Profit Hacking Weekly 016: The flip side of Genuine Content

This week is more of a musing than a direct profit tip

The top tip for creating great content is to be your genuine authentic self.

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Side Effects of authentically genuine content are:

• More engaged audience

• Value aligned prospects

• More content to write

What does it mean to be your authentic self?

Telling stories is a great example. They could be client stories, how you helped someone overcome a problem and the value you created. Could be your own story, how you were down and out then did these 5 things that delivered you to success.

You could build in public. Very popular this year. Raw posts about new business ideas, the steps you’re taking, the challenges you face. Everything on the path of entrepreneurship. They usually start with

“I’m thinking about offering {business idea}, if I did, who would be interested?”

The best performing authentic entrepreneurs are sharing polarizing thoughts. I’m talking about Elon Musk, Andrew Tate-level polarization. This content takes off like wildfire.

Not everyone is ready to go full Andrew Tate. But we all have strong opinions that, if we shared, some people would love and others would hate.

To be a proper authentic and genuine content creator, it takes all three.

You must share your stories, your journey, and your real opinions.

And when you do, you will alienate a group of people.

Ideally, people who don't share your values.

This does make it much easier to “find your tribe”. Connecting and engaging with others who share your beliefs. Who you will, ultimately, enjoy talking to. And lead to great clients who are a pleasure to work with.

The list of benefits is long... but all forward looking.

Something no one talks about is what being genuine does to your existing relationships.

Every week, I see former colleagues, managers, friends, and mentors view my profile. None of them ever engage with my posts - and I can take a few guesses why.

My day job used to be as a tax accountant. My first ever tax strategy was my own. Before I got into accounting, I elected S-Corp for my business. I went on to work in a tax remediation firm where I filed countless S-Corp elections. Then, I joined a startup (two actually) where S-Corp was the entire offer.

Since then, I’ve learned some things. I’m much more reserved with the S-Corp strategies these days. I regularly speak out against the blanket advice that, “S-Corps are the best tax strategy and always save you $$$”.

But, I have former colleagues, friends, who are still running webinars on that. The message I taught some of them...

Some of these page visitors are old mentors. Tax Accountants, CPAs, who pride themselves on saving money on tax returns every year. I wonder how they feel when I say that tax firms are the way of the past. That the modern firm is Advisory led, with the 5 year plan taking priority over a little tax savings this year. And compliance being little more than a bare necessity.

I used to work with them… I know they've shaken their heads at more than one of my advisor-first posts.

The most costly casualties are the start-up founders and venture capital investors. They still visit my page, but they don’t like or comment. I don’t get DMs anymore.

Probably because I act like startups, especially in the San Francisco bay area, operate in some fantasy land of monopoly money.

Startups, and the VCs that fund them, are out of touch with what it takes to bootstrap a business that serves a local community. They’re juggling spending money fast enough to grow and raise more, before the end of the runway and it all crashes and burns.

The entrepreneurs I help are trying to put food on their table, or a kid through college.

The point of all this newsletter issue is two fold.

1. Posting Genuine and Authentic content is worth it.

2. To say the quiet part out loud because no one else is.

If you see someone posting new ideas that surprise you, understand that life is complicated. There are many variables and we're learning new things all the time. They just entered a new chapters. Like the post, maybe even comment to learn their new point of view.

And if you are the one nervous about sharing your polarizing opinions. Remember that the same politicians do it all the time.

If politicians can flip-flop on major sociopolitical topics that impact humanity, then you can change your mind about vlogs being better than TikToks.

Speak your mind. Your tribe will rally around you. The former relationships that fall away, well, they belong in a past chapter that served you well. It’s ok to move on.

Thanks for reading the 16th issue of the Profit Hacking newsletter. Past issues will be located on the blog section of profitandgrow.com.

If you need help with anything I talk about, like maximizing your profit, minimizing your taxes, understanding your cash flow, or making the best spending decisions, connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielt6/

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By: Daniel Talbott