There are many things social media has given rise to over the past decade from allowing us to easily connect with long lost friends, to strengthening family ties, to building community support, to giving rise to more small business visibility and allowing us to access goods and services from a global marketplace. What social media has also given rise to is the online “guru” or the person or even teams of persons who will change your life, motivate you to be better, and scale you to 10k months and six figure business enterprises! Oh my!
I thoroughly and readily admit that I too fell under the hazy spell of motivational speeches, vague strategies for improving one’s life and the all elusive make tens of thousands of dollars just from being on social media workshops and trainings. All of the “gurus” I followed had several things in common:
_They were predominantly women
_ They had a believable if slightly indefinite or unclear backstory of overcoming hardship
_They offered a plethora of low cost or free programs on motivation, productivity, self improvement
_They had an aura and charisma that spoke to me but also a down to earth mentality that was appealing
I readily and whole heartedly bought into all of it. I signed up for newsletters and downloaded apps. Jumped on coaching calls and followed their You Tube and Instagram accounts in hopes of soaking up their “knowledge” and “wisdom”. But slowly I began to notice a shift in my favorite gurus and their messages to their audience. The message went from “Empowerment and motivation and strategies on how to be the best version of yourself” to a message of “Leveling up your business, scale to 5k months, scale to 10k months, become a six figure earner!”
The low cost offers and free workshops, and usable content suddenly gave way to increasingly higher and higher priced programs and courses. These women no longer seemed to be aiming their offers or content at the original audience that had given them their success in the first place but instead were looking to become exclusive high priced coaches for other high priced business. It seemed as if these women who had once been keenly aware of the impact of motivation, business building, networking and creating a community had scaled themselves up into an elite tier and no longer had any use for their original audience (namely people like me who were trying to navigate the world of online business as a writer and as a woman and stay at home mom).
Over the time the useful weekly newsletters became less and less frequent and eventually many of them stopped altogether. I just received a “newsletter” from one lady whom I hadn’t seen in my inbox in almost a year inviting me to register for a six figure earners only retreat in Bali. Had she stayed on top of where people like I were in her audience she may have realized that I was no longer her target audience as six figures is so far not what I earn. LOL.
That seems to be the way of the social media “guru” as they outgrow their original audience and focus less on the self improvement aspect and more on the “scaling up” of a million dollar business. I do not have a million dollar business (yet) but even if I did I don’t think these so called gurus could teach me anything I can not find out and learn on my own. They are not offering any real information that one can not find out for themselves. All they are really offering is the luxury label and the Instagram worthy highlight reel.
I want substance and clarity. I don’t want someone throwing up videos of themselves lip syncing while they post motivational mantras. Give me an actual class on SEO or write a business book filled with actionable steps on how to take a business from idea to actual product. I certainly do not care about your latest “rebrand” and how you are fully stepping into your “authenticity” so you got your nose pierced. Somehow you think that is the content that is going to teach me how to be authentic in business. Newsflash…it does not.
I can go to the business section of any bookstore or library and find a plethora of valuable resources that will help me more than a ten minute video on You Tube of a “guru” parroting back soundbites they have heard from other coaches on the internet. Look, I am all for the hustle and for building a viable business. But when your business is telling other businesses how to be a business there is something amiss.
If everyone on social media is a business coach catering to other businesses who make 5k months or more than what what about the rest of us just chugging away creating our own small business? Are we not valuable enough to be seen? Are our services not worthy? Of course we are but first you have tune out all that nonsense about 5k and 10k months. While there are plenty of business who are in fact generating that income, not everyone who says they are- actually are making that kind of money in their business.
GASP! People do not tell the truth or the whole truth on the internet??
No they do not and we need to be more cognizant of the fact. Anyone can make their life look like a dream in an Instagram post but the reality is for most people their life is nothing like a carefully curated post on social media. What we as freelance writers, creatives, and other small business builders need to do is focus on our services, our products and working hard each day to build and expand to the next step on our journey. We don’t need a perfectly coiffed coach telling us what we need to do because we can figure out the next step for ourselves. We don’t need a to buy a five thousand dollar coaching program just so someone can tell us that we need to “prioritize ourselves” and “work on self care”.
Its bullshit. Its snake oil. They say all the things you want to hear but in the end they don’t really do anything for you and your out five grand.
So here’s my thought on the matter — Ignore all the business hype beasts out there. Ignore the hustle till you puke culture. Ignore the “FIVE DAYS TO 5K” bullshit. What you need to do, what I need to do is get up everyday and do what needs to be done. Write. Paint. Create. Invent. Test. Sell. Build a website. Make the phone calls. Hire more help.
Do whatever it is you need to do to build your business and make it successful on your terms. Only you can make it happen. No guru no matter how big a following they have -can make you successful. Only you can and you will. I will as well.
Till next time–KEEP READING! KEEP WRITING!
All THE WRIGHT BOOKS 