Showing up when the world is on fire
Over the last week, the news from around the world seems to have become more and more intense - I won’t go into any details today because I think we all know what is going on.
If like me, you’re a sensitive, empathetic entrepreneur who can’t look away, but still has bills to pay, family and clients to support, and your own mental health to look after, this email is for you.
Promoting your business whilst the world is in a state of heightened chaos is really fucking hard.
You have so much value to share, and are excited to talk about your latest projects and client wins, but shouting into the void about how great you are feels wrong in your chest.
You might choose to share nothing at all because it’s just all too overwhelming and as an ADHD gal, I totally get it.
Too many possibilities of how to move forward can be paralysing, but staying silent and shying away from selling your important work, is not the answer.
Your personal brand will benefit from intentional communication about big situations and where you stand, but that doesn't mean you have to put out a deeply researched, dramatic statement.
Here's what you can do instead:
Utilise your unique combination of values, skills and experience
Offer advice within your specialism that will help people get through a tough time. Here's some examples that speak to a wider situation whilst staying within the key themes of your business:
Bodywork and massage therapist: 3 ways to support your body during stressful times.
Systems strategist: Make your workflow easy for yourself and your clients when the world is taking up extra brainpower by using these simple adaptations.
Sustainability consultant: Sustainable choices are an act of resistance - here's why.
Speak your truth through honest, imperfect words or visuals
This isn’t a grammar test and it’s OK to get things wrong. Avoid using AI to generate your words for you though - they need to come from your beautiful, unique, intelligent brain. AI (or, preferably, actual humans) can help to organise ideas and create structure, but take everything it does with a pinch of salt - it’s kinda dumb, generic and well, boring.
If words escape you altogether, share a relevant image from your brand shoot with a quote that really resonates with you right now.
Share what others have said
If you have read an insightful news article, watched a valuable video or found another business owner or creator who has summed up exactly what you think, add it to your newsletter or re-share on your social media feed. Don’t forget to credit/tag the original creator.
This will save your brain power whilst still showing up for what you stand for.
Be flexible
If you have a schedule of what to send out or post, but it just isn’t sitting well, you are allowed to change it, adapt it, re-organise it, heck, ignore it completely.
Maybe you had ‘make chatty reel' planned for this week, but that's just not going to happen. Instead, dictate the same thought into your phone (bottom right corner on the Apple Notes app) and copy and paste it into a caption with a photo from your brand shoot, or into your newsletter.
You're still showing up, but in a different way. One that feels easier.
Remove Instagram from your schedule for a bit if that platform in particular feels like too much, and just send emails instead.
Remember, you are in charge of your little corner of the internet and you can say whatever you want, in whatever order you want.
By choosing to act on one of these options, your audience will appreciate how you’re able to provide meaningful support during a collectively traumatic time, rather than just ignoring it and hoping it all blows over. Truth bomb: it won’t.
You will also find people who really resonate with you character, values and vision and filter out those who you don’t want to be working with.
I’ll end with this:
Trust your gut.
You know what is important to you.
You know what you want to say.
If you have a thought to share, or need a mini-soundboarding sesh to flesh out an idea or two, here’s an invite to hit reply or book a relaxed 30 minute, virtual cuppa.
It's not a sales call, it's kind, human connection - we need it more than ever right now.
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