Own Your Personality
Personal branding = owning your personality.
Bring your personality to the table for those you serve.
Recently, I was listening to colleague, client, and one of my business Yoda’s, Pia Silva, chat with TEDx speaker, author, and podcast host Jeffrey Shaw, on his Creative Warriors Podcast.
It’s always fun to see people that you know interact with each other, and this was a real pleasure to listen to, :)
There was one piece of the conversation that really resonated with me. At one point, Jeffery asked Pia, author of Badass Your Brand, to define what badass branding meant.
Pia responded by saying that badass branding is a message that magnetically attracts your ideal clients, while repelling everyone else. In addition, it also allows you to charge a premium price, yet still win business.
She offered one caveat.
In order to achieve this goal of gaining clients through badass branding, you need to own who you are, your personality, in a very deep and all-encompassing way.
It always comes back to believing in yourself, doesn’t it?
This is one of the main issues I find with some clients before we even have them set foot in front of the camera.
They are anxious and fearful of committing to a consistent social schedule, not because of the work - they have people to do that - but, they are fearful of sharing because it places them in a very vulnerable position that invites a feeling of imposter syndrome.
“Who do I think that I am by sharing all of this stuff like I’m an expert.”
I’ve heard a few variations of this statement from several people throughout the years - um, that also includes me, by the way.
Before I committed to sharing as much valuable content regarding branded lifestyle portraits as I could, I felt completely weird sharing anything outside of the basic, standard “photo session tips n’ tricks” in my feeds.
Which, by the way, I was on the one post every other month schedule, once upon a time, :)
The main reason for this was not because I was lazy and didn’t want to create content, it’s because I didn’t own my experience behind the camera, I didn’t own my passion for committing to a life that monetized my art in a way that doesn’t conflict with my integrity…
...I didn’t own what brings me joy.
The reason was simple - it was because I didn’t own who I have become. I felt like an imposter photographer talking out of turn.
Eventually, through the guidance of people like Pia in my life, I got out of my own way, and owned that I was leaving behind a jack-of-all-trades photographer mentality and stepping into a new role as the authority on branded lifestyle portraits for speakers, authors and other thought leaders and change agents.
Although I was kicking and screaming every step of the way, the transformation ultimately, has been one of the best things that I’ve ever experienced because this deep, emotional work not only affected my business, but, it affected my life, as a whole.
And this is what I talk about with my wary, fearful clients until I’m blue in the face.
It’s so worth the effort, because growth in this way is not some compartmentalized phenomenon - it’s a global change within yourself that allows you to see things in a much more clear, confident and focused way.
And, once you get the hell out of your own way, you are then able to share your expertise with those who need to hear it most…
...which ultimately, is the point, isn’t it, :)
PS - For those of you who aren’t in the know, I mail out these blogs 3x a week, and lemme tell you, they’re a real party, so, if you’d like to get in on this, sign up for it here and I’ll throw in a free gift for you...because I care, :)