Entrepreneurs are under a lot of pressure to succeed and are often under-appreciated. They put in lots of hard work, they care about the company, they have good ideas, they make sacrifices- and yet at times it seems that the business and those involved don’t recognize their efforts. The key to success as an Entrepreneur is in self-promotion. If you are too shy to speak up about what you have done, then the hard work you put in will go unnoticed.
In this post, we’ll list some techniques for promotion so that you can drive your new business forward and be recognized for those efforts. It is natural to be a little shy, but in business, you need to learn to promote yourself. It isn’t vain- it is simply that if you don’t tell anyone what work you have been doing, investors, colleagues, and all of those involved may not see the work you are putting into it.

Tip 1: Learn Networking Skills

Networking does not come easily or naturally to most people, but that does not mean that you should give up on it. Instead, go out of your way to develop the skills you need to make connections even when you aren’t actively looking for opportunities. Take workshops and go to lectures whenever you can to learn new skills. Networking well takes practice. You need to both get some training from professionals in aspects of your new business that you may not be familiar with. Networking cocktails and similar events will also help you practice being comfortable in a live environment. Not only will you grow for your company, but you will get your name out and your company brand recognized as you grow.

Tip 2: Craft Your Reputation

It’s not enough that your potential customers, colleagues, and those involved with your business have a vague idea of what you do. Make sure you have a reputation for going above and beyond , doing whatever it takes to successfully drive your new business. Ideally, when you get introduced to new people, they have already heard of you. It’s a fine line between building a good name for yourself and being overbearing, but most people err on the side of caution. You need to both let your work do the talking and also talk yourself up on the side, so that your listeners will both hear your words and then see you can back them up.

Tip 3: Work Social Media

The lines between private and public life are becoming increasingly blurry. More and more people are opening up their social media accounts so that colleagues and the general public can view them. As a result, social media profiles have become yet another potential platform for promotion. If you already have a LinkedIn account, then you are off to a good start. Go a step further by cleaning up your other social media accounts so that they don’t have anything you would not want to have related to your business. If you don’t want to actively use social media for promotion, at least use privacy settings wisely so that if any potential customers or partners look you up, they won’t see anything you don’t want them to see. It is also recommended to create a separate account in Facebook just for your personal and use one for building and networking for new opportunities for your new business.

Tip 4: Network Early and Often

Networks are one of the entrepreneur’s most important assets these days. You have to be able to construct a network that gives you access to resources and opportunities. That’s how you wind up being that person that everyone knows and correlates with your business and brand. Build up connections, cultivate them, and stay in touch with everyone, because you never know who might wind up being in a position to do you a favor. It goes both ways, too – don’t pass up a chance to do someone else a favor. Networking is all about reciprocity.

Hopefully this post has convinced you that you need to be doing more to make connections and make people aware of your contributions. It might be out of your comfort zone at first, but with time, you will grow accustomed to self-promotion and networking. It doesn’t take long for it to pay off.