Building in public: How transparency can help you achieve your goals

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In her song A World Alone, Lorde sings, “Maybe we were raised by the Internet.” When I first heard it, this line stuck with my heart and is still with me today, especially considering how my behavior and quirks are shaped. I was raised in a world that valued sharing every bit of their lives, and even a little too much.

Despite or maybe because of this, I was resistant to sharing my successes and failures. When I think about my career and personal development, I can say that I wouldn’t be where I am today without oversharers. My life is a scrapbook of lessons learned from others’ journeys.

I shared my 2022 goals on Twitter at the end of 2021. It’s not only for accountability but also because it makes the journey less lonely to share your journey towards achieving your goals.

Buffer’s core value is “default to transparency”, which means everyone can see what’s happening inside. This is what attracted me to Buffer. You could also say that we “build in public,” which is something that more founders are adopting. Transparency is not only for them. It can be applied to any endeavor, such as writing a book or creating an album. (See the TikToker’s journey to create a Disney musical).

Transparency is something that most people don’t like. What if you make an error? What if nothing comes of your idea/project/company? There are many benefits to sharing your story, even the hard times. This article will explain why you might choose to use a transparent approach when setting goals and achieving them.

Why bother with transparency?

Karthik Puvvada (KP) is the main proponent of transparency and building in public. He believes that “expanding one’s luck surface area” is one of the key concepts behind transparency. Transparency gives your business and you more chances to connect with the community, investors or audiences that will support your journey. Here are some other reasons you should consider transparency.

• Encouraging another person on a similar journey. An underrated aspect of sharing your journey with others is how you can inspire them.
• Finding community: Having a group of people who are committed to your goals can motivate you to work harder.
• Building trust: This is particularly important if you want people to believe in your goals. Trust can be built by being open (and including proof that you have worked) about where you are at each step.
• Demonstrating your expertise: Sometimes, just sharing the journey you’ve taken to reach a goal or building something in public is enough social proof.
• Keeping accountable: If you are constantly sharing your progress with your project or goals, then you will have someone to answer when you flag – no matter how medieval it sounds.
• Keeping the industry moving:One reason we choose to be transparent at Buffer was to encourage others to do so. Checkly’s Salary Calculator is an excellent example of this.

Lessons from experts about building in public

Who are the public builders? We wanted to highlight others who can be a source of inspiration, aside from Joel Gascoigne (Buffer CEO) and Ryan Hoover (“founder of Product Hunt”) We asked them questions about transparency and building in public. Here’s what they said.

Q: What is transparency?

A: Sharing revenue publicly

Monica Lent is the founder of Affilimate.I spent almost a year compiling public income reports on my blog. Here, I shared my revenue streams, including a content blog and a paid community. It was a wonderful exercise in goal setting and many people said it encouraged them to work full-time on their projects.

At that time, I shared how much revenue I had generated for my businesses and what I spent on expenses such as software, tools, and administration. I wanted to demonstrate that revenue is not everything and that running a business can be costly.

A – Documenting the building process of

Ritika mehta created Marked (now purchased): “My newsletter and Twitter are where I talk about building products, my experience in building & running startups.

I send out small updates every other week or bi-weekly via Twitter. The newsletter is my main platform for sharing my journey. It’s not just about the positive aspects, but also sharing your struggles and vulnerabilities. It helps me, as a founder, build a community around the product and get feedback before I launch it.

A : Using personal practices to promote company values

Samantha Anderl , Co-founder of Harlow : “My co-founder Andrea is transparent in two ways. The first is the way we interact with our community and the second is how we build our company. Harlow is being built to make freelancers happier and less stressed. The product is part of this, but the community can also benefit from our successes, failures, and lessons learned.

A – Sharing personal experiences in building a business

Lesley Sim is the founder of Newsletter Glue. “From day one, we’ve built it in public. Instead of focusing on revenue and metrics, I have always shared my experiences in building the business, our roadmap and screenshots of what we are working on.

Everyone chooses to share their own things and each channel has its pros and cons. The channel you choose to share your thoughts on is also important. It will determine how and what you communicate. Twitter is my preferred channel. It’s the easiest and best way to communicate with like-minded people without too much overhead.

Shared retrospectives and plans to the future

Allison Seboldt , Founder of Fantasy Congress : “Retrospectives” is a monthly blog that I post reflections. Each month I post income statistics and reflections on the month. I also discuss my goals and future plans.

What advice would your give to someone considering transparency?

Take public feedback with a grain salt

Monica : “Many people may have opinions but few have done the same thing you have and understood your customers and business as you do.” While you can get a lot of information, it is still up to you to make the right business decision.

Build a relationship

Ritika “[Bulding publicly] is like building strong bonds by sharing ups & downs. Customers will trust you if you are more transparent with them.

A – Write down your experiences for future reflection

Sam : “When you build, you move quickly and don’t always have the time to tell your story every moment. It’s possible to reflect on your notes and identify the key pieces of the story that your audience needs. You’ll be able to look back on your journey and see where you have come.

A – Share more than you think with

Lesley “A large part of why people are attracted by building in public posts, is that it pulls back and shares lived experience and insights. If you share super generic material, you won’t see any good results when you build in public.

Just do it

Allison “It’s been the most beneficial thing that I have done on my entrepreneurial journey.” It’s easy to get started and offers huge returns.

Tips to be more transparent

Transparency requires a conscious effort. It is possible that you don’t remember or see any reason to share events related to your efforts to build public trust. Even the smallest moments can be a great way to connect with your community, or vice versa. These are some tips to help you practice transparency.

Share your dreams

Publicly documenting your goals is a good habit. Also, it’s a good idea to keep track of what you are working on. I chose Twitter, a popular platform to build in public. I am currently working on a personal blog post that will detail my goals. Medium and other newsletter-writing platforms allow people to share their progress on a weekly, or monthly basis. This may be a great way to get in the Twitter newsletter feature.

Samantha said that documenting your journey will help you reflect on your life and decide which parts to share with others.

Get connected to a community

Although you may need to do some research at times, there is nothing better than working with like-minded people. NaNoWriMo is a great way to get your best-selling manuscripts. Women Make is a program where makers and entrepreneurs can collaborate to build products. Or Flow Club, which can be a great way for you to stay accountable and motivate yourself to complete tasks.

Create boundaries

Decide where you want to draw the line. What are you willing to share? Limit the amount you share and be respectful of those boundaries. Monica offers some guidance regarding boundaries. She says “…building public does not have to mean sharing all of your metrics and revenue. It is possible to build in public without sharing financial details. It’s not all or nothing. You can still apply a build in public mindset and still reap the benefits.

Lesley also summarized boundary-setting with the following: “Be careful what you share.” Building in public is a continuum. It’s not “all or nothing.”

Submit your ideas and get feedback

Sometimes it’s enough to simply say that you are working on something, and then update when you have made progress. Asking for feedback from others can help you refine and inspire your ideas.

Dismantle your roadblocks

Tell people about your challenges and how you have overcome them. You can communicate your blockages to get advice from others who have been through similar situations. You can overcome your obstacles by sharing them

Lesley posted a technical problem she was having on Twitter. She was able get lots of help (and a solution!) in her replies.

Sneak peeks

People enjoy looking behind the scenes. Let them know what’s next. This can get people excited about your ideas, and it will provide positive commentary for you to use when you are looking for inspiration. This strategy could work well for writers. Brandon Sanderson, a sci-fi author, communicates constantly with his fans via live streams, blog posts and “first glances” at his books.

Hannah Nicole Mae (@hannahnicolemae), a TikTok user, does the same with her fictional series which she’s turning into an ebook. Over 200,000 people have been following her journey.

Share your successes

When we asked our contributors what the downsides were to building in public, Samantha replied, “Building publically can be messy.” Transparency requires sharing the successes, the struggles, and the mundane. It’s that part that makes it so captivating. People want to know the true gravity of building something.

You can share your story of success and failures with someone else to help them find inspiration and empathy.