We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Simon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made?

When I started my business in 2018 I figured I better have a website because without one, who is going to take me seriously. I had seen so many commercials over the years for SquareSpace and I figured it would be as simple as the ads made it seem.

Well I was wrong..at least it was not so simple for me.

I managed to cobble together a website and spent WAY too much time and frustration building it. About a year later, I wanted to add in a feature that the template I was using did not support and realized that it was time to invest in a real site.

I reached out to a friend who owned a digital firm and they built me a real, functional website that to this day, I get tons of compliments on. My lesson was that I should have spend the money from the beginning and used my time and energy for aspects of my business where it was better served.

It can be scary to spend money as a new business owner, but you have to remember that your time is valuable as well.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I help companies clear off the “digital dust” that has accumulated on LinkedIn. That’s a fun way of saying that I work with professionals, often sales and marketing leaders and their teams, to help them leverage LinkedIn’s tools to meet their business goals.

Too often, assumptions are made that people know how to use LinkedIn just because they have a profile. But the reality is that unless companies are training their employees on HOW they should use LinkedIn and WHY it’s an important tool within an overall strategy, it just sits there, collecting dust. Or we are making our prospects work harder than they should because of incomplete or out dated profiles.

LinkedIn builds the KNOW, LIKE & TRUST factor. That leads to increased responses on LinkedIn – more connection requests accepted, more reactions and comments on content, more replies to DMs, more inbound leads and real-world conversations.

I focus on the foundations when it comes to LinkedIn – building a clear and complete profile, understanding your network, creating a content strategy that starts conversations and engaging with the right people to build those all important relationships. When we approach LinkedIn as a 24-7 networking event, amazing things happen.

I love training B2B teams and getting them to see how much potential is sitting at their fingertips – they just need some guidance and direction to leverage it..

Before I started Connect the Dots Digital, I worked in nonprofit for 15 years. I learned so much during that part of my career and I apply the values I learned in my approach to LinkedIn – relationships are key, community is powerful, and authenticity is essential for success.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I launched my business I had been on LinkedIn for nearly a decade but had a very small network. I realized that I needed to build a name for myself and started following the bigger names in the field – the well known LinkedIn trainers, experts and coaches. I actively commented on their posts and would occasionally send them a DM with a specific question. Over several months, I started to connect with some of them as we slowly had built relationships.

Fast forward to January 2021 when Clubhouse launched and it was the place to be. Now I was able to SPEAK to many of these people who I only had communicated with on LinkedIn. This super charged my ability to build relationships but also, exposed me to a bigger audience as well. Over several months, I connected with tons of incredible people thanks to the pairing of these two platforms.

Parallel to this, I started posting content consistently in 2019 and today, try to post quality content 3-4 times a week on LinkedIn, I also co-host a weekly audio event – think Clubhouse but native on LinkedIn.

For people starting out I here are my high-level recommendations:

– Start with a goal. What are you looking to achieve? There is a big difference between wanting to be an “influencer” and trying to build a community or audience. Make sure you know what you are focused on.

– Choose the platforms where your audience is active. You don’t have to be everywhere – better to go deep in 1-2 places.

– Focus on an achievable and sustainable content strategy. It’s so easy to burn out when it comes to content. Less is more, especially when starting out.

– Engage as much as possible. The strategy I described above can be applied to job seekers, sales professionals or just about anyone…again depending on your goals.

– Don’t wait. Be like Nike and “Just do it!”

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In the past 6 years, I have pivoted many times. While my business has been focused on LinkedIn since the beginning, I’ve changed my offers, re-written my web copy, LinkedIn profile and brand message several times as my focus and priorities have changed. I don’t even offer the core service I did when I launched Connect the Dots Digital.

What hasn’t changed is my core values and value proposition. Flexibility is important as you have to shift with the market, needs of your clients and your own priorities. And I don’t know many business owners who haven’t have to pivot – it’s part of owning a business.

Today, my core focus is on B2B corporate training which is something I did not envision back in 2018. I think the key is keeping an open mind, being creative, putting imposter syndrome aside and taking a chance on something new.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.connectthedotsdigital.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raksimon/

Image Credits
Headshot – Fenton’s Faces