There are two schools of thought when it comes to the publicly accessible image of a modern businessman:

1. Anyone who runs across your name or occupation anywhere should be able to get an immediate grasp on who you are, what you’re doing, and your place in whatever field you work in. Anything beyond or outside of that is personal and therefore inappropriate.
2. People are more complicated than the above, so present yourself unapologetically and honestly in all of your multifaceted glory.

I fall squarely into the second category.  Yes, I am a businessman, and were I to feel like I was having a particularly successful day I might even describe myself as an “entrepreneur.”  Either way, I have a company which deals within a certain realm of product(s) and my livelihood depends on the knowledge and sales of those products to a certain cross-section of the populace.

I just…well…I just can’t be only that.  I’m more than just that cardboard cutout.  Hell, if the business side of me as described above were written in a script I’d suggest that the author take the time to flesh out the character a lot more.

I like cars.  I like video games.  I’m opinionated on politics and music.  I write things myself occasionally.  My sense of humor runs towards the whimsically surreal.  I’m genuinely passionate about entertainment and the online realm, but there are aspects of my personality and interests which go beyond that as well.  Most of the people I know in business are fascinatingly multifaceted, but there’s this weird idea that you shouldn’t publicly show interest in anything that’s not part of your “core” current business endeavor.  To me, it’s just as interesting to see the other aspects of people’s interests as it is to hear their business advice.

Gary Vaynerchuk is an amazing businessman.  He obviously knows a tremendous amount about wine and business; he’s also a huge Jets fan and anyone paying attention to him for more than ten seconds knows that.  That’s interesting to me; it makes Gary more human, and gives me a level to interact on if my wine knowledge is slim (“I like drinking it.”)  Some people I know professionally like cars, some are baseball fanatics, some are Linux geeks (when I found that out, you better believe my respect for that guy soared.)  It’s all part of who they are.

I’ve had people on business calls bring up my workout posts, my opinions on politics, or the time when I told the internet that it should get really stoned and listen to Dark Side of the Moon; none of it bothers me.  I’m aware that I’m broadcasting my thoughts into the ether of the entire internet and I’m fine with presenting certain aspects of myself to be disseminated publicly.  Has it kept some people from getting into business with me?  I’m aware of two specific cases, yes.  One case was because someone disagreed with me politically and one was because the person disagreed with a specific religious stance I’d taken.  In both cases I wouldn’t trade being inauthentic for a slight bit more commerce.

In the end, my business is - at its core - me and my ideas. I rarely shy away from giving my opinion when asked in person, and this probably comes from the same place.  I have lines and limits to what I present and have once or twice decided not to post something because it was a little too gray area, but I’m aware of what I post, and okay with it.  I just like presenting myself in as unapologetically and unabashedly honest a manner as possible.  I don’t apologize for who I am, and I’m not ashamed of my interests or opinions.

Hell, you could easily look at it this way: if you’re debating getting into business with me, I’m just making it that much easier for you to know what exactly you’re getting into.