If You’re New Here…
Introductions, Elevator Pitches, And Awkwardness
It’s been a little over a month since my studio shifted and my team transitioned.
In that 5 week period, circumstances aligned so that I’ve been meeting a lot of new people. My business mentorship/support group restarted for the fall. I went on a wellness retreat. Attended a family funeral. And other events here and there that had me in the position that I was dreading: explaining my business.
Obviously I was overthinking. It was the first time I was introducing myself and saying that I own a business and explaining what that business actually is.
An example conversation so you, too, can understand my awkwardness:
“Hi, I’m Kait…
Oh yes, I’m in marketing, I actually own a marketing agency. Well not exactly marketing, like, we do marketing, but we come at it from a brand focus.
Ya, ya we also do branding – like – visual branding, oh and strategy! Brand strategy. It’s so important...
Oh and websites… and retainers…
Like not the traditional kind of retainer…”
Etc., etc., you get the picture. I’m still in the process of reworking my elevator pitch so to speak.
The reality is, I usually just end up telling new people that I’m in a big transition, and that I’m realigning with the core of what I want to offer clients, and that it’s actually quite tailored to individual client needs.
And I also realize that for most people not in the “marketing space/industry,” tripping up on my words and trying to explain brand strategy is not really the best way to clearly define what I/we do.
So right here, right now, here’s what I’ve refined after a few misses:
“I’m Kait. I work with my business/life partner Ryan and together we own a branding studio that builds visuals, strategy, and websites for a wide range of businesses. We have a small support team in-house and a wide range of incredible contractors that we work with depending on what our clients need. We take creative problem solving seriously and we’re passionate about the foundational difference that brand strategy can make to the businesses around us. We’re lucky to do what we care about every day.”
Still a little long winded but it’s a work in progress.
(If you’re an over-explainer you get it.)
I think this is such a common phenomenon even if your business isn’t in a state of flux. When someone asks you point blank, “What do you do?” it can be hard to get to the core of things when you’re passionate and your work is multi-faceted.
It’s even harder when you’re in transition.
You probably do everything and more when you’re running a small business PLUS your actual profession or area of expertise.
Even though it’s been hard to confront this so often in the last few weeks, I’m thankful.
It’s been good practice. I’ve been in safe spaces with kind and supportive people.
I feel like the transition is now starting to morph into more of a building phase than a grieving one.
I’ll keep working on my elevator pitch, and if you haven’t though about yours in a while, here’s a couple good questions to ask yourself so you’re ready the next time someone asks, “so what do you do?”
Refining your one-liner/elevator pitch.
Questions to ask yourself whether you’re in flux or not.
What is the “why” behind my business? Beyond making money, why do I do this work?
Who makes it possible? Who is essential beyond me?
What is the one core thing I do within my skill set? Is it clear to others when I say it?
What’s the best part of my job? What keeps me going?
Who do I serve?
These are the questions I’m sitting with right now as I refine my own pitch. If you haven’t thought about yours in a while, maybe it’s worth a revisit too.
You never know when someone will ask, ‘So what do you do?
