There’s nothing more distinct or unique about your business than you. In a sea of writers, photographers, coaches, course creators and other personal brand businesses, finding what makes you stand out from the crowd doesn’t have to be as hard as you think. You’re already doing what makes you different, you just haven’t figured it out yet! I’m talking about you, the owner of your business, the person behind your brand. Yes, you. There’s no one quite like you out there, even if there are a bajillion what-you-do’s on the planet. It’s time to embrace who you are and figure out what your “you” factor really is. Are you ready?
The Power of Authenticity in Business
Authenticity. Being authentic. Your most authentic self.
Oof, we’ve heard it all before in the online business space, haven’t we? And it’s reached a point where the word “authentic” doesn’t even sound authentic anymore.
As a words person, though, I’m still a fan. But it matters how the word is being used and in what context.
Other words that ring true for me… honest, open, genuine and real. All these words are interchangeable, for me. But it’s authenticity and being your whole self that I always come back to.
The thing is, embracing who you really are instead of who you think you should be (or who you think others think you should be) is something many business owners fear. They worry that people won’t “like” them, that they’ll lose clients or customers if they don’t behave or act in a particular way. The worry is that being your most authentic self won’t look professional to the people you want to hire you or buy from you.
It’s a sad state of affairs, if you ask me. How have we come to be in a world where there’s only one expected way to be when you’re running a business? Who was it who laid down the ground rules and said this was it, this was the only way to run your business and succeed? I’d quite like to meet them and give them a piece of my mind.
And I know we’ve all been there. Regardless of where you are in your business journey now, there will have been a time where you thought you had to be a certain way to attract an audience. And if you’re anything like me, you probably quickly realised that trying to be something you’re really not is exhausting.
There is nothing that comes more naturally than being yourself—once you get past the idea that you can’t possibly BE yourself.
You do you every single day when no one’s watching. So what’s stopping you from doing the same thing when all eyes are on you? You’re about as unique as they come. There is no one on this planet of 8.2 billion people exactly the same as you… even identical twins! You’ve lived a life of your own personal experiences and everything you’ve seen, done, tasted, touched, listened to, read, felt and more has left a fingerprint on who you are. Embracing that person and letting her be seen by your audience? That’s what’ll create the truest, most authentic connection you’ll ever have.
Defining Your Core Values
You hear this one all the time, I have no doubt. But there’s a reason for that. As human beings, we all have core personal values that act as our guiding principles through life—and that includes in our businesses. If you’re not sure what yours are, I invite you to ask yourself these questions:
- What’s important to you?
- What do you believe in?
- How do you want to be remembered?
- What makes me feel most alive?
- How have I made hard decisions in the past?
Reflecting on your experiences, thoughts and opinions can help you to discover what your core values are and how they relate to how you run your business. And while you can express values specifically for your business, it does help if they’re in alignment with your own personal values as this allows you to make decisions and choices around your business that feel most true to you.
Here’s the thing, while there are only so many values to choose from, what makes the ones you choose truly yours isn’t just naming them and off you go. Oh no! The likelihood is that you’ll have reasons why those values are important to you and that’s where you can differentiate yourself, by explaining what they mean for you in your business and what you do in your business that lives by those principles.
Some examples of awesome businesses and their core values:
And if you need help writing a values page for your website, this blog from Laura Agar at Wholeheartedly Laura is an excellent resource.
Knowing and Understanding Your Audience
It’s a little difficult to be fully yourself when you’re not quite sure who you’re speaking to, right?
That’s because we all behave and speak differently depending on who we’re talking to. And that’s not being fake or inauthentic, by the way. It’s just the way we are!
Think of it this way… how you talk to your grandparent or parent is going to be very different than how you talk to your bestie. The topics you’ll talk about, the language you use, your shared experiences and personality traits, they’ll differ depending on who’s on the other side of your conversation.
It’s a similar idea when we refer to your audience.
Understanding who they are will help you stay true to yourself while also connecting with their needs and desires. By understanding what it is they’re struggling with and what they’re hoping to achieve, you can shift how you present yourself in a way that aligns with your most authentic self and meet them where they’re at. Just as you naturally do when you’re talking to your partner versus your bank manager.
It’s not about changing yourself in any way because, remember, being your most authentic self is what will come most easily and naturally, it’s about finding the version of yourself that aligns with the people you’re talking to. Ultimately, you’re infusing your personality into your brand without feeling like you’re having to sacrifice your own identity for your business.
Embrace Your Story
Everyone has a story to tell. That’s how the saying goes, right? And it’s absolutely true. You might think your life is boring and that you’ve got no exciting stories to share but here’s the thing… you’ve lived a life and it’s different from my own. Your journey is unique to you. The things you’ve experienced and seen, and how your perspective is shaped by and shapes them. That’s the stuff that sets you apart—from me, from your audience, from your competitors. You absolutely do have a story to tell and we all want to hear it!
Your personal journey—the steps you’ve taken to get from where you were to where you are now and everything that makes you you—is the beating heart of what makes you unique. And there are a thousand and one stories you could tell from your life that will show how your worldview has been shaped and what that means for your business. Your past experiences, your challenges, successes and failures. The mistakes you’ve made. The moments of wonder and joy. They all offer a tiny insight into what makes you the person you are.
I’m here to tell you that you need to embrace your story. It’s the one thing your competitors can’t replicate!
Stories are the foundations of who we are and what it means to be human. And they’re one of the most effective ways to build connection in your personal brand. They’re emotional, engaging and, above all, memorable.
When you share the story about how you got lost at the grocery store when you were five years old (or twenty-five… yep, that’s my story and I’ll save that for another day), people can relate to it and see themselves in it, even if the circumstances weren’t exactly the same for them.
When you tell the story of why you started your business, it humanises what you’re doing in a way that nothing else can. And that’s what people will buy into. Not whether you’re the best or the cheapest or the fastest around.
If you fully want to dig into finding your “you” factor, start with your stories and compile a list of them that you can dip into any time you need to create a connection with your audience.
Overcoming the Fear of Rejection
It’s really easy to hide away from the world and not show your audience who you really are when you’re feeling the fear of rejection. How will you cope if people think you’re “too much”? What if they think you’re “not enough”?!
As someone with ADHD and RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Disorder), I am throwing my hands up in the air right now because I’m with you on this one. I grew up in a world where I thought everyone hated me or was laughing at me. I was bullied at school and that definitely left me with a complex, worrying what others thought of me. And I have to work, every damn day, to put those fears of rejection behind me and get over myself.
Logic me knows that someone laughing across the room is probably not laughing at me. But I’d be lying if the thought didn’t cross my mind at least once.
You know where most of this comes from though?
You. Or rather it comes from the judgemental asshole that lives in your head—your inner critic.
She’s an absolute cow, isn’t she?
Here’s what I know from my own experience. No one is thinking worse about me than I am about myself. In fact, the best advice I’ve ever heard is that, given how much everyone is thinking about themselves and wondering what everyone else is thinking about them, then probably no one is actually thinking about or judging you anyway!
When you’re putting yourself out into the world, especially in a professional capacity, it’s hardly surprising that you fear being rejected. How our thoughts are tied up with what “looks professional” has a lot to do with it. We worry that our quirks and unique traits will make us look unprofessional (hello comparisonitis!) and we’re terrified that we won’t appeal to everyone.
Here’s the thing though… that’s totally okay.
You don’t WANT to appeal to everyone. There’s really no need. There are plenty of people who are gonna love you just as you are. Everyone else can, in the words of Biff, make like a tree and get outta here!
I actually think creatives are probably the worst for feeling this way and probably because we tie so much of who we are as people into what we do. My business is an extension of me, not a completely separate part. If people hate what I do or say in my business, that almost feels like an attack on who I am personally and that can definitely be hard to take.
Truth bomb time: it’s not personal. And in trying to get everyone to like you, you’ll wind up appealing to no one. So, have the thoughts and opinions, be yourself and trust that the people who do like you are gonna be really frickin’ awesome to work with.
Bringing Your “You” Factor Into Your Business
So, with all of that being said, once you start embracing who you really are and figuring out what that looks like, how do you bring it into your business to make it a more relatable and authentic brand?
Website Copy
While your website is ultimately about the services you offer and how you help your clients go from here to there, it’s a great place to drop in elements of your personality all over the show. Key areas you can really showcase your “you” factor on your website:
👉🏻 Your mini bio on your Home Page. Yes, this is probably where they’re meeting you for the first time and you’re only giving them a quick first impression here, but aim to make it a great one! Give them a dazzling smile of a headshot, say hi, briefly outline who you are and then make a connection with a personal little tidbit before inviting them to find out more on your About Page.
👉🏻 Your About Page. It might surprise you to hear this but your About Page isn’t ALL about you. But it is a bit! Once you’ve got past the stuff about brand stories, values, your qualifications and credibility, you can drop some fun stuff in! I always love it when I find fun facts or personal photos or stories somewhere near the bottom of an About Page. It humanises you and people love to read them!
👉🏻 Your testimonials. If there’s one thing to remember, it’s that those people who have already worked with you did so because of your “you” factor. So why not let them tell everyone what’s so great about you and why they ought to work with you!
👉🏻 Your visuals and images. Yep, not a words thing but I do photos too, so what the heck. Personality-packed brand photos speak volumes and really enhance your “you” factor all over your website.
Social Media Content
The beauty of social media content is that you can really be yourself there. And yet so many business owners shy away from doing that! I like to remind people that it was called a “social network” for a reason. To build a community and get to know others, right? So if you’re being someone you think you SHOULD be as opposed to the person you are and want to be, it’s not really a community, is it?
Social media is also fast moving and a less formal space so you can share behind-the-scenes shenanigans in your stories which, I believe, always gives us more of a taste of who you are than anything else.
Remember to read your captions out loud before you post them. Make sure they sound like you!
And embrace emojis, memes and anything else you feel showcases your personality. We’re all here for it.
Your Brand Colours & Design
I shared a story to my email list recently about how I really went about creating my new brand in an “arse-about-face” kind of way. I.e. I broke all the rules and did just about everything any brand expert out there would tell you is a total no-no! That’s not to say you should do it any particular way, of course. But it worked for me because I went right back to my roots and looked into myself as I rebranded and it helped me to realise I knew exactly what I wanted my brand to be.
Ultimately, I knew my audience had changed to be a bold, vibrant, vivacious business owner, much like me. And that was the basis for deciding what my new brand was going to look like. I’d say it’s more me now than it has ever been and I’m not mad at that!
If having more you in your brand is important to you, then think about it and go for elements that speak to who you are and what you like. You can’t get more YOU than that!
Your Brand Voice
What you show and the words you write are just one area of expressing your “you” factor but I often talk about embracing your brand voice too. How you speak and the way you say things is as much a uniquely you element as any other part of your brand but it’s one that often gets overlooked because it’s a pretty nerdy topic. For a little sampling of how to embrace your brand voice, this post is a good place to start! And here’s how to start creating your own brand voice guide.
Why Your “You” Factor is Your Strongest Asset
Ultimately, there is no one more you than YOU. And no matter how hard others might try to be like you, it’s absolutely impossible for them to do a Tom Ripley and fool others into thinking it’s you they’re working with. But that does mean you have to really lean into who you are and not be afraid to show that in your brand and business. It comes down to embracing all your unique qualities, even the ones you’re not totally in love with (c’mon, we’ve all got them!), your quirks, your values and everything that makes you who you are. Accepting them and fully embracing them isn’t a limitation—it’s your biggest advantage in making your business stand out from everyone else’s.
Be bold. Be unapologetic. Be you.
Because that’s what people (the ones who connect with what you’re putting out there) will be drawn towards. And the ones that don’t? That’s okay. They’ll find other [what you do]s that they’ll align with much better.
And if you’re really ready to embrace your full self in your business and need help achieving that, there are a huge number of ways we can do that. Just reach out and we’ll plan a chat to see what you need.