Day 2 Goal
With your target date from Day 1 in mind, create your professional reputation.
Remember to write about your professional reputation in present tense (for example, write “I am” or “I have” instead of “I will be” or “I plan to have”).
How to Make it Happen
Without customers, you have no business, right? As you build your business, it is absolutely necessary that you develop and maintain a reputation that attracts people and opportunities to you. This is what many people call a “personal brand.”
Whether you know it or not, you have a personal brand. People who come into contact with you regularly have opinions about you. Your social media followers get a vibe for you based on your online activities. In sum, all of this is part of your reputation and brand.
We will go deeper into your personal brand later on in the challenge, but the point is that, no matter what you’re doing or not doing, it is all part of your reputation.
Today, I’ll help you envision the reputation you want so that you can later create a strategy for getting it.
For now, your job is to write and brainstorm about your reputation on your target date.
If you need some help getting started, answer at least two of the below questions. Feel free to answer more if you’d like.
Kickstarter Questions
On your target date from Day 1:
- what do people know you for?
- what do other people say about you?
- why do clients/customers come to you?
- what is your specialty and/or expertise?
- if you use LinkedIn or other social media platforms for business, what do your bios on those platforms say?
It is okay to have multiple answers to these questions. This is often the case if you’re thinking about more than one business idea. For now, write down whatever comes to mind.
Furthermore, for those of you who have no clue what kind of business you’d like to start, you can approach today’s goal by identifying 3 ways you want people to describe you.
My story
The first time I wrote my Vision statement, I didn’t know what kind of business I wanted. But, I knew that I wanted to be known as smart, fearless and inspirational.
These three qualities resonated with me because they would attract the kind of people I wanted to be around and work with. I already had these qualities in me, but I wasn’t always letting others know it.
However, once these three qualities became part of my vision for my personal brand and reputation, I started working backwards to more clearly exhibit them.
Notably, taking this approach did not always look like a “business move” for me. For example, being “fearless” sometimes looked like me doing things like this:
or this:
To be clear, I definitely have fear. What I want my professional reputation to communicate is that I tackle my fears head on and can help others do the same. Whether it’s bungee jumping from the highest jump on the planet, or starting a business, I will make it happen no matter how scary things are.
In addition, I wanted to give myself permission to take on opportunities and projects that scared me. For whatever reason, writing my Vision gave me the confidence to say yes to things I might have declined before.
Now, I understand that this may be scary for you. Writing your dreams down and sharing them is scary, particularly when you don’t really know what to do with them.
However, what is even more scary to me is living a life directed by someone else.
You can create your future reputation and make it reality. So, what will your reputation look like on your target date?
Finally, if you’d like to share your vision with me on social media, tag me @shontaviajesq (on all platforms) and use the #VisionChallenge hashtag so that I can see it.
If nothing else, take a picture of your completed workbook page and post it so that I know you’re alive out there.
See you tomorrow!
Join my support network
Studies show that you’re more likely to meet your goals when you have accountability partners! To work together with a supportive community of other side-hustlers, creatives and entrepreneurs, you can join my private group by clicking this link or via the Mighty Networks App.
Download the Mighty Network app by clicking here. Once it downloads, click “Find a Mighty Network” and search for Shontavia Johnson. You’ll find accountability partners and other content there that I may not share elsewhere.
New to the #VisionChallenge? You can learn more about it, and sign up to take the challenge, by clicking here.
Sometimes I will refer you to other books, products or services. While I may be an affiliate of these companies, creators, or authors, these are all things I have used and trust. I would not recommend these things to you if I hadn’t experienced them myself.