Flash versus substance

If you’re scared any of your business isn’t “perfect” enough, today’s email is for you. To set the stage: It wasn’t until about six, maybe seven, years into building this business that I upped the production quality of my videos. Before that — even after having grown to multiple 7-figures — I used either my laptop camera, or, if I was feeling really fancy, a ~$100 webcam. With no editing either, unless it was something super basic done by my ads manager at the time (like adding a product logo). Trolls used to love picking on me for it: “How can you possibly have a successful business? Can’t you afford to pay an editor?” Technically, yes. But I also had to balance investing in my designer, customer support, product, ads, ads management, salespeople, and tech. And when your business is also supporting a lot of other amazing human beings — plus their families — you gotta choose wisely. So I decided that improving my production quality — which let’s be honest, would have been more for my ego than any measurable ROI at that point in time (more on why in a second) — could wait. I was reminded of this recently when a private client who’s wanting to start on YouTube, asked me for some advice: “Should I get someone to edit my video background to make it look cooler?” “I’m going to have my designer make my shirt look a bit more natural. Do you think that’ll do it for the thumbnail?” Now, to be clear — I’m not saying anything negative about this client. Actually, exactly the opposite. Because he’s someone who’s able to take in constructive criticism well. In this case, the point being that he was wasting his time on the “flash.” When it would be much better spent on the “substance”: * The quality of his content. * The strength of his delivery. * And the interesting-ness of his topic idea. Because without that substance, the flash is a waste of time. But don’t worry in case you’re afraid I’m about to say that you should always keep things “ugly” (although you could if you wanted to): Once you have that substance, use the flash to amplify what you have. Which is why now I have a great video editor who makes our Youtube videos look amazing…because now it makes a difference. After I first practiced all of the above, on my own, via hundreds of livestreams and videos. Same thing with my website. I kept the same website I’d used to start this business for about six years. Long after I’d outgrown it. Why? Because at the time, it was more important for me to focus on improving my own marketing and communication skills, and to invest in building out strong systems for growing the business. And ultimately, “pretty” and “perfect” are nice — especially for feeling good about yourself. But it’s not what drives your sales. (Seriously, our customers care way less about the flash than we do. Plus, the best customers are actively looking for the substance !) So, if you’ve been feeling like you can’t make the sales you want because your business isn’t “perfect” enough? Or you’ve been holding yourself back from doing something that will grow your business because you need to fix just “one more thing” first? Think of this as a gentle reminder from your “business big sister”: Focus on the substance, not the flash! (Plus, if you focus on the substance now , you’ll have plenty of time and money to invest in the flash later!) 
 Luisa Zhou PS - If you’re ready to grow your business and want to learn the “substance” — the skills and strategies that will make the difference to your business growth, here’s how my team and I can help… If you’ve been wanting to build a business and leave your 9-to-5: [The 4-Step Formula I Used to Build My Coaching Business and Replace My Salary BEFORE I Left my 9-5]( If you’re ready to go from 1-on-1 work to no longer trading time for money: [Successfully create & sell your own online course for true financial freedom]( And, if you’re at 6-figures ready to scale to multiple 6- or 7-: [Go from Hustling Coach/Course Creator to 7-Figure Business Owner]( If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click here to [unsubscribe]( Zhou Ventures, Inc. 459 Columbus Ave #4049 New York, NY 10024