, all of these elements that make up your business because people invest in people before they ever meet your product or service. I say that a hundred times and I mean it a hundred times. If you are able. To position yourself as a thought leader, as an individual with expertise in the problem you're trying to solve, you will be able to generate more demand. That means demand from investors, that means demand in partners, clients, users, and cheerleaders. Because in today's day and age, we really need it. You need to be generating demand, I would say, before your product, service, business is even launched, well launched as in finalized. People want to build relationships with the businesses, founders, and individuals. And you have this unique positioning to use your experience behind the scenes. And building this business to bring people on a journey. So you might be saying, great, I, you might, and you might see people founders doing this. I'm not saying you need to be an Instagram influencer or a LinkedIn influencer, but what I am saying is you need to have a stance. and a voice that represents you and your business authentically every single step of the journey. And you might be saying, great, that sounds fantastic, but what does this actually look like? And I think it starts with, and I think it starts with small, consistent actions. So I've been guilty of this. It's summertime, kind of getting off the grid, routine might be thrown to the wayside. Guilty as charged. But if you are able to stretch that self promotion muscle. Start with once a week, then maybe go to twice a week, and do it in a way that is authentic to you. Some people love writing, other people love being on video, some people enjoy talking. Start small, but consistent. And I wanted to give you a few really simple prompts, five simple prompts that can get you started so that hopefully you can generate demand with your networks and your audiences. So number one, share why you started your business. Everybody wants to know the behind the scenes of what triggered this, what sparked this idea. Write a LinkedIn post, an Instagram. Keep it short and snappy, but share with people what motivated you to take that step and that leap to be a problem solver and entrepreneur. And write it from the heart. Number two, what in your background, whether that's personal, professional, academic, has supported you. in building your business. I read a really awesome LinkedIn post about how someone's experience being a parent actually sparked their business. Other individuals I've worked with, they've been studying cancer cells all their life, and they wanted to take this research into the real world. What about you? What in your past could you share that helped you support your business? Number three, what has been your biggest hurdle thus far? Trust me, entrepreneurship is not all of these Instagram influencers, going to the spa, going shopping. It is really hard. And oftentimes, if you're a solopreneur, it's really lonely. So what has been your biggest hurdle? Share it. Be honest. Be a little vulnerable. Number four, what is your favorite tool, framework, asset, program that has helped you with your business? If anybody wants to give the podcast a shout out, I will definitely reshare and repost, but there's probably something out there where that gave you an aha moment, whether that's, you know, an empathy map, a podcast, a webinar, or a lecture. You know, as entrepreneurs, we need to be supporting each other and lifting each other up. Go ahead and share what you're reading, what you're listening to, and how other entrepreneurs can benefit. And number five, share your story. Goals. Start, once again, start small, maybe one goal. Maybe you're looking at building out your email list, or starting a newsletter, or looking for people to sample your new product. The world will not know what you need unless you tell them. That's a really simple way to get people engaged. And guess what? If nobody responds, if nobody bites, if it feels like you're talking into the void, once again, think of these. Five prompts as an exercise as a trial and error to get you more comfortable with marketing yourself, because at the end of the day, you are, in a way, your business in these very early stages. So I highly encourage you to invest a little time, a little energy, And think about how you can take your experience, mission, vision, highs, hurdles, and everything in between to build out your thought leadership and your personal brand. That is it from me. And As always, I'm going to be trying to do better at this as well. So do give me a follow on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. And if you've enjoyed this episode, be on the lookout, follow and subscribe for more because I am always your biggest cheerleader when it comes to your business. So until next time, this is Everyday Entrepreneurship. Thank you for joining me for this episode of Everyday Entrepreneurship. To stay tuned and most up-to-date, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. You can follow me Caitlin Fritz on Instagram. And if you have any questions about building your business with Impact, drop me an email with the link in the show notes.