The adds pop up on our news feeds on FB and Instagram. So many entrepreneurs are putting themselves out there, using their face, their families, and their stories as advertisement for their services or product. They are connecting their clients and customers with themselves on a personal level to increase their success.
And it’s working!
Branding oneself is a successful way to influence customers. They will be drawn to your business by the personal connection they have to your company’s identity.
So if everyone else is doing it, why don’t you?
“I couldn’t,” you say?
“I don’t want people to think that I regard myself so highly,” you think?
Are you worried about what they say because you’ve heard it said before when friends and family have judged others for putting themselves in the spotlight? Do you judge others for selling out who they are in order to benefit financially? Are you afraid of throwing your personal life in front of the moving train of success?
I understand. I thought leaving the theatre world meant I wouldn’t need a headshot, I wouldn’t be using my identity as currency, and I wouldn’t need to worry about always being ready to perform. Guess I shouldn’t have picked a blog and stoked the desire to have my own business.
Here’s the thing.
Is your business going to hurt someone? Are your services going to poison the planet? No?
Lets go back to AOS 101 and talk about your WHY. Why do you want to do this work?
What is your objective?
If branding yourself is part of fulfilling your dream, creating a successful business, and offering a service or product to someone who needs you then your why is solid. You have every right to want to be successful at your adventure. Creating a personal connection is a powerful vehicle for your message.
Why is that? Social Learning Theory proposes that we learn behaviours through observation of that behaviour and/or through observations of the rewards or punishments of that behaviour. It makes sense. It’s safer to learn something new by watching than by risking one’s own safety learning first hand.
However, we are not learning to kill a Mastodon these days. Our level of danger may not be the same but the instinct may still prevail. It follows that, logically, we would look for a personal connection to then observe and imitate. And if you are observing someone being rewarded with money or happiness for their actions you are then more likely to imitate them (read: buy their product or pay for their services).
So can you witness this process and not judge?
Let me help you…
- You need to put yourself out there for the person who needs you. You can disregard the opinions of those who don’t need you because you are not here for them.
- You need to assign you and your efforts a degree of worth. There is no shame in wanting success for honest hard work!
- Following your passion and vision also gives others the permission to do the same. You could be someone’s inspiration.
- As with any role we choose to step into, we must commit and fill the space. Doing anything without full commitment, energy, and intention will always fail to tell the story you want to tell. So give it everything you’ve got.
You are being true to yourself and that is the only compass you were given. How will you know where you are going if you don’t follow your path? If your intentions are honest there is nothing to be self conscious about. I only recommend doing some research on how best to protect yourself. On-line safety is important.
So let’s see that smile! As we say in the theatre – do it for the person in the audience who didn’t want to come to the show. Your dream could be the answer to someone.