what stuttering taught me about running a business

What Stuttering Taught Me About Running A Business

Lisa Barone

@lisabarone

Who Is Outspoken Media?• Internet Marketing Company

located in Troy, NY.

• Founded in 2009 with my partner Rhea Drysdale

Our job is to make YOU louder and more outspoken on the Web.

New challenges force you use what you already know.

An Intro To Being Weird

My Entry Into Being Weird

• Just 1% of the adult population stutters.

• 80% of adult stutterers are male.

That makes me a freakin’ unicorn

My Entry Into Being Weird

Stutterers display higher activity in the area of the brain that controls speech movements, making it difficult for the brain to process the information and account for the correct movements.

Getting My Groove Voice Back

• I was fearful of standing out or attracting too much attention

• I hid behind a mask instead of showing people who I was.

• I was limiting my voice because I didn’t believe I deserved one

Like a business…

The Benefits Of Being A Stutterer

• I understand the power of voice better than a fluent speaker.

• My struggles allow me to better relate to the struggles of others.

• I only have to meet someone once for them to remember my name.

The Benefits Of Being A Stutterer

My stuttering makes me memorable. And because I am memorable, I have a platform.

Stuttering taught me how to run a business

because….

Stuttering taught me how to embrace weird & make weird

work

Weird didn’t always work…

Weird is how you stand out in a crowded niche.

Weird is how you become memorable and build a platform.

Weird is new normal.

Making Weird Work For You

Making Weird Work For You

Step 1: Accept that you are weird.

Because you really are. And it’s really okay.

Step 2: Pinpoint what makes you weird• What is it you do when no one’s watching?• What part of your life or what hobby do you have that

you’re not quick to tell people about?• If you had a superpower, what would it be?• What did you love or do as a kid that you now suppress?

Making Weird Work For You

Your weirdness can be rooted in

• An experience• A character trait• A physical trait• An odd passion• Extreme extrovertness OR

introvertness

Making Weird Work For You

Step 3: Find a way to use it.• How can you make that weirdness work for you? • How can you magnify it in a way that will speak to

your customer needs?

Making Weird Work For You

Create your Blogging Superhero

Making Weird Work For You

Your blogging superhero is a heightened version of you, emphasizing your most marketable traits, while de-emphasizing your traits irrelevant to your business.

How can your weirdness make you more marketable?

We need to stop giving “weird” a negative connotation.

The success of your business rests on your ability to stand out and be

memorable.

Forming Outspoken Media

Weirdness In Motion

You can laugh but…

• Snooki NYT best-selling author• The Situation $5 million+ • Jenny Book and a bronzer• Ronnie Product endorsements • Sammi Perfume• Vinny/ Pauly D Clothing lines

BIG FINISH!

A word from Dolly Parton

Figure out who you are, and then do it on purpose.

-- Dolly Parton

It’s your oddness that makes you interesting and what will drive people to your business.

Thank you…

lisa@outspokenmedia.com

@lisabarone