At this point we have explored Authenticity, Identity, and Professionalism. All very important concepts that shape us into who we are and dictate how we show up.
As I’ve mentioned before, I created this podcast for Black women who have been in corporate for a number of years and now operate their service-based business with the same corporate paradigms.
Corporate trained us to manage people’s perspective of us. So we only put out things that are deemed safe. Colors, graphics, pictures, verbiage that are palatable to the masses.
But I want to talk about how all that conditioning shows up and how it’s stifling your business.
When I see my clients’ websites, I still don’t see them.
I see corporate jargon, safe language, bland colors, no storytelling. You hide behind your degrees and logos. You show up overly polished (comes off so fake!)
I call that survival branding.
Survival branding: when you define your personal brand using fear, conditioning, and the need to be accepted vs your identity.
Now that probably works just fine in the corporate world. Gotta do what you gotta do…you’re on their turf.
But when it comes to your own…Imma need you to strip all that and get to the real.
We wanna see YOU, girl. Who are you? Whose website is this? Who runs this business?
This survival branding is so deeply infused in your branding and it shows up pretty much everywhere.
It shows up in our messaging (the verbiage you use to describe your services and communicate with your audience).
You soften your opinions, stay on the fence, and are very careful not to ruffle any feathers.
Seems smart on the surface, but what happens when you water down your message?
You’re not memorable.
You don’t move your audience.
You’re not seen as a thought leader or authority.
There’s no passion.
You haven’t drawn any line in the sand. We don’t know what you stand for and babay if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.
Here’s the other thing…95% of buying decisions are emotional.
So if you want sales, Imma need you to rile some people up.
Get emotional. Get passionate. Be bold. Tell us what you believe. Identify a common enemy and name it.
Mine is clear. We are anti corporate conditioning. Periodt!
Then we underprice…
Why is it that Black women tend to underprice…then overdeliver?!
Please stop.
You know why? Because in corporate, we were taught to be grateful, keep your head down and don’t ask for much.
We don’t ask for raises.
We don’t negotiate.
We don’t want to look greedy or like we’re begging.
So, now we position ourselves low to mid-tier vs high end even though our services are HAWT FYAH 🔥🔥
And because we’re not grounded in who we are and unsure of the value we offer, any little criticism like (your prices are too high) will send us into a spiral…am I not worth it?
One time, I did a resume for an executive relatively early in my career. I put my foot into that man’s resume, OK!
I had charts, graphs, icons. It was beautiful.
You know he came back and said, “at this level we don’t need to do all these bells and whistles.”
I was shooketh.
I went to my mentor, and she told me to stand on business and let him know that I was the expert that he paid and that he should trust me to do the job he hired me to do.
So, I nervously send him and email explaining that this is how he needs to present himself to stand out and that he needs to trust me.
He replied that he agreed and allowed me to carry on with the project.
I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!
You mean all I had to do was own who I was as the expert and people would listen to me?
That was a pivotal moment in my career because from that point on I stepped into the identity of ‘resume expert’.
Then the aesthetics…
We pick the boring bland, navys and grays. Again, tryna be safe. But you know what happens…nobody remembers you.
Look. The point is, when your brand doesn’t feel like you, people can feel that shit. And it’s a turn off.
Even if they can’t name it, they will think, “something is off”.
The constant thought of being rejected for your ideas is daunting. I get it. But don’t you think it’s exhausting to constantly edit yourself?
If any of this rings true for you, now you’re self aware. And when you know better you do better, right?
So, you’re gonna have to address this thang and make some real changes.
Start getting clear on who you are and embrace your identity.
Because if we showed up in our fullest essence, we would be unstoppable!
Stop with the survival branding and start showing up with bold authenticity.
If the thought of showing up fully feels like you’re leaving yourself exposed, we’ll talk about that next episode.
Til’ next time, remember: your identity is the strategy.
If you had some triggers, some aha moments, or just have something to say, leave a comment or join us in the chat where its safe to share your truth.
If you feel like your personal brand is diluted, book a digital brand audit: mellynated.com/digitalbrandaudit
