Rusty Shelton, founder of Silca Media, argues that writing a book is one of the most powerful ways to establish authority and rebuild trust. He says entrepreneurs should shift from selling to teaching and position themselves as mission-driven thought leaders instead of commodity sellers.
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With me today is Rusty Shelton over in Austin, Texas. You're the founder and CEO of a company called Silca Media. Rusty, are books really necessary for a business owner in order to establish their authority?
I think the book do more for authority and thought leadership than almost anything else, Jim. And the reason why is because of the significance that we attach to somebody that's written the book on the topic. And, you know, I think the status, like 90% of adults want to write a book at some point in their life. And, you know, for me, it's always worked best to have a co-author because the idea is to each bring different expertise. to give a kind of a whole view of the topic area. I wouldn't go out and get a co-author just for help writing, but also bringing, you know, unique perspectives to the table.
Okay. That's really useful. Rusty, do you want to share with us what you think is happening in terms of the levels of trust that people have around companies and leaders now and how servant leadership plays into that changing landscape?
We often say for entrepreneurs, the best thing you can do is shift the perception of you from operator with something to sell to instead mission-driven thought leader with something to teach. In other words, you need to really lead as somebody that people can learn from versus the brand that is operator of a business and the market perception is commodity, has something to sell.
Now I'd just like to mention our sponsor for this show. The Unnoticed Entrepreneur podcast is sponsored by a company called Prowly. Prowly is an all-in-one software for leveraging your public relations activities. You can boost the media relations game for your business, find media contacts, send out press releases, and get more coverage while saving time and money on everyday tasks. Check it out, prowly.com.