The one thing that every small business should do

by MarsDorian · 8 comments

The shame plane is flying around the net, and it’s making me want to cringe inside.

What do I see ? Small businesses acting like big, faceless corporations.

Why, why, oh why ?

Your small business can be one epic holiday ride; an eternal celebration of authentic human interaction.

But instead you’re “robotizing” it; blowing the emotions back to the deeps of our consciousness.

Corporations need to spend millions on creating “emotional” advertisements.

YOU only need to be yourself

You can’t out-corporate a corporation. Don’t pretend to be big when you’re just a one (wo)man show.

Perfection isn’t captivating in this life and won’t be in the afterlife.

Just look around you. Watch the commercials. What do you see ? Polished products, 24/7 sunshine and beautiful (wo)men photoshopped to oblivion.
Does this really touch you ?

I don’t think it does. It’s really just the hell of “fakeness”, and it instantly vaporizes any potential emotional connection.

Promise yourself to never be like that.

Make your business personal. And make it really personal. Sharpen your edges. Eliminate the gap between your character and your business. Let the ray of light shine through your transparency.

Give us the real thing, including your flaws.

Let me clarify my message. How about:

Authentic real estate. Instead of just bombarding your clients with sugared lies, go tell them the bloody truth: Yeah, this house needs a little workout – the paint is dripping off and the porch is past its prime. Hey, let’s just reduce the overall price by a few thousand dollars.

If that doesn’t establish immediate trust, then I don’t know what will.

Authentic blogging. Don’t worry about writing that laser-polished post. Sure, it’s going to sound wickedly stylish, but is it giving your audience a real feeling of emotion and personality ? Probably not.

Show me the human behind the post.

Authentic personal coaching. Yeah, I’ll help you get your life back on track. But I have to warn you; I can’t stand sloppiness and some of my jokes are as dirty as trash. Can you live with that ?

I think we can live with that.

Don’t even worry a nano second about being perfect. Make it your personal mission to give your audience the full package. Be honest and authentic.

We want the real thing.

And tell me what you think.

English is not my first language,
Mars Dorian

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justfeelgreat

Mars, I can't agree more. It's not just another business trend; authenticity is about respecting clients and not insulting their intelligence. The more we try to be another corporate voice the less we find our path to own audience and suffer from competition. There is an easier way and you explain it very clearly. Thanks for sharing

http://twitter.com/marsdorian Mars Dorian

I believe in personality more than anything else. Bringing yourself into business is just so easy, honest and effective. Why would you ever act like a big corp. ? Your personality should shine through every interaction. Imagine a future of individual businesses so authentic that the question of competition wouldn't even arise !
http://www.urbanizedmedicine.com Jennifer Barthe

I don't trust most of the corporate outfits. They pretend to care about you when you're just a statistic. I know, I used to work in marketing. Go figure.

I'm so glad I got out of the cubicle and into the fresh air.

http://www.buildthatlist.com/ Tom | Build That List

Authenticity is a massive problem in our world. Everyone is trying to hide their flaws because they are afraid they will scare people away. But I find myself the complete opposite. I see someone who is promoting themselves as perfect and I think ' what's going on here?'. I like it when people talk about their flaws, or let their flaws show, it makes them so much easier to relate to.
svensson

Now tell us how many times you proofread and changed your post before posting it. Promise yourself never to show off, right?

http://twitter.com/marsdorian Mars Dorian

Hey svensson,

Thanks for your honesty !
But you obviously didn't get the irony in the post, especially the part of authentic blogging :)

svensson

That is because there's no irony in it! You mean the things you say and I agree. Don't get it wrong I didn't mean to insult you. Just saying pretending is human nature to a certain extend. Like, you're using posed and optimized pics of yourself for your blog wanting to look cool 'n easy, but is this your flawed daily you? Your posts, are they really as spontaneous as you make them look like? I doubt it.
Of course you're doing a good job with your blog! It's just not that easy. Prentending is part of our lives. People don't want authenticity at all costs. It's not only thanks to advertisement or society it's due to human nature. People want to improve continually sometimes even when it's not their true self.

http://www.urbanizedmedicine.com Jennifer Barthe

The best way to be authentic is to tell people where you're weak at and how you plan on becoming stronger. You can even ask them to help you become a better person.

My readers know that I'm a soon-to-be-PhD student and that I have a lot prep work to do before I start my studies. I write about what I'm going through so I can help someone have an easier time.

Good post.