3 minute read
COLOURS OF BRANDING
Embrace what makes you DIFFERENT
CHEMISTRY + MAGIC = YOU
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BY LAURA BEAUPARLANT FOUNDER OF LAB CREATIVE, AUTHOR OF BRAND CHEMISTRY & CREATOR OF BRAND CAMP
Whenever I get to the ‘Your Difference’ section of my signature process called Brand Camp, I can feel the energy change. My clients get uncomfortable, embarrassed and modest. A whole pile of limiting beliefs rear their ugly head.
“I’m not that special.”“Being different is a bad thing.”“I’m not good enough.”
“How could I possibly stand out in my industry.”
These are things we’ve heard or felt many times in our life, from school, to work, to relationships and so on.
We spend so much of our time trying not to stand out, that we forget or hide what makes us special. What makes us special is why people love us and work with us. So why do we try to blend in rather than stand out?
Because standing out can be a scary place. As soon as you have a different way of doing things, a different opinion, or shine too bright, you open yourself up to judgment. And people can be horrible (just read the comments on any story in the news or social media).
We can play it safe and hope that no one notices us, we can look and act just like the other businesses in our field, or we can tap into our secret sauce and show up wholly as ourselves in our businesses.
The biggest challenge with figuring out what makes you different is you. You are too close to yourself and your business to be objective and see what other people see.
I met a woman at an event just over a year ago and there was an exercise where we had to spend 10 minutes talking to the person next to us about what we do and then we each had to interpret back to our partner our perception of them and what they do.
My initial thought was, how could someone possibly get to know me well enough to give an insightful response. However, after 5 minutes of sharing what I do, my partner Patty said: “You see deep into people souls, pull out the best of them and then put it into words and visuals.”
My jaw dropped and tears sprang to my eyes. No one had ever described me this way and yet in that moment, I knew that it was the most accurate and heartfelt description of what I do.
I will never forget this moment and how it made me realize that while there is a lot of chemistry in the work I do, there is also a whole lot of magic.
Since then, I’ve explored this even deeper and came to the realization that there are 3 key things are that make you different.
They are your head, your heart and your personality.
Your head is the part that shares your knowledge, experience, creativity, process and ideas. It’s what makes you REALLY good at what you do.
Your heart is the part that shares your values, passion and your purpose. Letting people know WHY you do what you do and the impact you want to have, will give them deep insights into what drives you.
And last but definitely not least, your personality is what magnetizes the right people to you. It can also repel the wrong people and that’s okay! Letting your true personality shine allows you to create a business and brand that deeply aligns with you.
It’s time to stand out, be different and stand for something. Remember, there’s magic in what other people say about you. So what are people saying about you?
