Business Tao with George Kao

Excited to have this conversation with Mark Walsh of Embodiment Unlimited!Watch the video here:https://fb.watch/31MmmO5xMO/Mark is launching a free bite-sized series of trainings called The Marketing Dojo. Highly recommended: https://ethicalmarketing.coach/ 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 heard that you should “claim / stand up for your value” ?Let’s look more deeply at this…How much is your value?How much are you worth?$25/hour? $150/hour? $500/hour? $10,000/hour?If other people charge more, are they worth more?Words matter: they shape how we see ourselves and others. Connecting our fees to our “worth” is an unhealthy comparison.**Watch the video here:https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1964471757017263  **Are you worth less than someone who charges more?Truth: You are worth infinity.You are a precious human being whose odds of being born are 1 in 400 trillion!“Charge what you’re worth” was perhaps started by some high-priced coach who needed to justify how much they’re charging you.I have seen many people raise their prices (because they’re “worth” more!)… and then what happened? They saw their business decline.So let’s stop using the word “worth” in connection to our service fees.Consider this truer, more practical idea:“Charge based on the market rate.”It makes sense to set your price based on what your clients are expecting and seeing in the marketplace.Look at your niche mates and what they’re charging. Then look at your own needs, and your reputation in the marketplace. Price your services accordingly.Then, based on the market’s response, you might need to change your pricing.There is such a thing as perceived value. If you have a more premium branding and copywriting, people are usually willing to pay more.However, before we all rush to rebrand ourselves as premium / luxury, we need to consider whether our branding is authentic to how we wish to show up in the world?For example I prefer to be minimalistic and “among the people”… a “guide on the side” rather than a “sage on the stage.” Luxury branding is not for me. However, for others it may feel authentic.Let’s look at another common idea:“Charge what the market will bear.”Economics teaches us to charge the maximum amount that our clients will tolerate…Let’s flip this around and apply The Golden Rule — You are my market, my potential clients. How would you feel if I charged you the greatest amount you could bear?This is what some high-price coaches and programs do. They charge as much as they can get away with.Their justification: “If you pay more, you’ll take it more seriously and get more results.” Really? Or are they using it to justify their own self-enrichment? The truth is that most people who pay for high-priced programs don’t get the results promised. I’ve written about this before: Beware of expensive business trainings. (Although the opposite can also be true: charging too low can make it appear that you’re desperate, unless you explain why your rates are much lower than others in your industry.)I used to do all this. I used to teach it, too. I’ve also worked with many colleagues who operated from this mindset.This is how business is supposed to work, right? Everyone is supposed to be out for themselves. The... 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

“From a marketing course I learned how to write my copy by using the hook-story-close model. The teacher showed how important it is to write to ‘the pain of my client’ in the hook part, and that I should even exaggerate the pain, make it like my client is in a dangerous situation (e.g. if you don’t act now, you’ll suffer dire consequences). The idea behind this is ‘The bigger the pain, the quicker the client will buy from you.’” — anonymous newsletter subscriber.**Watch the video here:https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=412138569915728 **Sadly, this kind of mercenary marketing advice is too common.Most of us heart-based people don’t enjoy this feeling of transactional marketing. We don’t want to create more negativity in the world.And, we don’t want to possibly re-traumatize our potential clients.Why do we need to hook and close people so quickly? What about developing a relationship?If we think that instant-closing is the only way — to sell to the pain points of our clients — we might even want to give up on marketing altogether…So what’s the alternative? Consider this:Instead of pain points… what if we sell to the client’s joy points?…or their relief points?…or their gratitude points?I’ll say more about this later.First of all, it’s actually good to gently mention their struggle — but not as a way to make them buy from you — but more like a caring doctor might very lightly tap on a painful part of your body to make sure she is diagnosing the problem correctly, and thereby able to provide you the right therapy.(You don’t want her giving you therapy for a non-issue!)So, yes it’s good to make sure that you and the client are on the same page. Do you understand the actual problem they want solved? That is the only reason to gently touch on any pain points.Then for the rest of your marketing copy (or conversation) focus on what’s possible for them if they diligently use your service or product as intended.What kind of transformation would bring them joy?What kind of result would bring them gratitude?What kind of relief might they experience?What is possible for them — and likely to happen — by using your service/product?To be clear, we are not guaranteeing results. No one can do that.What we are saying is that if they have the problem we’ve gently confirmed, then we have designed a service or product that is intended to produce a specific result.We cannot promise the result, but we can promise that we’re being honest about our background and credibility, and we’re telling the truth about how the product or service was designed, and what kind of result it is meant to achieve.We can promise our care for them, because we can surely deliver on that.And if they are the right client, and they work well with us, then they are likely to be better off, than before they found us. They are likely to agree that the money was well spent.In short, we can promise value, but not that they will be pain-free.When clients see that we care, and that we are honest, we will stand out among all the others who are promising them the moon and the stars.**Watch the video... 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

It’s ridiculous when someone says they’re “#1” in their field.​“Oh really, by whose standards?” I wonder.The more we puff our chest, the more imposter syndrome strikes.The need to prove our worth is part of the fixed mindset (ala Carol Dweck) — when our ego is attached to a fixed identity that we should always be excellent, and one of the best. It sometimes makes us feel like a fraud, because nobody is perfect. We feel pain (or avoidance) whenever we don’t live up to that shining standard.Instead, what if we simply share what is actually working now?**Watch the video here:https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=771193847068242**What if, rather than trying to prove anything, we simply demonstrate the kind of work we’re already doing right now, with ourselves and with our clients?What if we commit to a growth mindset — the belief that we can always become better with practice — and publicly share how we are practicing, as we move along our journey of development? What if we share about why we care about the journey, and invite others to grow with us?When I do this, my marketing becomes more authentic, because it’s based on actual experience rather than “fake it till you make it” kind of puffery.I don’t have to project a superior image:“I’m so great, you’d be lucky to work with me!”… but rather, we can dive into a heart of connection and service:“Here’s why I care. I’m in the work daily. I love working with people like you.”This is how I create content.This mindset shift relates not only to how we sell, but also to our posture around content creation.Are we talking as if we carry the absolute Truth about our field? That posture suggests that we have to defend ourselves against contrasting opinions. Are we projecting a belief that we know what’s best for everyone?An alternative way is to be in the attitude that I am simply sharing what is true for me now:What is true in my experience at this time?What do I currently understand, knowing there is always more to learn?Yet, what if you need to sell an idea or product?Again, the need to prove ourselves as superior in knowledge can get us into trouble: inauthenticity and desperation.If we’re trying hard to sell something, we’re probably trying too hard.If you already have someone’s trust, then you can be confident to speak authentically and be in service to that person. No energy of “selling” is needed. Instead, you’re liberated to focus on genuine expression, as well as your caring for that person.How to build trust? When you create content consistently, you naturally build confidence — other people’s trust in you, and more importantly, your trust in yourself.When you learn to distribute content effectively, your audience experiences your presence as being reliable and therefore, more trustworthy. You’ll be top-of-mind for them on the topics that you write/speak about.Therefore, there’s no need to “sell” or puff up our chest: “I’m authoritative! I’m number one in my field!”Instead, there’s a natural yet humble confidence, and a caring invitation:“This idea / product has been useful to my clients… and given that you’re having XYZ problem, I think it’ll be... 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, we typically learn about the importance of getting people’s attention.To try to stand out, to be more charming, to be more persuasive.​But that’s not what I’m trying to do...If anything, I’m trying to blend in. I know that my ideal audience will spot me, even in a sea of social media posts.**Watch the video here:https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=812065499569280**Being flashy tends to get unwanted attention. Irrelevant comments. More spam. It may seem like more followers, yet strangely, still poor sales in one’s business.Your audience may grow in the wrong direction, which increases your marketing costs over time, as it costs more to reach more people. Yet you’ll have to wade through the many fake followers to find and connect with your true fans.When we try to get attention, it is unsustainable. People may find out how we are “normally” and become disillusioned… so we have to keep up a pretense to keep their attention.A client of mine, with experience using visual interruption techniques to grow her audience, wrote:“People who reply to the ‘pattern interrupt’ are maybe 80% the worst possible leads I’ve ever dealt with… if you have a hide like a rhinoceros and are willing to deal with lots of ugly, so you can finally hit the few good leads… it can eventually work. But is it worth it??”Your authenticity is greatly valuableDoing anything deliberate to try to get attention will take you out of your authentic energy.What I try is to be less motivated by the thought of your praise or purchases, and instead, to explore how I can resonate with you from a more authentic space.If you practice simply being more deeply yourself, you will naturally be unique.And you’ll automatically be more attractive to your true fans.We need to remember that how we truly are is of incalculable value to the people we’re most meant to serve.We simply need to show up daily with our authenticity.Beware of typical marketing advicePay attention to the marketing teachings you’re learning from. Notice how many marketers are in the energy of cynical attention-grabbing. Baiting their audience into watching or reading. Creating a presence that feels artificial and inflated.These are normal behaviors in the online marketing world. They want us to believe that humans are constantly distracted and therefore require flashy and baiting tactics to finally pay attention… to “get them” to buy from us.It’s true that all humans are distractible. But the more you assume they need flashiness to pay attention, the more you’ll turn away your true fans. And the ones who are left? They’ll need you to be constantly impressive.You’ll end up behaving in ways outside your groundedness and personal truth.Your ideal audience is seeking youThe truth is that your ideal audience is already looking for someone like you. They don’t know what you look like, but they feel a resonance when they encounter you.As an example, I often make text-only posts (it’s mostly what I do on my FB page, see here: George Kao’s Facebook Posts). Even though text-only posts might seem “boring” on Facebook, my ideal audience immediately has a feeling of recognition: “there’s something deeply true about this message… let me keep reading.”I post videos that aren’t... 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 few thoughts on how to develop authentic confidence...​Notice that money tends to flow to those who are most confident. However, fake confidence is too commonly taught in marketing. Fake it ‘till you make it. Appear to be bigger, or more polished, than you actually are. Use hype to get the sale. Offer huge guarantees to remove all their risk. **Watch the video here:https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1448007075365651**It does get some people to buy, but fake confidence is neither sustainable, nor does it produce a fulfilling business.Thankfully, money also flows toward people with authentic confidence. How to develop this?Ease up on self-blame.Improve skills through practice.Notice the value you’re genuinely adding. Ease Up on Self-BlameWhen I make a mistake:I get curious: “Hmm… what can I learn from this?”and after a brief reflection (and note-taking as needed),I move on, knowing that I have the rest of my life to learn and get better!And I’ve learned that most people are forgiving, as long as I keep improving. As soon as I sense self-blame coming on, I ignore it, knowing that it does more harm than good. It helps me to do my energy reboot practice. If it's hard for you to ignore self-criticism or blame, I encourage you to rebel against it: use anger productively and say a stern "NO" against self-blame.  When it comes to marketing mistakes (of which I have many!) I remind myself to let go of trying to make a good first impression, because the practice of gradually improving future impressions is more effective for genuine growth (personal and professional) instead of stressing out about the first impression. Joyful long-term growth requires an experimentation mindset, rather than trying to be perfect. Improve Skills Through Practice The more you hone your professional skills, the more authentically confident you are.  To get better, you need to consistently practice. For example, creating content daily, and promoting your products/services weekly or monthly. These are excellent activities to practice in order to generate a stable and growing income. The problem with most people is the inconsistency. If you can overcome that issue, you’ll be far ahead of most aspiring businesses. It’s often due to an inability to set and follow a schedule. Read more: Repair your relationship to your productivity tools.  With consistency, you grow much more quickly than if you only did things occasionally, or if you only wait for inspiration to strike. The more consistent, thoughtful practice you put in, the more skillful you become. What skills should we practice to grow an authentic business? Read more: The 7 Disciplines of Authentic Business. Notice the Value You’re Creating This is another important element for authentic confidence -- observing how you’re actually adding value. Value can be measured by one’s own standard: creating something you’re proud of. Or,... 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

Is it possible to be emotionally relaxed and joyful, yet highly productive?Think of a master in martial arts … they aren’t fretting, tense, worried, or stressed out. They have a relaxed focus, a calm strength, a powerful composure.Their face might appear emotionless, yet their body expresses a wide range of motion, able to accomplish a great deal with both precision and flexibility.Inside, they are experiencing clarity, confidence, and a calm joy.**Watch the video here:https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeKaoCommunity/videos/2913992282051668**​I’m not a martial arts master, but I have developed a sort of calm, joyful productivity within my own sphere of work: content creation, business coaching, and book writing.While I was writing my first book, Authentic Content Marketing, a dear client asked me:“As the grand finale [of your book’s completion] approaches, what are your feelings at this moment? Soon is the moment of ‘letting go’… any thoughts on that?”My response:I have never really “held on” to what the book’s results would be, so there is no “letting go.”As for a “grand finale”… I don’t see it, I said to her, since I was already planning my second book, Joyful Productivity.I now see each and every project as simply a mile marker on a lifelong journey of growing into greater service and deeper self-knowledge.Joy occurs throughout the process… at the beginning, in the middle, and at the “end” of a project… and again onto the next project, with a calm and joyful heart.There’s no anxiety about results, no gritting of teeth, no failure or success.There’s only constant experimentation, the steady progress of learning, and consistent Self-exploration and service to the greater whole.​Recently I came across an Alan Watts lecture that summed this up beautifully:​What do you do if I say to you, "Take a hard look at me. Take a real hard look." Now what are you doing? What's the difference between a “hard look” and a “soft look?”Why, with your hard look, you are straining the muscles around your eyes, and you're starting to stare. ​If you stare at a distant image far away from you, you'll make it fuzzy. If you want to see it clearly you must close your eyes, imagine black for awhile, and then lazily and easily open them and you'll see the image. The light will come to you.And what do you do if I say, "Now, listen carefully, listen very carefully to what I'm saying." You'll find you're beginning to strain yourself around the ears.Supposing somebody says, "O.K. now, you've got to use your will, you've got to exercise strong will." That's the ego, isn't it?What do you do when you exercise your will? You grit your teeth, you clench your fists. If you want to stop wayward emotions, you go uptight. You pull your stomach in, or hold your breath, or contract your rectal muscles. But all these activities have absolutely nothing to do with the efficient functioning of your nervous system. Just as staring at images makes them fuzzy, listening... 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 principle has been essential to my success.How do I make great content? By making more content, and observing what spreads.How do I improve my skills?By working with more clients, and noticing who grows the most.True learning comes from action — we build muscles by doing things, not just reading about them.**Watch the video here: https://www.georgekao.com/blog/qualitythroughquantity**It takes quantity of action to develop quality of results.Yet, if you feel you’re not taking enough action, self-compassion is needed.Remind yourself that action can be primarily about playful experimentation. Action is much easier when you don’t give yourself the pressure to perform, but rather, the permission to play with a skill or a project.How to balance quantity and quality?As an example, ​I think about content in stages.Stage 1 is any content that is first posted or published.Did I spend 5 months or 5 years on it before publishing? Or did I spend 50 minutes on it? Whichever it may be, if it’s the first time it’s touching the world, being put into the marketplace, I still consider it “Stage 1”.Therefore, it’s more efficient to spend less time working on any piece of Stage 1 content.Stage 2 is looking at my previous Stage 1 pieces, selecting what the audience liked the most, and spending more time editing those pieces. Then, I re-publish and re-distribute them.In other words, I spend time improving the pieces that already demonstrated potential, based on my audience’s reactions. I let the audience tell me what “Quality” means… not my own self-judgments.As an example, this very blog post was first written in 2017. Now I’m taking the effort to improve it and to re-share this new version.Stage 3 is to integrate and monetize the Stage 2 pieces that fit within a particular topic.For example, I do this with my books, each of which is an organized collection of my blog posts.Think of it like a Buffet:(Remember buffets, those restaurants that existed in the before-times? I used to love those…)The owner of a buffet restaurant notices which of the items gets more interest, and which items are ignored. Over time, she’ll increase the types of items people love the most, and remove the ones that people don’t care for. Why cook stuff no one wants to eat?By following this strategy, the restaurant becomes more well-loved over time.You can do the same with your own content and products: try lots of things, and then notice what people find most helpful, and then offer more things like that.“How does my audience have time to consume all the content that I’m putting out there?”Back to the buffet analogy — the owner of the restaurant doesn’t expect any one visitor to eat every item!Similarly, I’m not expecting you to consume all of my content. That’d be putting too much pressure on you!It’s my job to simply put content out there, and it’s my audience’s job to pick and choose what they like to... 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 see a lot of aspiring business owners doing this:You’re waiting until you’re “ready” before you take the leap.A dear client asked me about the “thin line between readiness and procrastination.”​After coaching hundreds of business owners, I can tell you this: ​Chances are, you are being fooled by your own brilliant mind. Feeling of “lack of readiness” is usually procrastination.**Watch the video version here:https://www.georgekao.com/blog/notready**Here’s the truth:I rarely feel “ready”.When I started writing this article, I felt maybe I wouldn’t have enough to say… maybe I should do more research or journaling or give it a few more days (or weeks) before I’m ready to start writing this.When making a video — at the moment I press “record” I feel like I could’ve spent another hour thinking about the topic.When I launch a course, I know I could spend several more months (or years!) researching the topic… but I remind myself that whatever I already know will be helpful to the students. We are usually much harsher on ourselves than our students / clients are.The founder of Linkedin, Reid Hoffman, famously said this:If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.I feel embarrassed often… because I create often.Every book that I publish, I feel slightly embarrassed by… but the reality is that if I waited until a book was “ready” I might never publish. Thankfully I do publish, because book after book, each one is getting better. I can always re-publish and re-launch a 2nd edition later… and I am already planning for it!Every course that I teach, I’m embarrassed by, but I also get feedback that makes the course better, year after year.I’m doing this for the long term journey of growth, not just short-term experiences of posting, publishing, launching.The creative process, the reality of building an authentic business, requires this continual practice:Transform fear into Love.I feel that we are being called by Spirit to recognize when we are feeling afraid in the creative process, and instead, reinterpret that emotion. Turn “fear” or “lack of readiness” into one or more of these…ExcitementPassionServiceCurious self-explorationAdventureTransform hesitation into Action.If I am creating something, and I feel hesitation, I now interpret it as a signal to take action, to just do it. To take the next step. To write the next sentence. To click “record” on the video. To press “publish”.Transform embarrassment into Surrender.After putting your work out there, you may feel embarrassed by it and want to delete it. Don’t.Practice surrendering to the process and you’ll grow a bit stronger, more confident, each time.I recently had this kind of experience: being embarrassed by something I put out there, and after confessing my feelings about it (while not deleting the embarrassing thing) I found that people didn’t judge me the way I had judged myself.It is a daily creative practice: transmuting fearful hesitation into loving action and surrendering to the process. Bit by bit, piece by piece, we become more courageous. We get wiser through action and experience.A little-known fact is that the creative person’s doubt and “lack of readiness” never goes away. We simply get better at recognizing it, and transmuting it into creative action.So there’s only one thing to 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

Explore how Taoist principles like authenticity and effortlessness can transform business practices. Discover the contrast between profit-driven approaches and genuine engagement that nurtures long-term relationships. Delve into the challenge of maintaining authentic self-expression within commerce. Learn how integrating compassion can redefine success, advocating for mindful practices over conventional marketing. Finally, consider the impact of authenticity in content creation, encouraging a deeper connection beyond social media metrics.