EPISODE 11

Learning to trust myself, and the birth of my brand

Tune in to hear part 2 of my story — from burnout to finding my first clients, discovering my true zone of genius as a Business Clarity Mentor.

I open up about the messy, imperfect journey and the light bulb moments along the way as I gained clarity on my business and brand.

show transcript

Hey, friends.

Welcome to part two of sharing my story, how and why I started a business, how I ended up in Amsterdam, light bulb moments as I gained clarity on my brand, and more. Be sure to listen to part one before moving on. Okay. So I quit the job. I knew I wanted to start my own business, but I was burnt out and very low on energy.

Plus, this was still early days in terms of being in Amsterdam. We were still furnishing our apartment, and we had this wave of family and friends coming to visit us, which was amazing, but also takes time and energy. So for all of these reasons, I wasn’t fully immersed in building the business. And yet after a few months, I was approached by someone who became my first client. But before I talk about that, I just wanna say a few things about burnout.

If you’ve never experienced it or if you have an old school mindset when it comes to work, you may think burnout is just a trendy buzzword or a bit of a joke. That is until you become more enlightened as I finally did about the causes and consequences of burnout. Now burnout isn’t simply about feeling tired or your boss giving you way too much to do. There’s many layers to burnout, such as lack of role clarity, poor leadership, lack of control, lack of support and appreciation, unfair treatment, lack of purpose, perfectionism, and more. And when your body experiences prolonged chronic stress, the biology of burnout is quite shocking in terms of what it does to you physically.

We’re talking a whole range of gastrointestinal symptoms, skin problems, headaches, back pain, muscle pain, high blood pressure, decreased immune response, memory problems, heart disease, insomnia, actual brain changes. Look it up. It’s really very scary and very real. So if you’re experiencing burnout or think you might be on the edge, please, please, please get help. There are so many amazing people out there, psychologists, coaches, who who specialize in helping people with this very real problem.

Okay. Back to the story and how I got my first client. One of the things I love to say is clients can come from anywhere. And when you’re first starting, clients come through people you know. Old work colleagues, acquaintances, your neighbor’s husband, your cousin, somebody you meet at a party or event.

This is where it starts, in your existing network and circle of influence. And so this was true for me. My first client was a friend of a friend who had attended a party of mine back in the day. He messaged me on LinkedIn, and I ended up doing a range of marketing and strategy projects for him, and it worked out really well. In fact, this is what pushed me to finally get my Kawe Ka registration and business bank account set up so I could invoice him.

And it was thrilling to make my own money. You Now the money you earn yourself in your own business means so much more than getting the corporate paycheck, you know? So things were starting to happen, and then I got hit with a health crisis out of nowhere. I got a really serious case of eczema, which inspired me to completely change my diet. So while I was still working on my business, my primary focus shifted to healing and clean eating for a little while.

Eventually, though, I published my website and nervously announced it on Facebook. And during that time, I was swirling around in the common struggles that beginning business owners face. I lacked clarity on my business and brand. I was trying to offer too many things to too many audiences. I had so many questions and no one to really turn to to answer them.

I was feeling insecure and trying to overeducate on topics and perfect the website as a way to combat those fears. I didn’t realize just how hard it is to build a business, And I didn’t realize that I was actually learning a whole new career and needed a mentor. But I hesitated to invest in one ahead of making more money in my business first. But by the fall of that year, I was feeling better physically and mentally. So I dove deep into online and offline networking, and that led me to my first real business clarity client.

At the time, I was doing freelance marketing, and I didn’t really see myself as a business coach. But sometimes others see something in us that we do not see. This client, he had a feeling that I was the perfect person to help him. So he asked me to send a proposal to help him get clear on his business and brand. And and he had to push me to do it because I didn’t fully believe in myself.

Well, he ended up getting the clarity he needed and was extremely happy with the results, and it was a real light bulb moment for me too. I realized I had a natural gift for this clarity work and that that natural talent combined with all my years of personal life and business experience qualified me to be a business clarity mentor. But it would take me a few more years to get confident enough to own it and call myself that. Meanwhile, I continued to sell myself as a marketer without a clear niche. And, eventually, it became exhausting because I had to keep adding pages to my website for everything I was attempting to sell.

I had to keep creating custom proposals. Nothing in my business was set or systemized. Creating content felt nearly impossible because my services, audience, and message was all too broad and too bland. Plus, I was bumping up against the reality that not every one of those services was truly in my zone of genius. One day it dawned on me a very simple thought that changed my whole way of thinking as a creative, multi passionate entrepreneur.

I thought to myself, okay, just because I can do a lot of things doesn’t mean I have to do all the things. My business and my LinkedIn profile and my website does not have to represent every single thing I have ever done and can do. Okay? My ego needs to let go of that idea in order to more effectively sell a specialized service, gain more trust, charge more, and simplify my business. And importantly too, I started to see a few examples out there of other coaches who believed in the value of clear business foundations in slow sustainable progress versus growth hacks and the promise of a 6 figure business overnight.

And I saw examples of coaches who possessed a kind of quiet confidence and down to earth style versus selling a luxury lifestyle. And that inspired me to step closer to my purpose and sell in a way that felt true to me. I hired one of those coaches as well as a visual brand identity designer and evolved my brand to what it is today, a business clarity mentor who helps solo business owners get clear on their business brand and marketing. In episode seven, I talk about how I gained clarity on my packages and my unique way of working, and that was a journey as well. I think a common theme for me is finding the confidence to lean into my own way of working and being in business.

So I would say find what works for you. And if it works well for both you and your clients, that’s all the validation you need. Trust it. You know, running a business, it comes with its low points and moments where you question it all and wanna quit. But the best moments for me are when things start to click into place for my clients.

Sometimes it rushes in like a giant wave, and other times it flows gently like a forest stream. And slowly they see and understand the unique value of what they’re bringing to the market and how to talk about it. And that brings so much relief and confidence and renewed energy and excitement. And more than that, the thing that brings me joy is helping people tune into their own unique point of view, way of working, and definition of success, and helping them know that it’s valid and valuable. So it’s not just business clarity that gets me excited.

It’s self clarity and self confidence and self trust as well. So I think there’s this process you go through in business of first experimenting and then discovering what truly lights you up and what you’re meant to do, knowing it and owning it. Right? And then from there, just being honest about who specifically is the best fit for the thing that you do, and that’s your ideal client.

So, my friends, those are some highlights from my journey so far.

I can tell you that I’m far from perfect, and I’m still learning and evolving all the time. I can tell you that recording this two part podcast on my story feels super vulnerable, but I know that people want to know where I’m coming from, what drives me, and how I made the transition. Everyone has a story, so I hope this inspires you to share your own story too. Thanks for listening.

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