Business Tao with George Kao

Webinar details and signup: https://georgekao.simplero.com/podcastingMy podcast hosting service: https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=georgekao This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com

In marketing it is assumed that the goal, the daily effort, is to get more views, more followers, more sales.... always wanting other people to do more of what we want them to do.In other words, conventional marketing is deeply self-centered, which stems from either insecurity, or ego. “If I don’t strive to get my share of attention, I won’t be able to survive or shine!” The result is the proliferation of questionable marketing strategies and pushy sales tactics, that aim to “grab” more audience attention and action.The real problem is that it seems to work in the short term. ​The squeaky wheel at first gets the grease... but all that squeaking eventually gets it eliminated and replaced! ​Eventually, short-term strategies always comes back to haunt the marketers.It’s this selfish core of “I want you to do this for me" from marketers that makes consumers distrust and dislike so much of marketing. Whether it’s the emails that clutter our inbox, or the pushy calls to action, we feel we “have” to consume marketing, in order to get to the good stuff — the content we actually signed up for.Additionally, so many ads and commercials are annoying because they don't really speak to our true wants or needs.The bottom line: Most marketers don’t care enough — they’re just blasting their promotions to everyone, hoping to catch a few. They aren't caring enough to slow down and really understand and target their communications thoughtfully. It feels interruptive, a necessary evil — which is why Adblockers are so popular.Instead of “how can we get more attention”, what if we think in terms of “how can we care more?”I believe there is a deep calling in us authentic business owners to bring more love and wisdom into business. That is truly the core focus. By bringing more (and wiser) caring to our audience, the result tends to be more loyal attention, deeply happy customers, and greater word of mouth.Caring more for our current readers, existing subscribers, the clients we already have, means that we will want to grow a deeper understanding of who they are and what they're going through right now. We can then create content and offerings that are more relevant to them.Everybody wins.Care Enough to Seek Conversation.What are they thinking about now? How do they feel about our industry and the offerings that are available in the market? What can we do to meet them where they are, to serve them better?Willingness to care means willingness to talk to them. To converse 1–1 with as many of our audience as possible.Reach out privately to those who engage with our content on social media. Individually contact some of our email subscribers to get to know them better. Not just sending out surveys, but caring enough to be in 1–1 conversation with them.In our conversations, try to uncover what it is they are struggling with at this time: what can we create that will help them, especially through our content? Find out what related products/services they’ve bought. What did they love, and what weren't they satisfied with? This helps us create (or curate) better offerings for them.Most of us business owners are so in our own heads (and hearts), absorbed with our own experiences, in love with our own modality, focused on promoting our own ideas, that we can easily lose touch with what the audience actually wants.We need to care more about our audience than we care about our possible embarrassment by their silence or rejection. Let’s rise up out of our cocoon and get more audience-centered.It's so important to keep returning to these questions:How can I care more about my audience?How can I... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com

A common creative block is worrying about the sequence in which you should be creating your content.Having written a thousand blog posts, self-published four books, created a dozen online courses, I can tell you this:Do not be concerned about the order of your content. Just start creating.Watch video or add comment here:https://youtu.be/qbxXr2cObEo This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com

In this episode (best watched on video when possible) I show you how I quickly get clear about my top priorities, when so much is going on...Watch video or add comment here:https://youtu.be/PfawawU8S7o This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com

Have you delayed your business progress, or felt stuck, because of big questions such as:“What is my niche?”“Who is my ideal client?”“What should my offering be?”“What’s my marketing message?”“What’s my Calling in life?!”These questions carry a finality that can overwhelm. It’s like once you answer it, you lose your flexibility. “The decision would affect so many little things!” you say. No wonder we procrastinate before moving on such an important question. It can keep us stuck for years.Many years ago, a wise mentor said to me that our Calling can only be understood looking backward.As we observe the twists and turns of our life, we can then start to connect the dots… to see the pattern of our opportunities, the people we happened to meet, our successes and “failures” and what we learned from each major experience.We start to understand our Calling.Yet, Life is lived forward. And it’s easy to be afraid of future future, afraid of going in the “wrong” direction. We know that planning helps prevent mistakes, but when it comes to something as complex and continually evolving as our authentic business, there are too many factors we will never fully understand, for which we cannot plan.“We plan, and God laughs…” --Yiddish proverb.We don’t know how we will personally evolve, nor how society’s changes may affect us. This means the wisest way to build an authentic business, and to discover our calling, is to take the stance of experimentation.“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” ―Ralph Waldo EmersonFrom this playful perspective, let’s reframe those big intimidating questions…“What’s my niche?”…can be reframed as:“What’s the next niche I’d like to explore, through experimentation?”Instead of the false finality of defining my niche, I always am testing new ideas… while doubling-down on recent ideas that got traction.For example, a few years ago, I noticed that I was often answering questions for my audience and clients about Facebook Ads. So I decided to test out that niche by teaching a single 2-hour workshop on that topic. People loved it. So I repeated it for another audience. They loved it too. And now, my Facebook Marketing Course is what many people know me for. In other words, for them, this is my “niche”. (I don’t care how people define me -- as long as they find benefit from my work.)Another example: I was interested in the topic of “healthy money” (relating to money in a wiser way) so I tried writing some articles about it. Most of my articles on that topic have received lackluster response. Therefore, it’s not a niche that I’ll be putting much effort into. If it were a hobby, I might keep writing about it — I guess that’s why I kept it up so long without much response. However, for my business, I’d rather focus on other ideas that find a better market response.“Who’s my ideal audience?”…can be reframed as:“Who has recently been responding to my authentic content?”or…“What group of people will I try advertising my content to next?”This is why I preach the message of Authentic Content Marketing: in your content, be yourself (without having to pretend to be like anyone else). Talk about your passions, talk about what has really helped you and others, and then observe who responds to your authenticity.You can also experiment by running Facebook Ads to different audiences and see if they like your content.Then, as you start offering your products and services, observe who buys. That’s the beginning of your true ideal audience. Study who your buyers... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com

Think about your favorite band -- you'd love for them to play your favorite song again. Same thing with your content and audience -- they want you to say the same thing (that made a difference for them) again and again :)Watch video or add comment here:https://youtu.be/beVIDFzfgcQ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com

When are you not confident in selling your services?It’s when you don’t believe the transaction is truly a win-win.If you really believe in your services, and know that the person you’re talking to would find it to be a great deal at the price you’re offering, then you’re no longer afraid to sell. It becomes a worthwhile cause to let them know.Comment on this episode under the video:https://youtu.be/RFeYMNoSp7g This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com

Today, your work, your tasks, are not your top priority.Your State is Your Top Priority.How are you being, as you go about your tasks and your work?Are you harried, anxious, struggling, and “just want to get it done”?The quality of your work tends to match the quality of your being.Plus, you have no guarantees of your work results — you can only control whether you do the work, and how you do it. Therefore, why not do your work from joy… instead of frustration, anxiety, or boredom?Your state of being is your top priority, because the only thing you can truly control is your inner life.Watch video or add comment here:https://youtu.be/BNoetdX3uZ4 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com

“I long for the ability to create without any thoughts of money…to create because I love it… to take real time off when I need it… to try new things and build in more hobby-time into my life.Although everything I create is because I love it, I tend to always have that background question: ‘Will it make me money?’I want to get to a place where I feel I can try things and fail and be totally fine with it…”–a reader sent this to me.Indeed, it’s a life that many of us heart-based people long for. It’s a worthy vision, and it’s absolutely possible — step by step. We can even do some of it now, without having to wait.**Comment on this episode under the video:https://youtu.be/txZAi7XZnx0 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com

I start by talking about how knowledge is holographic, expandible, collapsible and very importantly, can never be perfectly communicated in terms of what "reality" really is.Therefore, when trying to communicate knowledge, we are basically making shit up all the time.To comment on this episode, go here:https://youtu.be/wuIoM8vCDfU**This is a segment from the Create Your Framework course: https://www.GeorgeKao.com/framework This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit georgekao.substack.com