Sharing your heart is the best business practice!

I’ve been very active lately in the realms of Facebook and Twitter, even though I’ve not posted on my business blog since December. I took an experimental departure from the blog to think about a very controversial question:

In business, should you blog or tweet about your personal life, passions, politics, or deeper belief systems?

Throughout the last 3 months, I’ve been logging my workouts with MapMyRide.com. I shared a three-part blog series on one of my other sites on my 2-year anniversary of becoming Car-Free. Finally, more recently, I’ve been reading and posting a lot of information on Facebook and Twitter about the protests in Madison, WI at the capitol building (I even traveled to Madison in the early stages of the protest to stand with others in solidarity).

The result for me? I’ve gained more than ten new followers on Twitter, have had countless re-tweets of my thoughts and posts, and have gotten many positive comments both on and offline of how my fitness goals, activist involvement, and car-free transit-taking have inspired them in their own lives. But, I didn’t do it for the recognition or friend gain. I did these things because they were part of this “energy of the heart” for me.

Others I know have done the same thing recently, and their inspiration has been catchy.

My friend, Sheryl Snitkin of Urban Admin has been blogging about her involvement in the LGBT Advocacy and “Paying it Forward.”

Mary Chapa of ElizaOne, Inc. talks about the transitions of loss and the importance of Community in her latest blog post.

One of the biggest inspirations for me lately has been the story of Ian’s Pizza in Madison, WI. While the protests have been happening, Ian’s sent out a message that they wanted to provide free food to all of those in solidarity at the capitol building. They’ve received donations continually throughout the last 3 weeks from all 50 states and countries all over the world, and have been able to feed thousands of passionate people FOR FREE.

It’s a “revolution powered by pizza.” The rush of love and support seemed to wash over me when I went to Ian’s while in Madison, and the clerk said to me, “It’s free, from donations all over the world!”

Thank you, World! And thank you, Ian’s!

The next time I’m back in Madison, where do you think I’ll be stopping at least once to eat?

Think about that for a moment. Could a business ever buy the kind of marketing that’s rushed in to define Ian’s Pizza? Their viral generosity and work has most likely solidified a wonderful return to their business.

So now, I’ve come to the conclusion, that the answer to my question above, “Should we share ourselves personally as business owners?” is “YES.”

As a soloprenuer, YOU are your brand. Your clients could receive whatever service they need from anyone, but they have chosen you! As well, YOU and YOUR CLIENT are whole and integrated beings. At times, we may put on masks of professionalism or “business” when interacting, but ask yourself – when was the last time you chose (and kept) your webmaster, stylist, massage therapist, etc only from their “professional” qualifications? We move forward as people through our passions, interactions, and the momentum of this energy. The sharing of the “energy of the heart” will attract more than you know.

So my advice to all of you is to take a moment and share YOU. Share your passions, your creativity, your outlandish ideas, and your heart.

I bet the returns will be more than you expected!

Just like my friend, Mary, I will close with a poem by Starhawk that speaks to me about the energy of the heart:

Community

Somewhere, there are people
to whom we can speak with passion
without having the words catch in our throats.
Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us,
eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us
whenever we come into our own power.
Community means strength that joins our strength
to do the work that needs to be done.
Arms to hold us when we falter.
A circle of healing. A circle of friends.
Someplace where
we can be free.