It’s a Re-Brand: How My Business Baby Done Got Borned
Picture this: January. Ready for new beginnings. Stuck in old patterns. Desperately wanting things to change but not sure what the first step is to take. Knowing you have something completely earth-shatteringly life-alteringly amazing to share with others.
Come on now. I know I’m not the only one who’s been there.
Enter some soul-searching, tough and real (and kinda painful) conversations with friends, colleagues, and mentors. And the thought that “I’ll give it one more try, but if this doesn’t work, I’m getting a damn (gulp) job again.”
Business owners do this dance…often. We are intimately familiar with the dance of “things aren’t working” and “it’s time to change direction…again.” Yet it’s still scary. I mean, white-knuckle, hold-your-breath, eyes-wide-shut kind of scary.
And yet we soldier on. Why?
Because we have vision. We have a big mission to fill. We are driven by unseen forces and a knowing that our path, even though not easy, is the only one for us. We are trail-blazers. We are risk-takers. We are believers in magic, love, change, choice, abundance, and healing.
So what gets in the way?
I will speak for myself (but I know that my words bring voice to many of you out there).
I get in my own damn way!
In January 2015, my business was tanking. Things got hard. People weren’t registering for my workshops like they used to. People weren’t responding to my offers like they used to. It was like…crickets.
I had some tough decisions to make. And I had to take a long and honest look at what wasn’t working. After the initial shock and berating myself and stomping around like a petulant child, I got over myself and realized what I had done to contribute to the demise. And you know what? Something amazing came out of all of it.
During one especially difficult conversation with my business coach (when she jokingly says she made me cry), she backed me into a corner with this simple question: “What do you want your customers and clients to do?”
For those of you who have customers and clients, you know this isn’t always such an easy question to answer. Typically, I would hide behind words like “feel better,” “lower their stress,” or “improve their relationships.” Of course, I do want this for my customers and clients. But honestly, these are a bunch of fluffy words that don’t really mean anything because they’ve been used to death. I’ve also hidden behind the veil of losing clarity, getting unclear and foggy about what the hell it is that I do. And let’s just say, my coach does NOT let me get away with that one AT ALL.
So she pushes me. And during this conversation, she pushed me further and harder than ever before and wouldn’t let me off the hook. Tears streaming down my face, in a booming voice, and without any hesitation, I yelled at her: “I want them to get out of their own damn way.”
There was a moment of reverence after I belted it out. And she said, quietly, in stark contrast to my loud declaration, “that’s your brand.”
And my new brand was born: GET OUT OF YOUR OWN DAMN WAY!
Here we are, months later, and my new brand is finally out there. I’ve connected with colleagues, clients, and customers all over the world who resonate fiercely with it. And it is taking my business in new directions that are exciting and unexpected.
Don’t get me wrong, the road hasn’t been easy. In fact, I’ve had to re-declare every step of the way as I’ve crafted my new marketing messages, redesigned my website, created a new quiz (“How Are YOU At Getting Out of Your Own Damn Way”), and all the other things involved with a major business makeover.
But every step has been worth it. I am an entrepreneur. I did not choose the easy path. I chose the one that lets me express my soul’s work by being a beacon and a model for those I serve. My brand is Get Out of Your Own Damn Way, and that’s exactly what I must do in order to help my customers and clients do the same.
I’ll be sharing more about my re-brand journey in upcoming articles…all the lessons I’ve learned and the epiphanies that come with stepping out more fully into my greatness.
Got a comment? I’d love to hear it…leave it below.
