You’ve done the work and earned your status in your chosen field, and your training and experience speak for itself.
So why is it that growing your business can feel like you’re splashing in the kiddie pool… when your soul’s crying out to be swimming in the ocean?
Here’s what I observe about the amazing clients I work with: you’re good at what you do because you learned the rules, so you know which ones you can break.
Maybe you were trained in a certain style that you knew you’d rebel against as soon as you had the chance.
Or perhaps it was a gradual thing: you gained certification, took your newfound skills into the real world, and found that little by little, your own unique approach seeped in.
Either way, over time you’ve made your technique your own. You’ve found your groove, quietly folding the fundamentals in with your intuitive style.
It’s that unique flavor only you can bring that your clients and customers are drawn to and keeps them coming back.
And yet, it’s so easy to get caught up doing the exact opposite when it comes to your business.
The Trouble With “Expert” Advice
We’re not taught how to be experts at marketing or running a business (and the rules feel like they’re changing all the time), so when you’re learning as you go it’s common to develop a habit of following the people who are experts at those things.
Before you realize it, your inbox and social media feeds are littered with people who are telling you, “You’ve got to do X” or “You’ll never get to the next level without Y!”—and it can be tough to know what’s helpful and what’s hype.
So you doubt yourself, thinking you should probably listen to the “experts” and wind up trying to follow their methods.
And all the time, in the back of your mind you’re wondering why it feels so damn HARD.
Eliza Falkner had just that experience. Trained in London as a classical dress designer, she started out thinking her path was clear: she was going to create incredible, one-of-a-kind dresses.
Her talent speaks for itself, but after spending time building her online business she’d lost confidence in her awesomeness and found herself following a mould that didn’t fit. When we started working together, she’d gotten caught up in following the tried-and-true approach in her industry: building collections with a range of apparel pieces and doing a ton of work to get her clothing sold in stores.
It’s what everyone said she should be doing.
Except, it wasn’t what she wanted.
So, we worked together to simplify and streamline, to sift out the smart strategies that worked for her from the rules she needed to be breaking.
The outcome? Eliza was able to reclaim her expertise. By getting clarity on what she knew deep down felt right for her, she no longer felt distracted by the noise and expectations of her industry. She began designing solely dresses, and primarily sells them through her online store with the occasional pop-up–which she looooves.
Let Your Rebel Flag Fly
Whether you’ve got an inner rebel or not, finding success on your own terms starts with knowing what advice to take and which rules to kick to the curb.
Checking in with yourself and trusting your instincts about what works for you is essential. It’s why getting clear on your strengths, what you love to do, and how you love to do it is the foundation of a successful digital business strategy.
Want to figure out which rules you can “break” in order to build a business that plays to your strengths? We can do that together in a Digital Strategy Intensive. Get the first module of the Digital Strategy Intensive absolutely free here.
