“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.” – Brené Brown
Spoiler: It’s you.
(Disclaimer: I, too, struggle with tapping into this marketing tool.)
Before I even started my business, I knew I wanted my brand to exist independent of me. For one, I want to expand and hire employees one day. So, I didn’t want to establish the expectation that all of the work produced under DawnG Media would be completely produced by Kayla.
But if I’m being honest, the major reason I wanted my brand to exist independent of me was because I didn’t think I was cool/popular/interesting/charismatic/social/enter-any-other-adjective – enough to pull it off.
The interesting thing is, my brand is based on helping business owners tell their stories as part of their marketing strategy. If you really think about it, I am setting my livelihood up to depend on other people being vulnerable and stepping into their brand. But why would I expect them to do something I’m not even comfortable doing?
If you asked me to, I could explain the benefits of using video to tell your brand’s story. I could explain why it’s important for there to be consistency across the digital platforms you use. I could even explain why you should choose me over my competitors to produce that video or create that digital consistency. These things usually come out when I’m talking to a potential client. But ask me if I’m highlighting these reasons for people before our first conversation? Well…no.
After a few conversations with some established entrepreneurs, I came to terms with the fact that I need to get over myself and get to work.
In the coming weeks, I am challenging myself to put myself (not just my brand) out there more. I am challenging myself to put more of my personal story into my branding. Who’s with me?
