Episode 240: Showing Up As Your Whole Self In Your Brand

September 28, 2022

It’s easy to hide behind your brand, whether intentional or not, but are you showing up as your whole self? You’re entitled to let the world see what you want them to see based on your own comfort level. Today I want to reintroduce myself to you. There have been parts of me that I’ve kept hidden, yet I’m ready to share those beautiful parts with you and show up intentionally as my whole self within my brand.

I understand what it takes to have a polished and put together brand, but I also know that sometimes existing within these perfectly polished personas that we create for our brands, sometimes we hide parts of ourselves. There have been plenty of times that I’ve hidden things and kept them secret, yet some of those parts, I no longer want to do that.

Showing Up As Your Whole Self In Your Brand

In hiding certain parts of myself, I felt stuck in a facade that no longer felt authentic. I have spent a lot of time sharing this very warm and engaging and polished presence, especially on my Instagram account. What I’ve realized is that by taking specific polished parts of myself and making them the focus, I’ve ignored other parts of myself that also deserve to be part of my brand.

I live with a chronic illnes.

I have a neurological disease called migrane. This means that I’ve had to build a business that allows me to work around this illness, to show up when I have the energy while prioritizing my health.

I’m a queer person.

As a bisexual woman in what appears to be a heteronormative relationship. This impacts my world views and my values. By not talking about it, I was keeping a beautiful part of who I am hidden. I feared that by sharing this part of me, it would make me look unprofessional or I would receive judgement for that.

I’m done with those fears, as they keep me small.

While I don’t believe the world is entitled to know these things about me, I’m sharing them now, because I simply want to. By not sharing them, I’m limiting the impact or resources I could be for others.

When you’re creating a brand persona, that reflects who you are and what you value and what you stand for, you’re able to evolve. There’s power and vulnerability in remembering that when we share who we are fully, we give permission to others to do the same.

I’m excited to show up as my full self, so that you can do the same as well.

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Hi friend, and welcome to the brand strategy podcast. A show created to equip you with the inspiration, encouragement, and clarity. You need to build a brand of your dreams. I’m your host, Bonnie Bakhtiari, brand designer, strategist, and founder of the Illume Retreat from sustainable strategy to heartfelt encouragement. Each episode is designed to equip you with the tools you need to chase after your dreams, because you deserve a brand that empowers you to do what you love, connects with your dream clients and offers a deep sense of fulfillment along the way. So grab a cup of coffee and join me on this journey. Won’t you,

Hey friends, welcome back to the brand strategy podcast, where today we are talking about how to show up as your whole self in your business and how to craft a brand persona that reflects the parts of yourself that you want to share with your ideal client and with your audience. Today’s episode is another really heartfelt one. This literally is coming straight from my heart. As I reflect on my journey, as I think about ways that I want to step into what’s next for myself, for my business and for this community. And so I’m excited to be able to share this with you. I’m, I’m grateful to be able to invite you into this space for this really open and honest and vulnerable, um, conversation today. And I’m hopeful that this is gonna show you and encourage you, how you can continually grow and shift your brand to reflect what you value, who you are and what you stand for.

And I think that this is such an exciting opportunity for us as entrepreneurs to make these changes to whether you’re just getting started and you’re building your business from the ground up, or maybe you’re making some thoughtful edits like I am to your already established brand. There’s so much space and opportunity for us to kind of play with and allow ourselves to reflect these brand personas that allow us to show up as our whole selves or whatever parts of yourself you feel called to share as a part of your business. So friends let’s dive on in as a brand designer and strategist with like 10 plus years of experience in this industry. Hmm. Trust me, I know thing or two about what it, what takes to have a polished put together brand that communicates what you value and the transformation that your work provides while connecting with your ideal clients and attracting them.

But, but I also know that sometimes existing within these perfectly polished personas that we create for our brands, that sometimes we hide parts of ourselves and that’s necessary. There have been times over the decade that I have been visible online. There have been times when I have kept things private, because as a human you’re entitled to privacy, you do not owe the world all of your information and a play by play of what you’re going through or the traumas that you’re processing or the healing that you’re doing. But what I’ve noticed is that in the more recent months and even years, there have been parts of myself that I have kept private, that I no longer wish to keep private, but because of the fear of how do I share these parts of myself with this audience in a way that looks professional, I’ve stage silent.

I’ve kept things quiet when I didn’t need to. And what I realized is I was keeping myself stuck in this facade that no longer felt authentic. And that’s what growth looks like. Sometimes what you used to share, how you used to show up was fully authentic for a season. But as you grow, as you evolve, as you become more of who you are, that can change. And so then it’s important that you shift the way you’re showing up in order to share the parts of yourself that you want to share with others. So for example, I believe that I’ve spent a lot of time sharing this very warm and engaging and polished presence, especially on my Instagram account. If you listen to my podcast, you know, that, um, I, I really love to express myself verbally and I’ve been told that I am eloquent, that I have a way with words.

And what I’ve realized is that by taking those parts of myself and making them the full focus, I’ve unintentionally ignored parts of myself that I think also deserve to be a part of the conversation. Things like the fact that I live with a chronic illness, I live with a, a neurological disorder, not even a disorder, a neurological disease called migraine. And that’s something that impacts the amount of energy that I have to bring to my business day to day, week to week and even month to month. That’s an important part of who I am and how I show up in my business and how I structure my business so that I can honor my energy and I can prioritize my health. I also am a person as a bisexual woman in what appears to be a heteronormative relationship. That’s a part of who I am, and that informs my worldviews and my values.

And I realized that by not talking about that, not sharing that part of me, I was keeping this really beautiful part of who I am hidden. And I wasn’t displaying that for fear that, you know, it would make me look unprofessional or it would be perceived in a certain kind of way, or that I would receive judgment for that. And I’m done with that because those are fears that are keeping me small. Those are behaviors that are keeping me hidden, and the longer that you stay small and the longer that you stay hidden, the less amount of time you have available to help others by sharing your message. When I share my voice, and I say that there are parts of who I am that are an important and valid and beautiful part of my identity that I have not been sharing. I do not share this because I believe the world is entitled to know all these things about me.

There’s a reason why I’ve kept these parts private for years in fact, but I share them now because I simply want to share them. And I believe that that’s important that when you’re creating a brand persona, that reflects who you are and what you value and what you stand for, you’re able to evolve. And that persona is able to evolve as well, so that it can include all of the parts of who you are that you want to share. Again, you don’t have to share more than you’re comfortable with, but remembering that there’s power and vulnerability and remembering that when we share who we are fully, we give permission to others to do the same. So think of this as a little, a little reintroduction to who I am. I’m excited to be able to share these parts with you. I’m excited to be able to introduce you to these beautiful aspects of who I am that make me a loving and compassionate and considerate human, because I am able to then share these parts of who I am.

I am able to show up more fully. And my intention is that by showing up more fully as a person, as a person who exists with a chronic illness, that I’m then able to show you how you can do the same and pursue success on your own terms so that you can generate the kind of impact through your business command, the amount of income that you want and experience the amount of fulfillment that you desire through your brand. So I’m excited to share this with you. I’m excited to invite you to follow me on this journey. And I hope that this serves as a reminder to you today to show up as, as your whole self, so that by shining brightly, you give others the permission to do the same.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Friends, before you go, I would be so grateful to receive your feedback on the brand strategy podcast. If you enjoyed this episode or the podcast in general has helped you grow your brand. I’d really appreciate it. If you left us a review in iTunes, your positive reviews enable the brand strategy podcast to continue to grow and reach like-minded creatives. Just like you. Thank you for all your support and encouragement is together. We pursue building brands with purpose and intention until next time I’m cheering you on from Waco.

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My name is Bonnie – I’m a brand designer, strategist, and writer which all adds up to one eclectic conglomeration of qualities that enables me to serve you well! Past clients have dubbed me "the Joanna Gaines of brand design," and I've had more than a few call me a dream maker, a game changer, and a design wizard (my Harry Potter-loving heart didn't hate that one, let me tell you!). At the end of the day, I'm a big-hearted creative who will get teary-eyed as you share the heart behind your business; who will lose sleep over the perfect font pairings and color selections to bring your brand to life visually; and who will work tirelessly to empower, encourage, and equip you to share your work with the world intentionally. 

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