Guest Post from Judy Goss, Moderator, How to Speak Up & What’s Holding You Back Panel at the Speak Up Women Conference

Before you SPEAK UP, make sure you know WHY it is you want to talk about it.

I’m writing this with the assumption that you want to market yourself to the world, increase your visibility and make a living from what you love, right?

Yes, of course – we all want to do that on varying levels, whether you have your own business, are a part-time freelancer or are simply trying to get ahead in your career as an expert. The problem is, we need to have a rock-solid grasp of WHO and WHAT we are and WHY we are doing what we do before we start growing.

I have heard countless times that today’s marketing is all about “authenticity.” Being authentic can be tough, especially when combining it in the professional world. I stopped myself countless times from admitting I had been through bankruptcy because I wanted to be known as an “astute businesswoman.” Little did I know that telling the truth about my story would inspire and motivate others, which was really what my companies were all about! So it came full circle and helped me in the end, when I could have saved time and wrapped my “real self” into my marketing in the first place. Real stories sell – Trump admitted his bankruptcies, why couldn’t I?

At the heart of it, speaking about yourself (and/or your business!) requires maintaining a consistent message to your audience that you are who you are, you know what you are selling, and within that message is why you are selling/offering what you do.

A good way to find where to begin is to write down the top three reasons of what your intentions are with your business or career in the first place, and tape it on the wall where you will see it every day. Here are mine when I started Over 40 Females:

• To make the women over 40 demographic more relevant and thus create more opportunities for women.
• To give women over 40 a platform to be heard and celebrated while connecting them with each other forming a close-knit community.
• To take that exclusive community for women over 40 and provide resources to draw from ranging from business building to spiritual guidance to media exposure.

A great way to be consistent with your story is to come up with a tagline for your company. Or, if you are a sales rep or don’t have your own business, you can still have a quote that follows you around and represents your personal story in just a few words – put it on your email signature, post it on Facebook, show it everywhere you market yourself. The most important part is to be consistent. Over 40 Females is “Your Network. Your World. Your Community.” Our motto is “Connect, Encourage and Inspire” but I didn’t feel like that that was enough – it doesn’t really describe what we are, so we came up with a tagline that as soon as you see our company name, you will have an idea of who we are and what we do.

The why? It should be in your messaging. One of my favorite videos is one Simon Sintek did, it’s about 20 minutes and it changes my life every time I see it:

{Click the image to view Simon’s TED Talk}

Here is an example of “Who” and “What” Over 40 Females is:

A live and online networking community for women over the age of 40 to give women a platform to be heard, a place to network personally and professionally, a hub for educational resources and an impassioned community for women over the age of 40 with the motto “Connect, Encourage and Inspire.”

“Why” would you join us?

We help women over 40 who are in transition, going through a re-invention or re-building their lives professionally or personally. The ways we do this is by connecting them with other like-minded women, providing them constant resources through our experts with teleseminars, educational videos and more, offering them unique ways to promote their businesses or careers and giving them a place to come where everyone feels like extended family – a place where women over 40 finally belong.

What is YOUR why?

I look forward to meeting you at the Speak Up Women Conference on March 5th at the United Nations and hearing about your experience!