The 3 fears of developing a personal brand

People trust people more than they trust businesses. —Dain Walker, Rivyl founder

When we step out in real life or online to represent the face of our personal brands, we naturally feel the weight of that step more than if we were “behind the scenes.”

Like playing tug-of-war, you tug harder with fewer people on your side of the rope tugging with you.

Whether you’re offline or online with your product or service, coaching or agency, there are three fears that will creep up on your personal brand within the haunted house of marketing. [Insert witch's cackle here, hehehe!🧹]

But hey friend, let’s have fun and know the clowns, vampires and zombies are on their way to scare the bejesus out of us.

To face these fears head-on, we can first admit them.

💀🌹🕷️🕸️🐈‍⬛

Fear of rejection

Whether real or imagined fear, pile on the drama for a moment. What if you are launching a course and are afraid of crickets? Sending out a newsletter and afraid of unsubscribes? Fear of rejection can sneak in to censor our speech or even shut us down from new opportunities. Afraid of criticism? Afraid of judgment?

Fear of failure

This is also what I’ll categorize within the realm of normal in the fun but scary haunted house. Maybe you don’t launch a YouTube channel because you don’t think anyone will see your videos. Maybe you don't raise your prices because you'll have massive anxiety around your new rates if you do. Maybe for some the fear of failure is the biggest fear around starting a new business or relying more heavily on solopreneurship for income.

Fear of disappointment

We don’t want to let ourselves down, and we don’t want to let down others. We don’t want to disappoint a client with the outcomes of our work. It is easy to hold on to aspects of our past professional identities out of a sense of safety, security and familiarity, instead of “disappointing” our audience if we’ve changed.

BOOO! If all of that 😱 sounds legit scary, I get it! And you’re not alone.

💀🌹🕷️🕸️🐈‍⬛

Here is a short list to calm down.

• Be gentle and compassionate with yourself in your business journey of self-discovery and self-loving.
• Take it a day at a time.
• Breathe.
• Move the body and physically shake out the jitters.
• Avoid over-comparing yourself to others.
• Harvest fear and channel it creatively in a project or task.
• Find community and accountability partners who support you alongside your growth.
• See fear as a signal of what’s important to you.
• Know that your business is a constant work in progress, never perfect, and ever evolving. Like something beautiful (in your personal development) or wonderful (like a child). 
• To reiterate, your current business and current website copy is not your forever business or forever website copy. Hence, day-at-a-time.

I'll throw you a few more bones here... ☠️🦴

• Get to know coaches in subconscious reprogramming or neurosomatic intelligence (I've got names for you of good ones!)
• Put on the boxing gloves, lie down for a body scan, get into a Feldenkrais class with Igor Shteynberg in NYC… Whatever your nervous system is asking of you
• Seek mentors or advisors in business or personal finance
• Work with a copywriter to increase clicks, sign-ups and sales online
• Spend some time learning Notion to organize your biz and life
• Set up the InsightTimer app and sit to meditate for 5 minutes
• When in doubt, journal it out
• Play with your pet
• Go on a walk
• Steep a tea
• Read

What are some other tools or approaches you’ve found helpful in developing your personal brand and building your business?

How do you intend to face fears when they come a-lurkin’ as they do? 

Hit reply and let me know! 

Happy Halloween🎃 (and new moon tomorrow),