Welcome to my quirky world of Personal brand & and business, where feathers meet flair, and strategy does a little jig.

Today, I’m on a little insight into Personal Brand, guided by none other than our feathered friend, the swan. Join me whilst I show you how we can unravel the playful lessons that swans can share about defining your personal Brand and thriving in the business waterways.

Now before I start I have to tell you that I live by a river and see swans and their activities daily, which is where these musings started!

Dance Through Challenges

As a solo business owner, I've learned a thing or two from the swan's dance through challenges. It's not always a perfectly choreographed routine, but that's the fun of it! Embrace the unexpected moves, shimmy through setbacks with style, and remember, it's all part of the dance, especially when you're flying solo. Wing It When Needed - did I really say that?

Solo entrepreneurs, channel your inner swan with me. If like me each morning you watched a swan flying up the river only about a meter high above the water, you too would realise it uses its instincts for so much, including just missing the rowing boats!

Sometimes, like the swan you've got to trust your instincts, spread your entrepreneurial wings, and take flight. Being adaptable and going with the flow can lead to some surprising and delightful ventures!

Feather Your Nest with Flair

In my solo entrepreneurial journey, which includes a history of cancer nursing and styling I've found joy in feathering my business nest with flair. A dash of creativity here, a touch of branding there voila! As solo business owners, we have the creative freedom to make our nests uniquely ours because we are our businesses, so let's don our creative aprons and create cozy, chic nests that say, "Come on in and do business with me!"

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Now, solo business owners, don't let the word 'solo' fool you. Even swans have their mates. In the business pond, it's about finding your business besties, forming collaborations, and creating a dynamic solo-duo. Together, you can glide through projects like a swan on a pond, making a splash in the entrepreneurial world.

Lead with a honk/cry/trump... I mean, grace

A solo business owner requires a honk... I mean, a grace of its own. Like swans, let's exude grace even in our waddling glory. Lead your business with charm and a sprinkle of humour. A playful honk now and then won't hurt—remember, laughter is the secret sauce for a happy life and business. Look confident, but feel fluffy and very busy below the water!

As a solo business owner, projecting outer confidence while not feeling quite the same underneath is an art and one I’ve had to master through the years - A swan's confident glide across the water hides a world of fluffiness and busyness underneath. Embrace the blend of bravado and vulnerability, making your dance truly delightful and your potential clients will be drawn to your organized, beautiful self, even though they know It’s probably not the whole story and when the time is right you can show some of your overwhelm, busy and fluffy side to show them you understand their life too.

So, fellow solo business swans, spread those wings, honk with delight, and let's keep swanning into success! Whether you're dancing through challenges, winging it when needed, feathering your nest with flair, teaming up for a dynamic solo-duo, leading with a honk of grace, or looking confident while feeling a bit fluffy inside, the key is to embrace the whimsy and joy in our entrepreneurial adventure.

Here's to spreading our wings and swanning into success, one playful step at a time!

When You Want To Grow Your Business!

1. Know that, to succeed in a busy marketplace, it requires that you are visible and for your followers to identify with you (aka your brand).
2. The second decision is deciding to show up 100% from hereon in.  Ditch the excuses and replace them with reasons to succeed.
3. The third decision is all about being courageous through adversity; it's going to require a new level of commitment from you that you haven't known how to create before.  This applies even when it feels uncomfortable and shows little in the way of return.

Some stat's you might want to know...

20% of businesses fail in the first year and 60% will fail in the first three.

89% of B2B marketers say brand awareness is the most important goal, followed by sales and lead generation.

77% of B2B marketing leaders say branding is critical to growth.

BRANDING... It's so much more than your logo and colours...

It's the lasting impression you leave with everyone who finds you... in person or online.

I love helping!

Especially new business owners and entrepreneurs to gain clarity and confidence around their personal branding.It was only when my 3 girls become older that I found myself in a position to build a business, but boy did I struggle, nothing seemed to work or go right. 

I delved into marketing, technology and social media, with little to show, before I realised I needed help from a coach, a person who had done it before.

This help gave me time and space to spend quality time with my family.

My first group of students came away with great feedback that showed that in spite of being business owners for several years, they were now able to view their business in a new way.

This new perspective encouraged creativity, energy and enthusiasm to share their product or service without feeling awkward to be the person sharing what they do.

You can too!

I’d love to help you find out how.

Why not drop me a line and we can talk more?

Sally x

We have two types of stories...

1. Ones we tell ourselves or hear in our heads.

2. Ones we tell others.

The different stories in our heads each have a name...

The big sister - the voice of reason.

The Cheer Leader - You've got this.

The worst enemy - You're so stupid/lazy.

The imposter - Who do you think you are?

These come from our past experiences from...

School bully, Mother, Ex-lover.

Just imagine you're driving a car and the Satnav is directing you.

The voice tells you to turn left in 50 yards, but you can see that if you do that you will end up in a brick wall.

Listening to the voice in your head is just like listening to a Satnav that hasn't been updated.

Be aware of your inner dialogue and reframe your thoughts.

Stories we tell others are a different story altogether (excuse the pun 😉)

We should...

• Believe the value of our story.

• Start with the Audience in mind will it resonate with them, will they feel a level of commonality.

• Have a great start - Headline.

• Always ask a question at the end - has this happened to you?

• Use humour - if you would normally do so.

• Inspire but don't put yourself or the hero of your story on a pedestal.

We can tell stories about our…

• Clients.

• Case studies.

• Feedback.

• Ask questions.

• Who, why, when - you work with?

We can talk about personal subjects our -

• Adventures.

• Aha moments.

• Sad times.

• Victories.

We can talk about our businesses.

• What inspired you.

• What was the tipping point to make you start?

• What does it mean to you having your own business?

• Why do you love what you do?

• What are you most proud of?

Then ask yourself these questions - they will give you lots of content to write about.

⭐️If you could have a billboard with anything written on it what would it be and why?

⭐️How would your parents describe what you do for a living?

⭐️How will your business work if the internet didn’t exist?

⭐️What is the biggest mistake you've made in business?

⭐️Name one good thing to come out of the last 10 months and the restrictions around it?

Have fun with these!

But I know from experience the hardest story to write about is your own - Your Brand Story is your biggest and best story to share, but this can be scary and overwhelming - believe me when I say I can help!

Why not contact me and let’s have a chat on how to make it all easier!

CLICK HERE

Love Sally x

*Image credit Canva July 2023*

You've heard of a triple threat - well this is one with bells on - A Triple A!

Audit

Action

Accountability

The three things you NEED to give you and your business some serious oomph.

In order to get where you want to go - you need to know where you are

So, your first A is AUDIT

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Auditing yourself and your business to asses where you are.

Take into consideration:

• Your daily activities

• Your network

• Streams of income

• Potential streams of income

• What's working and most importantly - what's not!

• Where you want to be in 6 months' time

Once you've thoroughly assessed where you are and what is working and not working you need to outline the gaps in your activities that are stopping you from reaching your goals.

This brings you to your next A - Action

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And here is where you need to be strict with yourself. Now you've taken a look at your activities and what is working and what isn't you need a new plan.

What are the actions you must take over the next 6-months to help you get to where you want to be?

Do you need to do more in-person networking and spend less time on social media? Perhaps you have a gap in your contacts that needs filling. Could a partnership with an aligned business bring in the extra sales you need?

It is different for everyone.

However, I find a really good way to categorise whether an action is a good use of my time is by testing it against the following categories.

1. Will this action take me closer to my long-term goal?

2. Is this action a money-making activity?

3. Does this action bring me joy and allow me to be the best version of myself?

If an action doesn't fit into those categories then it doesn't belong on my to-do list.

The final and most important A is Accountability

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When you work for yourself there is no line-manager checking in on your progress or colleagues to show you up at a progress meeting.

You don't have a morning huddle to kick yourself into gear or colleagues rallying alongside you.

Getting motivated and keeping motivated as a solo-entrepreneur can be tough.

And the harsh truth is that no amount of audits and action plans will have any impact unless you carry them out.

That's where accountability comes in.

There are ways you can hold yourself accountable...

• Carrying out a monthly income and expenditure to check on your progress.

• Taking a look at that to-do list and seeing how many items have been ticked off.

BUT... it's all to easy to make excuses and say "tomorrow, next week or next month".

What you need is someone to keep you accountable, and that's where I can help.

I want you to SUCCEED, I love nothing more than seeing my fellow business owners achieve their dreams and take their business to the next level.

And I'm only a click away if you'd like to have a free, no-pressure chat to see if we can make you a triple threat.

You can find my Calendly HERE.

Dazzle

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Or, if you like so many others find working on yourself and your business near-on impossible you can check out my Dazzle course.

Dazzle is online training that takes you through your audit and actions, including focusing in on your website, branding and communication. Plus it includes an accountability coaching session once you've completed the course to make sure you make the most of your new-found knowledge.

You can find Dazzle HERE.

Sally x

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again…

Then tell everyone about it!

Your successes and failures all make up who you are as a person - AND your brand story!

When I ask people what they think their Brand Story should consist of, I get these sort of answers

• My history.

• Why I do what I do.

• My experience and skills.

• What I am doing and how I help.

These are all perfectly understandable and reasonable answers, but they are not the full picture.

Your Brand Story is a very important part of you and your business

Finding out who you are and putting it into a story, is a way of getting paid for being you. It will attract your clients, who are are drawn to you because of who you are and what you have to offer.

A brand story isn't your life history, skills and your success, in fact it's nearly the opposite.

It’s the story of your failures, the uncertainty, when things went wrong, the hardest times you had and then... showing how you won through!

Let's look at some celebrities’ brand stories

Oprah Winfrey - molested by family members as a child, pregnant at 14, gave birth to a son who died a few days later! She could have rightfully been upset and become a victim of those circumstances, but instead she used those experiences to help others to be couragous and change their mindset.

Richard Branson - He was a really bad student, dyslexic and had bad grades. He used his creativity and personality to develop lots of successful businesses, often citing that his success is down to facing his fears and seeing failure as a challenge to overcome; to teach himself and others, to get up and try again.

Thomas Edison failed 1000 times before he got the lightbulb right!

How did they and others overcome their adversity or trauma, to come out on the other side?

Each of them used their perceived setbacks as a springboard to their success.

All stories have a hook that we can connect to on an emotional level

Have you noticed that when you connect with a story, it's often a story of two halves? For example...

• Love - they will talk about the time they were heartbroken.

• Belonging - they will talk about the time they were excluded.

• Connection - they will talk about a time they felt disconnected.

In other words, a time when they were vulnerable.

Showing people that we have been, or are, vulnerable allows people to have a connection with us. It gives purpose, meaning and comradeship with others and as humans this is what we want and why we are here.

At this time the whole world is going through a degree of uncertainty this can make us feel vulnerable, it can shine a light on feelings we would rather not have.

When we are vulnerable it is because in some way we feel shame, which is when other people can see that we are not perfect and that gives rise to a fear of being disconnected.

We say these things to ourselves!

• I am not good enough!

• I am not ......... enough (fill in the gap, as you see fit)

• I am not… (you can finish the sentence)

The good news is, vulnerability is often the birthplace of joy, creativity, success.

But, how often do we try and numb it or hide it under an addiction, or by sabotaging ourselves in some way.

• We look for perfection.

• We look for certainty.

• We pretend.

None of which are really us or our history

People connect to us through our stories, especially about our vulnerabilities, they don't have to be traumatic or as devastating as some peoples, but we all have difficult times. If we didn’t, we wouldn't have the good times and we wouldn't grow. This is what people like to hear about.

So your brand story isn't about the trauma or the bad times, but how you progressed out of them and what you learnt in the process that you can pass on.

Telling your brand story is about the courage to be imperfect, to show that you do not have a charmed life that has never gone wrong but that it did and you have the courage to overcome whatever obstacles came your way.

Maybe then, this leads us to realise that, there is no failure, just lessons; that’s our story!

There is an analogy I heard, that I love.

‘Imagine your life is a computer game, at each stage you have to learn how to do something to get to the next level.

Our problems are just our learning curves so that we can get to the next level and...

Want to get clear on your brand story? I'd love to help you craft a story that 'Pops'.

I have a workshop that's perfect for you, all you need to do is drop me a message and I'll send you the details.

Love

Sally x

**image credit Canva March 2023**