One of the key things with building a brand around yourself is remembering the Golden Rule: Be. Your. Freaking. Self.

I remember when I first left corporate to build this business, I was petrified of it not working. I was worried about failing. I was worried about not being taken seriously. I was worried that I wasn’t professional enough. I was worried that I was too professional. I was worried that I spoke too fast. I worried that I liked to swear and how that would be received. I was worried that I was too, well, too ME.

And so for the first couple of years from a marketing perspective I did all that I could to try to tame myself. To fit into some weird definition of what I thought someone who would be successful would be like.

It was exhausting.

I had no self confidence, really, to show up as myself.

Which is totally weird. Because while I was in corporate, whilst be ‘professional’ I still very much me. I was chatty with clients. I had their best interests at heart regardless of what was going on in The Bank. I joked with my colleagues and with clients if and when appropriate.

I remember running seminar nights for The Bank to educate clients and hopefully turn them into clients. And at these presentations, I was still me!

Yet. When unleashed into the Wild it was like all of a sudden BAM! You can’t be yourself.

It took a couple of years for me to finally get the message that I had to be me if I was going to make this work.

So I turned everything on it’s head. I started showing up with a bit more sass. A bit more opinionated. I bit more ‘laughy’. I bit more ‘talking with my hands rather than having to sit on them 😉 ‘.

I am who I am and I learned that I had to stop apologising for not being different to that.

Stop. Apologising. For. Who. You. Are.

Now. You might be doing this in a way that’s obvious… but if you’ve been holding back on being you in YOUR STYLE…. Then things are going to be tougher in the long run.

One of the best compliments I get is when people tell me that I’m the same in person as I am online. That I’m the same when they see me socially as how I am at work. Yes, of course, there are variances because when I’m working I have to make sure that people are getting what they need.

So here’s the deal.

I encourage you to make an agreement with yourself.

A pact.

An oath.

A ‘stab yourself with a pin in one finger and then on another and make a blood promise’ to yourself type of promise….

That if you have quirks, you’ll wear them with pride.

If you talk with your hands, you keep doing that.

If you love wearing your hair a certain way but don’t do it in your branding because you worry about being judged, stop it!

If you are normally a swearer, then swear! If not, then don’t.

If you love wearing black all the time, do it.

If you are most comfortable in active wear then stop freaking feeling like you HAVE to show up dressed to the nines every day.

If you tell jokes and think they’re hilarious, do that online as well.

We are SO lacking in authenticity at the moment online that it’s scary.

Please don’t act in a way that you think you HAVE to act in order to be successful.

Just be you.

Why? Because THAT is what makes you so damn amazing.

And after all, The World Is Ready For Your Brand of Awesome!!!!

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