“How can I be more authentic in my marketing?” was a question I was asked this week at a course for female entrepreneurs I’m running with Nottingham Uni and the My Business My Way team.

And it got me thinking, how can we be more authentic? And what does being authentic mean?

I felt a Carrie Bradshaw moment coming on then, but…moving on!

So, over the years I have bared all in my marketing. I’ve let you know about my personal life, my past and how this relates to what I do now and how I can help you grow your business.

But this wasn’t an overnight reveal. It was something that has taken years of working through and on to get to the point where I am comfortable enough with my story to share it. And also to the point where I can fit my story around the message I want to give you as an entrepreneur.

So I can talk about resilience when I talk about being a single mum or surviving cancer. So I can talk about money issues when I share what it’s like to live on income support for 5 years. So I can talk about shame when I admit to being deported from New Zealand.

And what this enables me to do is connect with you. It enables me to show a raw vulnerable side. Because I don’t know about you, but people who seem to have it all together scare me a little. How can someone by that happy, or that successful, surely we all have flaws?

Showing flaws - that for me is being authentic.

So back to the conversation I had this week.

The woman in question wants to get more of herself into her marketing. She wants to share her story. She wants to be able to connect with her audience on a deeper level.

But there is something holding her back.

And it stems from her past, just as much as the stories she wants to share stem from her past.

The things she wants to share are also the things that are holding her back.

She has voices in her head. Telling her not to stand out. Not to be the centre of attention. Not to get to big.

And we all have these voices from time to time. Perhaps they’re your Dad’s voice, or your mum’s or someone else in your life.

Well, generally that is about their story. If someone is telling you not to get too big for your boots, it’s because they’re scared of getting too big for theirs.

Why do we even have this saying?

Too big for your boots?

Why do we condition our children from a really early age to play it small? To not be too noisy? Not to be a showoff?

We’re all going to die. The only thing we leave behind is what we do. And why not make a big a splash as possible? Where does playing small get you?

Small?

And if you’re putting your heart and soul into running a business. Do you want a small business, limping along? Not putting your head above the paraphet? Not daring to play it big?

What are you waiting for?

So, play it big people. Be brave. Go out there and tell your story.

My advice is that you can ‘out’ yourself in small stages. Start by sharing something small, until you think you can share the bigger stuff.

But we all want to connect with each other.

So, if you’re holding yourself back, and you know inside you’re playing small, then start little by little opening up.

I think you’ll find the reception you get it loving. And the more happy vibes you get, the braver you’ll be. It’s like a muscle, you need to build it up over time.

Tell those voices in your head that you thank them for their advice, but it’s about them, not you and you aren’t going to let them hold you back anymore.

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