BMP224 Holly Worton ~ How to Establish Credibility & Trust as an Entrepreneur

Today’s Guest

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I’m back again, with another solo episode! Today, I’m talking about something that keeps coming up in conversations with business friends, and also on my social media timelines. Everyone seems to be talking about this: how certain online business owners lack expertise and credibility in the work that they do, and how that affects those of us who actually have the background and experience to be doing what we’re doing. So, what to do? In this episode, I explore exactly what you need to be doing to establish yourself as a credible business owner. This also serves as a reminder to myself, because I don’t do this as much as I could.

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What You’ll Learn

How to establish credibility and trust in your business
Why it’s so important to tell your story…over and over…
How to get the mindset you need to speak up about this stuff

Things I Discussed

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Transcript

The transcript for this episode can also be downloaded here (no opt-in required).

Holly: Hello and welcome to the Business Mindset Podcast, episode 224. This is your host Holly Worton and I am back with another solo episode. Today, I am going to talk about how to establish credibility and trust in your business; but before we get to today’s episode I wanted to mention a couple of podcasts that I have recently been a guest on. Three guest episodes went live this week, so, I want to share those with you. So, the first is the Sustainable Business Podcast, I talk about how to stay safe from the wrong mindset; you will hear me talk about all the usual mindset stuff, what it is and why it is so important for business; why your beliefs around your business are crucial for success; how to find out what your business system actually is; how to know if your business beliefs are supporting you; and how to develop business beliefs that support who you are. I talk with Josh Patrick on his Sustainable Business podcast about all this stuff and more and you can find that at: https://www.hollyworton.com/josh and that will redirect you to his website.

Next, I was also a guest on Amber De La Garza’s podcast, the Productivity Specialist, once again; Productivity Straight Talk – episode 024. We talk about transforming your mindset to reach your full business potential. You may have seen a lot of Amber lately, I was on her podcast recently and she was on this show and if you missed that episode it is episode 222 if you want to take a look at that, just from two weeks back. She has super-practical tips on productivity and how to get stuff done, which I know has been an issue to some of the people in my community in the past. So, check her out, she is amazing. So, what we talk about, is again: signs of mindset issues that you need to watch out for; fast and easy ways to shift your subconscious beliefs; how your who am I mindset could be holding you back; techniques to release energy blocks, to streamline taking action and so much more. So, go to her website it is: http://AmberDeLaGarza.com/024 and that will get you to my episode; as always, these links will be in the show notes, so you can check them out there.

Finally, my friend Joanna Hennon, had me on her Soul Smart podcast, episode 6. We talk about how to make energy work a habit; and this is something that I am going to be talking more about because it is something that is really, really, important to me. So, we talk about: why working on your mindset every single day is a game changer; practical ways to make daily mindset work a habit; super simple energy hacks that will support your success; and when to clear energy yourself and when you need to get outside help. So, if you go to http://joannahennon.com/S6 and find me on the Soul Smart podcast; this is a great episode, and a great podcast, and you really need to check her out!

So, those are the three podcasts that I have been a guest on lately, and I hope you really enjoy it. I think one of the fun things about being a guest on other people’s shows is that I get to know other people, I get to know other people’s podcasts and I get to share them with you. There are so many great podcasts out there. I used to get into the habit of just listening to the same podcast over and over again; but now I have been branching out and trying new shows and listening to new things, so I highly recommend that you check all of those out, and like I said links will all be in the show notes, if you head over to: https://www.hollyworton.com/224 you will find the show notes.

So, what are we talking about today? We are talking about how to establish credibility and trust in your business; and this is a topic that keeps coming up in conversations with business friends and I keep seeing other people talking about it as well. So, this is something that hit home to me really recently; because I have heard people talking about how there are so many people out there in the online business world who don’t really have the experience, the expertise, the knowledge to back up what it is that they are teaching; and yet they are trying to build a business around stuff that they are still learning themselves. I have been hearing that for probably the last few years, but it didn’t really hit home to me until I saw someone I knew launch this program, based on something that I know from conversations we’ve had, that they don’t really have that much experience in themselves. So, I saw that, and I just thought: oh my God, this is a problem, this is a thing! But, I have been hearing people talk about this for years, it just only recently hit home. But then today I was watching a very short Facebook live, that Natalie Sisson did, about her business and her shift in business; and she also referenced that there are a lot of people out there who are not credible, who don’t have the experience and are trying to build a business around stuff that they don’t have the experience in and how those people leant kind of some fears around distrust, around people who are doing work that do have the experience to back it up. And this is something that she has said before, I remember a couple of years ago seeing her in London at an event that she ran, and she mentioned the same thing and I just thought: this is a really important thing. I have been really disillusioned with the online business world lately, and I am realising that part of that is because there are so many people teaching things that they don’t know what the hell they are teaching. They are just trying to make a business out of stuff that they think that people will buy, even though they don’t have the credibility and expertise to back that up.

So, this got me thinking: could I be perceived as someone who doesn’t know what the hell I am talking about? Because, like Natalie said, those people are leading people to mistrust our entire industry. And I realise that I perhaps don’t make it clear that I do have experience in running a business; that I am someone you can trust in terms on business mindset because of my extensive business experience – and I will get to that in a minute – but I don’t think I make that clear. So, some of you who have been listening to this podcast for a while, who are in my Facebook group, or have worked with me 1:1; or who know me personally; you may know what I am talking about, you may know that I have been in business since 1999; but I don’t necessarily talk about that part of my story to make it apparent to everyone. And this is important because telling my story is part of what is going to lend credibility to people; otherwise they don’t know anything about me. So, I think this is important and this episode is not going to be about me, I am just using myself as an example, it is going to be about helping you to figure out how you can be sure that you are establishing credibility and trust, so that you can attract the right clients for you who can see you as someone trustworthy enough to invest in and to work with.

So, in this episode you will learn: how to help establish credibility and trust in your online business, so that people can see that you are someone that’s worth investing in; if that is your good fit.

So, lets delve right in, a big part of establishing credibility and trust is telling your story, it is talking about your specific experience – personal experiences and business experiences and work experiences – that relate to the work that you are doing today; directly and indirectly; and this is really important. And, this maybe something that you need to tell over and over again in different ways. If you podcast, tell it in a podcast episode; if you do videos, do a video about it; if you write blog posts, write a blog post about it; and if you do all of those things then do all of those things, because different people have different preferred methods of learning. So, tell your story in all of the formats that you generally talk about things in and create content in, and cede elements of that story into other things whenever it is relevant. This is really, really, important.

So, what does that look like? So, like I said, I have been in business since 1999 and it wasn’t an online business; my first business that I ran for 10 years with a business partner, was a very successful, very unique, multi-million-dollar business — we were bringing in four million dollars a year consistently; I think that our best year was 4.2 million – and, as I always tell the story, my experience in that business, I went through every single role because we built that business up from scratch and so I filled in all the different roles in that business; but generally it was the area of online marketing in addition to actual operations. So, we had eco hotels, so it was a brick and mortar business, but we were doing most of our marketing online; and again, this was back in 1999 so the internet was kind of new and fresh and I was at the start of learning how to do this and there wasn’t much information out there. So, I had this multi-million-dollar business, ended up quitting that business after 10 ½ years; took some time off to figure out what I wanted to do, I knew I had to start another business because I was no longer fit to work for someone else, I was just far too independent by that point, and then I decided to train as a coach. I trained as a coach, really, really, struggled to build my coaching business, despite the fact that had 10 years of practical business and marketing experience, and then a few years ago realised that my problem wasn’t lack of experience; it wasn’t lack of tacking action; it was mindset. I had a lot of crap going on in my head; mind gremlins; whatever you want to call them, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, low self-worth, and all of that stuff was affecting my ability to really get out there and be visible and take up space with my business. That’s it in a nutshell.

So, I came to this business mindset stuff after having 10 years of solid business experience in a multi-seven-figure business, quitting that business, starting a new business, and then really, really, struggling because of mindset stuff. So, I come to this business today with almost 19 years, because I started my business in February of 1999, almost 19 years of practical business experience, and several years of working with my mindset not only with myself, but with clients; and helping to identify what is the mindset stuff that is holding people back, what it is that they need to believe to achieve their goals; and who they need to be as a person, to achieve their goals. How can they set up into their greatness and let go of that smallness, and take the actions that they need to take to build their business? So, that is my credibility, lots and lots of years of business, both online and offline, and a lot of personal experience and client experience with business mindset. Like I said, I don’t tell that story as much as I should.

So, think about you, think about your story, think about your business, what it is that you do, who it is that you help, how it is that you help them. What in your life experience has given you the knowledge, the skills, the expertise to help these people? It could be a job, it could be a previous business, it could be previous life experience, it could be current life experience. What in your life has given you the experience that you need to do the work that you are doing today? Journal on this, write about it, do a video on it, do a podcast episode on it. Start telling this story. This is super important because that’s what lends you credibility and trust to people who are thinking about working with you. Because they know that you have been where they have been, and you have gotten over it, and you have the skills and expertise to help them; and that gives you credibility and makes you someone they can trust. So that’s the first step. Start telling your story!

Next, delve a little bit deeper into that story and really establish what makes you unique, what makes you different, what makes you different from someone else who does a similar thing or provides a similar service? So, if you are a relationship coach, how are you different from other relationship coaches? And that’s super easy to do. Take a look at other people who have similar business to yours, look at their story, look at their experience, and make notes on how you are different. And then tell that story. So, you don’t necessarily need to say: so, I’m not like so and so, because she did this and I do that; you don’t need to get specific, that’s just to give you an idea of how you are different when you are doing your research. When you tell your story, focus on those things that are different, those aspects of your life, of your experience, of your skills, that make you different. So, this is kind of a deeper way of telling your story; and it really helps to do that research because we are all unique, everyone is unique, everyone has a different set of ingredients that makes their business soup different from someone else’s business soup ({laughing} that was a weird analogy!). But, we all have different ingredients that makes our secret sauce (I am not hungry right now, I don’t know why I am giving food analogies!) different from someone else’s business secret sauce. So, establish your uniqueness by delving deeper into that story, and I hope you are seeing from this is that you can tell your story in different ways, tell it over, and over, again. Tell different aspects of it, but really get clear on this stuff first, so you can tell your story with a purpose; so you are not just talking for the sake of talking; but you are telling this so that people can see all these hidden facets of you, that you may not be talking about in other ways.

And this is so important, so if you are thinking: oh, but I don’t want to talk about myself, or people don’t want to hear about me; or they don’t want to hear my story. Of course they do! Because if you are offering a product or service, that is going to help people they want to know who you are. They want to get to know you. So, talk about yourself. Tell your story. If you are not telling your story, you are doing a disservice to these potential clients because you are not giving them the information they need to decide whether you are a good fit for them or not, so tell your story. Tell that deeper story of your uniqueness and tell it over and over again, in different words, in different formats, in different ways; because someone might need to hear different versions of that story, two or three times, before you say something that clicks, because it is just the right words that they needed to hear that day at that time. So, do not be shy of telling your story. And if you are still resistant to this, do the mindset work that you need to do to believe that this is okay; because I am telling you that it is totally okay, tell your story. Talk about yourself. Tell why you do what you do. This is another thing: why are doing what you are doing? Why are you running the exact business that you are running? Why are you helping the exact group of people that you want to help with your business? What is your big why? You have heard about that, maybe you have seen the TED talk, maybe you have read the book. Why are you doing what you are doing? Tell that story too. This is really, really, important.

Are you clear on your strengths? Are you clear on your gifts? Do you know what they are? Get clear on that stuff and talk about that stuff. And this is another part of telling your story, part about telling who you are. These are my strengths, these are what makes me unique, these are why you might want to work with me. So, what are my strengths? I am really, really good at asking the questions, that I need to ask to help people get to the core of their problem. I don’t like doing superficial work. I like digging deep, I like asking the deep questions, I like challenging people, I like looking at people, seeing their greatness, seeing their potential, seeing what they are capable of; and then helping them get the beliefs in place that they need to have so that they can achieve that. And going back to what I said a minute ago, about the big why: why is it that I do what I do, or why is it that I want to do what I am doing? Freedom is my biggest value, it has been…I identified that years ago, and it is still one of my biggest things, and I haven’t always felt a sense of freedom in my life. So, I know what it is like to not feel freedom, and I know what it is like to feel freedom; and freedom is really, really important to me. And one of the reasons that I do what I do is because I want to help women build the business and lifestyle that they want, so that they can feel a sense of freedom and have freedom of choice and options in their life through creating a business that feeds them, and nourishes their soul, and gives them the freedom to live how they want to live. And there are so many different ways to achieve that; but my way of doing that is through business and that’s how I want to help other people do that, but mindset is the thing that got in the way for me and it’s the thing that gets in the way for a lot of women. So, that’s why I am helping people with business mindset.

Get clear on what your zone of genius is, what is it that you are absolutely amazing at? And tell that story. Tell the story of how you got clear on that, tell the story of why it is that you are so amazing at this. So, these are kind of all different facets of the same thing. But, telling this story from different angles is what is going to establish credibility and trust. And it is going to help people get to know you, and it is going to help establish kind of a history of how you got to where you are today. And it is going to give people the trust because they know that this is something that is important to you, and you are not just someone who decided last week that this is what you are going to do, so you are doing it. You have experience, you have knowledge, you have skills, you have a unique background that helps you do what you are doing, and you are operating within your zone of genius. This is the stuff that is going to help establish credibility and trust. But even though you may know this stuff, you have got to tell people; and I hope I am making that clear from this episode; you can’t just know all this stuff; journal about it, get clear on it for yourself, you have got to make it public and you have got to tell it over and over and over again, so that people know your background and know why you are doing what you are doing and know who are and why you are doing this work. I keep repeating myself and I am doing it because I see so many women not telling their story enough, so I am driving it home today.

And, as always, if you have got any fears, any blocks, any limiting beliefs around telling your story, if you think: oh, they are going to think, who do I think I am; get rid of that stuff, get rid of that mind stuff, get rid of that mind crap. And do what they need to do to create the beliefs that you need to have, release the energy blocks, so that you can speak your truth and tell your story. So, get clear on those fears, get clear on those blocks, get clear on those limiting beliefs, and really just dig those up to the surface and be aware of them because fear and doubt doesn’t pop up in your mind as: I have a fear! I have a doubt! It pops up as stuff that appears to be true. You think they are true, but they are not; so it is: who am I to take up space? Who am I to tell my story over and over again in different ways? Who am I to be the person to say these things? This is all stuff that is not serving you and it is keeping you small. And I know that it is stuff that a lot of people talk about over and over again: being stuck in your smallness; but this is really, one of the biggest ways, that mindset can keep us stuck and frustrated in business and keep us from serving the people we are meant to serve. It is keeping us stuck in our smallness. And our smallness is nothing more than all those blocks and low confidence, low self-esteem, low self-worth that you need to get rid of. And, like I always say, a lot of people talk about: feel the fear and do it anyway; and I think that’s, I mean I’m sure that works for some people, it does not work for most people. It does not work for most people that I know. So, if you have been trying that, just stop and try something else; try bringing those fears, those blocks, those limiting beliefs, up to the surface; identifying them and make mindset work a habit, whether that’s working with yourself, if you have techniques that you use to shift mindset, or energy blocks, or work with another professional. As I always say: I do both; I do this mindset work with myself, sometimes on a daily basis, sometimes on a weekly basis; but I am doing it constantly, and regularly. And I also work with other people to help me with my mindset, because other people can help me to see things that I can’t see because I am too stuck in my head all day. So, in my opinion, what works for me is this double-pronged approach: I work with myself and I work with other people. There is no one right way, or right thing, that works for everyone. This is what works for me and this is what I recommend, but you have got to find what works for you.

So, do what you need to do to get the mindset you need to establish credibility and trust in a big way. Get the mindset you need, to tell your story, to establish your uniqueness, to communicate your strengths and gifts, to communicate your big why; to communicate your zone of genius; so that you can help the people you are meant to help. So, they can get to know you, so they can get to trust and like you and believe in you and believe you are the person to help them with their stuff, whatever it is that you help them with. This is super, super, important. And it is even more important in this online business world where not everyone can be trusted. Not everyone is credible because people are building businesses based on things that they don’t know what the hell they are talking about; and I don’t know why they are doing that and that’s a whole other conversation. I think a lot of people are just so desperate to have a business they just build one around whatever…because they see other people doing it, because maybe some coach told them they could do it; and I am sure that’s not the case with you, if you are still listening to this episode. So, make sure that other people know that you are trustworthy; and don’t just assume that they can pick up the vibes, spell it out for them, it is okay. Tell your story, over, and over again; until people get that you are credible, that you are trustworthy, that you are excellent at what you do. It is okay, give yourself permission to do that, it is not being vain. It is not being whatever your smallness maybe thinking it is. It is what you’ve got to do so that people get to know you and know that you are trustworthy. So, speak up and tell your story and that’s all I have to say on the topic today.

So, please drop me a line as usual and let me know what you thought about this week’s episode or pop into the Facebook group: https://www.hollyworton.com/group and tell me what you thought. You could also email me at: [email protected] or find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and get in touch. And I would love to give me a shout out on the show if you want me to share your feedback.

I would also love for you to join me, as I mentioned, in my private Facebook group, Business Mindset Alchemists, so we continue the conversation there. As I always say podcasting is such a one-way conversation and I would love to get some feedback from you in that group. So, in that group we are dedicated to exploring business mindset, and how you can get the mindset you need to achieve your dreams. I would love to see you in there so if you go to: https://www.hollyworton.com/group you will be redirected to the Facebook group and I will see you in there.

And finally, if you have been listening to this show for a while, or whether you have just heard our first episode, if you are drawn to learning about mindset work, and you would like to learn more about how you can work with me, please get in touch: https://www.hollyworton.com/call and you can book in a call. I would love to work with you and help you transform your mindset using heart centred energy work, which is my preferred process to work with my energy and mindset blocks.

So, thank you so much for listening and if you enjoy this episode please leave a quick review on iTunes it would really mean the world to me. And remember to visit hollyworton.com/224 for the show notes on this episode.

Next week I will be back with episode 225, which is a co-hosted episode with Jo Casey, this is a pretty epic episode, we talk all about business boundaries, which is such an important topic to us that we talked for an hour on the topic. It is really, really important stuff; it is such a great episode I am really, really proud of it and we are looking forward to bringing you some more, longer episodes, and not just sticking to the half hour format which is what I have been doing for the last few years. So, we are going to give ourselves more freedom in the future to do some extended episodes. So that’s all for now, thank you again so much for listening, you can find the show notes at https://www.hollyworton.com/224 and that’s all for this week. I will see you next week. Thank you.