MBA2375 Q&A Wednesday: Should I build in public?

Summary

The $100 MBA Show - Episode MBA2375 Q&A Wednesday: Should I Build in Public?

Release Date: October 11, 2023
Host: Omar Zenhom
Podcast Description: Awarded Best of Apple Podcasts, The $100 MBA Show delivers practical business lessons for the real world. These no-fluff episodes are packed with pure business-building training you need.

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Introduction

In Episode MBA2375 titled "Q&A Wednesday: Should I Build in Public?", host Omar Zenhom delves into a timely and increasingly popular topic among entrepreneurs and creators: the concept of "building in public." Drawing from his extensive experience as a successful entrepreneur and co-founder of Webinar Ninja, Omar provides a comprehensive analysis of the strategy's benefits and potential pitfalls.

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Understanding Building in Public

Omar begins by defining what it means to build in public. He explains that this approach involves sharing the journey of building a business openly on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. This transparency includes sharing successes, failures, revenue figures, costs, pivots, and other business metrics. The primary goal is to engage the audience by offering an authentic glimpse into the entrepreneurial process.

Omar Zenhom [01:50]: "Building in public has become a very popular trend for the last few years. In fact, I would say for the last decade, this is a movement that has been growing on social media."

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The Pros of Building in Public

1. Enhanced Engagement and Trust:

   • By sharing the entrepreneurial journey, business owners can foster a deeper connection with their audience. Transparency builds trust, as followers feel they are privy to the authentic experiences of the creator.

2. Content Abundance:

   • Building in public provides a continuous stream of content, which is invaluable for content marketing strategies. Documenting daily activities, challenges, and milestones ensures a steady flow of material to engage followers.

3. Accountability:

   • Publicly committing to business goals can serve as a powerful motivator. Knowing that an audience is watching can encourage entrepreneurs to stay on track and achieve their objectives.

4. Audience Learning and Inspiration:

   • Sharing both wins and losses can inspire and educate the audience. Followers gain insights into the practical aspects of building a business, learning from real-world experiences.

Omar Zenhom [08:15]: "One of the biggest advantages of building in public is it holds you accountable. You're publicly saying you're doing something, publicly holding yourself accountable because people are watching you."

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The Cons of Building in Public

1. Competitive Vulnerability:

   • In highly competitive markets, exposing business strategies, financials, and operational details can disadvantage entrepreneurs. Competitors may exploit shared information to mimic or counteract business strategies.

   Omar Zenhom [03:30]: "If you're selling a product, a service, a software that's in a crowded market, you're basically opening up your playbook to the world so they can copy it."

2. Content Plateau:

   • Initially, sharing business metrics can be inspiring, but over time, continuously high numbers may become less relatable or even intimidating to the audience. This can lead to disengagement as followers might feel disconnected from the rapidly scaling business.

   Omar Zenhom [04:10]: "These numbers that you're sharing at some point are just going to be so astronomical, might even be intimidating to your audience."

3. Public Scrutiny and Pressure:

   • Operating in the public eye subjects entrepreneurs to constant evaluation. Mistakes, delays, or setbacks are not only internal challenges but become public discussions, potentially harming the business's reputation.

4. Impact on Team Members and Personal Life:

   • Sharing business details often involves including information about coworkers, co-founders, and even personal life aspects. This can lead to privacy concerns and may affect relationships if not managed carefully.

   Omar Zenhom [07:45]: "When you're open and building in public, you're going to be sharing honestly about yourself, about your business, about your ups and downs. This sharing is also a reflection of them."

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Practical Advice and Recommendations

1. Evaluate Fit for Your Business:

   • Not all businesses benefit equally from building in public. Entrepreneurs should assess whether their unique selling proposition is strong enough to withstand competitive exposure.

   Omar Zenhom [02:20]: "Building in public is not for everybody and every business. Being an open book about your business is not the smartest idea, especially if you're in a highly competitive space."

2. Set Boundaries:

   • It's crucial to decide what aspects of the business journey to share. Keeping certain strategies, financial details, and internal processes private can safeguard the business while still engaging the audience.

3. Seek Consent from Involved Parties:

   • Before sharing information that involves team members or partners, ensure they are comfortable with public disclosure to maintain trust and respect within the team.

   Omar Zenhom [07:00]: "Talk to the people involved to let them know that this is what you're doing, get their consent, make sure that they're on board."

4. Commit to a Trial Period:

   • Entrepreneurs uncertain about building in public can experiment with a trial period (e.g., three to six months) to gauge its effectiveness before fully committing.

   Omar Zenhom [10:00]: "You can experiment. You can say, hey, I'm going to build in public for six months and see how it goes for three months."

5. Focus on Value-Driven Content:

   • Share insights, lessons learned, and actionable strategies rather than just numbers. Providing value keeps the audience engaged and makes the content more meaningful.

   Omar Zenhom [09:30]: "I like the idea of sharing the mental and emotional journey of building a business, being honest about what it takes."

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Conclusion

Omar Zenhom offers a balanced perspective on the "build in public" movement, acknowledging its potential to enhance engagement, accountability, and content generation. However, he cautions about the risks of increased competition exposure, content fatigue, and the pressures of public scrutiny. His final advice encourages entrepreneurs to thoughtfully assess whether this strategy aligns with their business goals and personal comfort levels, advocating for a measured and experimental approach.

Omar Zenhom [11:00]: "Just remember when you are posting on social media publicly, that stuff is easily found. It's almost there permanently on the Internet. Be mindful that what you post is being broadcasted to the world."

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Key Takeaways

• Building in Public can significantly boost engagement and accountability but may expose businesses to competitive risks.
• Assess Your Business Landscape before deciding to adopt this strategy, ensuring it won't compromise your competitive edge.
• Set Clear Boundaries on what to share to protect sensitive information and maintain team trust.
• Experiment with a Trial Period to determine if building in public is sustainable and beneficial for your specific situation.
• Prioritize Value in your content to keep your audience engaged and derive meaningful connections.

Whether you're a course creator, coach, or entrepreneur in a competitive market, Omar Zenhom's insights provide a nuanced framework to help you decide if building in public is the right path for your business journey.

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For more business-building insights, visit The $100 MBA Show or reach out with your questions at [e-mail].

Transcript

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[Omar Zenhom]

Hey, welcome to the $100 MBA Show Business Advice you on with our practical business lessons. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher Omar Zenholm. I'm also the co founder of Webinar Ninja, an independent software company I started back in 2014 and today's episode is Q and A Wednesday. On Q and A Wednesdays, we answer a question from one of you, one of our listeners. If you got a question you want to ask, go ahead and email me over at omar100,mba.net Today's question is from Baron and Baron asks I see a lot of creators and coaches building in public on Twitter, on Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms. This looks like an interesting marketing strategy. Should I build in public? Thanks for the question, Baron. Building in public has become a very popular trend for the last few years. In fact, I would say for the last decade, this is a movement that has been growing on social media. This is when creators, coaches, business owners share the journey of building their business publicly. They share their wins, their failures, their revenue, even their costs, their pivots, their changes, all kinds of stuff. It's a strategy to pull back the current and invite their audience to learn more about them and how they're building their business. Theoretically, it sounds like a great idea. But are there things you need to consider? Are there downsides? Are there things that could potentially be a headache for your business? Let's get into it. Let's get down to business. Generally, sharing your journey on social media is a good idea, but I probably have an opinion that is not popular. And I'm one to say building in public is not for everybody and every business. Being in an open book about your business is not the smartest idea, especially if you're in a highly competitive space where you don't have unstoppable unique selling proposition. This kind of works for course creators and coaches because they're unique, because they're themselves, they have their unique brand. But you're selling a product, a service, a software that's in a crowded market. You're basically opening up your playbook to the world so they can copy it, so they can know what you're doing. You don't really have much of an advantage. I know a lot of creators that built in public for years. They started a software company, for example, and they still kind of share the journey, but they don't share as much as they used to because, yep, they're in a competitive space. Also, when you build in public, you're sharing your numbers, your finances, and in the beginning, this could be really inspiring to your audience as you're showing them how you're growing and improving. But at some point it's less inspiration and education and it's really just flat as showing off. You might disagree with it, and that's fine, that's totally fine. But ask yourself this question. At what point is this actually going to be applicable for most people that are following you? These numbers that you're sharing at some point are just going to be so astronomical, might even be intimidating to your audience. Also want to share another argument? Sometimes building a public is not the best idea. Especially when you're trying to create something of high value. You want to kind of keep the cards close to your chest. And when you show it to the world, you want to show it in its full glory. This is obviously not the first iteration, or when you're validating idea or when you're first starting out. But when you're perfecting a product, a service, and you want to unveil it, you want to launch it, you want to do it without having to show all the flaws along the way. We're all going to have bumps along the way. And if you're being truly honest about building in public, you're going to have to show that and that can kind of detract from your ability to market the product in some way. Because not everybody who's watching you in public is as sophisticated of a listener and learner to understand that. Of course you're going to have mistakes and issues and bugs and problems. They're not in your business like you are to understand the reasons why and what you learned from it and how you evolved. So sometimes it could backfire. I do love the idea of sharing the mental and emotional journey of building a business, being honest about what it takes. And I do a lot of that in this podcast as I'm sharing my lessons. I also love sharing how things get done, how you can create things, how you can create systems for your business that work for you. I like sharing these things because I don't benefit by keeping it to myself. Sharing it actually helps my audience, so sharing that part of the journey is always welcome in my book.

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[Omar Zenhom]

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[Dr. Emily Carter]

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[Omar Zenhom]

Should consider is when you are open and building in public, you're going to be sharing honestly about yourself, about your business, about your ups and downs. You don't live alone. You don't live in this world alone. I mean, you have co workers, you have co founders. This sharing is also a reflection of them. What's happening and what you're saying and what you're sharing is a part of their life and sort of a part of their journey. Often business and life intertwine. So maybe your partner in life, your family members, may not be totally down with the fact that you're sharing everything in public. So my advice is to always speak about it. Talk to the people involved to let them know that this is what you're doing, get their consent, make sure that they're on board, and never share something you don't feel comfortable with. If you're a follower of me, you know that I'm a bit of a private person when it comes to my personal life. I don't post vacation photos and my Sunday brunch meal or parties I have or whatever it might be. I'm always mindful of the fact that what I share should be helpful and useful to other people. And I like the idea of having something that's just for me and my close loved ones, something that we can just enjoy together without the world knowing about it. That's just my personal choice. Some people like sharing everything, and that's their personal choice. But just make sure that when you're sharing and there's other people involved, that they are okay with it. I do have to say, I follow a lot of creators that build in public on Twitter and it really works. It really does help them grow their following. They inspire people, they help people along the way. They answer questions, and it gets people interested in what they're doing. Everybody loves to see how the chocolate bar is made in the factory, like to pull back the current and see the wizard of Oz in action. And for the most part, that makes great content. And if content marketing is a big part of your business marketing strategy, then you got endless content when you build in public, because you can literally just switch on the camera and film what you're thinking, what you're going through, what you're experiencing. You can just document your day, and that is building in public because it's a part of your journey. But one of the biggest advantages of building in public is it holds you accountable. You're publicly saying you're doing something publicly holding yourself accountable because people are watching you and seeing if you're actually going to pull off what you say you're going to do. And if you don't regularly report what's happening, people are going to be like, oh, this person's not really building in public, or they're not really doing well. They're going to make assumptions. So a lot of people build in public because they just want to be held accountable to the public. And it's very powerful, especially when you commit to a regular posting schedule. So if these advantages seem right up your alley and work for you and your business and your lifestyle, then go for it. I always say you can experiment. You can say, hey, I'm going to build in public for six months and see how it goes for three months. Then you can actually state this at the start on social hey, I'm going to try this. Build a public thing for three months, see how it goes and then reevaluate. If I like it, I'm going to continue to do it. If not, I'll just stop. But I'll commit to the three months and see how it goes. Wish me luck. I'm a big believer in try before you buy or try before you commit. It's the best way to find out if it's the right thing for you, but commit for a period of time so you can give yourself a fair shake. Thanks so much for listening to the $100 MBA. If you have a question for Q and A Wednesday, go ahead and email me over@omarr mba.net, i'll make sure to answ here on this podcast on this episode Q and A Wednesday. Let me know if you want to be anonymous or just use your first name. Happy to do whatever you'd like. I'm also happy to answer your question and help others that have a similar question as you. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. Just remember when you are posting on social media publicly, that stuff is easily found. You can do a Google search and see your latest tweets. That stuff doesn't go away easily. It's almost there permanently on the Internet. There are ways to kind of tear that stuff down later on, but just be mindful that what you post is being broadcasted to the world. Thanks so much for listening and I'll check you in Friday's episode. I'll see you then. Take care.

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