280: What It Actually Means to Have a Point of View

0:00Everyone in the online business space is talking about having a point of view right now, so show up with a POV, be polarizing, take a stand, and so entrepreneurs go looking for their point of view like it's something they need to manufacture. A hot take that they hadn't thought of yet, a controversial opinion that makes people stop scrolling. But that's not what a point of view is, and chasing that version is exactly why so many business owners end up performing a stance instead of actually having one. Hi, I'm Cindy Gordon, a selective visibility strategist and business mentor. I built and sold multiple online businesses, and I'm the founder of the unmistakable movement. And the distinction that I'm about to make is one that changes how you show up across every single visibility channel that you are on. And by the way, if this kind of topic is hitting home, my Thursday newsletter is where I dig into this stuff weekly. Over 1500 entrepreneurs are on the list, so join us. The link is in the show notes. So here's what I'm seeing

1:01with the online business owners that I work with. They hear have a point of view and they go looking for something edgy, something they feel gets some attention. They start saying things they don't fully believe in because it sounds bold or they water down what they actually think because they're afraid of losing their followers. Both of those are the same mistake, but from opposite directions, a point of view that's performed for attention isn't really a point of view. And a belief that you happen to be hiding because it feels a little too quiet or a little too simple, that is your point of view. The thing that you keep not saying is usually the most important thing you have to say. The problem isn't that you don't necessarily have a point of view. It's just like you're looking at it a little bit different. You've been taught to look for it in the wrong place. The entrepreneurs whose content stops the scroll aren't the ones necessarily with the hottest takes. They're the ones that have the clearest convictions and those are not the same thing. A point of view is not a hot

2:06take. A hot take is designed for a reaction. A point of view is a belief that actually drives your decisions whether or not anyone is watching whether or not it's trending and whether or not it gets you any engagement at all. Think about the last piece of content that made you really stop and think. This person actually gets it. I bet it wasn't the most controversial thing that you had seen that week. I bet it was something that felt true. True in a way that you hadn't been able to articulate yourself yet. Something specific, maybe something grounded, maybe something that clearly came from a lived experience and not from someone trying to gain the algorithm. That's what a genuine point of view does. It creates recognition, not reaction. Recognition builds trust. Reaction builds reach. And reach without trust doesn't convert. A point of view is also not your niche. Your niche is who you serve. Your point of view is what you believe about how they should

3:09be served and what you think everyone else in your space is getting wrong. That second part is where most online entrepreneurs go. Why it? And that's exactly where your voice lives. Your point of view already exists. You don't need to create it. You just need to excavate it. So I want you to start here. What belief do you have about your industry that you rarely say out loud? Not because it's controversial, but because it feels too obvious, too simple, or too much like something that people might push back on a little bit. What do you see happening in your space that quietly frustrates you every single time that you see it or hear it? What advice do you hear repeatedly that constantly you disagree with? Not for the sake of disagreeing, but because your experience has shown you something different. What would you say if you knew that your ideal client was the only one listening and you wouldn't have to worry about anyone else's reaction? That thing? That is your point of view.

4:11And for me, it's this. You don't need more visibility. You need a better visibility decisions. The online business world has a platform addiction dressed up as a strategy conversation. The entrepreneurs that I see breaking through aren't the ones who added another visibility channel. They're the ones who finally got clear on where their visibility belongs. The belief that shapes every piece of content I create, every offer I build, and every client conversation I have. That's what point of view does. It's not a caption strategy, it's not a north star. Once you know what you actually believe, the challenge is saying it consistently without dressing it up or watering it down. The resistance will tell you that the belief is too simple, too obvious, or not marketable enough. I want you to push through that. The entrepreneurs who build lasting businesses aren't the ones with more sophisticated opinions. They are the ones who have the same clear thing a hundred different ways until the right people hear it. So the practical

5:15test is, before you create any piece of content, ask yourself, does this come from a actual point of view, or am I borrowing somebody else's? If you can picture another business owner in your space saying the same exact thing, that's your signal to go deeper, to get more specific, to find the angle that only you can offer. The voice fingerprint, the phrases, the rhythms, and positions that are uniquely yours gets built from one honest piece of content at a time. Not a template, not from AI, but from the belief underneath every single thing that you do. What I talked about today applies broadly, but your situation is specific. A strategy session is where I look at your business, your visibility, and most importantly, your data to be able to tell you what's going on, whether it's a problem in your foundation, your channels, or how you're executing inside of them. So we get down to the nitty gritty and answer questions just like that

6:19in 90 minutes. If that's something that you're interested in for your business, there's a link in the show notes. That's all that I have today. Thank you for joining me, and this is the Strategic Entrepreneur.