What is the Point of Being Visible If You Have Nothing to Show?
Visibility might open the door, but value keeps it open.
Ed Note
“Your value will not be what you know; it will be what you share.” — GINNI ROMETTY, CEO, IBM.
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So Shall We?
Have you ever wondered how that big restaurant in your city keeps attracting people even though they are quite expensive and not everywhere? They have a decent online presence, but not enough to pull the numbers of people constantly going in and out of the restaurant like it is nothing. In fact, if they decide to raise their prices or start charging in dollars, people will still show up.
Why? It is because they have built value, and people know their worth. They have consistently delivered quality, created memorable experiences for people to keep coming back and positioned themselves so well that people are willing to go the extra mile (I mean literally and financially) to dine there. After building value, they get more customers from word of mouth, good reviews and content creators that would not stop raving about their experiences.
Now, why am I saying this?
As a woman in tech, you need to build value before anything else. Yes, I often talk about putting yourself out there and building an online presence. But before you do that, make sure you have built something people can actually bet on. Before someone chooses you for a role, a project or even a partnership, they have to see proof of value. They need to know you are worth the risk, and your work needs to speak for you.
Let’s say you are a UI/UX designer, for example, you have built a good LinkedIn presence where you share design tips and advice regularly, then one day, someone reaches out to work with you. They ask for your portfolio, and it does not match what you post online. It is outdated, shallow, and your designs do not solve real problems. You don’t need me to tell you how disappointing that would be.
You have to be ready when the opportunity comes. You need to build value before chasing visibility and keep improving as you grow.
Here is how you can start:
Practice Consistently: Build small projects, solve real problems, improve existing solutions and improve your skills.
Document Your Process: Keep your case studies, document your reasoning, choices and thought process.
Ask for Feedback Regularly: This will help you grow and improve the quality of your work.
Use Online Platform Wisely: Share your learning journey, your growth and how you have applied feedback. Talk about your problem-solving process. This will help you build credibility. Sometimes your work will speak so loudly that people won’t even ask for your portfolio; they have already seen what you can do.
The thing is, no one bets on what they can’t see, they won’t take a risk on something that does not look ready. Be that tech sis who has something worth showing when the spotlight hits.
Take 10 mins this week to review your portfolio, your personal projects, or your latest post. Ask yourself this question: Does this reflect the value I want people to see?
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