Back in 2002, when I started my online business, the mantra ‘Fake it till you make it’ was the received wisdom in the online coaching and training world. And for many, it worked. It was about playing bigger than you were and allowing confidence to carry you through, where perhaps skills and experience were still being built.
And, to a certain extent, it can work.
But it’s high-risk. Find out why and what you could be doing, instead, if you want to grow a business you love – and make a difference in the world.
Over the past 14 years of running my business, I have seen so many coaches, consultants and online trainers come and go. It’s sad to watch. They start off with a big mission, put their heart and Soul into it, but it doesn’t succeed.
And I have seen so many achieve what – to the outside world – looks like incredible success, on the back of pyramid-selling of ‘get rich quick’ business programmes.
Yes, there are many talented people out there doing wonderful work. But the your Facebook news feed is much more likely to be filled with adverts and posts from people who are selling you a dream they haven’t yet achieved for themselves.
‘Fake It Till You Make It’ Is An Epidemic
It’s so common. I hang out in lots of online business networking groups and I have lost count of how many people – the brave ones – share their story about high-profile snake oil merchants who leave in their wake a trail of broken promises and shattered dreams.
I say the ‘brave ones’, because admitting you got sucked in by a shiny sales pitch takes guts. And many of these online gurus have terms in their contracts that forbid you from publicly criticising them or their programmes.
For the past 14 years, I have picked up the pieces for the people for whom someone else’s glossy ‘Fake it till you make it’ strategies didn’t work.
You see, serving – and changing the world – isn’t about glitz and glamour and lifestyle and having a fancy graphic designer. It is about having done the inside work that means you are grounded, with firm foundations, with genuine confidence, compassion and capability.
But – heartbreakingly – in this world of carrot-dangling overnight success, few are prepared to put in the effort that will create those foundations.
Playing Devil’s advocate: what’s the problem with ‘fake it till you make it’, if it brings in the punters?
Let’s start with integrity:
Do you really want to sell your Soul, to grow your business?
Could you imagine paying someone to help you to create a transformation in your life, only to find they haven’t yet created it in themselves? How would you feel? Cheated? Betrayed? Somehow violated?
If you over-hype your lifestyle, results or ability, you are setting yourself up for a fall. Over-promising and under-delivering leads to upset customers who will never buy from you again. And whilst your contract might prevent them from talking about it, the word will still get round.
Remember: the best formula for a good night’s sleep is having a clear conscience.
Then how about humanity?
If you’re only in business to make money, then please get off my blog right now.
Of course, receiving a fair energy exchange for your work is essential. And making money is what makes the difference between an ‘expensive hobby’ and a business. But if the only reason you’re doing it is to get rich, to create your dream lifestyle and to be in the limelight, then this blog ain’t the place for you.
The most inspirational businesses in the world make money – of course, or they wouldn’t still be here. But they also have a Big Vision – a change they want to create in the world. A revolution they started. They are driven by wanting to make a difference.
Imagine how you would feel about shelling out thousands on a course or for mentoring, if you then discovered that the guru’s primary motivation was how much money they could make from you? Pretty bad, I’m guessing.
When an expert surrounds themselves with a pedestal-ready veneer, it means people don’t really connect with them. They are too aspirational. They attract hero-worshippers, not customers. And they lose their ability to make a difference in the world.
Are you living from a place of love – or fear?
“All choices made from freedom create more freedom.” ~ James Twyman
Similarly, all choices made from fear create more fear.
If you choose to ‘fake it till you make it’, then you’re coming from a place of fear. You are pretending to be someone that you aren’t. And that vibe will be filling each and every interaction you have with your customers. They will sniff your intentions like a dog hunting for a long-lost half-rotten bone.
And that makes it harder to fill your programmes, harder to get people to open your emails and harder to get them to trust you. And it makes your customer service experience a nightmare, because people are much more likely to be dissatisfied and to complain.
So what’s the alternative?
Well, ‘I’ll Wait Until I’m Ready’ Will Never Grow Your Business, Either…
If you wait until you’re ready, you’ll most likely never get started. Years will go by of your dream customers WISHING you would step up and help them in the way that only you can.
So if ‘fake it till you make it’ and ‘wait until I’m ready’ aren’t the answer, then what is?
Here’s the answer I’m proposing – it’s bold, crazy, scary, exciting, outrageous and yet such a sense of relief, once you actually do it… and it will magnetise your dream customers to you in a way that ‘Fake it till you make it’ could never do.
It is… drum roll…
Be authentic. And do it now.
Start where you are right now and be the best you can be – today.
Show the courage to be true to yourself. Let go of the pressure to over-hype or pretend. It might feel scary, but your dream customers will love you and the relief you will feel at finally allowing yourself to be ‘good enough’ is immense!
And that will shine through everything that you do.
And I would love to make it easy for you.
I’m running a live, online Masterclass on this on Friday 29th January at 11am UK time (replay available). And I would be over the moon to share it with you.
I’m going to take you through exactly why ‘fake it till you make it’ doesn’t work – from a psychology point of view, from a business strategy perspective, and even – minor woo woo alert – in the context of alignment and energy.
Then I will guide you through, step by step, the solutions you need to be able to get authentic and turn this around – and how this is the key to your long-term success – and inner peace and happiness and shining your light!
Plus I’ll be spilling the beans on the near-universal habit we all run, that could derail you, without you realising, and giving you strategies to set yourself free from it – forever.
Are you in?
Here’s where to get your ticket – right now – as part of the Dare To Dream Bigger business summit:
Yes! I’m in!
Let’s start a revolution!
We have had enough of seeing super-glossy ‘fake-it-till-you-make-it’ adverts for coaching training and business programmes in our Facebook news feeds.
We are DONE with seeing people who shelled out thousands quietly crying in the corner of a Facebook group because they feel stupid at being ripped off for thousands by yet another snake oil seller. {Important: please don’t ever feel bad if that happened to you. It’s so easy to fall for the sweet-talking. xx}
We want to spread a wave of inspiration and empowerment so that we can all be authentic – with integrity – and know that we’re already more than good enough – so we can make an incredible, positive difference in the world.
Are you with me? I’m a #WorldChanger. Are you?
With love, Namaste,
