Welcome back to the Chase It Down 3-part miniseries. Missed the first post? Click here to get yourself caught up.

If you’re chasing it down in business these days, you’re in good company. I heard from so many of you on social and in my Youpreneur Community about what you’re doing every day to get moving, get ahead, and ensure a killer year of success. Here are just a few ways you guys are crushing it:

Awesome, right?!! I love seeing the ways you guys are growing and scaling, even as others around you kick up their feet and put things off “for another time.”

Today, I’m releasing Part 2 of the trilogy, and as promised, it is the #1 secret behind every personal brand success story. This is ‘the big one’, all about what successful entrepreneurs know.

Ready? Let’s go.

7 Secrets About Serving, Not Selling

Building a thriving business isn’t about selling. It never was.

It’s about serving. Here are the 7 things you need to know if you want to succeed as a service-based personal brand entrepreneur:

1. If you’re not serving your customers, you need to catch up. I am not kidding when I say that the most profitable personal brand businesses out there aren’t selling. They’re not in your face pushing you to buy things you don’t need. They’re not overwhelming your inbox with out-of-touch pitches and inflated discounts. They’re not asking for your money without first proving their generosity.

Nope. The most profitable personal brand entrepreneurs are humbly and consistently SERVING their audiences. They’re showing up regularly with high-value content that answers questions, opens doors, and rewards action.

2. You have to know who you’re helping. Everything is easier when you know who you’re creating content for.

If you’re not already super clear on who your ideal customer is, stop everything right now and get 3 pieces of paper. At the top of each, write three names of people who represent your target market. They can be real or invented. Once you’ve got their names, write down several bullet points about each of them. Where are they from? What do they do for work and pleasure? What’s important to them? What are they struggling with?

Once you get going, this is really easy, I promise. It’s even kind of fun to brainstorm the personas of the people you want to serve. Once you’ve got a page about each of them, tape them above your desk. Look at them every day. They are your North Star. They are the inspiration behind every piece of content you’ll create.

Speaking of creating content…

3. Create the right kind of content. What counts as the “right” kind of content? First, let’s talk about the wrong kind. The wrong kind of content is mediocre, inconsistent, poorly expressed, and poorly targeted. It’s the wrong message for the wrong audience. How do you know if you’re creating the wrong kind of content? Trust me, you’ll know. The proof is in the terrible engagement and conversion rates.

The right kind of content is three things: inspirational, entertaining, and educational. It has to be all three! Go through this 3-point checklist for every piece of content you create, and you’ll be amazed at the results. You’ll inspire change in the lives of the people you want to serve, and in turn, they’ll invest generously in the Business of You.

4. Your audience determines what the Business of You actually becomes. Even more good news about being an entrepreneur: once you find your audience, you no longer have to do things all on your own. Listen closely to your customers at every turn. They’ll tell you the problems they’re experiencing, which will give you ideas for the solutions you can offer. The more you listen, the more they’ll talk, and the more they talk, the more opportunity you have to serve.

5. Solve people’s problems. That’s all it takes! You may have a brilliant business idea, but if it doesn’t solve a problem…I hate to break it to you, but you don’t actually have a business. What you have is a hobby, or at best a side hustle. It’ll never become the big-time brand you want it to be. If you want to build a BUSINESS, though? You absolutely must solve a problem.

6. Here are some ways to serve. For online business owners, there are countless opportunities out there to serve the audience that needs you. Here are just 7, with links to learn more and take action on each one:

• Start a blog (in 10 minutes!)
• Start a podcast
• Offer coaching services
• Write a book
• Create info products and courses
• Start a membership community
• Host a live event

7. When you share with them, they share with others. The best part about the inherent generosity of serving your audience is that it encourages payback! That is, when you share freely with your customers, they will want to share you (and your brand) with other people in their network. This is the coveted word-of-mouth marketing that we should all aspire to. And it all comes back to people wanting to do business with other people.

Remember Your Promise!

And that’s what what successful entrepreneurs know.

We’re ⅔ of the way through the Chase It Down miniseries, and I want to hear how it’s helping you. Send me an email today, or use #ChaseItDown on social, to answer this question: How will you serve your audience this month, when everyone else is selling?

Let’s meet back here next week for the grand finale of this trilogy. It’s the big kahuna, guys…THE solution you need if your business isn’t converting the way you know it can.

I can’t wait to share it with you!