You are your brand
The other day I was in a meeting with a bunch of men wearing suits.
Nothing wrong with any of that (they’re all 10/10 guys!), except that I looked at myself in the computer video and thought “OMG, I look like I just walked out of the desert after doing peyote for 5 days.”
I was wearing a tribal sweater, a beautiful amethyst and turquoise gem necklace that my sweet friend’s mama made for me and my hair was in a bun on the top of my head because I had not bothered to brush it that morning.
And all of a sudden, I had to start laughing at myself (after turning off my video). The meeting was boring, it was droning on and on and I suddenly realized that maybe what makes me different is actually my superpower.
Sometimes I embarrass myself with my vibrancy in corporate America. In a world of stiff suits and polished high heels, I am put together in the most hippie-West-Coast type of way. I’m uncomfortable in business formal attire to the point where I start sweating no matter the season or time of year. Watching me walk in dress shoes is akin to watching Phoebe run in Friends (if you know, you know). And I can’t help but laugh at myself while presenting in work meetings. Honestly, why is no one else laughing with me?!
And it hit me, that we all have this part of ourselves that is slightly embarrassing, this part that we sometimes want to hide or dampen down and then I had this thought:
What if we are all holding ourselves back by not being and owning who we really are?
And then I got really nerdy and turned this whole realization into a marketing and branding conversation in my head.
We are all salespeople. Maybe you don’t think of yourself that way, but you should. Every day, you are selling yourself, your ideas, your products, your services.
You are in sales in some way.
And part of sales is knowing what your brand is.
Spoiler alert: You are your brand.
This whole peyote-in-the-desert moment lead me to this truth bomb:
Branding a business is not about doing or being something. Branding is just innately who you are.
Your brand is your authentic self when you stop trying to fit in and just own who you are. It’s a rare (and forced) occasion that you’ll catch me in a suit. And that’s ok. Your personal brand, your business brand, your product brand – it all comes back to the core essence of who you are.
And when you are involved with a business, that business takes on your brand.
Brands and companies that have succeeded are the ones that have mastered being themselves. And that often begins with one person choosing to own who they are and deciding to do things their way. It evolves into hiring others who understand and take on that brand as their own because it fits with their personal core essence. It is such a good fit that it’s like they don’t even have to try. They just get it.
This is innovation. Being who you are and then building a community of people who share the same values.
This doesn’t mean you need to all dress the same way (thank God!). People in a company can bring their own personality and brand to the table as long as they identify with the larger vision. For example, I might be a little “out there” in some of these meetings, but I do well in this company’s environment because I believe in what we are all working for each day and it gives me the space to be me.
Branding is all about making sales easier. But first, you’ve gotta know who you are, where you came from and you’ve gotta be willing to bring your own flair with you wherever you go.
In other words, you have to own your superpower.
If you’re not sure what your superpower is, start by asking yourself what you feel a little embarrassed about. What’s that thing that you don’t tell very many people about yourself? What do you downplay?
The answers to those questions might surprise you a bit. The world has space for your brand, loves. Time to let it shine.
Xoxo,
Em