The modern world of business has us believing that our future clients and customers are people we need to ‘convince into’ our business. That we need to somehow overcome their resistances and objections, relentlessly prove our value compared to other businesses, and consistently “show up” in a very outward way. Only then, will they be willing to buy from us.
Social media, I think, has created a norm that tells us we need to daily push our services and products to people who are often consuming the content of hundreds (or thousands) of other people. Us business owners are told that we need to consistently show up online in order to have a fraction of chance of being noticed.
Alongside this, whether directly or indirectly, we're told that we need to constantly be convincing those that do see our content that they need what we offer. We're told that unless we are shouting, we will not be heard. Unless we are ‘overcoming objections’ we will not be received. Unless we can convince others that they need us, we will drift aimlessly amongst the noise, unheard and unseen. Unless our presence is relentlessly consistent, we will be forgotten.
Within this, we are taught that people need convincing in order to invest. That business is a game of hustle and comparison, where we are straining for attention amongst an audience that needs to be subtly manipulated into action.
Even before I started Wonderfully Made, I had this exact all-or-nothing understanding of business. And as I deepened into my own business, I realized pretty quickly that this idea of competition, comparison and convincing was not something that inspired me into action. Instead, it left me feeling disheartened and frozen; unable to move forward or make decisions. It tangled me up in self-doubt and gave me an overriding sense that I would have to abandon naturalness for force; feminine design for masculinized expression; slow, nature-filled living for hustle and relentless screen time. All feelings and beliefs that were not conducive to creativity, aligned action, and ultimately, creating a thriving business that I loved. I didn't like this at all... "There must be another way. This can't be the only way to grow a business."
I wanted a softer way of running a business, where sharing and selling online felt natural and gentle.
I needed to re-choose how to look at business, unraveling what had been, and still was, presented to me as the business-norm, and choosing instead to believe in a different way -- no matter how "different" it was.
This included choosing to believe that there were people out there who were naturally and deeply aligned to what I offered. That I did not need to convince, cajole or subtly manipulate people into my business,
It meant choosing to believe that I did not have to be bound to hustle culture or social media to create a business that felt nourishing and sustainable.
It meant choosing to believe that there were a bountiful number of people who I was naturally equipped to serve in my own unique way.
It meant softening into the truth that marketing my business was not about convincing or trying to make my work seem compelling to as many people as possible, but instead about finding nourishing ways to connect with the right people for my work.
I have found that one of the biggest shifts we can make as gentle business owners, and feminine creatives, is to re-orient wholeheartedly towards the people we are naturally and deeply designed to serve. Not those who we think we ‘should’ serve. Not those who we think 'need our work but just don’t know it yet.’
But instead those who are ready, waiting and yearning to discover the exact creation, service, artistry, words, message that we offer through our business.
When we focus on this, our job is not to convince and cajole, or play into the hustle culture of business. It is not to contort ourselves or the way we market our business into something that does not reflect the true heart of what we are here to offer.
Instead, our job is to deepen into understanding the deeper layers and unique value of our business. It is to understand who we are speaking to and who we are truly for. It is to authentically express who we are (beyond just what we monetize), and to invite our people into the conversations and messages that are naturally interwoven within our work. It is to stay connected to the creative desires of our own hearts, while also staying curious and open to who our organic audience really is when we are rooted in our most authentic expression, creativity and service.
From here, business, marketing and content creation becomes an instinctive and meaningful dance of connection and service, where we naturally cut through the noise without needing to override our deeper values, desires and nature.
Where instead of hustling, convincing and contorting, we can trust that there is a natural and unforced way for our business and creative work to be seen and received in the world.
Until next time,
xx Kelsey
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