Produced By - Trust Before Transactions: Building Credibility at Scale | 142: Mariam Gogidze

Episode Date: March 9, 2026

After 150+ podcast episodes, I realised recording is the easy part. Clarity and good tools make the real difference. That’s why I record my podcast with Riverside. Try Riverside here: https://creators.riverside.com/TomasLoucky Mariam Gogidze is a personal branding strategist and executive coach helping C-level professionals, founders, and dealmakers build authority and category-of-one positioning online. Originally from Georgia, Mariam moved to London at a young age and built her career by combining writing, storytelling, and strategic positioning to translate offline credibility into a strong and trusted LinkedIn presence. Her work focuses on clarity, long-term thinking, and building reputation before reach. In this episode, we explore Mariam’s journey from Georgia to London and the mindset behind how she builds authority in regulated and competitive industries. We talk about growing on LinkedIn in a sustainable way, attracting the right opportunities rather than chasing clients, and discovering your niche by starting wide and refining over time. This conversation is for professionals who want to move beyond referrals, communicate their value with clarity, and play the long game of authority with intention and consistency.Connect with Mariam:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariam-gogidze/https://www.instagram.com/linkedinac/Timestamps: 00:00 - Give value before expecting anything back 01:10 - Introduction 01:25 - Who is Mariam and what she does 02:00 - Moving from Georgia to London at 16 03:31 - Culture shock and building independence 06:34 - Expectations vs reality of London 09:00 - Early ambition and dream career 10:44 - Discovering copywriting through Lidl 11:58 - Midroll: Riverside 12:29 - Writing in a second language 14:21 - How LinkedIn first came into her life 17:07 - How long it really takes to grow 18:22 - The first client that changed everything 20:52 - The power of networking on LinkedIn 23:25 - Why LinkedIn is becoming more human 25:20 - Should you niche down or start wide 28:58 - Why financial services became the focus 31:04 - How to get your first clients 33:21 - Stop overthinking and just execute 34:37 - How to actually grow on LinkedIn 36:27 - Why you should share value freely 37:45 - Life outside work 39:47 - Book recommendation 41:02 - Future plans and diversifying the brand 42:49 - Final thoughts Connect with Tomas:X: https://x.com/TomasLoucky⁠⁠⁠Stan: https://stan.store/TommenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠Unproduced:Newsletter: https://unproduced.substack.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unproducednotesSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Ddo8ibDlLYoaP7FFLIWMore:Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://producednewsletter.substack.com/⁠The Podcast Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25420030/Tools & gear that support the show:Metricool: https://f.mtr.cool/HRJBZKRiverside: https://riverside.sjv.io/vDnDodFavikon: https://www.favikon.com?fpr=tommenRa Optics: https://ra-optics.myshopify.com/discount/TOMMEN?rfsn=8803777.591d19JamX: https://jamx.ai/podcasters-offer?ref_id=e02d48af-ef66-4e76-b804-c2e8d282a8bfSome links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you find them useful, using these links helps keep the podcast running. Thank you!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Give a lot before you even think or expect anything back. And never give with an expectation that I'm only posting this to get this person to text me or this lead. No, just give. Share from your heart. Give out the information that you even feel like is sacred to you in terms of educating. Because people who want to pay you for your work will come to you regardless. And then there's so much for information out there, right? And nowadays, you can use cloud.

You can use AI as well, like any type of AI to get that information. You can do lots of research. Everything is out there. You're not ever going to be sharing anything that people can't find anyway. So all you can do is just like give your unique twist, your personal take on it and see who resonates with it. So don't be scared or stingy with information, I would say. Be very giving. And you will see that that's what's going to attract the most people. I feel like saying it more. I already feel sick of it because I feel like I've been saying it too much and people are already tired of me saying it. Before we dive into today's episode, please hit that subscribe button. Your support helps us grow and inspire more people on their journeys. Thank you. Hello, Mariam. Thank you for join us today and welcome to the show. Hi, Thomas.

Thank you for having me. Excited to have the conversation. So, Mariam, for those who don't know you, can you please introduce yourself? Absolutely. So I like to lead with me being a personal branding expert. That's what I've been doing throughout the past few years. I specialize in financial services founders branding and positioning. And I'm also a founder of ACB, Ascent Capital Branding and LinkedIn Academy.

And before we discuss it in more detail, we've got quite interesting and I would say bold journey, such as where we come from and where we are now. I know it could be quite a long and exciting journey, but can you briefly tell us where you come from and what's her journey? Absolutely. Well, as many as who are based in London and in the UK, I'm an expert. I came, I originally I'm from Georgia, the country, not the States. I came to London when I was 16. I have to clarify that. I came to London when I was 16 for my studies and, yeah, did a business school and since then have stayed here currently also teaching at my old business school. So it turns from student to a lecture there and I'm also doing my executive coaching at Aschridge so I've been remaining in the UK due to those reasons and what actually was in the first place the reason to decide to move and also why did you pick

UK or London that okay I've never actually been asked why London this was actually one of those locations that we never considered my family and I like they were sort of preparing me to study abroad that was the goal from the very beginning but then he was always like everywhere but not in London, not in the UK. And somehow, somehow all the cards played out the way that I came here. The reason being is because I sort of finished high school early when I was 16. And I found this program, which allowed me to start my first year of uni early on. So UK was giving me that opportunity.

And my brother was also able to be here with me, so I wouldn't be all alone. So he acted as my guardian and we both moved here together. That's a very short story. There's a longer one, a personal one, but let's keep it that way. And how, because as I said before our recording, I slightly can relate to it because I moved here as well. Although, as I said, not as cool story as yours. But what did you actually feel like? Because obviously it's a big step, especially moving across the whole Europe, far away, new language, culture and everything.

So very excited or scared or a mix of everything. Yeah. I'm sure you can relate. Yeah. It might be a bit different coming from Georgia, but still, like, you understand how it feels to come in in in a big city like this. I would say I was so young and so confident and so gullible of many things that I never felt scared of it. I would rather say I was very excited. My entire country is almost four million people.

So then coming from a country that's smaller than the entire city or the nix. that I'm living in. It was definitely a weird feeling, but things moved very fast here. And I've experienced that every single day or every single week was so packed with action. You know, it felt like one week of my life in London would equal a month in Beckholm, so in Georgia. So everything was so fast-paced and nobody really cared as much if that makes sense. And I think that was a great moment of realizing like whatever you do in this life, it's for you. so nobody really cares about the decisions that you're making, which was a moment of like realization of like, oh, what?

But at the same time, maybe a motivation to do more and be less fearful by doing so. Because back home, you know, it's small community. Everyone knows everyone's business. It's very different versus here you're on your own. You have to figure it out. You don't really get much help either. So I think that was also my motivation to start whatever I'm doing now when I realized, oh, I don't have any connections here.

my family is near, well, except my brother, and I have to find my own way to be important or be seen by people. It's funny, because as I was listening to it, I could really relate to it, because at one, of course, you are excited, but at the same time, you are scared, and then you said that everything moves kind of much faster, and it's exactly like my experience as well. Yeah, it's very, very fast. And just for a comparison or to get some kind of context, do you actually come from the capital city, from Georgia or from a different place?

Yes. So you might think that may make things easier because I do come from the capital from Tbilisi, which I would say is very modern and you get a lot of international things, but at the same time it's still very different. It's all Georgians. As of now, I think we have more foreigners coming to live in Tbilisi

and it has become a popular digital nomad place, but when I was growing up there, even though I went to an international school as well, I was surrounding by 99% of Georgians. So you don't really get that international community there. So very different as well. And then what was your experience like after living, I don't know, first few months in London where expectations met?

Was it different? I was, maybe I was expecting it to be very, no, old movie type of British. I was thinking something like, I don't know, this Royal Bridgeton, which it is, it is, but it's so much more than that. And I think the biggest surprise for me how every single corner of the city is so different from one another. And every neighborhood feels like a different country on its own. And you feel like you're in a different environment every time. And there's never, you can never take it off as done.

it's always there's always more to explore and see and it's never ending yeah that is true like all kinds of cultures people from everywhere and i like what you said movie type London or UK because when i came over i also had like this picture from exercise books when we're studying english at school and i was like okay this is what is it going to look like and then it's funny when you're actually there and you see it on your own eyes yeah definitely and i visited London only once before ever moving here and that was for two days only so i had a very different experience from being just a tourist versus actually living here but the more time i spend the more i love it there's genuinely so so much happening around you you feel the opportunities are there you feel like the world is

moving and people are so motivated to do things you know and so eager and i think it's very inspiring as well you find people who inspire you every day i think so too and it's like a different mindset as well Yeah, very And this is probably question thinking too much in the future But for the future Have you got any plans to move Even to different place or stay in London or

I don't know yet That's a good question It's something that I'm thinking about myself I do want to get to my 10 years of UK stay So that then I can get my leave to remain To get technical Yeah, and once I don't have visa

constraints, then I'm open to moving around and traveling more. But as of right now, I do see myself being here for at least next three to four years. And then actually, when you move to London, what was your idea like about your dream career or dream job? Because I assume that it wasn't personal branding yet. Maybe it was, I don't know, but what was it back then? It wasn't, but I would say I was always very curious person. Before coming to London, I actually was a co-builder of the first ever, like, youth entrepreneurship group in Georgia. So I was already very much part of like this entrepreneurial world. I was working with some of my colleagues, which were also students at that time from US in Portland. And we were organizing startup camp events. So my idea was that that was going to be something that I would be doing more of events type of organization. and youth. So I did do a little bit of that as well when I came here. But then soon after, I found passion for copywriting. And that was actually, you know, the supermarket, Liddle. I've never told this story, okay? You get an exclusive story for this, but this is how it started, literally. I remember,

I saw, I read their slogan, which is Liddle on Price, Big on Quality. And I was like, whoa, that's a very good play of words, right? I think I've seen it. Yes, you for sure have heard it or seen it. And that was the first ever time I thought of like, whoa, someone actually wrote this. Like, that's a very smart play. And I don't know why, but I googled it. And I was researching who came up with it.

I was just like, it's such a simple wording, but I was like, who came up with it? And I found the person, the copywriter of this. And that's the first time I found out that a job. like copywriting exists and marketing writing and copy is a thing and I was always passionate about writing. I was doing creative writing before I participated in this national geography competition for it as well but it was never like marketing purposes or business focused. So that was the first time I discovered such practice and then I got super interested in it and my uni was very supportive. I started the copywriting club where I literally said, okay, let's learn what copywriting.

is. We then got her as a speaker. We got some book subscriptions from uni and they gave us some budget for learning. And then we were just practicing different copywriting techniques, speaking to different copywriters and experienced professionals. And that's how it started, really, my passion for writing and content. That's actually a pretty cool story with the little. I wouldn't expect that. It shows you that you never know like such a little thing, how it can spark such a, you know, passion or a kind of career trajectory. Yeah, exactly. I never told this story like that before because I never thought of it.

But genuinely, that was the first ever time. I was like, well, this is something I loved. Yeah. I've recorded more than 150 podcast episodes. But I don't think I've made it past episode 30 without Riverside. That's when I switched and everything changed. Now, I schedule my guests, record studio. quality video, edit from the transcript and create clips all in one place.

It's what helped me stay consistent without burning out. If you're serious about podcasting, check the link in the description. I was about to ask you, Shaly, because me, as also someone who comes from different country and English is my second language, but I believe that you mentioned it before you studied at international school, if I'm not mistaken. But didn't you find it as a different language? challenge or obstacle to write in English even though it's not your native language or did you find it natural? To be honest, I didn't find it that challenging because I've been studying English

since very early on since I was six, seven years old maybe. And yeah, it's actually my third language as well. Because we study Georgian in Georgia and we have our own alphabet. So maybe some people don't know that, but we have our own language, our own writing, one of the oldest languages in the world as well, and still kept till this day. So I started writing and learning Georgian. Then I actually went to a Russian kindergarten, so then I started learning Russian, and then English came along the way. And I think when you're young, it's easier, right, to learn languages, so I didn't find it as challenging. I'm trying to learn Italian now, and it's very difficult. So it was very different learning it as a five, six year old or seven or I don't know how old that was, but pretty young.

But it's impressive those three languages each with completely different alphabet. Yeah, they're different, right? And now I'm thinking if I were to learn it now, I don't think I would be able to do that. But at that time, it didn't seem as such a big deal. And yeah, it's three languages with three different writings and alphabets. Yeah. English always felt natural to me, even I think in English now sometimes. Yeah.

I don't think in Georgian anymore. I think the next language should be something with a different alphabet again, like Arabic, Chinese or something like that. Challenge myself. I'll stick with Italian first. Oh, Italian is nice. And the best cuisine, of course, so go for it. And Mariam, when does then LinkedIn actually come to the place?

Yeah, LinkedIn has been my friend for a long time. So it has come to a place when I moved here, but not in a professional manner. obviously when you're a student people tell you like on the uni as well like you should download LinkedIn or you should create an account but nobody tells you what to do with it so then it's a it's a thing but you don't have clarity on but i was very active as i told you before even like university so during school high school and then during uni as well and this story i've told before that it was my mom who was always like telling me to keep all the certificates and track of all the activities

because it will be useful in future. I was always like, but who's going to ever see this? You know, like this paper certificate in my future. So then when I found LinkedIn, I was like, okay, I can actually digitalize all of this now. So it was just for myself. I just put up everything there. I got a little obsessed with optimizing my profile and putting all the information there, to be honest, even though I had like no connections or no followers at that time.

But I wanted it to look slick and clean and organized. So I put all my projects and all my volunteering activities and all of that there. And then when I started uni, I added more and more information. Then, as I said, I started the Copywriting Club. So that was also something that allowed me to write more on the platform and experiment. And I was sharing those as updates. I also had a startup like e-commerce after party flats during uni. So then I used it for partnerships and like business purpose.

And I was just always sharing whatever I was doing as a reflection, almost like treating it as my personal journal rather than writing for someone else. But it got noticed because I started getting DMs from different startups that were looking to recruit students and for interns. And they were reaching out to me saying like, oh, I see that you are in student association and you're active and you're doing all of those things and like engaging students. Like, would you be interested? So that was the first time that the opportunity worked out in a way of like, okay, I had to step back and think I'm doing something here because my classmates were sort of applying for those internships versus I was getting those internships in DMs.

So that was a switch of like, okay, what am I doing different? What is it that's attracting that's interest or opportunity around me? So that's how it started. And that was in my first few years. And then I just kept going. And do you remember how long time ago was it roughly? 2020-ish, yeah. Because I just like to ask, like, for example, when you started,

because I feel like that people often want, you know, like a quick result. And it feels like our people think that you get like big following or engagement in a few months. So I like always to kind of remind it actually takes years and takes some time. And it doesn't just happen overnight. Yeah, absolutely. And that's a great reminder, especially if you're aiming for an organic growth and you're building for authority. Because if you're building for authority and purpose, then having that quick wins don't benefit you, right? Having viral posts might feel great, may feel great.

But then it's not something that's benefiting you long term. So obviously it's going to take time. For me, I would say it took me like almost a year since being strategic with it. that's like I started gaining traction. Even though I started posting beforehand that was as a student, right? So I was already on the platform. I would say I was doing a great pre-work on it. So unintentionally so, but definitely took more time than one would think.

Yeah, exactly. I think it's always worth reminding. And then what was the point when it kind of clicked that it's like a career or something that you can focus on long term? Again, it came my way. And it's funny, I talk this way that those opportunities have been coming my way. But genuinely, when you are putting in the work, but also are open and just doing your best, I think that things arise around you. And then you have to be quick to tap into them. And that has been the case for me. One story around that is the first ever client of mine,

who was from Bahrain. And I always mention. him because I admire him for just, you know, trusting me and giving me the opportunity very early on was when I wasn't, I wasn't even talking about branding. I was not offering any services. I wasn't selling anything. But he really liked my profile and he reached out to me saying that he is a CEO of a recruitment firm. He hired a new team and he wants their profiles to like slick and nice and professional and he thought that my profile was really good. And if I were offering, such service. At that time, I didn't, but then I said yes. I said, yes, I do. And I was very shy to even charge them. So I think just for formalities, I charged them very little. It was a big

project with eight people in the end. It was him, his co-founder, and the team members. So it was my first ever project like that, whereas I had to speak to them one by one, hear what they are looking for who their target is, what type of recruitment do they do? What industry they are in? What information they want to be shown? And then just like optimise based on that. And that was my first ever time that I saw it as an opportunity to turn it into a profession. Because I genuinely enjoyed it. I loved hearing their story. I loved having that conversation with them and building something. And you know, this little spark in people's eyes when you sort of organize their whole life story together in their professional career.

And then they're like, whoa, I did this. And it was such a rewarding moment for me that I was like, well, I loved it. So how can I actually turn this into a career now? Yeah. And very happy to hear, especially it's great if you're passionate about it and you can help someone with that. It's even better what else would you want. Yeah.

What's your favorite part about it being on LinkedIn? That's actually a good question. But I would say, I think this is like a. perfect example because as I do the podcast, I can connect and record with people that we've never met in real life. We didn't even know each other. And now as we are talking, you know, kind of similar story, as I said before, we share the passion for LinkedIn. So thanks to this platform, I can pretty much connect and record almost with anyone. So I think the power of networking, I think it's just amazing there. Yeah. I love that you say that.

Because I think that has been the most rewarding. I always said you have to build your own authority sort of and trust and circle. And when you're young, people tell you to go out, do networking and networking and networking. And you're putting in so much time and effort in that. But then if you're not somebody people want to network with everyone's time. So then it's all about like how can you create that around yourself, right? and the same way as you did, because you reach out to people and they will respond to you because they see that you've put in their work and they already respect you and trust you

before speaking to you. And I think that's the biggest switch that happens when you are starting to build that presence and especially on a platform like LinkedIn. I think so too. And it was a great point because of course you may not have time for it. But like great example that you said before when that person reached out to you and likes your profile, You polish your profile and when someone lands on your profile, it already gives them impression something about yourself. And just based on, you know, tylerin or improving your profile, then just if you keep posting, it doesn't need to be every day,

but consistently, people see that, people follow you, they can check it out. And it really helps to build that impression, even though you've never seen the person before. Yeah, 100%. And you feel like you're more familiar with them as well. And there's a thing that we're building there, right? Is this part of social relationships that are built through it, which we need to be mindful of. Because sometimes, like, people show vulnerability on socials and then people feel like they know them.

And all of this is part of building your presence, but you have to be very mindful. And sometimes strategic with it as well. So it's important to have clear boundaries on how much you share and what's good to share and what is harmful. for your presence. And also sometimes don't mix it with maybe other channels, you know, don't post your breakfast or selfies every day like Instagram or something like that. Yeah, it's obviously every channel has its own ways of doing. I always say like when I start working with some of my clients, you might have the best article in the world or the best book, the best case study. But then you post it and nobody's,

engaging with it. You're not getting any impressions. It's not because the quality of your work is bad. It's just because it's not the right format for the specific platform. And every social media platform has its own ways, right? And LinkedIn has its own ways of doing. I think it's becoming way more human, meaning people are sharing more of personality on there. And I like to see that shift happening, but by the end of the day, it's still a tech-based platform. It's still professional platform. So the core values of it than true. I agree and I like you as well, the personal side of things and shift from that corporate CV-like to more still professional but more personalized and great.

Yes, exactly. I like to call it human. It's becoming more human. Let's especially hope that it stays like that or continues with the emergence and progress of AI because sometimes it feels like kind of mixed back. But anyway, Mariam, I wanted to ask you, you mentioned before that now you focus on working with CEOs or people from financial sector. So before we discuss it in more detail, what is like your take or advice on when it comes to niching down? Because I think it's also quite a big topic on LinkedIn and something that maybe people struggle with, if they should niche, not how to do it, et cetera.

So what's your take on this? I love that you ask me that question because I actually have an opinion about that. In my case, like, I've niche down and I've niche down hard. But I don't think it's the best advice to say you should niche down to everyone. Because if you don't know who your niche is and who you like working with or who gets the most value from working with you, and you blindly decide that, you know what, this is because I've heard that, you know, niches is where the money is made, I'm going to niche down hard. And they start with a very specific niche, but that's not true to them or their experiences.

And they are not happy with it. They don't stick with it. They don't give it enough time to even thrive. And they just hop on another niche. Yeah, that's... Yeah, right? And I don't think that's the best approach there. The end goal should be that you identify with your strength, who you love working with

and what type of clients or people or businesses. and then you can niche down. But I love to advise to start wide, meaning have your themes, have your core pillars, so have your own subjects that you talk about, but they can be broad. They don't have to be to a very specific audience or a person.

So start wide, see who you attract, who you enjoy working with and being with, and then you slowly and steadily, like you can start niching down, but that has to make sense for you, right? And that was my case as well. I started very wide. I started first with just in general all sorts of students and graduates, which still, if you think

about it, it is a niche, but it's wide, all sorts of graduates, all sorts of students. Then I switched to all sorts of executives and early career professionals. Again, pretty wide, but still I get specific topics through it. And then I made the shift to specifically professionals in the financial service. is industries. And that's it already more of a niche. So I started wide and transitioned and gave it some time. And I teach that to my business school students as well, that whenever you choose a niche, if so, you should stick with it for at least a year, two years, so that you have a full grasp of it. If you're hopping from niche to another, you won't get trust and you won't get enough

experience to understand if that's something of your liking. Yes, that is very true. And I don't want to bring up the topic of AI, but I feel like that sometimes I, for example, seen that many people becoming AI experts because it's a big topic that keeps evolving. And of course, people want to hear more about it. And sometimes I felt like that they are emerging, you know, all the time. Yeah, 100%. Just a side note.

I would just also say that, like, if you pick the niche, don't be afraid like to change over time because I think it's completely okay to try it to find out that actually that's not the right one or maybe I don't enjoy it and just explore something else as well. Yeah, I think it's completely fine. It's not like you're married to it. Obviously, you can change your mind. But at the same time, I think it needs to be given enough time for you to really understand if that's something that works. Yeah, that's true. But start, my advice, like very briefly, start wide niche down later. very, very brief. And Mariam, I know you described kind of your experience or process now, but actually,

out of curiosity, what made you end up in the financial sector? Because, you know, just curious, why you not like a different one or why this specific one? Yeah, I was working with lots of different types of individuals. So I work person to person. So even if they are representing company, I focus on their personal branding. So I had clients from all over the world in all sorts of industries. Like I had this document search engine CEO. I had aspiring K-pop star manager.

So very, very different ones. And then I had M&A advisors, right? So I had sort of this wide niche and I was attracting wide audience. But majority of the people I was attracting were actually in finance field. So it was more of like also a natural flow of like who is the majority of my clientele. and who is getting the best results from this, and also who do I enjoy working with the most? And I think the switch happened when I decided,

okay, this is my best work based on all the case studies, and also the most fascinating, because they're triple-locked almost. It's not as straightforward as any other professional. For them, first, most of the times come from a successful background. They have at least a good experience in big firms before starting up on their own firms, or they have this offline authority

that they feel like if they market themselves or sound salesy, it's seen as a failure. So they're scared to take that step. So it's an interesting part of coaching that goes into that there as well, which is the mindset. So I really enjoy that. The second is that they have to be compliant, right?

So they are more of a locked into different compliance frameworks. They are things that they can say or cannot say. So it's always interesting to find ways around how storytelling and sharing personal insights can play around those brackets and can actually allow them to grow without going against the compliance. And that was very interesting for me to work with. And it was genuinely something I enjoyed. And I had great results. And so that's when I decided, okay, maybe this is my best work. So I need to focus on this and add the most value.

That all sounds good to me and a good explanation. I completely understand. Thank you. Mariam, you said before about your first client, but if you were to give some kind of advice for people who are looking for their clients as well, such as any advice for the first ones, because it's usually the most challenging, especially, for example, if you don't have any portfolio or track record of recommendations, what would you advise? That's a great question. So my complete business system and what I do teach and train and coach on is all inbound base.

So that's going to be my advice focus as well, that it has to come through from the value that you share and educational content that you give out. So give without expecting anything back. That's my biggest advice when starting to do that. And when it comes to like, if you let's say don't have case studies yet and you don't have previous experience or work. you can show. It becomes a challenge to get trust from people, right? So then it's a, either through your content and how you show up and what type of insights you share, do they see that you understand the subject inside and out? Do they feel like that you are a right person that they can trust and deal with their problem or a challenge? And third is like maybe

either ask for pro bono, so like a work pro bono. So like in exchange of case studies, do some work for free in the very beginning or charge a very low fee. You can start by charging high ticket if you don't have all of those resources and case studies done and hundreds of people that you work with or a dozen. But just start. Don't be afraid of that. I did not start off with having all the experience in the world either. And it just adds up slowly, but steadily it adds up. And as you said, Thomas, it's all about time. When you're building organically, it takes time. It's not an overnight success. So you have to be patient and consistent first and four. I agree. And don't forget that sometimes, even though it may not seem like that there are any results,

there are still people who may be following, just watching from the background or from the sides without taking action, and maybe just wait in for the perfect moment and they might reach out. So you never know. Yeah, you never know. And the best thing I've done is put myself out there and be bold and not be scared of making mistakes. Yeah. It's okay. It's uncomfortable, but by the end of the day, you're doing it for yourself and yourself only, because nobody cares if you write something or mess it up.

You know, they're going to forget. They're going to move on with their own lives. Everyone's dealing with their own problems. So don't put too much pressure on yourself and execute. Everyone can have thoughts and ideas, but those who execute actually get to that finish line. So just do it. You've got so many resources, this great podcast, you know, all of those people writing and guiding you how to do it. So just choose your path, make a plan and start doing it.

Just take action. And Mariam, you also have quite impressive following, for example, on LinkedIn. So this is the question that I don't want to ask you. like, Maria Mos advised how to go viral, but I'm sure that you get messages, DMs, etc., such as for growth. So what will be some advice or tips, how to grow your personal brand? Consistency. Okay. Well, there are two different questions.

First is how to build or grow your personal brand. And I think here there are so many different subtopics that you need to focus on on how do you start, how do you extract what's your unique value proposition, how are you positioning yourself, what's your story, what do you want people to know about, who is your ideal client or the reader, so then how does your writing talk to them? All of those details, but then just being consistent with it is how you actually grow. And virality, I would say, it's either luck or numbers game. If you're producing lots of content that's valuable, one of them might go viral. And if you want to achieve that, then, again, it's all about the numbers and consistency. So just go on, keep posting and one of them might become lucky.

Or if you're very lucky, you just post the first post and it goes viral. There is no a straightforward answer to that, right? Yeah. Keep creating and sharing value and give, give, give, give. Give a lot before you even think or expect anything back. And never give with an expectation that, you know, I'm only posting this to get this person to text me or this lead or, no, just give, like share from your heart, give out the information that you even feel like is sacred to you in terms of educating, because people

who want to pay you for your work will come to you regardless. And then there's so much for information out there, right? And nowadays, you can use cloud. You can use AI as well, like any type of AI to get that information. You can do lots of research. Everything is out there. You're not ever going to be sharing anything that people can't find anyway. That hasn't been discovered yet. No. So all you can do is just give your unique twist, your personal take on it, and see who resonates with it. So don't be scared or stingy with information, I would say. Be very giving. And you will see that's what's going to attract the most people. I like it. And there are so many creators already. So if you think that you're keeping some kind of secret, it's very likely that there is other creator who's sharing that

and maybe people are enjoying that presence content more than yours. Yeah. So give, give, give. Don't worry about anything else. And a great point also with the consistency because although people might be looking for any secrets or I don't know, whatever, but there is anything like that. It's always worth reminding it's about showing up. Yeah, I mean, that's what I feel like saying it more, I already feel sick of it because I feel like I've been saying it too much and people are already tired of me saying it. But then I realize, as you said, sometimes it might be a completely new listener. So if that's the whole consistency, here I am again going around it. But that's the reality of it.

Yeah. And believe me that, although I don't know, I say it or I hear it regularly as well and try to tell people there is still someone in your DMs asking you for it. So it sounds repetitive, but I think it's still important to say it. Yeah. No, definitely. Number one. Exactly.

And Mariam, just to be aware of time, I ask kind of lighter or funnier questions at the end. So what is it that you like to do in your free time or what are some of your hobbies? I have a very fulfilling life, I would say. Some people think I work all the time, but it's actually so not true. I work quite a lot, but I do get a lot of free time. I like to do Pilates. I make a ceremonial grade machas. I like to hang out with my friends, go for long walks, explore London, to sightseeing. I started running for the first time. I'm going to do my first 10K ever in February in Edinburgh. So a small start, but that's my first ever run.

So now I'm into that. Yeah. Cooking. I like cooking. And also I like making healthy desserts. I have a very big sweet tooth. So I always try to find ways of how can I play around it. And just spending time with my family and friends.

I'm happy to hear that because when I read what you do, what you achieved now based on our discussion, I was also like, how does he manage everything? And now you said that you still have a lot of time, which is great to hear probably time management and don't sacrifice because it's important to have some free time as well. Yeah. And before, when we discussed, such as any potential plans for the future, if you would like to travel or go somewhere else,

have you got any destination or place in mind that you would like to visit or maybe even try to live in? I would like to go to Philippines. I would like to go to Philippines. That's my new location. What's the reason? I don't have a reason. I just want to go to Philippines.

I've never been to that part of the world. I haven't explored March of Asia either, so I would love to go. But that's my new destination go-to. Sounds good. I haven't been, but I hope that you do it. I have never been either, so let's see. Then, Mariam, do you read books? And if so, have you got any recommendations?

I don't read many books, to be honest, but I have this one book I started yesterday. I'm not like the best to advice on that. But it's called Just Evil Enough, which is a marketing book. Oh, that sounds scary. No, no, it's actually pretty good. Yeah, it has a good title, but it has a lots of case studies in a very engaging way of what sort of marketing tactics have companies used that are not conventional. you know, and it's not based on this straightforward marketing playbook. So, yeah, if I read books, it's mostly like those.

I don't really read adventures and, you know. Of course, like a non-fiction or some person. Yeah, non-fiction, yeah, yeah. But it sounds like a good one. And we discussed it already, but can you, Mariam, summarize, where people can find you, follow you, and promote any of your services? Sure thing. On LinkedIn, so I do read every message.

and every comment. So, yeah, you can feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, drop me a message. And I also have free emails, so anyone can message me anytime. And that's the best way to go. I will, as always, at any links to the show notes. And, Mariam, we discussed already some stuff, but what are some of your plans or goals for the future,

whether it would be any projects or even in upcoming months or years? Have you got any that you're willing to? to share. Of course, on top of running your 10K. Well, that's a big goal of mine. Other than that, in terms of business, like, I want to diversify. I want to diversify my platforms. I want to diversify the business model, you know, extend a team as well. So lots of different things. I'm in a stage where I'm figuring out what's the right next step. But I do have a list of things that I want to get done. So it's more of like, what should we prioritize in this moment and where to go next. And also as a creator, I've been doing some collaborations lately and I've been enjoying them a lot.

So I also want to build more into that part of the world and be more active as a creator within the industry. Yeah. Diversity. I also planning to, now as you say, maybe diversify even focusing on other platforms more too, because I know that you are on Instagram, but do you want to grow on others too or focus on if you? Yeah, I'm on Instagram, but I don't really post there, right? And the reason being is that my target audience does not really look for services like mine on Instagram. So then I'm hanging out wherever I feel the most comfortable, but also where my target audience leaps. And on Instagram, I would love to, but maybe with a different angle and different audiences.

So that's what I mean by diversify, like not just the social media channels, but also the business itself. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that makes all sense. Then, Mariam, I want to say a big thank you for time. I really enjoyed the conversation. I had impression that, you know, you manage a lot, you've done a lot. And as I heard now, you really do. I think you're doing great work, which is inspiring and building a brand on top of it. So keep up doing the great work. Again, thank you for time. And I'll be happy to stay in touch. So wish you all the best for the future. Thank you so much Thomas. It was pleasure speaking with you and best wishes as well. We'll keep in touch.

Thanks for listening to Produce by with Tomen. Check the show notes for all the links. And don't forget to subscribe, like and share your feedback. Speak soon.