Business Tao with George Kao

Do you have something to add to this conversation? Add a comment below the video:https://youtu.be/ivA8UnoIFBU 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

If you use visual interruption or other attention-getting techniques, you tend to build an audience that doesn't care when you are authentically you. Then marketing becomes a chore, and more costly. If instead we imagine being with a dear friend, someone we feel comfortable with, and treat our audience like that, we will shine in our genuine expression and grow an audience of true fans.Video:https://youtu.be/MKNwBcfrs2k 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

Are you feeling "not ready" to put your work out there?Little known fact: I often feel that way too. Much of the content & products you see from me, comes from that initial feeling, which has been transformed.If you're asking yourself whether you're "ready", you're already aware at some level that you ARE. Let that awareness transform your fear into love... hesitation into action. 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'm a rebel at heart... yet I've learned to train a wiser heart for joyful productivity :)In this video I talk about my new 6-month Coaching Program to help you create a "thoughtful life calendar" that helps you get clear about your weekly and daily priorities, especially to help you grow your business strategically.To read the blog post, go to:https://www.georgekao.com/blog/tlcTo sign up for the program, go to:https://www.georgekao.com/tlc 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

This is key to creating authentic content:Don't be afraid of losing people.Read the blog post here: https://www.georgekao.com/blog/nofear 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 video I describe the 8 Practices that I do consistently and recommend to my clients (and to you!) for growing an authentic business: 1) Joyful Productivity2) Healthy Money Habits3) Authentic Content4) Paid Content Distribution5) Collaborations6) Audience Research7) Rhythm of Gentle Launches8) Mastery of Your CraftRead the blog post:https://www.georgekao.com/blog/8practicesThis was formerly "the 7 disciplines of authentic business" 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 set goals that are fun to think about... but I focus daily on the systems.Read the article here:https://www.georgekao.com/blog/systemsnotgoals 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

There is an unspoken assumption in marketing:More followers = More clients, more fulfillment, more freedom.Related assumption: More Money = More Happiness.These ideas are seductive, because they contain some truth, and they appeal to our human ego. But they come with profound burdens and drawbacks that marketers rarely talk about.​I’ll share with you my experience of getting "more followers", and why that might not be a wise direction to aim for…In the first 3 years of my business, I grew my Facebook Page to 3,000 fans, and my email list to more than 10,000 subscribers.I got a taste of having lots of followers. It is not the fantasy we're usually sold. In my experience, it did not produce real engagement with my content, nor did it lead to more or better clients. It did however result in more emails to respond to, more spam, and more unpaid requests on my time.A few years later, I rebooted my business. I removed 90% of my email list.I started over, perhaps in a humbler way, grounding my business in a spirit of service, as true as I could connect with, trusting God more, aiming to bring Love into more of what I do.That deeper commitment to service evolved into creating authentic content as you experience it today.A year after I started creating authentic content consistently, I started to notice that I no longer had to reach out to get new clients. They were all coming to me now! People started to message me privately and ask about my services, thanks seeing my content consistently. From a spirit of service, I also began to experience deeper fulfillment in my work with clients.Fewer followers also meant fewer emails, and less unpaid requests on my time... which meant more freedom.Today, I am grateful to say that I feel a daily sense of well-being, a lot of gratitude and fulfillment in my work, whether I am writing you this blog post, or working with a client, or preparing for my next workshop.This state of inner fulfillment is what I’ve truly wanted all my life. It is a sweeter experience than any glimpse of fame that I ever had.By no means am I famous today. I get but a few hundred views on each video, and a few dozen likes per Facebook post… which is laughable when compared with other marketing experts.Yet, I have a full client roster. I have enough participants for every workshop. And my content gets regular meaningful engagement from loyal readers.Through the experiences of the past decade, I’ve learned that I don’t want to be famous.I don’t want to get “more subscribers.” In fact, I am trying to keep my email list under 3,000, which means I occasionally unsubscribe people who haven’t opened my emails in a long time. This keeps my open rates higher (which is better for email deliverability), and it helps keep their inbox a bit cleaner.I’m not aiming to get tons of fans on social media.Here’s what I aim my energy towards… * Learning to serve more deeply* Learning to bring Love into my efforts daily* Learning what you (my audience) need, so I can be more helpfulMy hope is that I can be a different type of example than the typical business or marketing expert or mentor that you might encounter. Many of them are spreading the message that more fame is always better.Let us notice the seduction. Then, reconnect with ourselves and shift into a deeper way of being in business, one that fulfills heart and soul, rather than appease the ego.Not Fame.More Love.Greater Truth.Deeper Service. 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 the pursuit of our dreams, may we all emulate the Edison type of curiosity and persistence. Work diligently and see no failure at all… only redirection.Persist with a playful heart :)Read the blog post here:https://www.georgekao.com/blog/nofailure 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

Video here:https://youtu.be/Zhz2bGFsXQ4Dylan Newcomb is the founder & lead trainer of UZAZU Embodied Intelligence, a embodiment-based coach for helping professionals & cultural creatives, and is an avid embodiment researcher.Dylan trained at the Juilliard School in both dance performance and music composition, danced in the Netherlands Dans theater for 8 years, and was a multi-award-winning choreographer & composer in the Netherlands for over a decade. Since 18 years, he has been developing and leading UZAZU Embodied Intelligence, an embodiment-based personal growth modality that empowers people to identify and shift their internal state from deregulation and stress to balance and empowermentAs a coach, Dylan Newcomb works 1-1 online with helping professionals, supporting them to move through the remaining blocks holding them back from effectively getting their purpose-driven work into the world, and with conscious entrepreneurs & cultural creatives looking to grow their impact, while also growing as a whole person. Dylan lives with his wife Kyung-sun Baek and their 10 year old daughter Kiana in Freeport Maine, USA.LINKS:https://www.uzazu.orghttps://www.facebook.com/UZAZU/The self-assessment mentioned in the video:https://www.uzazu.org/sign-up-for-the-embodied-intelligence-free-self-assessment/ 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