Episode 50: Why Authenticity Ain't It, Babe

Could it be that chasing authenticity in business is overrated? Inspired by a thought-provoking exchange with renowned marketer Seth Godin, we're flipping the script on traditional beliefs by making a bold claim: consistency, not authenticity, is what truly matters to your customers. We dissect how brands like Amazon have thrived not by being authentic, but by providing unwavering reliability and predictability. This episode invites you to reconsider the weight of authenticity, suggesting that the real magic in business lies in showing up consistently and delivering on promises, even when personal struggles threaten to get in the way. 

Join us as we explore practical strategies to maintain this kind of consistency, especially when motivation hits a low point. We'll discuss how aligning your personal strengths with customer needs can pave the way for business growth and personal fulfillment. Whether you're contemplating a career shift or nurturing a side hustle, the focus is on prioritizing exceptional customer service while keeping professional integrity intact. Let these insights empower you to create not just satisfaction, but genuine impact and financial success in your ventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello and welcome to the Vicki Kotris podcast.
I am your host, none other thanVicki Kotris.
I'm a retired corporate girly,two-time six-figure founder
who's obsessed with brandbuilding, sales generating and
digital marketing.
My mission with this podcast isto share the lessons I've
learned, to help you make moremagic and money with your own
marketing efforts, and to feelinspired to continue on your own

(00:28):
journey as a creator andentrepreneur.
Here I'll share real lifestrategies, marketing tips and
mindset shifts that have helpedme go from cubicle to creator.
This podcast is for businessowners, creatives or those just
looking for a little moresparkle in their day, so let's
kick off this week's episode.
Hey guys, I hope everyone isdoing well.

(00:50):
I know I've been intermittentwith releasing podcast episodes,
have so many things cooking,have so many life changes
happening, and I can't wait tocatch you up on all of that.
But today is not about me.
Today is about you, and it's areflection day of something that
is so painfully obvious to meand has been missing as I search

(01:15):
for this next stage of mybusiness, and I'm hoping that
you don't make the same mistakesthat I do and you are able to
use this information to betterdrive and better build whatever
venture or business that you arecurrently focused on.
Okay, so yesterday I waslistening to a podcast with the
famous marketer, seth Godin.

(01:36):
He is an incredible marketer.
He's an incredible author.
I always love listening topodcasts that Seth is on and if
you haven't listened to it yet,it is one of my favorite
podcasts.
It has been changed the namehas been changed many times.
It's now named Abundant EverAfter by Kathy Heller, and she

(01:57):
has him on, and they're talkingabout his most recent book, and
he says something that I thinkis very profound and something
that goes against a lot of thethings that I have been
preaching and thinking aboutthroughout being an entrepreneur
and being a business owner, andwhat he says is that, above all

(02:18):
else, when you think that youshould be authentic, you should
actually be consistent, and Ithought about what he was saying
, because it matters most abouthow you are showing up to serve
the other person, and the reasonwhy it goes against everything

(02:42):
that I typically preach ortypically think about is because
the idea of being authentic isshowing up as your true self.
It is showing up in a way thatis not fake or phony or
non-reflective of your ownpersonal values, but it's
bringing your whole self intosomething, which I think there

(03:05):
is a lot to be said about that.
I think there is a wonderfulcomponent when you are being
authentic, when you are beingyourself, when something feels
natural and we all you know thatfeeling.
Right, you know that feelingwhen you're uncomfortable in a
situation because you're havingto wear a mask or you're having

(03:25):
to act as someone else so thatyou can play your part most
effectively, and it doesn't feelnatural but, most importantly,
it doesn't feel like you canactually bring your own talents
or self to the table.
Bring your own talents or selfto the table.

(03:49):
I have been in those situationsmany times in my life and I
think it's because many times Iwas not aligned with who I was
working with or what I was doingand especially, I feel that
connected to corporate America.
I hear that a lot when I talkto my peers, who also don't feel
connected to what they're doing.
But I am going to turn thisidea of authenticity on its head

(04:12):
, something that Seth made me dowhen I was listening to this
podcast and when he said, aboveall else, you should show up to
the table with consistency overauthenticity.
This is how I understand it andmaybe it will help you too, as
you are building your valuepropositions or just realigning

(04:34):
the actions that you're takingwith the services that you're
providing customers.
So, number one I think aboutthis as when you are serving a
customer or serving anindividual, they really only
care about what's in it for them.
If you think about yourself asa consumer, it's amazing to

(04:56):
think about all the work thatgoes into a product before it's
delivered to your door, but Idon't think about the five
different distribution centersthat a package must get through
and who is handling a package atAmazon before it arrives at my
door.
I just know that when I clicknext day delivery, that it's
going to show up on my frontdoor and I'm going to be able to
use whatever purchase of theday that they got me for Today

(05:19):
was shampoo, which was actuallyneeded.
So I'm going to say toot my ownhorn for that.
I'm not buying random crap onAmazon, although I do.
So I don't want you to toot toomuch of my horn, but what I'm
saying about that is that thatis why we rely on Amazon as a
company.
It is consistent.
It is maybe not authentic, sothe consistency is what drives

(05:44):
us to be a repeat customer ofAmazon.
We know when something's goingto arrive, we know how it's
going to arrive and we know thatwe're getting the communication
back and forth so that we'restaying up to date on everything
that's happening.
We don't really care if JeffBezos and company are showing up
as their authentic selves,because I'm going to tell you an

(06:05):
honest, ugly truth aboutourselves we are not always
happy to show up to work.
We are many times pulled in somany different directions that
if somebody were to ask me whomy authentic self was today, I
would say overworked, underpaid,overstimulated, sometimes mom

(06:27):
of the year, sometimes forget topack extra socks in my son's
diaper bag.
Sometimes we're eating whateverfrozen food is left from our
last Costco run three weeks ago.
Those are the things that arefront and center and that is
authentic.
I am telling you that that is avery real reality in my life,
but it doesn't matter to mycustomers.

(06:48):
My customers are only coming tome for one thing whatever
matters to them most, and I haveto look at a 10,000 foot view
of my business and of myself andsay it is more important to
serve the customer and thebetterment of my business that
provides my income, providesemployment to my employees,

(07:14):
provides a home for my son toshow up and be a consistent
provider, versus my authenticself.
And the reason why I think thatthis was so poignant to me is
when I was working in corporateAmerica and I felt like a pull,

(07:39):
a push and a pull of who Ireally was versus what I was
doing and I wasn't able To seethat big picture of.
I felt so incongruous with whatI was actually doing that I
wasn't able to see that thebigger picture was not about me
at all, because when I show upto work, I have to be that

(08:05):
person to my clients to helpsolve their problems.
Solve their problems In thisthird business that I have
created and working 13 years incorporate America.
Only then am I able to have thiskind of viewpoint and
reflection moment that if wetreat our businesses in the

(08:27):
highest act of service, then wewill always be aligned with what
our customers need and we canstill recognize that we can't be
our authentic selves 100% ofthe time.
Because we are humans, becauselife happens, because
emergencies happen, tragedieshappen, amazing things happen.

(08:51):
I mean we again, we'reexperiencing all the high and
lows, but our barometer forsuccess cannot be measured by
how we're feeling that day,because that changes all the
time.
But what can be measured is howwell we are serving our
customers and how consistentwe're being with our service

(09:14):
offerings.
I was thinking recently becauseI'm doing I'm part of this
coaching group accountabilityteam to invest in some kind of

(09:38):
coach or group or just somethingto where you get additional
insights.
And I'm in this group today andwe're talking a lot about what
is the value that we bring?
Not necessarily the value prepis proposition of our businesses
which can play into this, butit is who are we as business
owners, as entrepreneurs, assolopreneurs, who are we to
bring this value?

(09:58):
And what kind of value do webring to our customers that they
can't get anywhere else, thatwe do better than our
competitors, and I'm reflectingon that and I'm thinking a lot
about what I do in my cateringbusiness that has helped me grow

(10:19):
so much.
I believe this to my core why wework with corporations and
schools and customers year overyear.
Just today, we were booked fora graduation party Next summer.
They hired us two years ago forwere booked for a graduation
party next summer.
That they hired us two yearsago for their other child's
graduation party.
So why I think that is is theconsistency that we bring as a

(10:42):
brand, as a company, when wecome and serve customers.
And it's such easy things, theeasy things that we do better
than anyone else is.
We are highly effectivecommunicators.
We provide details, outlineservice, we provide contracts
and invoices.
When we say we're going to, wearrive when we say we're going

(11:03):
to.
When things pop up orcircumstances change, we are
really great at thinking on thefly and making solutions happen.
We are really great at thinkingon the fly and making solutions
happen.
And not every provider, serviceprovider I don't care if you're
a caterer, I don't care if youare providing a technology, if
you're a marketing consultant,if you are a photographer.

(11:25):
If you have those two majorthings, which is being an
effective communicator andoutlining the services for your
customers, you will win themajority of the time because
people know what to expect fromyou.
So we're tying this all back tohow can we be a consistent

(11:46):
service provider?
Not always authentic, notalways bringing our full selves
to work, but if we look throughthe lens of our customer and we
rise to the occasion of whatthey are expecting of us, then
we win.
We win every single time.
So if you find yourselfstruggling in how to show up for

(12:08):
, in how to show up, for how toshow up when you don't
necessarily feel like showing up, I would recommend that you
look at how can you bringconsistency to your customer
based on what you know aboutyourself.
If it's I know, I can show upphysically, be there and provide

(12:30):
the kind of work that I need to, or I know that I can outline
services in the way that I needto.
That is so effective incontinuing to grow your business
.
But also come back to the valuethat you bring to your company.
I think it can also help youeliminate some of that friction
that you might feel if you arein a role in a company or

(12:53):
corporation that you don't feelquite right for, that you don't
feel super connected to, butmaybe you're planting your seeds
of working on your side hustleor you want to transition out of
your job.
Is shifting that focus to thefriction that is caused by maybe
not being fully aligned todayand looking at it through the

(13:13):
lens of your customer and sayinghow can I show up for them
today, putting myself aside andjust doing what I need to do to
provide that product or serviceto make them stand in their
highest power or help themfunction in the way that works
best.
So I hope that helps.

(13:34):
Go listen to that podcastepisode because I think it's
really enlightening too.
But I hope everyone has a greatday and is always happy to help
you in your marketing and smallbusiness journey.