Ben Lee wrote a song about Jay-Z who he says he idolizes because he came from the amongst most unexpected places (A crack dealer who was born and raised in Brooklyn’s Marcy projects) and rose to become CEO of a record label. Not to mention, multi-platinum selling recording artist and founder and CEO of a successful fashion label.
If you’re not familiar with Jay-Z’s music, he revolutionized the hip-hop genre and I’m pretty sure he’s had more platinum record than any other artist in the category. He’s also a shrewd business man as evidenced by his success in that arena. His business acumen comes across in some of his lyrics. And that’s what this category of posts is going to be about. Fun, right?
So, here’s my first lesson from Jay-Z
“I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man”
- Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)
This should resonate with anyone who blogs about what they do for aliving. Blogging helps build your own personal brand and in an age where more and more highly skilled information workers choose to be freelancers and those that are full time employees manage there careers more like freelancers, thinking of yourself as less of a businessman and more of a business is important. That means:
- Managing your reputation online
- Thinking of your resume as a brochure
- Thinking of an interview as a sales pitch
- Thinking of the entire interview process as a CRM campaign
- Maintaining relationships with potential business partners (employers)
- Understanding and measuring the value you add to your partners
I’m sure there are more points that belong in this list so if anyone thinks i should add anything, please let me know
Filed under: What would Jay-Z do? | Tagged: career, jay-z
