Marketing Yourself
2 decades ago, when I was out in a meeting in Malaysia, my ex-boss told me that although you are fresh from school that does not mean that you should stay behind the scene or try to be invisible to the rest of the project team.
Instead you should show off your skill sets that will leave an impression on others. For example, if you are good at numbers, graphs, identify potential problems, make yourself standout!
Why?
In the business world, no one remembers those who try blended into the scene nor with the crowd. He told me to observe how some foreigners do that, where they talk a lot, present well but are poor in executions. But we Asians tend to be the other way round, we don't talk as confidently, presentation skills are so-so but we get jobs done better than them.
"If you're not marketing yourself, potential customers won't know you exist. You'll be invisible in a crowded market."
"Without marketing, your business won't grow as fast or as big. You miss out on reaching new audiences and expanding your customer base. "
After 2 decades of working, I had seen how some prefer to be behind the scenes and they remained there permanently without realizing. And one day, when it hits them .. their business is gone just like that.
"Running a business without marketing is like winking at someone in the dark—you know what you’re doing, but nobody else does."
"Competitors will seize the opportunities you ignore. They'll capture your potential market share and leave you behind, without you even knowing it!"
A few months later, I tried a few bold steps to present my reports instead of some seniors claiming it as theirs. I fought to let others know that I been involved in projects with Palm, HandSpring and even Apple and my business development and engineering skills came into the pictures.
5 years later, when I came out to start my own business, I realized that all this stuff about 'Marketing Yourself' is paying off. I spent less money branding the company and the products. Instead, word of mouth and endorsements that we know what the hell we are doing and who Paddy Tan is in the space.
"A lack of marketing means your brand presence will be weak. Customers won’t recognize or trust you or your brand. This is the hard truth that if you don't start marketing yourself today, you do not expect to be known in the future and likely no one will care about who you are sooner than later."
"Ultimately, it translates to lost sales and revenue. Fewer customers equals lower profits. When it hits you, you be at a loss on what to do next and you have no one but to blame your own self for bringing the entire business down just because you refused to do what is necessary!"
I have to thank the bosses for giving me such valuable advice and for taking a chance at me to step up. It shaped up into mentoring, advising and scaling clients' companies for years to come after I started my own business.
Now I fix companies who are in trouble. https://blackstormco.asia/
