As a business owner, I have tried both business networking platforms like Alignable and LinkedIn, at the recommendations of others who knowing what I do felt that these platforms could help grow my business by helping me make valuable connections. However, what I found was more of the same ole, same ole. Grandstanding, exclusivity, and inauthenticity. People try to sell you on their business without wanting to get to know you. Marketing dressed up as connection. As a therapist by trade, this was not my cup of tea.

I was made to feel like “a means to an end.” Like not a person but a prospect that could help create some cash flow for someone’s business. Inboxes full of sales pitches with no greetings that left me feeling cheap. People who wanted to sell me their services but did not want to have a relationship with me. This method of marketing was predatory and screamed capitalism. I was wondering if I was the only one feeling this way…

I talked to some other friends and did some research online (mostly Reddit because those people are brutally honest) and found that I was not alone. Posts complaining about the same themes with Alignable and LinkedIn and feeling like they were both very Spammy. One person cited that Alignable had sent emails to all their phone contacts without their permission and it had damaged their reputation. Another sharing that LinkedIn felt more like Facebook than a place to grow your professional network. All of these sentiments I concur with as I’ve spent several months on both and have only taken a few connections off that platform, despite spending a lot of time on each.

So not being invested was not the issue. The issue is these platforms which were once curated to deliver valuable connections, help people find jobs, or grow one’s business are not measuring up to their initial premise for many. I understand as a business owner the feeling of being hungry and wanting to get your business off the ground but we must respect the boundaries of others at the same time. No one wants to be sold to. No one wants to feel like when they are talking to you that you have an agenda. People want to feel a sense of belonging and community and that is the real reason that most people join these platforms.
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I can’t say I am not guilty of making the same mistake but I can say I have a better approach when it comes to the business of selling than most. I am not pushy and will not even attempt to continue discussion about our platform if the person on the receiving end is not interested. We have the right to decline things that do not serve our interests. We also have the right to match and unmatch from connections that were never really about connecting but just getting your business. We have the right to feel like the people that are a part of our virtual world are genuinely interested in our growth and our success as much as we are invested in their own.

Reciprocal business relationships are hard to find but not impossible to identify. There are people out there that genuinely want to help others. Not to line their pockets, but because giving back fulfils them. Giving back is something that they enjoy doing and they yearn to expand their reach. These are the types of people I meet all the time in my line of business and can tell that this philanthropic spirit lives inside of them. They just need an avenue to be able to do this more because of their lack of visibility on social media.
I call these “hidden gem mentors.” People who are steadfast in working their business but are humbly successful and don’t need a lot of fanfare. They know what they are talking about but are not loud about it on social media. They are not identified as thought leaders on the internet but they most certainly have the knowledge to impart on others once you speak with them one on one. Speaking to these types of mentors is not only refreshing but restores your faith that they are good people in this world. I am glad to know a few of them.

Anyway, I am realizing that what we have built on Wite Collar is exactly the platform I have been searching for and that the relationships we have curated with our members are the model that we want to create for this world. We may not be an established brand or big business but what we are is just as valuable. We are bringing back “good humanship” where people are more invested in helping others than helping themselves. A people helping people community that creates a straightforward path to career or business success.
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If you haven’t found your “right fit” for a community either, consider joining ours.

See you soon,
Kira~ Wite Collar app founder

You read that right. Me and LinkedIn are through! Not by choice but by force. LinkedIn been acting funny and I decided it was not for me anymore…
Initially, it started with my views going down significantly in the last couple of weeks. At first this was strange given that I had consistently been getting very high views for the last six months. Thousands of views now went down to just hundreds in the last few weeks. Could it have been because I was posting less? Perhaps. But it felt very much like I was being shadow banned and LinkedIn was hating on me.

As you can imagine, the lack of views affected my engagement. Now I don’t get a huge amount of engagement on LinkedIn since I am fairly new to the platform (six months newbie here) but I was slowly building up my followers and I had a few regulars liking our posts. But what got us was those regulars suddenly disappeared and I no longer saw them. Or was it they no longer saw me? Who knows….

The final straw is that I reported someone’s repost of a post I made yesterday and it flagged my account and now my account is restricted. Multiple messages along with tickets have been sent to LinkedIn Customer Support but to no avail. It’s like a merry go around of sending in tickets and then verification of id details page comes up but no ability to submit any identification. Or my sign-in page gets stuck on the Security Check screen. It’s like LinkedIn is playing with me. My vigilance caused my own account to get flagged, LOL! And now the universe doesn’t want me to get back with LinkedIn.

It wouldn’t be so bad if I had not just advertised for a job on LinkedIn. There was plenty of interest during the three day trial when I posted the position but now I am unable to reach those applicants because of the account restriction. It’s frustrating but it taught me a hard lesson. Never rely on social media to do business. Get that customer data immediately and take the communication off the platform. The platform is just there to assist with the connection not to be the main form of communication. You never know when the platform will shut you down. It can happen due to anything they consider an infraction. Whether they are right or not doesn’t matter, the results are the same; you can’t reach your business connections. So, it’s crucial that you get their contact information ASAP so you can continue to connect with them online elsewhere.
Thank God, I have contact information for all my business connections. Otherwise, this would be another sad story of an entrepreneur having to start over because of some mishap on a social media platform. I always feel bad for those creators who are so distraught about having lost access to their account and then forced to create a new one to regain access to their connections. Good thing I am not a content creator and am not dependent on my followers. LinkedIn and I can take some time apart and see other people. It’s all good. If my account ever gets restored in the future, maybe I will give LinkedIn another chance but if not, I will be just fine without it. My peace won’t be disturbed because of a social media platform. I can make do without LinkedIn being a part of my life. It didn’t make or break me before…

There’s nothing wrong with connecting on social media. Social media makes communication more accessible and attainable and allows you to have a wider reach. However, never put all your eggs in one basket and only use social media to communicate with those you connect with. Be sure you have other ways to access your business connections to keep the communication going. This assurance will make you more resilient if and when a social media platform you are on decides to cancel your account because now you have a back-up plan.

Remember, social media is a tool not a replacement for good communication in business. Don’t ever over-rely on social media.
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Connect with us on email at [email protected] or text at 1-877-892-8868 if you want to learn more about the Wite Collar platform. We also have office hours today between 1-2 pm EST if you want to meet with us and ask questions.

See you soon,
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Kira ~ Wite Collar app co-founder

“People don’t fear the price, they fear the risk” ~ John Diaz (LinkedIn)

When I saw this post on LinkedIn, this answered a question I had been pondering for some time.

When people don’t jump on your business offers, it makes you feel like a failure. You question your business, yourself, what is wrong with you that people don’t see the value in what you’re doing?

Should you lower your prices? What adjustments should you make to create a more attractive offer? Are you doing enough to grow your business and make it a success?

But most likely, it is not the price that’s the issue…it’s the perceived risk by the customer.

If your business is not a recognized brand, if you are not a recognized brand, people assume that your offer is not going to live up to their expectations.
Doesn’t matter how good your product is, people assume that it has no value and because of that, they don’t want to pay for your offer.

We are not marketing specialists so this business has been a grassroots build with a small community of folks we have met that see our vision.
We are not clout chasers and we are not the popular kids in school. We are the late bloomers who have finally blossomed and through that transformation, learned our purpose in our 40’s. We want to share our product with the world but recognize that in the world we live in today, social media is KING and we are not dominating in that space…yet.

We are hoping that once things get going, that word of mouth will spread about what we do, which in turn will make our offer more appealing. Hopefully, people will become less skeptical about investing their time and money into our services once they have social proof. In the meantime, we plan to keep going.
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We advise that if you are in our position, you do the same…

Have you ever been to a networking event and the host asks you to introduce yourself or business and you blank out about what to say? If the answer is yes, then that’s probably because you haven’t created your elevator pitch.

What is an elevator pitch? It is a way to introduce yourself or your business to others that piques their interest and leaves them wanting to learn more. It’s sort of like your sales pitch. It really should be no more than one or two lines because you have to remember the pitch to ensure a smooth delivery. The last thing you want to do is to stumble over your words while delivering an elevator pitch in a room full of strangers. You want to appear confident and self-assured.

A good business pitch or one-liner should consist of three elements: 1. The problem you solve, 2. How you or your business is the solution to that problem, 3. What success looks like for your clients if they do business with you. Your business pitch should be clear and concise. It does not need to include minor details of all your business has to offer. It just needs to provide a high level overview of your business with the most impressive highlights.
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If you are having a hard time coming up with your elevator pitch, consider working on it by writing it down. It may take multiple iterations of your pitch before you develop the one that works for you. Also, be sure to practice your pitch with family or friends that don’t know what you do. Ask them for feedback by requesting that they tell you what they heard you say and if they understand your business. If they can’t tell you about your business in their own words, then your elevator pitch needs to be refined. Rule of thumb is if an 8 year old can’t understand your business pitch, then it is likely that it will go over most people’s heads. Oftentimes, we assume that most people understand what we do until we actually ask them and realize that they really don’t, which is a problem.

Another reason why it is good to develop our elevator pitch is because you can use your pitch everywhere you showcase your business. It can go on business cards, social media account bios, pitch contests, grant applications, etc.. Your business pitch can be repurposed in multiple scenarios. It can give others a clear idea of what they are getting when they do business with you by setting the right expectations. It can also act a lead magnet for future business prospects and create a call to action.
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Don’t underestimate the value of a one-liner in helping you grow your business and gain more visibility. A good elevator pitch will set you and your business apart from the rest in your industry. Be sure to make developing your elevator pitch a priority!