Tired of business advice that doesn't feel like...YOU? Sign up for the Being Yourself is the Strategy™ newsletter. These aren’t tips or “how-to” emails. They’re honest reflections on running a business…the kind that help you slow down, think differently, and question the pressure to do everything faster, bigger, better.
Why "branding" feels kind of dirty right now 🫣
Hey Reader,*The survey winner will be announced in this email, so read on!* I've been spending too much time on Threads lately and the whole vibe of the online business space has been seriously bumming me out. Coaches scamming people. Events not delivering. Everyone pushing their services as the "one" thing that will make your business successful (when there are actually SO MANY pieces to the puzzle). And I think that's why sometimes branding gets a bad reputation. Branding in the hands of unethical businesses is used to manipulate trust. And that REALLY pisses me off. We’ve all watched brands use gorgeous aesthetics to sell absolute garbage that doesn’t help anyone. It’s all packaging, zero substance. Far too many people have fallen prey to psychological pressure and half-truths...like business coaches bragging about "$50k months," while casually leaving out the fact that it cost them $45k in ad spend to get there. Or watching businesses performatively claim they stand for something, without ever backing it up. Like brands that sell rainbow themed products in June while treating the LGBTQ+ community like an afterthought the other eleven months of the year. In these cases I get how branding can feel "dirty." It starts feeling like a performance. And it’s completely normal to want to run in the opposite direction and say, "I'll just keep my head down and let my work speak for itself." But here’s the truth: This trust recession is the exact reason ethical branding is so desperately needed. When your branding is built around who you actually are, you aren't playing a character. You're simply putting your best foot forward! It's kind of like when you dress up for a wedding or clean your house before you have company. It's still YOU. It's still YOUR house. But it looks damn fine! 🔥 You've just created an intentional environment where people feel welcomed, seen, and cared for. When you jump on a call with me, 95% of the time I'm wearing leggings my finest sweatshirt instead of the tailored blazer you see in some of my brand photos. You'll also notice the big red lips on my wall and a gazillion pink and red pillows piled on my (you guessed it...) pink couch. Just because I don't look like the most polished version of myself 100% of the time, does not mean my branding is manipulative. It just represents the best, most focused version of me...the version that does transformational work for my clients. Here’s a hard pill to swallow...because prospective buyers cannot evaluate the quality of your work before they hire you, they have to use your brand to decide whether you're credible. Looking polished signals that you take your work seriously. But the responsibility of actually being trustworthy? That part is up to you. You have to be able to back up what your brand promises. And before you can back it up, you have to know what you stand for, what your non-negotiables are, and what makes your approach different from everyone else in your industry. That's why strategy has to become before Being Yourself is the Strategy™: A Brand Strategy Course uses the EXACT framework I use with my done-for-you clients...and it is coming soon! Normally, I don't like to chat about what I'm creating until it's done but I'm going to keep talking about it because I believe it's the most important thing you can have for your business (especially in the trust recession we're living in right now). Want to join the Brand Strategy Course Waitlist? Click here! Ready for me to do it for you? Check out my branding services here. 🎉 Survey Winner Announcement 🎉 And the winner is...SAMMY Y. for the free 1:1 session and ELLEN N. for the $100 gift card (I've sent you both a separate email with next steps)! Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey as I prepare to launch Being Yourself is the Strategy™: A Brand Strategy Course! I would still love to get some more feedback so if you didn't get a chance yet, fill out the survey here and I'll do another $100 gift card draw! Interested in joining the Brand Strategy Course Waitlist? Click here! Can't wait to share more soon! xo Emily 💋 |
Being Yourself is the Strategy™ Newsletter
Tired of business advice that doesn't feel like...YOU? Sign up for the Being Yourself is the Strategy™ newsletter. These aren’t tips or “how-to” emails. They’re honest reflections on running a business…the kind that help you slow down, think differently, and question the pressure to do everything faster, bigger, better.
Hey Reader, *Make sure you read until the end for your chance to win* My kids are finally back in school and I can finally breathe again. Woo-hoo! There's something about September that gives me SO MUCH energy. In between clients the past couple of months, I've been working on something I'm really proud of and I am soooooo ready to put everything I've got into it these next couple of weeks! As I send this, I'm updating my brand photos with Jocelyn Phillips (today is literally our photoshoot...
Hey Reader, So I did something a few weeks ago that feels a little uhhhh...cringeworthy, especially considering my entire brand is built around intentional anti-hustle strategy. I saw an email land in my inbox from a creator with a huge name in his space. He has around 30,000 subscribers!! For months, purchasing a newsletter ad from him had been sitting on my "maybe someday" list. I hadn't pulled the trigger because audience borrowing hasn't historically been a good investment for me...but...
Hey Reader, When I joined the coaching staff for my daughter's rep hockey team, I spent wayyyyy to many nights wondering if I should have said "yes" in the first place because I felt like I didn't fit in. It wasn't that the other coaches were bad guys (they aren't at all!). But they all seemed to have this effortless confidence...the kind that comes naturally when a space is predominantly centered around them. They stepped onto the ice assuming they belonged there and that they knew best. As...