Transcript of THE LINKEDIN STRATEGY THAT MAKES $10K A MONTH || SIMI ARORA || EPISODE 086

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How important is LinkedIn today?

I'd say it's a game changer. It has been a game changer for many, many, many people that I've coached personally, and I've done more than 1,000, you know, coaching sessions so far. And one of the fundamental things about LinkedIn is that it is a very simple platform to share what you want to share, and all you need to follow is a particular process of the content that is going to be easily accepted and understood by people, and specifically your ICPs, which is your ideal client profile. For businesses, let's say if you are a startup and you want to get your first 3 clients who'll pay you $10,000 a month each, there is no better platform than LinkedIn to do that because all you need to do is craft a content strategy that speaks of your expertise, that shows your identity, that shows your journey and experience, and shows the offer and the process that you put in place to bring that transformation.

Whenever I go on LinkedIn, I actually love it because it'll be like 10 steps of how to grow your podcast or like 15 steps on how to grow your businesses, and it's actually very enlightening and educational concepts of how you can actually grow and build something.

One of the things about LinkedIn is engagement. So for example, on Instagram, you can just put a reel out there and algorithm is going to pick it up if it is worth showing to your first 1,000 contacts, if they like it, and then it's going to continue to push it out there. LinkedIn works a little bit differently. LinkedIn wants your cooperation in helping other people rise as well. Which means that it wants you to spend time after you've made a post for like at least 60 to 80 minutes and support other creators too, which means that you are going to have like a whole engagement strategy where you have about 100 people that you really like and you love their content and you go to their profiles and drop a comment and then they're going to drop a comment back to your profile as well. And also if the content is really good, the algorithm is going to push it out further and then you're going to find new audiences liking your post as well. So is the platform really want you to stay on the platform and also just really read and like other people's work as well, because it's not about just absorbing like short-form content, but also like participating in the conversation.

The Code to Winning: Insights You Need Today to Seize the World Tomorrow. If you are curious in learning about building trust and authority, and of course your presence online, this is the episode for you. A story I can resonate with a lot myself being an immigrant. We have an immigrant story, very, very inspiring. I'm going to have the founder of BrandScale talk a bit more about like the entire purpose of how it's important for you to be able to build your presence today. So without further ado, we have a wonderful lady in the studio today, Simi Arora. Thank you very much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

Awesome stuff. Yes, I want to just kind of like dive in. I want to talk a bit more about the importance of building trust an authority online. I think it's such an underrated thing, especially in 2026 today. But before then, can we just have a brief overview, you know, just about your story, like the beginning? How did this all start for you?

Well, it all started when I incidentally landed in America.

Which year was that?

It was, uh, 2012. Okay. And, uh, prior to that, I was living in Dubai for a bit. And I grew up in India. So, you know, many people dream of going to the, to the US, and which is still a lot of people's dream because it, it's a land of opportunity. But for me, it was a personal decision because I decided to get married to somebody who was living here and it wasn't forced. It was my own choice. And I feel like some parts of this whole story, when I look back now, I reflect upon all the choices that I made. I do see a role of destiny. I see that everything happened for a purpose because when you don't want something, but something comes in front of you and you're like, okay, I wanna just plunge into it. I wanna make this choice. And you are a little bit more impulsive while making the choice.

Hmm.

It's destiny calling for you. So I feel that I was supposed to be here and didn't wanna be here, but I'm here. And for the last 15 years I've been here and I built from ground up, like, because of some of the setbacks that happened in my life and in my personal space, in my relationship, in my marriage, and also with my mental health. So for me, the journey was really, really hard. And I do see that to be a blessing in disguise now.

No, I love that so much. 15 years. My, my story was more I think 2017. So just, no, 2016, exactly 10 years. It's been 10 years as well. Obviously came here for college. But the reason why I say I often love immigrant story, we often, there's always a chip on your shoulder. You know, I feel like there's, you have to try and prove to yourself, your family. There's a lot of people that are counting on you. And I feel like starting from the ground up is something that's very underrated because It comes with a lot of loneliness. It comes with a lot of like bad decisions we make sometimes. It comes— I mean, I wouldn't even say bad decision. It comes with like more learning experiences. I should rephrase that better as well. What would you say was probably the biggest learning curve in your experience looking back at the last 15 years or so, personally, for your life?

I strongly feel there's purpose in pain. And I do feel that you are destined to play a certain role.

Mm-hmm.

And sometimes life has to put you through different challenges to evoke that potential.

Mm-hmm.

Um, I believe that if I was in India, I would've been a different person. I would've been maybe more successful at a faster pace because I had the network. I was making a lot more money in my early 20s, and I had the opportunities. I was traveling the world while I was in India, so there wasn't like a need to prove a point because it wasn't even that important to me at that time. Like I knew that I'm gonna be successful in life in general, but I had expectations along with there's just like sense of. Limited exposure of my own potential. So I was sensing that for sure. Like there was something that was telling me that I need to step out, but I didn't know what exactly that meant. So when I came here, obviously the first thing that was like, I'm going to climb the corporate ladder, you know, I had an MBA, I'm going to do another MBA. I am going to apply for all the great jobs here because in 2012, That was the norm. I mean, it wasn't the world of entrepreneurship or anything like that. And also I was barely like getting to know people and getting to sense the environment.

But because of what happened in my personal life, the setback of a failed marriage, like within one year of being together, then getting into anxiety disorder, like which was a very, very hard thing that I managed and managed it alone because There wasn't even a single family member or friend that was close to me.

Wow.

In New York. So it was, it was kind of really crazy ride. But never did I think of going back. So that was one thing I wanted to mention about the idea that if you are a little bit more self-aware of the place that you are in and you kind of like dive deeper into your awareness and ask yourself, why am I here? What is this pain teaching me? What is the purpose of all the experiences that I'm going through? Whether they are failures in the business or like losing a partnership, losing a relationship, whatever that is, it's, it's asking you to go deeper. It's asking you to change or to do things differently. So, I mean, I had this awareness at that time as well that I'm not going back and I have to figure this out. Because going back would be easier because I do have a support system. Nobody's going to say me no. I'll get a job. I'll restart my life back in India. It's just been one year. But I was like, I think I have to do this journey. Otherwise, why would I even come here?

Love that so much. I'm originally from South Africa, born and raised. So India is our rival in cricket. I don't know if you watch that.

Of course, big time.

So when you said India, I thought of cricket. That's one thing I think about, cricket and biryani. That's one thing because, I mean, I love— that's my favorite cuisine. Absolutely. Especially like around New Jersey when you go to like, um, I think it's not Trenton, it's Edison. There's a place in Edison that I usually go to constantly and get the best food. But, um, looking back at the— when you spoke about the corporate ladder, um, similar example with me as well. As well, came for college, you know, graduated. But at the same time, New York has always been— even though I live completely like in Salt Lake, we're here in New York— it was always like the beacon of hope for me. Uh, when I saw that, because I did 2 internships here, um, actually by Lexington Avenue with Bloomberg. I applied Bloomberg, NASDAQ, and Goldman. NASDAQ and Bloomberg both accepted, got the full-time offer, everything was super excited. It's now about like focusing entirely going on your goal and journey. You try and take the risk, you know, and I think the risk is, is where the reward comes in, but it also comes to the point where you get to learn so much about yourself.

You know, listen to what you're saying and reading about your story. All these setbacks kind of determined the person that you are today, you know. And so when you look back at like immigrant stories or an immigrant story or an experience like yourself, what do most people don't fully understand if they haven't lived as an immigrant in the United States?

Oh, it's a day and night difference. Uh, first of all, I feel there's a sense of unsettling feelings. Like, you know, there's like, you don't belong anywhere. You're trying to fit in because you wanna succeed. And at the same time, you know, you don't get that space. I mean, you have to create that space.

Hmm.

It took me a while to really understand that properly, 'cause I was like, okay, we're global citizens, you know, we can, create our place anywhere. But I did realize that there's a comfort that people have around their own people, the people that they already know of, of years of experiences or journey with each other, right? Like if I go back to India, I have my friends that I grew up with.

Mm-hmm.

I have network, I have people that I know. I worked in a bank, I worked with another startup that made me travel all across the world. So I have this big comfort, big network.

Mm-hmm.

That's what I earlier said, that I would've probably grown faster when it comes to money. I can't say that necessarily true for my personal potential exploration or being the person that I am today because of all the struggles that I went through.

Exactly.

Um, so definitely I'll tell you for sure, there are 2 ways to look at it. One is that you are going to find it hard to, you know, get that support initially. But also I feel this is, that's really the space, really the place where you can go all in. Meaning like, as you said that, you know, your appetite for risk is higher. It's because you're already here and you have made it through a couple of months, couple of years. So what else? Like if not right now, then when? So I believe that you take that risk and that's why more immigrants, especially When, you know, more of the Indians that I see are entrepreneurs.

Mm-hmm.

Because they're like, okay, we're just here anyways. We're away from our families. I mean, the easiest thing to do is to go back, but I don't wanna go back. So then why not to make the use of the best opportunities that I can find anywhere? So that's what I did. I got my first client who was, uh, an Indian client, of course, because he's the one who gave me break. After that, obviously I had many uh, all ethnicities of, you know, clients in our agency with our agency business. But, uh, you know, I feel like, uh, it's just the way you wanna look at it. Things are anyways gonna be hard if somebody from here move, goes to India and they start to build their career there. I think it's gonna be the same thing.

Mm-hmm.

It's just the comfort of knowing each other. It's just a, you know, getting to know how the system works, how you, you know, kind of like build relationship with people. But cuz those nuances, from cultural point of view are also very different. You know, you don't wanna just like, uh, cross your line or like say something that people don't like because culturally also it may sound a little more aggressive than you are meaning to be.

Mm-hmm.

So I feel like, uh, those are things that I learned over, over the time. And, uh, the more I spoke their language, the more I kind of like try to make more friends outside of my comfort zone of being an Indian. I think it just slowly kind of, you know, try to like, uh, blend in with the, with the whole, uh, culture as well as just getting to know how people operate. So it takes time, I suppose.

And then now when you make the discovery of social media, when was that? If you can just run through like that whole experience, because I feel like social media, obviously we look at pre-COVID and post-COVID, but then you have like your Gary Vees that were doing social media 2007 and, you know, and stuff like that. When was your— the time you realized that social media was like a beacon of hope or it was the trajectory shift or that, you know, the paradigm shift for you as well?

Sure. I was working with Time Warner Cable. That was my first gig after I moved to the US. And I'm thankful to them for giving me the job because it was a great job and I made really good money. And, uh, I just started to feel because of my inner journey and, uh, self-awareness because of the, you know, mental, uh, stresses and, uh, the diagnosis that I was dealing with.

Mm-hmm.

Anxiety disorder and panic attacks and stuff. I think I just kind of like felt there was something happening with me inside out. Yeah. Like I started to feel the discontent. Uh, that was the right word. Am I saying the right word?

I think so. Yeah.

So, I started to feel like lack of contentment. I would look around, you know, everywhere, and I would like, I don't think I belong here. But there was a risk because I had been freshly divorced. I had panic attacks. I was going through mental issues. And on top of that, I'm feeling dissatisfied, and I'm like, I don't wanna do this. So, I broke it. I said it like, you know, talked about this to my family. And they're like, you know, I think this is completely wrong. You should not leave your job because it's not gonna work out. But I was feeling that ache of doing something that was going to give me the sense of fulfillment.

Mm-hmm.

Or at least gimme an opportunity to bring out the real me in the world.

Mm-hmm.

So I quit my job one day and I took the license of real estate and I started to do real estate on the side. Uh, and became a certified life coach. So I did the process of like about 1 year of, uh, life coaching because it was also healing me, helping me, uh, with my mental health issues because I didn't wanna just depend on medications for the rest of my life. I really wanted to find a solution so I could take care of myself and especially being alone here. And I didn't wanna jump into another relationship, didn't wanna get married again. So I really wanted to first work on myself. So coming back to the social media part, that was the time around 2018. When I started talking about my journey and experiences on LinkedIn through the video format. And also, obviously, you know, the format on LinkedIn at that time was video as well as the text, which is very easy to pull through, you know, if you're— especially if you are somebody who really wants to share the authentic side of you. And I think that was something that was connecting with people a lot more.

And I started working with executives and, uh, entrepreneurs who were going through similar journey of stresses and losing, uh, you know, their own identity or not feeling good enough or having too much of stress of managing teams. So that was my actually first business because it was so real, so true. And I was documenting my journey of healing along with putting out my offer of high-ticket offer. Mm-hmm. Or working with these executives. So I didn't know what I was doing, honestly. I think my couple of my videos were like 8 minutes long. Like who would make an 8-minute-long video on LinkedIn? But, and people would reach out to me, it's like, I think you should make shorter videos. I was like, I'm getting business. Like I'm, I'm actually making some money while I'm documenting my journey. And I'm not even, it wasn't even edited. It was just like completely raw videos, just like cut in the beginning and the end. And I would just put it out there.

Hmm.

So, It gave me a perspective that I didn't have to go out of home to seek a job. I didn't have to do another MBA. I didn't even have to apply for any jobs because I was making almost similar amount of money that I was making with Time Warner Cable.

Mm-hmm.

So it was a game changer, but I didn't know the gravity of that until then. I mean, until like couple of, uh, few years that I spent more on building my brand and eventually building an agency business, which is literally sitting on the foundation. I mean, I get reached out by people who have seen my videos like 7 years ago, and they're like, oh, I, I have been following you for the last 7 years and I've seen your journey. So congratulations, you have come so far.

Wow. You know what's crazy? It's not just you. I have a mentor and I have many people that have stressed that I look up to as well, that stress the importance of LinkedIn. One of the things I do admit I struggle with, with LinkedIn, I used to use it a lot in college, during college graduation and all that, you know, finding internships. One of the things I just struggled with a lot, I felt like LinkedIn was just like just letting people know exactly where you are in life. Like, congratulations, I've just been promoted to so-and-so. Like, oh, I'm now the new CEO of that. And I I just feel like it was a thing where people were just trying to gain recognition, give recognition without utilizing the tools and fully understanding the potential it has for outreach as well. Can you just try and like just help restore that understanding or your understanding of LinkedIn? Like, how important is LinkedIn today?

I'd say it's a game changer.

Okay.

It has been a game changer for many, many, many people that I've coached personally, and I've done more than 1,000, you know, coaching sessions so far. And one of the fundamental things about LinkedIn is that it is a very simple platform to share what you want to share, and all you need to follow is a particular process of the content that is that is going to be easily accepted and understood by people and specifically your ICPs, which is your ideal client profile. So for mass marketing purposes, I'd still say Instagram is the best channel. Like if you just want to make a motivational video or if you want to talk about something which is more generalized and it still works on LinkedIn really well as well. I mean, you can really build a brand for yourself within 6 months of posting the content with a similar fundamental, like similar pillars over and over and over again. So you can build your identity for that specific type of content.

Mm-hmm.

And that specific association of the brand with what you stand for, your value system, your beliefs and ideologies, right? For businesses, let's say if you are a startup and you wanna get your first 3 clients who'll pay you $10,000 a month each, there is no better platform than LinkedIn to do that because all you need to do is craft a content strategy that speaks of your expertise, that shows your identity, that shows your journey and experience, and shows the offer and the, and the process that you put in place to bring that transformation.

Mm-hmm. Okay.

True. And, uh, that's all, that's pretty much it. And you can use carousels, you can use just a basic selfie. Like I literally built my brand using selfies. Because at that time LinkedIn was pushing that format out like crazy. And like every other format platform, the format keeps on shifting a little bit, you know, because they're making algorithm changes and stuff. Eventually they kind of like now solidified or focused a little bit more attention on ICP segmented content. Like if I'm a personal branding coach, they're gonna show it to more people who are seeking that kind of content.

Mm-hmm.

Right? So I'll stay in my niche, which is easier for me, and I'll still have clients, literally inbound leads coming to me every single month. So I haven't done any paid ads for the last 10 years.

Interesting.

Maybe 7 and a half years. Maybe I did it like when I started my life coaching business and I, I got really burnt out. Uh, but for my agency business and scaling it up, I didn't do even a single dollar ad and everything happened on LinkedIn. You can use some outreach mechanisms, like there are some automations that you can run, some sequences that you can run. But inbound, if there's best inbound possibility on like, you know, literally on any platform possible, it's LinkedIn that would, that would actually help you build your brand and get your first 3 clients paying you $10,000 a month on LinkedIn. So that would be the best, best way.

I'm so glad you mentioned that. Like I think I told you before we started the podcast, in our earlier conversation that a lot of my stuff goes in paid ads. I— it's such a big thing on paid ads, but it's almost like it breaks even because I also do a lot of sponsorship kits. I do like, um, a lot of stuff with, um, a variety of different guests that request, because we get a lot of people that request more like West Coast side as well because of like the reach that we do in terms of our ads. So it does balance that out. But the one thing I do like about LinkedIn though is when somebody does like something, it shows the entire following or like the connection that you have, what they end up liking, which is one of a very powerful tool. I feel like that's one of the most powerful likes in all of like social media or social networking than anything, because it just literally lets me know, hey, listen, so-and-so, that's like your first connection, liked this post. And then pops up automatically on like your algorithm as well. Would you say LinkedIn's algorithm is slightly separate To obviously, I mean, would you recommend people posting regularly, like daily for LinkedIn, or how would you say?

I have done 3 to 4 posts in a week at the max.

Okay.

Ideally, I'd say at least 4 pieces of content is a must because one of the things about LinkedIn is engagement. So for example, on Instagram, you can just put a reel out there and algorithm is going to pick it up. If it is worth showing to your first 1,000 contacts, if they like it, and then it's going to continue to push it out there. LinkedIn works a little bit differently. LinkedIn wants your cooperation in helping other people rise as well, which means that it wants you to spend time after you've made a post for like at least 60 to 80 minutes and support other creators too, which means that you are going to have like a whole engagement strategy where You have about 100 people that you really like and you love their content and you go to their profiles and drop a comment and then they're gonna drop a comment back to your profile as well. And also if the content is really good, the algorithm is gonna push it out further and then you're gonna find new audiences liking your post as well. So it's, is the platform really wants you to stay on the platform and also just read and like other people's work as well because it's not about just absorbing like short-form content.

but also like participating in the conversation. So it wants you to have the conversation on other people's content as well.

Hmm.

So that is very, very important factor because with our agency business, we see that many people now have started to believe that, okay, I do have AI now. We don't need the— we don't need agency biz, you know, people to write for us because now I can train my Claude, I can train my ChatGPT to write the content. But do you have the time to sit down and participate in the conversations? Which they don't. So, and you cannot automate that because it's something you have to do. You have to see what other people are writing, especially if you have like a certain type of ICP, complementary businesses, affiliate businesses, partners that you wanna attract to your profile. You have to play that game.

I love this so much. I, I'm glad you mentioned that cuz I, I'll be honest, whenever I go on LinkedIn, I actually love it because it'll be like, 10 steps of how to grow your podcast, or like 15 steps on how to grow your businesses. And it's actually very enlightening, um, and educational concepts of how you can actually grow and build something. So my algorithm on LinkedIn is, is the best thing. So I wasn't trying to be— I was just letting you know from my experience by then. But like, I love LinkedIn for the mere fact that it's very educational. But now I think I lack the knowledge in how to utilize that for leads and like an organic lead flow in business, in high-ticket sales, low-ticket sales. I mentioned to you, uh, with the mentor that I met in Vegas and how we strategizing things as of next year where it's going to be very specific on how we do our low-ticket sales, how we're going to do multiple different stuff, how we're going to do more, um, uh, sponsorship kits rather than just packages to make it very suitable for people and, you know, to show a bit of value in that, how we're going to make it more— so all these different things, I feel like LinkedIn Could potentially be a good tool for that.

Would you agree?

100%.

Okay, awesome stuff. All right, um, now can you walk me through identification or identity activation? What does the process actually look like for somebody who is terrified to be visible?

All right, so this is a loaded question, and it is something that I've spent a lot of time diving into the nuances of what makes a great personal brand versus somebody who's just posting content for the sake of posting content. Because most of the people, when they think about their personal brand, they're thinking about content.

Hmm.

Okay. Whether it's a podcast, whether it's a YouTube, whether it is LinkedIn posts or whatever that is. Outcomes are important. Of course, we wanna make sure that we get the right ROI of the time and energy investment that we are making, but When people want to, want to build their personal brand, the first thing they miss out, and not many gurus talk about this, is identity aspect of your personal brand. What it means is who you are in the picture of creating this perception for yourself in, in, in the marketplace and how authentic you are. About your representation, because now we're loaded with content. There's going to be content everywhere. Okay? And more so because of AI, more and more people are plunging into entrepreneurship and it is going to rise like, like crazy in the next couple of years. So the truth is the personal brands that are going to stand out are the brands where people have the sense of connection, relatability, and feeling a sense of feeling of knowing that I, I get this person.

Mm-hmm.

Right? That I understand where they're coming from. What's their story? What's the, what's the, what do they believe in? And all the big brands that you see right now, they're, they're basically built on this principle of identity. So what is identity activation? This is, it's a process that I coach all my clients who are wanting to build their personal brand, who have a personal brand, but it's not working. They're posting content, they're getting leads as well, but it's not something that is true to their heart. I mean, they're burnt out. They feel that, okay, I have to put content, I have to do this. I have to, you know, when you do this have to, it means something is wrong.

Mm-hmm.

Because you're not in a state of flow. It's not something that you wake up to and realize, oh, I'm so excited to put this piece of content out. I'm so excited through this interface or through this medium, I'm connecting with the people in the world. And when people don't do that, eventually, first of all, the personal brand dies down because people don't have a reason to come back to because they're not able to connect with you at a deeper level. They're able to see your content, they resonate with the ideas, but they're not held bent with your presence. You know, it's not like they're not connected with you at a deeper level.

Mm-hmm.

So the activation process is very simple. It's a 5-step process. It's called WARV. W is wound, A is anchor, R is reframe, and, um, V is voice, and A is attract.

Mm-hmm.

So wound, anchor, reframe, voice, attract. So this is a framework that I teach. Primarily, it takes you on a journey of recognizing your wounds. Okay? And it doesn't necessarily mean that the wounds of your personal life, like I have had a lot of wounds, but business life.

Mm-hmm.

Failed businesses, lost partnerships, trying to build business for the last 30 years, not able to succeed. Right? But eventually you had a breakthrough anchor. that those wins, those lessons, okay, reframe it in a form, um, of like actionable ideas that you can then share with people. And, uh, the voice is basically authentically like creating your own association with, um, you know, creating the pairing, uh, with some value system, ideologies, beliefs that are unique to you.

Mm-hmm.

In your authentic voice. And thereby attracting the right tribe, right kind of people, because you don't wanna serve everybody and everybody in the world. I mean, it's not even important. Okay? If you can build a relationship with only maybe 500,000 people to a million people who rave about you, who really connected deeply with you, that's a successful personal brand.

Hmm.

And it requires you to first of all embrace the version of you that you believe your personal brand should look like. Okay? So if I, if I wanna look like, if I wanna be perceived as somebody who's inspirational, somebody who's a game changer, somebody who's giving people voice, then I have to first share my journey, my own life. I have to be a little vulnerable of sharing what I all, all I went through. Because of my experiences, I have credibility. And that credibility is a part of your wound. And people who are just behind you on the journey are the people who wanna work with you, are the people who wanna associate with you. And it doesn't matter whether it's just like a typical technical SaaS business or, you know, a creative business. It doesn't matter what kind of business that is because those stories are what people connect with. And in our agency, obviously we focus on building personal brands like that, but also the people that I'm working with as a coach, uh, they're finding tremendous amount of value. They're like, okay, I'm not even thinking about content anymore. I'm thinking about the whole foundation of the content.

I love that so much, which kind of like, kind of segues to this, cuz I feel like sometimes, um, people are obsessed with, uh, the metric of the followers rather than actually understanding the value there is and trying to convert that into a customer as well, which kind of leads to this question. You say people follow people they trust, not just content they consume. What's the fastest way someone can destroy the trust, even unintentionally?

Wow. The fastest way to destroy the trust is By copying the trends and using someone else's story or their own, their narrative, like basically just, just not being authentic.

Mm-hmm.

Because, uh, people will remember something that you said 5 years ago. As I just told you with my own experience, it was just a post that 500 people liked. But truth to be told, I have had people like wanting to connect with me for the last couple of years and sharing their experience of the journey that I sh— I took them on, right? With my experiences, with my learnings and how I was able to express that. Now, if you flip this and make this like, okay, the, the experience that you are now sharing with people is like changing faster because now One day you said something, the other day you copied somebody's style because it would probably help you break through the algorithm or give you more views and stuff, but it is not true to you. Mm-hmm. People can sense it. So, I mean, if, if we look at ourselves, how we consume content, or the people that you love consuming content from, what is one thing that stood out for you? What is one thing that made you go back to them again and again? Mm-hmm.

Are you asking me a question right now? So personally, there's certain people I follow. I follow like that, you know, your Alex and Rosie. I like your Cody Sanchez, even like out in New York, Vivian Fu. They all have different stories. The reason I like the two ladies is they also had that Wall Street background, which was a background I was pursuing before they ended up like following a pattern of of entrepreneurship. But the reason why I like what they teach is they're very consistent in what they're doing. Like the, the gentleman I mentioned in Vegas with acquisitions, he's good at making profound topics simple. And I think that's a very big thing right now. People are so obsessed with trying to be like the smart person rather than really simplifying like topics and for people to fully consume and understand. And I think that's why, I mean, I, but also like the value system. Exactly. Values.

100%. The association that you have. So you're, you're, what you're saying is that I associate value and trust with this brand. Exactly.

Exactly.

And what if they do something which is opposite of it? You know, what, what if they, uh, create a piece of content that is contradictory to what they have been teaching?

Uh, then naturally you just end up like just repelling because you, you don't wanna consume that kind of stuff cuz you like somebody because of the value they bring. But the minute they go against their principles, then you just naturally end up repelling and retracting that.

So yeah, consistency and authenticity are the building blocks of a trusting brand.

I love that so much. And I think, how can people be more authentic in themselves? That's the problem. I think people want to try and do it. That's why I think people follow the trends. There's a video I saw 2 days ago. It's a girl, she was crying. It's obviously fake crying, but like Um, she was saying, now I'm gonna have to try and like dance to sell my product online. It just starts like— it was the funniest thing ever. It was a funny kind of thing, making a joke, trying to insult of like what the new trends are as well, which kind of goes to what you're saying. And I think people want to be authentic, but I think people feel like they need to follow the trends as well. There's just that fine line between the two.

Yeah.

What's your opinion on that?

It's great to know what's happening. It's great to follow the trends When it is completely in alignment with what you are, who you are, and what you wanna project out in the world.

Mm-hmm.

And, uh, it's really hard to be original. It's scary to be original because you are afraid to not be accepted as well. You're afraid that people aren't gonna connect with it.

Mm-hmm.

That is why people wanna jump on the trends because it's easier, because it's proven. Only the rare thinkers, And acutely original people are the ones who build brands that stand the test of time.

Mm-hmm. Okay.

And it takes courage. It takes some sense of, um, deeper intention tied to your presence, your self-confidence, and knowing that you're not here to please people. Personal branding is not about just achieving things. In life, personal branding is a responsibility. Personal branding is about expressing your truth so that somebody who is somehow landing up on a piece of content, they're just finding that strength, that clarity, that value with what you have projected out there and literally doing something with it. I feel like people are using personal brand. It's like monetizing your personal brand, and there's nothing wrong with it. I use this. term all the time with my clients. But the, in reality, if you ask me what is personal brand, is your courageous self that you express out there with something significant that is useful for people to use, to apply, or to take value from.

Hmm.

And it is rare. And the people who have done it, there are people who are unforgettable.

Hmm.

And, and it's not just related to making money. It could be just something that you are, you are called to share with the world, uh, because you feel this is, that's the, that's the reality of your experience of this life. And now you just, you just wanna share it and you just wanna be original because it matters to you.

Mm-hmm.

I think I fall in that category.

Yeah.

So that's why I'm very passionate about that subject.

And I love that. And from, from your experience and the people that you've worked with, What's a, um, success story of somebody that you built from nothing to a, a big personal or a very successful personal brand?

Normally the people that we work with from the agency side are the people, they're the out— desired outcome for them is to build a brand that is unique, uh, thought leadership in their space. Mm-hmm. But relating to growing their business.

Mm-hmm.

And that's the ROI for them, right? So it takes me a while to make them understand that what I'm creating for you or what we are building here is just not about business. I know that business is the outcome, but somehow if you're putting a piece of content out there, it's your moral obligation to make sure that is real to you. Okay? So our job is to capture that voice that they, they talk with and the, the real expression of their being. And I think part of the work that I do with them is Having them have build like deeper self-awareness.

Mm-hmm.

And trust me, that's a reason why people love to work with us because we're not just an agency or I'm not just a coach who'll be like, okay, I'll help you build your personal brand so that you can just achieve your outcomes. It will make you a better person. It will make you a stronger person. It will make you more a better communicator, more courageous in your space, and have this real self-confidence that I'm doing something that is worth building. Mm-hmm. So have making people see the value in their own creativity. in their own business with the, uh, and the, and the impact they're creating in that space is amazing. That's actually, you know, that part is the biggest breakthrough for me. Like, I love that when people tell me, you know what, you changed me as a person. This has changed me as a human being.

Mm-hmm.

So those are the wins that I look at.

Awesome. What's the first step of somebody right now? Zero social media. They opening up an account, they wanna try and like, um, what, social media platform should they focus on and what's the most important thing right now?

Again, loaded question. It really depends on the format that you enjoy the most.

Mm-hmm.

Because if you enjoy a particular format, you would like to create content in that format. And all formats are great. If you are a great writer, if you're comfortable writing more because you feel that it comes natural to you, it's not a burden, use Substack. use LinkedIn. If you love yapping on camera, yap factor, uh, then—

Are you, are you targeting me right now? Is that what you're doing? Well, yeah, we're getting personal right now.

So yeah, make videos. Uh, if you are somebody who's just trying to like explore what is the right medium for you, do both and then see what you can stick with. But have some outcome. 3 things that I'll suggest. First is like, why am I doing this?

Hmm.

What's the why? And try to have like at least 3, 4 deeper questions around it. One is like, I wanna build a business. I wanna build a business. I wanna gain clients. Okay, that's wonderful. Use the platform to gain clients, but why this particular platform you think would be more suitable? Then why this one format is more comfortable and why is this important for me to do this? Because there are other ways to grow business than to build your personal brand.

Mm-hmm.

There are many other ways to grow business.

Okay.

Because personal brand, as I said, comes with a responsibility. And I strongly wanna reemphasize this part because I want more people to see the gravity of the work they do because the work is gonna stay. It's just gonna stay all always, you know?

Mm-hmm.

And the truth is that if you do something and people are finding it 10 years down the line and finding it valuable, I think you're winning at it because it's, it's a long journey. Like I, uh, listen to some of, uh, the teachers and mentors who are dead like 50 years ago, have died like 50 years ago. Mm-hmm. But I still listen to those ideas because they're so applicable in my personal life, in my business life even today. So, So I feel like starting is easy, staying consistent is hard. So choosing the right platform, medium, and having the clear why is very important.

I absolutely love that last part you said. Starting, you know, is obviously easier than it is staying consistent because staying consistent is sometimes can get very discouraging because now you've started the process and it's super exciting and now the stepping stone is there. But then we often want to see quick results. We often want that instant gratification. You know, you're like, oh my gosh, that first post did super well or whatever, you know, really like captured the algorithm. It's super exciting. And then you start plateauing and you're like, oh my gosh, what's going down? What's going down? And then before you know it, somebody hasn't posted for like 10— like, I mean, 10 months or so. And I think that's where the grind comes in. You know, I start watching, start seeing— I mean, you know, the Gary Vee, even the School of Hard Knocks, everyone keeps talking about the consistency in something because it's almost—

It doesn't mean that you have to post content every day.

Exactly.

Set the right expectations with your audience. If you want to do it once in a week, so be it. But make sure that it's a great, great piece of content and that's all. And post just every week, just once in a week. So more is not important, but great content, authentic content with value and impact is more important.

Love that. Love that so much, which kind of just delves into like this one last section. Um, we're going to talk about right now is our podcasting. Um, I look at my podcast for the last 2 years has been the leading source of building relationships and, um, building credibility and, um, capturing business and attention as well. However, I look at, um, Podcasting that it's such an underrated thing right now. What would you say has helped build relationships for you and also business?

Yeah, it's such a great journey for me. I started podcasting about 4 months ago, and I believe it's I I could only tell myself why didn't I start sooner because one. It is such a great way to build relationships. As you said, if you wanna reach out to somebody and you just don't have a reason to reach out to them, especially if they're somebody you revered, you really wanted to build some sort of relationship with. Like, you know, I brought in Mr. Kamal Reiki on the podcast who was the first Indian entrepreneur who, who got a company listed on NASDAQ back in, I think, 1980s. He, he's a pioneer of Indian entrepreneurship in the US, but I just didn't know what else, like how else I'd build relationship with him. And I had a podcast, so I just requested him to come on the podcast. I was at his book launch and he said, okay, yes. And like, you know, we, we talked so much. I learned so much from him and also built a relationship because our podcast did really, really well as well. So I believe that It opens the doors for many, many opportunities for you.

But I also feel that intention matters, uh, for everything that you're doing in your life. You need to have a long-term plan and the right intention. Mm-hmm. And, uh, so I, I, I feel that I always had the intention, but I didn't know, know clearly whether I wanted to, uh, do this. for the longest time, or, or I could be consistent.

Mm-hmm.

In doing this. So, you know, you have to be real with yourself because there are so many other factors, there are so many other responsibilities. And if you wanna start something, you wanna make sure that you continue to build on it. So then I tell myself that it was, it's the right time because I think I wasn't ready, um, maybe last year or even before that.

Mm-hmm.

It was the right time because I'm more ready. I have an approach to it. I know who I am going to interview, why I'm doing what I'm doing. There's a real connection of the podcast in terms of the value that it offers and who does it offer to.

No, I think I couldn't agree more. And just to add on that as well, intention is so big. I've done it for 2 years, but then it was just trying to get guests to share a story and trying to build a connection. Um, and then later on you start like just diversifying and try to like manage relationships and try to also add value back to them because they added value. Like, you're adding value to me by coming to my audience as well. And so it's trying to leverage and understand what they can gain out of it as well, because I think it's such a mutual thing when it's a win-win scenario, not only for my audience or for me but also for yourself. Like Are you going to the right audience? I, I, it has to— I've realized that over time that I just want this to be a win-win scenario for everyone because I think relationships are so important. You know, they often say you're one handshake away from a completely different lifestyle. And over time, networking has just been the biggest, biggest, most important, um, attribute that I feel like I have. But I need to utilize it and leverage it a bit more to the point where it's like a win-win scenario for more people.

So I wanted to just add that real quickly there. Um, what's the step moving forward for right now, uh, with brand scale? Um, where— what's the trajectory for the next 5 years?

You definitely see me doing a lot more podcasts, and, uh, I realize that I'm passionate about it. Like, it really, uh, came in my life at the right time. And, uh, I feel that having the right team is important. And a lot— many people, when they start podcasting, they just You know, record a couple of episodes and then they just go out of the loop. You know, they're not visible anywhere. Right distribution system is important. Having a great team is important. You gotta invest in it. You have to invest in it. And the reason I'm saying this upfront is because sometimes people believe that they can just have like something very simple, like a phone recorder and having a guest on the show. I mean, It could work out for some people, but for majority of the people, podcasting success involves some sort of investment. And that means that you have to be very calculative and very intentional about it. So I believe that I'm going to talk a lot more about it because many of my clients want to jump into podcasting, especially now AI is coming. The content, you know, is going to be everywhere.

They're going to be AI avatars talking there. Gonna be people using AI avatars to make videos. Podcasting is the only thing that's gonna left, which is completely original. So many people wanna start their podcast. Many businesses wanna start their podcast. So the, there would be a space for an agency like me to become a podcasting agency, which is what we are working on now. The podcasting management agency, that's the thing that I'm building right now because we do have the right distribution team. We do have the right systems in place. We know what we are doing and I've had millions and millions of views on my reels collectively. And also YouTube is also growing super fast. So we know what we are doing. So I wanted to replicate that system for other podcasters and also people who wanna jump into the podcasting. And alongside, obviously the brand scale will continue to do what it's doing, scaling it further to more businesses and wanting to build their personal brand. I think In next 20 years, I mean, that's gonna be the name of the game. You know, everybody will have a personal brand because AI is taking up the jobs.

I get about 20 to 30 applications every single month where people are looking for a job.

Hmm.

Lead managers, project managers, creatives, you know, people who are, you know, they, they have no choice but to pivot into being an entrepreneur. So personal branding is gonna help them. Do that for themselves.

I love that so much. Um, obviously one of the last questions right now, uh, the, the term winning, um, is so different for every single person I've come across. And obviously with your story, um, the trials, the tribulations that you overcame, um, and to be where you are at right now, for Simi Aurora, what does the term winning mean to you? Wow. Not so loaded, right?

That's really loaded. I wanna talk about this. Like, it could be many different things that I look at as winning to me, but honestly, if there's one word, it's peace. Peace. Because all the choices and actions that you are taking every day Either they're taking you away from peace or they're bringing you closer to peace. Rest, everything is a byproduct. The byproduct is money. The byproduct is fame. The byproduct is success, validation, recognition. All of these things that we desire are really— what are, what are they telling us about our personalities? Our vision is feeling joyful or happy because I have achieved so much of success and so much of validation and recognition. Uh, these are all external things, okay, which somehow make us believe that we will find fulfillment in, in those acquisitions. But in reality, what we are really seeking is the self-recognition of our own being. Feeling joyful while pursuing all these goals and activities and feeling fulfilled and peaceful within ourselves. That, okay, you know what? Everything that I did today brought me peace and joy. So for me, if I can get to that state of mind as much as possible in my life, I'll call myself winning at life.

Powerful. If you could let our viewers know where they could get ahold of you if they want to try and build trust authority or even try and upscale their podcast or start one, if you could let our viewers know as well.

Sure. The easiest place to find me is on LinkedIn. It's Simi Arora, or you can always come to my Instagram handle, Simi Arora Official. I mean, these are the 2 best places. Otherwise, you can go to my website, gobrandscale.com, and I'll be happy to connect with you as well.

The Code to Winning: Insights You Need Today to Seize the World Tomorrow. Simi Arora, thank you so much.

It was a pleasure. Thank you.