Today we tackle a question from our Zero to Scale insiders group. The question is, how has being open and honest affected your business? We will discuss the different ways of being transparent and the pros and cons of doing so.
There are people who have influenced us in our decision to be transparent. Pat Flynn was one of the first entrepreneurs to be really transparent about his finances on his podcasts. Others who have had various levels of transparency about their business include John Lee Dumas and Chris Ducker. The point is that you can find your own ways to be transparent. Our model of transparency is a hybrid.
We also discuss the pros and cons of transparency as it relate to our Zero to Scale podcast and our goal of reaching 20K a month.
Pros:
Building trust with the audience
Receiving rewarding feedback
Accountability and motivation
Lends authority status
Allows people to feel invested in the journey
Cons:
Failures are out in the open
Prospects may feel deterred from moving forward
Need to be prepared for people to ask more direct questions
Hackers and trolls may make note as revenues increase
Providing a road map for the competition
People may think what you’ve accomplished is out of reach
You might not always have all the answers which could harm the authority factor
Being transparent can be uncomfortable, but that’s when you’re going to grow the most. Pick and chose what you feel comfortable sharing. We have not regretted our transparency and encourage you to find the level that helps you to grow. Leaders find comfort in uncomfortable situations.
Resources Mentioned:
Stay Connected:
Join our closed Facebook group for continuous discussion and let us know your thoughts on today’s podcast and feel free to discuss ways to be transparent in your business.
We’d love to get a 5 star rating on iTunes from you. We don’t plan on asking for this in the episodes themselves since most people are doing other things when they’re listening, but we do plan on asking here. We’ll share the ratings and reviews in the episodes as well. Feel free to email us when you leave a review with your business information and we’ll include it in our shoutout.
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