About Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
Many times you’ll hear me say, “Put yourself out there.” Which, I know, is intentionally vague. Each one of us has different levels of comfort when it comes to what we share about ourselves and our business. And that’s perfectly normal. However, I encourage you to put in the work to find out what your boundaries are and how you can maximize your self-marketing skills.
If I were to say, “Go secure a speaking gig tomorrow,” and you were terrified of public speaking that wouldn’t do you any good for your business. But if I asked, “What are you comfortable with doing today that will introduce your brand to 1 stranger?” I’m confident you could think of at least 1 actionable item you could semi-confidently pull off. It could be attending a local event and speaking to strangers about your business. Posting a photo of you on social media and adding in the caption why you’re passionate about your business. Maybe it’s submitting your work for a competition you’ve been eyeing for some time. Or maybe it’s finally publishing that blog post that’s been sitting in your draft folder for months. Whatever it is, it’s ok and normal that you don’t feel 100% confident. Believe me.
A big part of growing a brand is growing yourself and seeing what you’ll do to accomplish your dreams. And guess what, once you achieve the dream, another dream will have formulated in your path pushing you to grow even farther. Be vulnerable. Be uncomfortable. And own that you are awesome just as you are.
So when I say, “Put yourself out there,” I mean take active steps toward letting others know exactly what you do, why you do it, and who the person behind the work is in a manner that is most comfortable to you.
The self-marketing path is different for everyone but what is the same for all is the fact that creating opportunities for others get to know you and your work is a tried and tested way of creating a profitable business.
And before you say, “Nope. No can do.” Know that I’m only writing this because I’ve been through this process of getting out of my comfort zone and openly allowing the opportunity for others to judge me and it’s the best thing that could have happened.
You can check out this Reel where I share about my struggles with stuttering— but, in summary, I’ve stuttered since I was 4 years old and I wasn’t able to learn how to control it 90% of the time until my mid twenties, which meant public speaking was way out of the question for me.
So when the opportunity came to speak at CreativeMornings in my early thirties, I got out of my comfort zone and said, “Why not? People will just have to deal with 10% of stuttering.” And that one opportunity snowballed into where I’m at now running a successful branding studio. Following CreativeMornings, I was given the opportunity to speak at the Women Empower Expo, which led to 2 more speaking opportunities, including a Keynote Speaker spot. I have been able to show strangers who I am, educate about what I know best, and share why I’m so passionate about what I do.
So when I say, “Put yourself out there,” I mean share your talent and your passion with the Universe and see what magic happens. 🔮
Ready to be a small business owner who gets branding help?