The key to building a business online these days is authenticity. People want to know who you are before they listen to what you have to say. In this episode of the podcast, we will dive deep into how to level up your business by unlocking your audacity and authenticity.

IE 239: How to Level Up Your Business by Unlocking Your Audacity & Authenticity with Erin King

My guest, Erin King, is a best-selling author, a 3-time entrepreneur, a podcaster, and a speaker. She is also the owner and founder of Socialite Media, a social media agency. 

What Does Leveling Up Look Like for You?

Throughout Erin’s entrepreneurial journey, she has been forced to level up over and over again. Many entrepreneurs face one problem: believing that “leveling up” will look the same for everyone on this journey. 

Who is that one person you follow on Instagram that you think you should look just like, and then you will have made it? 

I know that for most of us, someone just came to mind. When you are chasing down someone else’s version of success, no matter what that looks like, you might hit that, and it won’t feel like you thought it would. 

Leveling up in your business involves reframing your mindset on what your best life looks like. You have to be constantly resetting and evaluating yourself along the journey. Things will change. 

You might reach what you thought your “best life” would look like and decide you aren’t satisfied. 

Embracing the continual growth and evolution of yourself and your business is the key to leveling up. 

Be Willing To Be Flexible 

Your idea and version of success will not only alter as you grow but as the world changes around you. 

We have seen this play itself out so clearly over the last year through the pandemic. We have had to pivot our goals, not only for our businesses but also in our family dynamics. 

One of the most complex parts of growing is that you often have to let go of things to move forward. Having the flexibility to make changes while you honor and serve what you need right now is essential. 

Niching Down: The Key to Success

One of the absolute hardest lessons that Erin has learned over the last 15 years of being her own boss is this: if you are everything to everyone, you will be nothing to no one. It sounds cliche, but it is so true. 

Erin’s business exploded when she stopped trying to be everything to everyone. 

At the beginning of her work in social media management, Erin was willing to work with absolutely anyone, regardless of their goals or niche. But when she read “The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Great Company,” she learned about narrowing down your business and really focusing on your niche. 

Erin niched down her business to just being a live-event social media agency. It was so hard to say no to potential clients and income, but she just trusted the advice that niching down would lead to growth. 

And it did! Within 18 months, Erin’s business exploded. It took saying no to grow. When you are willing to be for someone very specific, you will be easy to refer. Referrals are the fast way to grow your business without spending a fortune on advertising. 

If you are looking for a way to rocket your business to the next level, you need to have the discipline to narrow and niche down who you are for. 

Looking For Your Manual 

Women can tend to look for a manual. We read all the books, listen to all the podcasts, and look for just the right coach to teach us everything we need to know. 

As women, we are very intuitive. We know what is right for us and what we need to do to move forward. It can be a little shocking when we step into our power and take up our space in the world.

The definition of audacity is “Daring greatly or boldly… even if it might shock or offend someone.” That can feel super uncomfortable for all of us. We don’t want to think too hard about how to process the world’s response to our decisions. 

When it comes to making big, bold, audacious moves, we have to get better at redefining people’s red lights towards us. This will determine whether we stay stuck or explode forward. 

When we fear people’s opinions of us and our decisions, we aren’t scared of the actual choices, but we are scared that the people around us that love us will reject us. 

Pushing Past The Negativity Into Bravery 

We all want people to like us and love us. That is normal. It is silly to say, “Don’t care what people think about you.” We all care. 

The difference between staying stuck and stepping into your big deal energy is deciding that you care more about yourself and what you think than you do about what others might think. 

These moments of audacity won’t always be the big ones like moving from New York to Charlotte. These are everyday brave moments of you choosing to trust yourself, even if those actions are not for everyone. 

The way people react to your decisions is a reflection on them, not you. If you can begin not to take negative pushback as a warning and instead view it as fuel in your tank, you will be able to keep pushing forward. 

Finding Your Authenticity On Social Media 

We all know that social media can just be a highlight reel. With the 97,000 filters and the perfectly posed shots, it can feel like we might get pushback if we are too authentic. 

We have to take one small action towards leveraging this knowledge so that we aren’t robbed of our joy. We have to change how we view our relationships with our devices and our social media accounts. 

But if we make our livelihoods on social media, how do we do that? Everyone has a different realm. Erin charges her phone in another room, “Marie Kondo’s” her newsfeed every single month, and seeks out one person a day to follow that will bring her joy. 

There is a fine line between being authentic and over-sharing. Erin recently experienced a traumatic event, and she shared vulnerable, emotional, genuine content. 80% of her followers leaned in and applauded her content. They felt seen, and they appreciated it. 

20% unfollowed her, wanted her to be back to her motivational content, etc. The 20% that pushed back does not deserve her when she is in a better season. 

Give yourself the grace to know when and how to show up for your audience, whether positively or negatively. Permit yourself to take a break if you need to, and permit yourself to share what feels right. 

You’re Kind of a Big Deal

Erin’s book, “You’re Kind of a Big Deal,” has a collection of stories of women overcoming obstacles, as well as strategies to help you face your fears and rethink your negative emotions. 

The main point of this book is to help you unlock your big deal energy that is already inside of you. That big deal energy helps you do the hard things that you know you are supposed to be doing, even if you are scared. 

You can find Erin on Instagram and Clubhouse. 

Action Steps:

• If you liked this episode of Influencer Entrepreneurs,  please subscribe and leave a fabulous review!
• Join the conversation on Instagram by tagging Jenny when you’re listening to the podcast.  She’ll send you a personal message whenever you tag her.