In your career, you will be confronted multiple times by outsiders who will judge your credibility to handle the opportunity at hand. Who are these outsiders and what are these opportunities?
Vendors who you are looking to partner with to provide your business with critical product or services will be evaluating you and the upside of spending their time with you. Investors will be assessing your ability to grow your idea to a scalable relevant business. It will be as much about you as it is about your idea. Future hires will be looking to you and your experiences as a major factor in determining whether they will join you.
Investors, vendors, and employees are just three examples of integral players you need that will be evaluating your credibility to execute your vision.
Here are five easy tasks that take less than a few hours to build out that will enhance your credibility in the outside world:
1. Update or Enhance Your LinkedIn Profile
Today, your LinkedIn profile is the first window into your professional life. At The Startup Factory, my partner and I host five to 10 new people every week. While you sit in front of us (seeking investment, or a job or an introduction to someone else), my partner immediately looks you up on LinkedIn. Take the time to tell your professional story and use the features and format of LinkedIn to your advantage.
Learn More: 9 Tiny Tweaks That'll Make Your LinkedIn Profile Top-Notch
2. Sign Up to Speak at an Event
Every event needs speakers, and every event is an opportunity to show your stuff to a new audience. Good speakers are then asked to speak over and over again feeding the engine. When you stand in front of people and tell a story, you position yourself as an expert.
Learn More: 5 Ways to Get Over Your Fear of Public Speaking for Good
3. Become a Mentor
This is the one-on-one version of speaking. Again, the very nature of mentoring is that you are looked on as an expert. Do enough of it and the audience builds and, better yet, the audience begins to tell others.
Learn More: Why Being a Mentor Kicks Ass
4. Write a Guest Article
Like events, blogs, magazines, newspapers and other content machines need expert content. You are an expert, so write about it. Not comfortable writing yet? Hire a ghostwriter online (it’s a lot cheaper than you think). The key is to write about your expertise and to stay within those boundaries.
Learn More: It's Crazy How Beneficial Guest Blogging Is to Your Career (Even if You're Not a Writer)
5. Build a Website
This is the hardest of the five but much more doable than you might think. There are a number of wizard-driven website hosting platforms out there. Find one and start building. Wondering what to do with your site? Blog about your expertise one to times per week. Show pictures of you at your most recent speaking event. Showcase others that are important to you and your business.
Learn More: 4 Secrets to Building a Portfolio That'll Make Everyone Want to Hire You
Like it or not, your credibility is a factor in your future success. Take a little time to tell your story and build some extra mojo for you and your business.
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