Within 1 hour of posting on LinkedIn yesterday that I was opening a pre-seed funding round for High Margin, I had inquiries from interested investors. This particular note came from a well-respected CEO in the restaurant industry.
I continue to be amazed by the power of social media. As of January 1st, I started posting not only on LinkedIn, but also on Instagram, TikTok and X. Soon afterward someone asked me why I decided to do that. What was the benefit? Truth is, I don’t know.
When I started to post daily videos on LinkedIn during the summer of 2021, I also had no idea what the benefit would be. It was a gut feeling that it would one day pay off, but I could not produce any hard evidence that it was a good investment.
Why did I suddenly start writing a daily blog post in addition to the videos starting yesterday? Do I have a business plan with projections showing what the return will be on all this investment of time and energy? No. But I can tell you that posting daily videos on LinkedIn for the last 3 1/2 years has been personally and professionally rewarding.
“What if people don’t like what you say?”
“What if people don’t take you seriously because of the clothes you’re wearing?”
“I don’t see anyone else posting videos like that on LinkedIn… it’s not the right forum.”
I don’t believe in making decisions driven by fear. I especially don’t allow fear of what others might think to influence what I think is a great idea. This gives me agency over my personal brand.
“You’re putting all of your failures on public display. Don’t you think people won’t want to do business with you?”
Actually I think it has the opposite effect. Painting a rosy picture on social media is the ubiquitous modus operandi. How can you trust someone who creates the appearance of being flawless? Of never having any failures?
Messages like these… asking for a call to learn more about High Margin offering to help and potentially invest from a successful widely-respected CEO is all the evidence I need that a transparent, authentic approach to sharing on social media works.
Do some people watch my videos or read my blog posts and smirk or shake their heads incredulously at the ease with which I share so much about my approach to business and life? No doubt. Are they the people I want to do business with? Nope.