5 Tips For Building An Authentic Business Or Brand
Whether you’re in the beginning stages or six years into development, there is one universal truth when it comes to creating a business or brand that makes a meaningful impact—authenticity. This must be the core.
And that’s really the truth, isn’t it? You can have the absolute best business concept, the most useful products, and a truly engaging marketing strategy but you won’t reach the audience or leave the lasting impression you desire without offering the truth and vulnerability that makes you human, real, and worth investing in—whether your clients are investing money or your audience is investing their time.
So what does authenticity really mean? While I won’t claim to have all the answers or promise to provide the ‘secret sauce’ within these five tips, I will say that the entire foundation of my career and business was built upon creating authenticity through my words and websites.
Nine years ago, I started sharing pieces of my heart with the world—personal essays about heartbreak, anecdotes from real-life lessons, and all the good, bad, and ugly about the growth and changes we all face—and it was life-changing. It is through this continual practice of leading with my authentic experiences that my perspective on business ownership/development has been shaped.
As humans, what makes us lean into places and spaces around us is when we can see ourselves reflected back to us. (click to tweet this) My aim with these tips is to help you do that in ways that you perhaps haven’t before.
1. Begin With Your Passions
This may sound cliche at first, but one of the most powerful and liberating things you can do for yourself is to recognize what sets your soul on fire, what fuels your passion. We are each designed differently, and with that comes the responsibility to lean into what feels aligned, what feels exciting, and what makes us angry - as a catalyst for change.
If you start by recognizing these feelings, you can cut more closely to the core of what you’re supposed to be saying and why. This, then, becomes the rawness of your voice.
As a writer, I am, of course, speaking mostly about the written content you pen—on your website, social channels, newsletters, etc.—but there is vulnerability within everything you create. For example, photos can have vulnerability. Think of the picture-perfect images on Instagram that you’ve envied over. And now think about the pictures that perhaps were more candid and behind-the-scenes. What draws you to the latter?
If you look at your life, your career, your business, your brand, or your projects through the lens of passion—and particularly by asking the questions, “Am I passionate about this?” “Does this really matter to me?”—it will help you to understand more of the vision and driving factor behind why you do what you do.
And this will help you to build authenticity in a way that’s more natural.
2. Recognize (And Lean Into) the Fear
Choosing to be more vulnerable, especially around business, is honestly a terrifying process. What if people don’t resonate? What if they judge? What if this actually backfires, and people pull away rather than lean in? These are all valid questions, but they’re fear-based.
At any given moment, we can create a thousand different ‘what ifs’ to keep us from doing what we’re meant to do. But typically, when these defense mechanisms arise, it’s because we are the closest to our true purpose—and that’s when our natural inclination is to resist kicks in.
But don’t.
Recognize fear for what it is. Understand why it’s happening and what you can do about it (aka: actively resist by pushing yourself to continue to write, to create, and to open yourself to more authentic conversations and experiences). Lean into this fear because on the other side of it are opportunities.
I promise.
3. Write For Yourself First
One key direction I give my clients is, “Write for yourself first.” Although this may sound counterintuitive, when we write for ourselves first (think diary, journal, or reflection) we actually break the barrier between ourselves and our intended audience.
Rather than trying to craft something ‘perfect’ or worrying over outside judgment, we put down the walls and allow ourselves to truly speak openly.
4. Embrace The Mess
I love the phrase ‘embrace the mess’ because it resonates so deeply with each and every one of us (even if we don’t want to admit it). At some point in our lives, we’ve been messy. We haven’t had it together. We’ve questioned everything. But on the other side of those moments is growth. On the other side of those moments is clarity, direction, and a step towards our goals.
The messiness is what gets us from Point A to Point B. It’s the journey. (click here to tweet this) And the sooner you can embrace that mess, stop trying to be “picture perfect” and start to share about your experience in it, the sooner you’ll find that others can relate, too.
5. Keep Going
I wish I could say that once you write one vulnerable newsletter, record one transparent podcast, or publish one raw and unpolished article, your life will change. (I’m not going to say it won’t…but this isn’t a one-step process by any means).
Starting to be more authentic—both online and in-person and both within the spaces you create and the spaces around you—is embarking on a journey that’s continually peeling back your layers. It’s scary. It’s uncomfortable. But it’s one of the best decisions you can make for yourself, for your business, and for your future.
So here’s how you start (right here, right now):
Start writing a journal about your real (and unedited) feelings. What moved you today? What frustrated you? What do you wish you could change?
Commit to sharing ONE thing with at least one person each week. This can be a secret that you haven’t put out into the open, a dream you’ve hidden, or it can be as simple as initiating a conversation/confrontation (professional or personal) that you know needs to happen.
Marisa Donnelly is the Founder & CEO of Be A Light Collective, a creative marketplace, online community, and writing/editing services company with a mission of reshaping what traditional education looks like through a relationship-based learning lens.
To learn more about authenticity, you can follow Marisa’s blog (where she writes about it often!) or subscribe to The VulnerABILITY Podcast, a series dedicated to authentic conversations about what matters and how we can actionably move towards better versions of ourselves.
Connect with the author Marisa Donnelly: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
