917: ACTION SATURDAY (create a hype file!)
What if you had a secret weapon to boost your entrepreneurial confidence whenever you needed it? Today, I’m sharing a strategy that could change the game for you: the hype file. As an entrepreneur, you can't rely on the built-in validation of established brands. Instead, you need to create your own sources of motivation. That's where the hype file comes in—a collection of glowing testimonials, positive feedback, and thank-you notes from clients and colleagues that remind you of your value and impact.
Tune in as I break down why every entrepreneur needs a hype file and how to build one that will keep you motivated and confident. From leveraging testimonials for social proof on your website to simply having a reservoir of positive affirmations to turn to during challenging times, this actionable advice is something I wish I had discovered earlier in my journey. Don't miss out on learning how to keep yourself hyped up and ready to tackle your business goals with renewed energy!
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Hey, what is up?
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Wontrepreneurs and entrepreneurs all over the world, it's Brian LoFermento here, host of the Wontrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast, and this is an Action Saturday episode with an action that I personally wish that I knew about earlier.
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So I hope to bring it to you and your life and your business at a really timely point in your entrepreneurial journey, because all of us need to do this action, and this action quite simply is to have a hype file.
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What the heck is a hype file?
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Well, here's the thing we use reference sheets and documents all the time in our entrepreneurial journeys, whether it comes to copywriting, and we lean on different copywriting formulas.
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Or.
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I'm a big fan of the swipe file We've talked about it previously here on the show which a swipe file is.
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Just when you come across a good ad that you see, when you come across a good offer that you see, when you come across a great graphic that you see, you screenshot it or you save it and you add it to your swipe file so that when you're working on a new marketing campaign, you can browse through that swipe file and swipe some inspiration, steal some ideas, really start leveraging the things that have impressed you in the past so that they don't just you see it, you think that's amazing, and then you forget about it.
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You actually swipe it and use it for your own campaigns and for your own creativity process and brainstorming and ideas.
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So that's a swipe file, but today we're talking about a hype file.
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What is a hype file?
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Well, last week in my Solo Sunday episode, I talked about the fact that as entrepreneurs, we cannot borrow confidence from our employer, from our academic institutions that we were a part of, from organizations that we previously were a part of.
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We don't get to do that because we are going out under our own umbrella, under our own brands, under our own names.
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That people probably don't know when we're just starting out, and it probably takes a long time for people to have that sort of recognition of you know, if you and I walk around with a Verizon logo on our chest, well, everybody recognizes that.
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We can go knock on doors and people know exactly who it is that we work for, and so we get to borrow that credibility.
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Know exactly who it is that we work for, and so we get to borrow that credibility.
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We get to borrow confidence from that in our ability to show up and to sell and to just keep going because we believe in it, because other people believe in it, it's an established brand.
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Well, like I said in the solo Sunday episode, and what I'm teasing here today is that we don't get that same luxury in our own businesses, which is why I feel like it's so important for us to have a hype file.
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Now, a hype file is all of those things that can get you hyped up about yourself and can get you hyped up about the meaning and the importance of the work that you're doing, because this hype file really is a bunch of things that you can brag about, that you can point towards, that can give you confidence about the path that you are on.
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So the most important thing that should go in your hype file are any and all nice things that people have said about you.
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Now, this can be people that you have worked with in your professional career, literally in your nine to five job.
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This can be things that your clients have said to you.
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This could be things that people have just said to you in life, where they drop you a Facebook message or an email and they say, hey, thanks so much for helping me with that.
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That, really honestly, you made my life so much easier with that.
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When you start accruing these things, that will make you feel hyped about the value that you bring.
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A lot of good things happen from this hype file.
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So if it's someone giving you a testimonial screenshot, it save it, add it to your hype file and when you start getting into this habit and fortunately this Action Saturday episode is go backwards, find these things and add them, create your hype file.
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Or, if you already have something similar, add them to your hype file.
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Create your hype file.
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Or, if you already have something similar, add them to your hype file, because there's a lot of things you can do with this hype file.
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When you are creating a new website or updating your existing website and you need testimonials, you need to have some social proof on that website.
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Your hype file is where you've stored all of those nice things that people have said about you.
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Or if you are sending a proposal to someone and they're wondering if they should do business with you, what would make them feel really good is to know that you're awesome and to see that you've positively impacted other people.
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That's where you can tap into your hype file If every single time, you have to go hunting for nice things that people have said to you and for you, or nice testimonials and recommendations and reviews and all of these things, then you're really missing out on the opportunity to let those good things that people have said and what they are saying do good things for you.
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So I think it's really important to have some sort of organized place for all of this, and that's where a hype file comes in Now.
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Additionally, in your hype file you can also include things like projects that you're proud of, things that you've done in your career that you're proud of, that you wanna be able to speak towards, so that when someone says, hey, tell me about some of the impressive things that you've done, instead of just scrambling for words because if you're anything like me, you probably don't enjoy bragging about yourself You'd rather talk about the things you've done.
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You'd rather talk about the people that you've helped.
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That's where the hype file comes in Now.
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The one other thing that I really wanna interject into today's episode, when we talk about the hype file, is it's also good for you, it's really good for us, as entrepreneurs, to have that folder, to have that document on those rainy days, in those days where we're in those lulls.
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We're questioning ourselves, we're short on confidence, we are full of self doubt and we just open up that file and scroll through and go, holy cow, this stuff is important and it is meaningful.
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And it is hard and this is not a great and enjoyable time for me, but look at all these reasons why it's worth it.
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I just think that having a hype file is so important for you from a marketing perspective, from a sales conversion perspective, from a social proof perspective, but also from a mindset and an internal perspective.
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So if you don't have a hype file already, this Action Saturday episode is challenging you to go and create it and find at least a few things to toss in there.
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And if you already do have a hype file, then today's Action Saturday is all about making you go back and add to that hype file.
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It's not a static document, it is a living document.
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Get in the habit of updating it every time you see someone say something nice about you or they thank you for something, and just keep adding it there.
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And a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now, you're going to be really grateful that you started this habit.
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That's it for me.
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I'd love for you to go out and take action.
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Don't just listen to this.
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Actually go take action and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
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