When you’re a creative entrepreneur it seems like your business is always changing, even when you’re just predictably ticking right along, project-by-project. For starters, what you do and sell just keeps getting better with practice. Naturally (or intentionally!) your following and your reputation grow. For some, the growth is slow and steady, for others, it’s a flurry, and for most of us, it’s a mix of both.
Tara here. Whether you’re a hot spark or a slow burn, a tortoise or a hare, (you guys know which one I am, slow and steady wins the race, right?) – the longer you work in the business you’ve created for yourself, the more clearly you know what you like, what you love, and what you’d rather not do any more at all.
“The longer you work in the business you’ve created for yourself, the more clearly you know what you love & what you’d rather not do any more at all.”
So I want to talk about those times when we’re not just routinely ticking along. What about those times when you are completely energized, preoccupied, even agitated, by a new idea for your business—an idea that would take your business (and your life) to a way of working that you would really love. What happens when your own inner-hare starts thump-thump-thumping and wants to take off!?
Your vision for “what’s next” might be…
- going from an a la carte list of services to offering a primary package
- narrowing in on a package or service with the most impact for you and your clients
- no longer positioning yourself as a skill-set or a quick fix, but as an expert and a guide
- launching a product, program, or event that goes beyond one-on-one work
- even transitioning away from one-on-one service work altogether and focusing on writing, speaking, podcasting, or building a community?
Do more than just one of these scenarios sound like what you want, too? Ask yourself, is your brand helping you make these transitions, or is it holding you back? It may seem a little like putting the cart before the horse, but often it’s the changes we make to our brand— our messages, how we frame up our offerings, and a shift in style and tone (like embracing more of our personal brand alongside the professional)—that helps us stay motivated through a transition, that helps us share this change with other people with more confidence, and definitely helps people know how to engage with us and our business – in this entirely new way.
“Is your brand helping you make your business vision transition – or is it holding you back?”
Even though I’m all for brands matching (heck, actually pre-paving!) where we want to go with our business vision, I’m not a fan of throwing the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to your business and expertise. For example, if you want to transition from one-on-one work to launching a one-to-many product, what are the ingredients that are making their way into this new offering, that still come from your experience and expertise?
Can you restructure your offering and reframe your brand messaging without starting over from scratch? Absolutely. I think the goal for a brand in transition is to get it reflecting a 50/50 mix of a.) how you actually work now + b.) how you want to be working going forward. Look at your website, your recent social media posts, even your last three projects. What parts can stay as a valid, legit part of your brand? Which parts can go to make room for the new vision you want to share?
