"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor..." - Henry David Thoreau
Some of you have been working on your dreams during quarantine, and it's starting to show. In reading Michael Todd’s new book Relationship Goals, I’m learning that it’s imperative to establish goals in your relationships not only romantically but also friendly, relatively and professionally. Relationships are important. Too often in business we hear, “It isn’t what you know, but who you know”. I’m fortunate enough to have a personality that enjoys networking, I now have a job that I can communicate with colleagues across multiple departments and levels, but I also want to effectively represent Bourgeois Living Magazine as the polished brand it strives to be in a professional and poised manner as well.
BENEFITS OF AN ELEVATOR PITCH
One of the most challenging parts of my networking experiences has been, what do I say to start the conversation, how do I introduce myself in a way that can let them know who I am, and how do I effectively tell others what I do? It’s been easier as I’ve grown more comfortable (over the years, girl), but leading up to that, there have been enough times (and one time can be enough) of me being unprepared for me to know I needed to get it together.
One of the most embarrassing times has been in starting a new role and, unexpectedly, being introduced on the call and having to tell who I am to multiple new coworkers, including the CFO. Now, luckily for me, I knew what I did for my last role, so I could explain what I knew from my previous experience, but admittedly, I wish I was more prepared with an introduction for the role I was in. I was so new that I didn’t even know what to say, or even what my real job responsibilities were going to be, I knew an overall idea but was I comfortable in explaining that? OMG…girl…
So of course I mustered through it, because that’s who I am and that’s what I was going to do anyway. But I have this incredible weight of perfectionism hanging over my head, and of course my recount of the experience will play out much worse than it actually occurred, but I absolutely detest beating myself up for something, especially when and because I “should have known better, why didn’t I prepare for this?”.
Through trial and error, there have been spiels that have been too short to really get the point across, as well as too long to get to the point. There is a healthy medium, however, and that is the 30 second elevator pitch.
DRAFTING YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH
I recently participated in a pilot program for entrepreneurs who are in the beginning stages of their brands and it was a guided classroom style weekly web course to provide the tools to get our businesses from stuck to start, and in this program one of the major lessons was perfecting your elevator pitch. This does not quite have to equate your company’s or your personal mission statement. If you are a service or product based brand, the simple formula we learned is:
1. Who do you help?
2. What problem do you solve?
3. How do you solve it?
Once you have these three answers, the rest of your elevator pitch is simple.
Bourgeois Living is an online magazine and hosting company that helps financially savvy, millennial women of color (1) access luxury living experiences (2) on a budget (3).
See ! Not so hard at all, right? I also ask the questions to myself to start the conversation by indicating:
Who am I?
How do I want to be perceived?
If the first impression is thee only impression, what am I going to say to make myself and my brand memorable in the way I want to be represented?
I’m Bougie (read: Rich auntie-adjacent). Encouraging. Abundance-driven.
What are some positive buzz words you often use to describe yourself, your work ethic or your brand? How can you use words like “luxury” or “budget” to tastefully tell your story while intriguing others to want to learn more?
I can expand on this to indicate the methods I use to serve those that I aim to help, and what I can offer to my target client, for example:
Bourgeois Living is an online magazine and hosting company that helps financially savvy, millennial women of color access luxury living experiences on a budget through hosting opportunities including intimate event settings, table settings, and serve-ware rentals.
In personal and professional introductions, this can still be a useful formula. In my personal introductions at work, I may say:
My name is Alexis P. Jordan, I am a Senior Financial Analyst for the FP&A team for (this amazing company), and I currently receive data pertaining the key performance indicators for multiple areas of business (1) and present these findings and bring light to off track metrics (2) by consolidating the data and presenting to the top level executives to give them an overall view of how the company is doing on a month to month basis (3).
USING YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH
I’ve seen this template used in a variety of businesses. Morgan DeBaun (a fantastic resource for business advice for entrepreneurs) used it to reintroduce herself to her followers like this:
Dear Goal Diggers (led by marketing strategist extraordinaire Jaliyah Jones, assisting entrepreneurs in meeting their business goals) let their followers know that they can tell their story to introduce themselves and put it this way:
There is no right and wrong way to introduce yourself, but you will effectively get where you are going if you have a plan. Prepare for the opportunities that will present themselves to you, they are coming, and you never know when your life changing moment will meet you. There is so much power in the words you speak, we have to ensure that we are utilizing that power wisely as we continue to elevate personally and professionally.
By inviting women of color to an experience of abundance through affordable leisure activities, I want to encourage and inspire women to enjoy moments and create memories because we deserve it now. You do not have to have made your “hoop dream” a reality in order to live a lifestyle as if you have. Luxury is not only to be experienced by the 1%, and no matter your level of income, your environment, or your past, you are worthy of enjoying your life experiences. You deserve abundance now, not one day, not someday, but right now. We deserve abundance. It is our birthright.
May every single door closed be for your benefit and every door opened work in your favor. Step out on faith and walk into your purpose. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, lifting each other so that we can all win is my priority, and many of us are more than willing to provide assistance in reaching our business and personal goals. I received great value by joining The Leap Program and getting my business plan fleshed out, identifying best ways to introduce myself as well as how to keep my clients and readers satisfied through quality and a solid foundation in my brand’s framework. This six-week program assisted me in identifying my target audience as well as constructing the proper methods to communicate with them effectively, among a ton of other gems to propel me upward. The instructor also has individual one-on-one calls for those who are unsure if they prefer to commit to the entire course. The next six-week cohort schedule as well as clarity call availability can be found on Christian Mills’ page here. I highly recommend this for elevating your brand.
Remember, done is better than perfect, there is no elevator for success, but there is one to the Penthouse as you make your way to the top. We all have to take the elevator one floor at a time to make it to the highest level, continue to rise above and enjoy and learn from each level as you come to it. Continue to work toward your purpose, the top is in your trajectory. See you there <3
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