Decker pointed out that he loses a lot of momentum in creating businesses when he does it under a business name rather than under his own personal brand. As he noted in the forward, people want to buy from people that they know and trust. It takes a long time for people to trust a faceless corporation. That’s why he said it’s important for the leader of the business to get out in front and become known and trusted.
By shifting to a Youpreneur business, you will save time and energy as you pivot in your business to new ventures. People who are following and purchasing from you will make the pivot because they know and trust you already.
Decker went on to explain his concept of Youpreneur or The Business of You in this 267-page book. The book is organized into three major parts:
- Building
- Marketing
- Monetizing
Much of what Ducker shared could be very much associated with starting a business. However, the analysis that you are going to do focuses on you as an individual rather than the business. You are going to have to sit down and reflect on what makes you someone that others will want to do business with.
Building
In the Building part of the book, you are not only analyzing what makes you—you, you will also be defining your perfect customer. With this knowledge, you can figure out what their pain points are and how to best address them.
Ducker also went into great depth discussing how to create a virtual presence. Your website would be the primary face of your brand. It should explain who you are, who you serve, and what you do. He explained a strategy similar to what was written in They Ask, You Answer to ensure that you have ample content on your site. It is important to great internal links with your content. Ducker included a strategy for promoting and marketing new content as well as a strategy for creating an opt-in funnel.
“Don’t build your online home on rented land.” ~ Chris Ducker
Everyone I know has emphasized the importance of two things: have your own website and email list. That does not mean don’t use social media. Ducker encouraged it, but it needs to be pointing to content on your website. He provided guidance for leveraging social media. I am reexamining how I use Twitter. I am thinking about reducing my accounts to only one.
All in all, the Building section of the book is about establishing the foundation of your “business of you”.
Throughout the book, Ducker includes various case studies that help to pull all the key points together.
Marketing
The second part of the book focused on Marketing or spreading the message about your “business of you”. It centers around developing quality content. You need to establish yourself as an expert. In this chapter, he talked about the importance of being authentic, helpful, and original. You should create a people to people business.
Ducker also emphasized the use of live video and the repurposing of content. These are two things I am working harder on. “The trick is to create one piece of content and repurpose it into different formats to satisfy the needs of different people” (Ducker, 2018, p. 102).
This chapter also addressed the importance of developing your business circle. It is all about relationships. Everything you do should center on helping other people excel.
Finally, in this section, Ducker stressed the importance of growing your email list. He provided some strategies for doing just that. Many of these strategies are found in other resources such as Email Marketing Demystified, Growth Hacker Marketing, and The Lead Machine.
Monetizing
The final section of this book focused on Monetizing what you do. This means you need to take time to figure out what you will monetize and how. Ducker discussed an ecosystem for your business that lists what you do and what you charge for each item.
Ducker also outlined a pricing strategy. Pat Flynn in his book, Will It Fly?, also shared ideas for finding out if people will buy and how much you should charge.
Finally, Ducker provided ideas for a launch plan for your product as well as ongoing marketing strategies.
The interesting thing about Ducker’s approach is that the business is centered on him. As he pivots in direction, it is a lot easier to pivot the business. He can carve off specific pieces of his business if he so desires, but he can keep on going with the same momentum. I would definitely recommend Rise of the Youpreneur to other entrepreneurs to read. There are certainly ideas that I am going to put into play.
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