“Investing in yourself pays off in huge dividends.” Aneesh Lal, Entrepreneur and Founder of The Wishly Group, is sharing the importance of backing yourself and embracing a learning mindset to carve out a path for success. An uplifting New Year message for marketers grappling with the transitional energy of the dark days of January.

Aneesh Lal, Entrepreneur and Founder of The Wishly Group, was speaking with Visha Kudhail on the Behind the Face of Success podcast. Lal embodies the podcast's ethos of not just celebrating success but redefining it.

As an entrepreneur and Founder, known as the ‘Jerry Maguire of LinkedIn’, Lal has utilised his unique skill set to create his own success. Combining two elements of the marketing world that aren’t usually paired together;  the creator economy and sales know-how. A unique combination of skills which has led Lal to build his own company.

Finding inspiration from others

Lal fell into his current role. Growing up in Canada after moving from India he watched his father grow his own business. He always knew that he too wanted to start his own business but never knew in what form. His journey has been shaped by meeting others and learning about what it means to be an entrepreneur.

Growing up, Lal and his family embraced the diversity of Canada. They explored other religions and met people from different cultures which gave Lal a mindset of acceptance. “I’m grateful for it because of the emotional intelligence I was naturally able to pick up on from different cultures,” he says. Being able to connect with people from different walks of life was an invaluable skill for a career in sales, which is where Lal got his start.

Being a business owner is not easy. Starting your own thing takes courage. Lal decided to go all in on his own venture when two of his biggest clients started asking him for more of his time. Seeing that his clients trusted him and believed in him helped to dampen his imposter syndrome and gave him the confidence to steer his own ship. He was also reassured by a mentor who asked him: ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’.

Lal’s quick rise to success landed him with the title ‘The Jerry Maguire of Linkedin’. The persona was given to him by his clients who likened him to the character from the 1996 film due to his sales prowess. Lal has embraced the compliment, “It’s crazy what this whole thing has become,” he says.

Cutting through on LinkedIn

LinkedIn has fast become a powerful tool for personal brand building, sales and marketing. Yet, for all its power the platform is quite a cluttered space where cutting through is difficult. Lal has been able to utilise LinkedIn and embrace it as an opportunity.

“LinkedIn has evolved,” says Lal. No longer is it a pure-play job-hunting platform, now there is a huge growth in ‘micro-communities’. “There’s a huge amount of people just trying to get better at their craft,” says Lal. He continues:  “Whatever your vocation, LinkedIn has a tribe there for you.”

He urges marketers to use LinkedIn as a tool to share and grow. As the working world changes and becomes more digitalised, the platform is a tool for connection at scale.

On LinkedIn, Lal works with ‘subject matter experts’ or ‘creators’, preferring these terms over ‘B2B influencers’. Where on other platforms influence is grown via entertainment, LinkedIn requires both entertainment and expertise to garner the most success.

Lal believes that creators on LinkedIn are flourishing due to the evolution of the platform. Where it now has a captive audience of decision-makers, buyers and B2B brands, in turn, there is room for changemakers and experts. For brands, these experts are a safe and viable way to reach their potential customers with a trusted voice.

“We help creators at different stages of their journey,” explains Lal. From new creators looking for growth to larger creators looking to better connect, Lal helps creators bring their stories out to resonate with people. Asking what the story is that is unique to the creator helps to bring out their own narratives to better cut through.

Invest in yourself

“My Dad sat me down once and said instead of spending all your money on fun stuff, if you’re smart, invest in yourself,” says Lal. Taking this advice, Lal invested in taking sales courses and training that helped him further his career. Investing in himself saw huge return on investment.

“Self-growth and self-improvement is almost a non-negotiable these days,” adds Kudhail. In a world where remote working has opened up a never-ending pool of talent, Lal stresses that taking the time to work on your skills is a way to cut through and differentiate from the competition. “You need to decide if doing your 9-5 is enough experience of growth,” he adds.

Where Lal worked on his side hustle in his spare time, that side hustle has since become his successful business. As Lal proves, when you invest in yourself, you open up new doors to success.