Many of the world’s most well-known brands are spearheaded by bold, controversial leaders.
Playboy has Hugh Hefner, Virgin has Richard Branson, Apple has Steve Jobs. Their loyal customers are drawn to the personality and the lifestyle that the companies represent. All three have been revered by fans and chastised by dissenters, practically simultaneously.
You either love ’em or you hate ’em
But what’s so appealing about high-profile personalities like Hefner and Branson, and what I think many of us can learn from them, is their authenticity to themselves in creating their respective companies and brands.
I’ve read biographies on both men, and recently caught Hefner’s docu-bio film “Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, and Rebel“. While it was easy for me to understand that Hefner and Playboy have had their critics over the years (you don’t publish pictures of naked women and rock the Grotto at your house without earning some critics), the film taught me more about “the man” behind it all.
Hefner was in his late twenties, married and working a desk job when he trashed it all to pursue Playboy. He used his magazine to give a stage to authors who were otherwise ignored, sometimes because of their race or religion. He used his television programs to feature musicians who faced similar discrimination.
And Hef spoke passionately about his beliefs on the role of sex and the attitudes towards it in American society, in the face of numerous critics, media types, and politicians.
Just be yourself, it works
What I took from his stories was this – Hefner held strong the belief that the cultural attitudes towards sex and race were wrong in America, and he used his magazine and celebrity to challenge those attitudes. He did not back down and did not censor his actions nor his content. He promoted Playboy exactly the way Hugh Hefner himself was and is.
I admire that. It’s a true lesson for all of us who own a business, market one, speak and consult, and otherwise produce content today. We’re all a brand whether we like it or not. It might be your company, or it might just be yourself, but the internet and information flow that comes with it means we all must stand up and take control of our personas.
So I don’t care who you are, this matters to you. And I firmly believe that the only brand you should be promoting through your emails, your tweets, your phone calls and your jeans and shoes, is the real you.
It’s too hard to try and censor yourself and still provide maximum value to other people. I know there are industries where you have to get up and wear a tie and not say naughty words at the office. That’s fine, if that’s you. If it’s not, get out of there. Go where you fit in and go where you can flourish without a filter.
People will walk out on your speech sometimes
Here’s an example from my own life.
Last week, I spoke at my friend’s seminar in San Diego. I spoke on SEO, internet marketing, domaining and fundraising for your new business. The crowd was very mixed – domestic, international, young and old, newbies and some seasoned veterans. They were there for one main reason, to learn how to make more money online.
In my 60 minutes on stage, I spoke without a script. I had probably 15 slides and they were all pictures. A few of the pictures were a bit racy. I cursed, I told stories from when I was 20 years old out drinking with my friends. I didn’t try to sell the audience on anything. I told them their lives were going to be better as they did more business online, and gave examples from my own life.
Cause that’s me.
Not everyone liked my talk. One lady apparently stormed out and demanded her money back because I was too vulgar. Can’t please everyone. But what else happened? 30 people came up to me after the talk. They congratulated me, expressed their desire to work with me, to have me help answer some of their toughest questions.
Many people also told me they felt they connected with me and my personality. That meant a lot to hear. I knew showing pictures of scantily clad women was going out on a limb. Cussing, even though everyone does it at conferences I go to, was probably not expected by all. But the “right” people would feel my vibe.
It’s certainly much more efficient to be yourself on stage, if nothing else. The people I’d most likely want to meet are the ones who liked my talk. If I went up there and acted stiff, talked about stuff I didn’t know from personal experience, or otherwise acted out of character, the wrong connections would be made.
There’s an abundant world of possibility out there. In an audience of 400, I’m not going to meet them all and like them all. Just like the millions who subscribed to Playboy over the years – it was only a small subset of the population. They loved Hef and the magazine. The fans silenced the haters, the haters could go elsewhere. Simple.
Think about that the next time you have an inkling to censor yourself in life. Censoring is like telling a lie. Once you tell it you have to live it.
Better to just be you up front, and to build your business the same way. There’s plenty of business for us all to be ourselves.
Author:
Nathaniel Broughton is a veteran internet entrepreneur and investor. Dating to 2002, he has helped produce 3 Inc 500 award-winning companies. Nathaniel owns Growth Partner Capital, a venture fund that provides SEO consulting, premium link building and online reputation management services. He is also owner of SuretyBonds.com, a nationwide bonding agency. Previously he served as CMO of VAMortgageCenter.com, a $65 million nationwide mortgage bank which acquired his marketing firm Plus1 Marketing in 2008. A resident of San Diego, Nathaniel often writes from his experience as an investor, marketer, and advocate of “networking like Paris Hilton parties – Nonstop”. Follow him on Twitter – @natebro.
