0:00:00 - Michelle Pualani
Today we are talking all about developing your brand identity and what it means to not just pivot in your business but to welcome it, giving yourself permission to have a living, breathing brand as you evolve. I think this conversation is really important as a business owner because you're essentially evolving through your own journey, your own path, developing your personal brand as a coaching business, as a service-based business, as a product business, and a lot of times we feel like we get stuck or we feel like we judge the process or we can't do that because we've been doing this for so long. So stay tuned because Jesse's going to have a lot to share with you today. And speaking of, we are so excited to welcome Jesse Christensen, a seasoned entrepreneur who has journeyed through many diverse aspects of branding, from founding a design studio to contributing to an eight-figure startup. Jesse is a brand strategist that helps coaches, creatives and founders stand out, make more and grow their impact through building magnetic personal brands, which is what we all want. So welcome Jesse. Thanks so much for joining us today.
0:01:03 - Jesse Christensen
Hello, thank you so much for having me.
0:01:05 - Michelle Pualani
I'm so excited to be here, jesse your professional journey, as you were sharing it with me on the prep call, has been really dynamic. Been doing a lot of branding things for some time, but it's really evolved. So founding a brand design studio right out of your undergrad and branding for an eight-figure startup which are all massive accomplishments, and I was very wowed when talking to you about these things. But can you share with us just a little bit about your overall background, where you come from and then how you also navigated some of these big transitions in your life?
0:01:36 - Jesse Christensen
Just as you mentioned, my career has been anything but linear, but I feel like that makes for a good story. Right, I flip-flop the traditional leave the corporate career to start a business because I actually, like you mentioned, out of my undergrad, started a company and then transitioned to the corporate world. So a little bit of background on that was I started off my career founding a brand design studio in Chicago, illinois, and really poured my heart and my soul into this business, learning the ropes of being an entrepreneur, and ended up working my way up to building a team and working with some incredible women-owned businesses all across the globe, helping them design their brands, their websites and really either launch a new business or rebrand their current level up in what they were doing. But after a few years of growing a team, working with these amazing clients, I felt a pull towards something new and it made me pause for a moment because I was enjoying what I was doing. I loved my clients, I loved the company that I'd built.
But there was this voice inside of me saying you're meant for something more, you're meant for something different at this time.
And, as crazy as it seemed, I followed that prompting, took a leap of faith and jumped head first into the corporate world in New York City, and so the corporate life to me was a whole new ball game.
There's just I was playing a whole different game, climbing up a corporate ladder and just really learning the ropes of branding in a completely different space, working in-house for a company rather than being a part of an agency where I was working with many clients at once, and after a few years of doing that, like you mentioned, I worked my way up to leading the creative team of an eight-figure startup. I had the title that was coveted, I had the awesome six-figure plus salary like on paper. Everything looked great and it was what I had dreamed of for that moment. But once again I started to feel that familiar pull to do something different and to pivot once again, and this time that prompting was pulling me back to the world of entrepreneurship and I found myself pivoting once again to where I am now, which is being a personal brand strategist for coaches and creative entrepreneurs looking to up-level in their business. Either they're pivoting, they're launching something new and really going to that next phase and helping them do so through creating a magnetic personal brand.
0:04:05 - Joanna Newton
Thank you for sharing your story with us. I think every guest we have on has such an interesting path to where they are. I'm also sure you'll likely continue to pivot and grow and change in that. One thing you and I have in common is that we've both worked in corporate and entrepreneurial settings, and what I always say about that when I talk to people is that my corporate experience makes me better. Helping solopreneurs people just getting started and then my work with solopreneurs helping people get started helped me in my corporate career. Understanding both of those things really helps, and what I'd love to dig into a little bit more deeply is, for our listeners, if you could expand on what exactly is a personal brand? I think it's one of those terms that we just throw out there. Do you have a personal brand? What's your personal brand? People probably think too. Do you have a social media account? In kind of the simplest way you can explain it, what is a personal brand? Absolutely.
0:05:09 - Jesse Christensen
That's like the hot word of 2024. I feel like everyone's talking about personal brand. It comes down to one thing. It comes down to you being your business's most powerful asset. It's your story, your vision and your passion. These are the things that make your brand truly magnetic, and so building a personal brand is all about showing up as yourself, communicating your unique value and connecting with your audience in a way that only you can. And I've seen branding from a lot of different angles. I've worked product-based businesses, I've worked with service-based businesses, coaches, creatives you name it.
I think there's an important distinction to make when it comes to building a personal brand. It's not about being an influencer. It's not about just having your business name be your own name though those can be parts of a personal brand, right. So building a personal brand is all about crafting your brand to be a true representation of you and your magic and your purpose, because that's what your special thought is. That's what differentiates you between the other coaches and creatives and online business owners out there that may be offering the same thing that you are. I believe it was Jeff Bezos who was the one who said your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. So your personal brand is this amalgamation of the associations and the beliefs and the feelings that people have about you and your business, and so your goal should be to ensure that narrative that's created about you and your brand is accurate and compelling and differentiated Right. It's how you want people to see you.
0:06:45 - Michelle Pualani
A lot of people think that branding is color palette fonts, what your website or social media actually just looks like. Can you explain branding to us if we were just first starting to understand what it really meant for us and our businesses?
0:06:59 - Jesse Christensen
I think that there is a misconception between branding and brand. These are two different words that people use interchangeably. So let me break it down for a moment. Our branding is like what you said it's that outward appearance of our brand. So it's our visuals, it's the messaging, it's the color, it's the logo, it's the sort of online presence that we have, that's our brand dean.
But our brand is the internal, strategic part of that. It's who we are, it's what our unique value proposition is, it's our mission, it's who we're serving, our offers, all of these things that should inform and define the outward visuals. I mean, it's so easy for people to just jump to the creative part. I know my whole career has been in that, but that's really not what makes up a brand. I've known people who have the most beautiful websites in the world, who aren't getting inquiries and who are not closing sales. It's because there's something about their brand that is misaligned or not being communicated in the right way to the right audience. When I talk about branding, I'm usually referring to some of those visuals, but our brand and building a personal brand is the foundational pieces of that 100%.
0:08:16 - Joanna Newton
I think sometimes when people think of the concept of personal brand, they think of your website, your social media presence, but there's actually a deeper thing there. What's really interesting is I own a six figure agency. I have a business partner. I think this month we've gotten like seven new clients so far and there's some proposals out there so that number could get higher by the end of the day. Today we're filming this on January 31st we don't have a website and we don't have actual social media channels. That's going to change in 2024, but we built that by personal branding, networking relationships. We get inbound leads. Now we're not just hustling out proposals anymore. We get inbound leads reaching out to us because of the presence and the exposure we have in the community in which we serve. With no website, no official social media strategy, those things are important. Right, you don't grow a business, but if you don't have a good story, if you don't know your why, if you don't have that deeper internal personal brand going on, you're not going to be magnetic.
0:09:23 - Jesse Christensen
Absolutely. You bring up a good point. In fact, when I was running my brand design studio, I did zero paid ads. I think I put $0 into marketing period. Most of my clients came to me through referrals because I was providing such an awesome experience and serving my heart out to the people that I was working with, which. That's a big part of your personal brand. It's one thing to have people see you in the way that you want to be seen. It's another thing to deliver on that promise to the people that you're serving. When you can do that, like you said and I'm sure that's what your agency is doing people will come to you. People will be happy to be your brand ambassadors and bring those clients in. And referrals, at least in my experience, are the best people to work with. They already trust you. They're like here's my money, let's do this Right.
0:10:10 - Joanna Newton
You're rooted, understanding your why, having that actually translate into your actions right, Bringing in more customers. Can you talk about how that deep rooted why and how you're feeling that you're meant for more really fits into your current transition and pivot in your business? Back to entrepreneurship.
0:10:32 - Jesse Christensen
I think there's something really beautiful about having that feeling that you're meant for more. I think that's something that we all experience throughout life, whether it's big or small, in whatever situation that we're in. That's the beginning of an up level, which is really exciting. It can be scary at the same time, because there's a lot of unknown there. I think the cool thing about this is we always have a choice, a choice to change, a choice to pivot right To up level. These pivots are when we say yes to that, when we take action. It's one thing to feel it, but it's another thing to actually be like okay, I'm going to do it, I'm going to embody it, let's go.
The beauty of expanding and evolving. It could be something major, it could be something small. Like I said, I work with clients in all sorts of capacities when it comes to up leveling in their business. But for me personally, a lot of the pivots that I've experienced in my current business now has just been this continual up leveling of okay, I'm comfortable where I'm at now and I'm ready to take on more.
On the outside it may seem like these small tweaks and changes that I'm doing to my own brand, but for me, since I'm the founder and it's so close to home, a lot of times behind the scenes it feels so much bigger than it is right, because we have to go through the internal evolution of ourselves to get to the next level where on the outside, someone might be like oh, you don't really look like you're doing anything different at all, but it's how you show up, it's the energy that you bring to what you do and how I think when it comes to a brand positioning yourself in the marketplace, Up leveling is such an excellent word to embrace the change and growth that you go through and really seeing a pivot in that way is that it's just taking the next step.
0:12:14 - Michelle Pualani
You don't have to completely transform, you don't have to completely scrap everything. Start fresh, start anew Maybe you want to, but realistically just getting you to that next level of growth, to expansion, to evolution, and knowing that you are still the person that's representing that. And you're so right. We are so close to our businesses and to our brands that we have this sense of depth. We have this sense of weight that comes along with it, because we are feeling everything, we're experiencing everything and it's all firsthand. Third party they may look in and not have the same experience, and it may even actually be easier and simpler for other people to look in and say, oh yeah, you're doing this or this is what you should say or this is how it should be. But for you, you've got all of this baggage and this weight and this history and this past of all of the things that you've experienced up until this point, and sometimes you're trying to translate that into a brand, which can feel really tiring and taxing. But I think that as you get more sure of yourself, as you start to understand yourself better, as you start to feel more confident and competent in what it is that you're doing, it's almost like the branding just falls into place. It becomes more easy to show up in that authentic voice and with that authentic image and really fit the pieces together. And knowing that it's going to change and grow and evolve over time I think is super important For a long time. I think when I first got started, I was clinging to what I was doing at that time and thinking, oh, I'm going to have to do this for the rest of my life, for the next 10 years, and realistically, you don't. You could start something different today. You could start something different next week. Make that change a part of your evolution and have it fit in and make sense. Jesse, we were chatting before in the prep call.
I think that and I've heard this before that there can often be negative connotations that come along with this idea of pivot and I think reframing it in that up-leveling sense is really helpful. But sometimes we struggle to reestablish our brand. We don't want to be doing something anymore. There's a lot of credibility, authority aligning the niche and creating the offer. That can feel like it takes a lot of time, takes a lot of energy. When you share the idea that pivoting it doesn't have to be seen as a failure. It's not a bad course correction for someone, it's a positive thing. You want to be able to embrace it. Can you share some ways and insights that someone might be able to successfully approach a pivot in their business?
0:14:39 - Jesse Christensen
I think it's helpful to pivot when we have experience of doing that before, and so if it's something that we're doing for the first time, it can definitely feel scarier. There can be a lot of fear associated with that because you don't know how it's going to turn out, but for me, every time I pivoted or made a change or up-leveled in my life or my career and my business, I've never once regretted it, because it's led me to so much satisfaction, to a life and a business that I absolutely love. Everything's always easier to see in the rear view, and so I've got my whole career, like I mentioned, looking back on things and seeing that they needed to go the way that they needed to in order for me to get to where I am now. But I think a lot of it has to do with developing that trust in yourself and developing that trust in your intuition, in your internal promptings, and really listening to that, because I feel like there can be so much noise coming at us, especially in the online space.
Why my program? And here's this 12-step formula to quote unquote success. But at least for me and my experience, when I've drowned out the noise and really turned inward and held onto my vision and what I wanted to create and the impact that I'm here to make in the lives of my clients. Then I'm able to see things more clearly and the path in front of me doesn't really seem that daunting. It really is just one step at a time. Sure, you may have a really big vision, but that can all be broken down into smaller pieces, and I think the more that you take that action, you're going to get that feedback and that proof that you can do it and that you're on the right path. And so just keep going and take messy action, work towards it and you'll be able to see the path in front of you.
0:16:22 - Joanna Newton
Entrepreneurs, business owners, high achievers, really need to have a different mindset towards failure, because something not going as planned and pivoting is not a bad thing. It can actually be a fantastic thing for you and for your business. So if you're constantly worried about I don't want to do that thing because it might fail, you're never going to see progress. You have to try, you have to go in different directions and so if you see pivot as I had to pivot because that thing failed that's going to be really hard on your mindset. But if you see, I saw an opportunity, so I pivoted. I saw something that needed to be tweaked to make it more successful, so I pivoted Right.
So first things are important to keep yourself going as an entrepreneur, and one thing in this space that gets talked a lot about is imposter syndrome, and I read something about I don't know it was like a meme or a TikTok or something I don't remember where they were talking about imposter syndrome and it was saying if you have felt imposter syndrome, that means you're successful because you are putting yourself in places that are a stretch for you.
You're putting yourself in a place where maybe you will quote, unquote, fail Right. And if you're succeeding at everything you're doing, then you're not actually pushing yourself hard enough to the limit to see that success. If you make every deal you go for as a business owner or getting a client, then maybe you're not going for big enough deals Right, maybe you're not charging enough for your services. You could slice and dice this a million ways, but getting rid of the fear of failure can make a really huge difference in your career, as a career person in the corporate world or as an entrepreneur, being that imposter syndrome is something that I think a lot of us can relate to and a lot of our listeners can relate to. How have you actually overcome imposter syndrome and how is doing that actually helps your personal brand?
0:18:26 - Jesse Christensen
I think I'm just going to come out and admit something that we all feel as entrepreneurs and don't really openly admit a lot which I think we secretly battle with the belief that our business won't grow as big as we want it to, or that we don't have what it takes to succeed, especially as high achievers, especially when we have these big goals and dreams for our business. One common thread that I've noticed throughout lots of seven, eight, nine figure entrepreneurs the ones who we hear on the big podcasts and who are sharing their stories and have a big following is that they didn't give up. They keep going. Their stories start somewhere and they wouldn't be where they are now if they weren't able to pick themselves up and dust themselves off and hold onto their vision and keep moving forward. A lot of times I've experienced the thought of okay, who am I to do this? You have an idea, you have a dream, a vision that you want to take action towards, and then the imposter syndrome and the fear can sink in. Right, and who am I to do this? But the thing that I found to really counter that and help me regain my confidence in those moments is just flipping the question to who am I not to do this Anyone could do it but a lot of times they let that fear step in the way and they don't, or they quit.
I think a lot of times we can be worried about what other people are going to think if we change direction or if we show up more online and share our message or whatever we're afraid of. I think people might think that look at her, she's making a fool of herself or who would listen to her or all of that little negative self-chatter that we tell ourselves. But I realize, like A, you're not going to be able to do this. People are probably thinking about you a lot less than you think that they are right, just being real. And B, they're probably thinking, if they are thinking anything, wow, look at her, go, I'm so impressed by her. And so what happens when we start to change the way that we make assumptions about what other people may think about us or if we are equipped or not to help our people?
And another thing that's really helped me is just knowing that you don't have to be all the way up there to the successful public figure out level to make a difference and to be an authority in our industry. We just have to be a few steps ahead of the people that we serve, because there definitely can be the support and the guidance that we can give them and we are an authority to a degree. I think a lot of times we compare ourselves to the people at the very top of the industry who have that following and who tout their success right. But we just need to be a couple steps ahead. So those are a few things for me that have helped me. Of course, imposter syndrome and fear sets in all the time. I think it's continually like it is with those pivots. It's just learning to acknowledge that and push through it and move forward and get the evidence that, yes, I do have what it takes to succeed. I am an authority. I helped this person today. You know what I mean.
0:21:20 - Michelle Pualani
Incredibly helpful advice. I think that's an amazing way to think about it, and I think that we think too much about it. We don't take the time to pull ourselves out of our own narrative. We are in our own conscious experience every moment of the day, and so a lot of times we can let that spiral if we're not careful and we let ourselves talk too much in that negative tone of voice or as if we're worrying about the future. We're worrying about the potential, we're worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet, and that includes the feelings that come along with it, whether that's embarrassment, shame or guilt, or that experience of ugh. What if?
As I've listened to other people's stories, especially those at the quote unquote top everyone was an imposter Most of the things that make people's careers. They weren't exactly the authority at the time of writing, publishing, creating that thing. They were still in that learning phase, they were still in that growth phase, they were still ramping up, and then they got to a certain level where they'd published quite a few things leading up to it. It can be one thing that just blows things up for them and then they become this well-known figure, but all along the way they were still learning, still growing, still figuring it out, and most of them admit that they're still figuring it out today. So I think for all of us just remembering that, wherever we are on our journey, this is exactly where we're meant to be, and it may lead us to a different position, it may lead us to a different salary, it may lead us to different levels of fame or success or whatever you're searching for in your own life, but wherever we are right now is still absolutely part of the process. It's a place in which we can still feel gratitude for and acceptance of, because, knowing that one day we're going to look back at this time and say, yeah, I moved through this, I faced these challenges, I overcame these obstacles, and the only reason I was able to get there is because I failed forward and I kept persisting and kept moving on.
So beautiful shares, excellent insight and great advice when it comes to that imposter syndrome, because we all deal with it at some degree and it's okay to feel it and understand. Okay, what is this telling me? What is this showing me? Does this mean that I'm stretching beyond my comfort zone, like Joanna was talking about? Does this mean that I'm pushing myself into a place that's going to actually get me to greater heights. Yes, okay, that's a good thing. I can recognize that and celebrate it.
So, speaking more to your personal side of the journey, jesse, we talked a little bit about prioritizing yourself right, when it comes to self-care, when it comes to making sure that you're not pushing your boundaries too far. A big part of the Her First platform is really prioritizing yourself in your business and in your life, so making sure that you're taking care of yourself in both instances. So, as a service-based business, someone who's really focused and invested in their clients, like you mentioned, just showing up and really fully serving how do you do that while still being able to take care of yourself along the way?
0:24:23 - Jesse Christensen
I've experienced burnout the serious degree twice in my career and in my life. The first one was when I was running my brand design studio and I ran into exactly that serving and working and I think this was a lot. I think this was a big area of growth for me, and learning how to run a company and be an entrepreneur is that when you're the one in control of your schedule and your time, it's so easy to get caught up in the work. I hit a wall about a couple of years in and had to physically rest and stop and recover from that. And then the second time was when I was at the end of my corporate career, feeling so much burnout because I felt like I wasn't being fulfilled in the work that I was doing. I was putting so much work into the last company I was working for and felt like it wasn't being reciprocated, and so experience burnout in a different way. So I definitely had to learn how to balance the drive that I have and the desire to serve and to help along with taking care of myself, because when I don't do that, then I'm not able to show up for my clients in a way that they need, and especially as a thought leader, as a coach, as someone that people look up to to help them work through and navigate some of the challenges in their business.
I have to be there to serve in my highest capacity, because they deserve that right. That's what they get when they're hiring me to help them. And so, in order to do that, I have to learn that I go first. I have to prioritize my own wellness, my own health, my own energy. A big way I do that is through movement, is through just getting my body up and moving, whether it's working out, going for a walk but I always find that helps shift whatever mental state that I'm in, gives me a boost of energy and just helps me show up in a better way for my clients.
And I think a big part of this, too, is just learning how to say no to things that are not essential. I mentioned this to you, michelle, on our prep call, but I love the book Essentialism by Greg McOwen and I've been rereading that. I read it I think it was in 2017 or 2016, the first time and I just dusted it off my shelf and I'm reading it again, and that book is just all about helping you identify really what is essential in life. I think we say yes and take on so many things that seemingly need our attention, but they don't, and so that's why we feel like we're so busy all of the time and we don't have time to take care of ourselves. But when you really switch the way that you think about that and learn to prioritize your life and your business in a way that serves you and takes care of you alongside of your clients, it's such a game changer.
0:26:54 - Joanna Newton
I haven't read that book, but now I feel like I need to put it on my list for all of my free time that I have for reading. I just buy books a lot of the times and they sit on my shelf and then someday I read them. I'll be sick one day, and then the book gets read. But one of the things I found in my career when I was going through the corporate world early on in my career, my philosophy was very much whatever someone wants me to do, I will do. I will get it done, and this sounds counterintuitive but that did not help me get promotions. So you become the go-to. Do all of the tasks, do all the things person.
People don't necessarily see you as a strategic mover and shaker, which is what you need to get to the next level. I changed a job. I was extremely burnt out in one job, started at a new company and I was like I'm gonna be very strategic about what I take on my plate and when I say no to something, I'm going to provide really strong strategic reasoning for why I'm saying no, why I'm doing this and why I'm not doing the other thing right, and being very clear about that Actually doing that in a corporate career can help you get promotions. It helped me get promotions. I got two a year and a half while being there.
I didn't just say, yes, I'll do that, I'll do that, I'll do that, I'll burn myself out, I'll wear myself out. I said I'm going to pick the projects that make the biggest impact and, as a business owner, you have that right as well. Now you're the one setting the stage, you're the one with employees, you're the one setting the roadmap. How do you actually pick the most essential things, not just in your life, like your personal life, but in your business? What are the most essential things that need to get done that are actually going to drive revenue, bring your business forward, do all of that. So I'd love to know, from your perspective, how you take that sort of idea of very intentional decision making into the day to day of your business and how that impacts your success there.
0:28:49 - Jesse Christensen
Absolutely, I think it starts with us really identifying as a CEO in our companies. I think, especially in the online world, it's easy to not see ourselves as that, and a lot of people that I've talked to and clients that I work with kind of stumble into their businesses organically and it builds up into something really successful and beautiful. And then they're at a point where, okay, I'm gonna get serious about my brand now. But it's not like we go through CEO school, right? It's not like we learn exactly what we need to prioritize to run our businesses rather than to work in them. And so I think it starts there. And when you see yourself as a CEO of your business, then you start to think about what you're doing differently. You start to value your time more. You start to think about things like profit margins. Okay, what are activities that I'm doing that are generating revenue? Posting this TikTok or this real because it's fun and it's trendy if it's not bringing in results, is that worth your time or do you need to pivot no pun intended into something else that will? So, for me, it's.
When I really stepped into that identity, I was able to tune out a lot of the noise and things competing for my attention and be like is this something that I can delegate to someone else? Does this actually require my attention? And you think it's really clear on what our mission and our purpose is for what we're doing and filtering everything that comes across our plate through? Is this going to get me further there or is it not?
Because I think a lot of times too, it's so easy as entrepreneurs to just feel like we're running on this hamster wheel and not really getting anywhere. And are we being intentional about where we want to go and our vision and actually choosing to take on clients or to take on collaborations or speaking opportunities or whatever it may be that helps us get there? And a lot of times, no, because we see that shiny object syndrome of like oh, this sounds exciting, we can go do this. I'm supposed to be networking, so I'm going to have all these coffee chats with people. For me, it's honestly realizing that time's limited. There are only a certain number of hours in a day and it's where, do I feel like, is the most impactful place to spend my time, Because if I spread myself thin, nothing is going to get done. It's going to take a lot longer to accomplish something, rather than me just adopting the idea of less but better and focusing my efforts on fewer things but getting way better results out of them.
0:31:15 - Michelle Pualani
This feels like my year to do this. I think that over the course of my business, I have felt more like the employee and I know in my head and I have been trained by mentors and courses and programs and coaches that I'm meant to be sitting in the business ownership role of my business. I am the decision maker, I am the visionary, I am casting the strategy, the ideas and showing up in terms of the content creation and all of those ways, and then finding the team, the outsourcing ability, the delegation or the deleting. What is it? Like you were saying, Jesse, that isn't actually important in the ways that you invest your time. Even though I have known these things quote unquote I don't think that I've been practicing them and so I'm just really starting to realize an own. Okay, I need to step into that CEO role. I need to step into the visionary and founder of my business and not just work in my business but on my business and really think more strategically.
In a way, I think it's such a good reminder for us because it's really easy on a day-to-day basis to just say, oh, what needs to get done?
Okay, I'm going to check all these things off the list, but if you don't carve out the time, the space for the intentional and the proactive projects, programs, opportunities that you're creating for yourself. It's just so easy to fall into checking email and posting on social media and, like you said, networking, getting together with people for a chat, but what does that really lead to? The more intentional you can be about those activities, the more success you'll obviously see in your business, but you'll also, I think, enjoy it more really leaning into those places that are your zones of genius, as opposed to trying to do it all and make it all work. Now, with that intentional decision making, there are a lot of choices as business owners, as CEOs, as even just creatives that we need to be able to make. How do you reflect on what is the trade-off? Is there a sacrifice here? How do you make those choices and have them be in alignment with your brand, with your business and with your personal health?
0:33:22 - Jesse Christensen
I feel like it's all about knowing my limits and knowing my boundaries and knowing what it's like when I over-exert myself too much and don't have the energy to serve my clients or, on the flip side, if I take on an opportunity that actually doesn't serve me. So a lot of it comes from trial and error, and that's okay. Sometimes we won't know if something is going to survive business or not unless we try it, and so I think a lot of being an entrepreneur is that messy action is just following your gut sometimes and seeing where something pans out. But ultimately, coming down to A, is this something that I have the time for? B if I don't, is there a way that I can create the space for it? If it's something that I really want to do and see, like I've said before, does this help me get closer to actualizing the vision that I have for my company.
0:34:17 - Joanna Newton
For me, making decisions feels so good. What I mean by that is as an entrepreneur, as a high achiever, as someone who wants to accomplish a lot. There can be so many ideas and things we want to do, putting in our head at all times when I sit down and make priorities and say this is my focus now. This idea I love, but I'm going to worry about that next quarter. This idea I love, but that's in the backlog, like maybe next year, maybe not at all, depending on where things go. That just feels so fantastic to me because I feel like I have focus. I don't feel like I'm failing myself. I've set realistic expectations for what I can accomplish in a particular amount of time. Sorting out those priorities and those things and actually making a decision to not do something just frees you up to actually do the things that you want to do and accomplish the things that you want to accomplish.
One of the things I work really hard with my clients because I help coaches and creators build online courses is what I do in my day to day life. People will come to me and they will want to do everything. They'll say what about this, what about this? I want to have a course about this and I need a funnel and I need a website and I need a sales page and I need a social media presence. I say let's focus on this one. We decided we wanted to do this first. Let's get this done and move on to the next thing. Later we can jot down those notes. I will bring them up again Right now. Let's do this one thing, and it feels so good to me Whenever I'm not doing that, that's when I get stressed, that's when I feel burnt out, that's when the work that I'm doing gets me the ochre, because while I'm working on one thing, I'm actually thinking about the next thing instead of focusing in on what's really important.
I know for me, the more intentional I am with my business, with my time, with my day to day, the better I show up in the world and the more success I see. Doing no and being intentional can actually help you make more progress in your business than just trying to do everything. Thank you, jessie, for chatting with us today. It's been so helpful to hear about your journey, learn more about personal brand versus branding Everything that we discussed today. I know our listeners could really benefit from connecting with you more, learning from you more. We're all trying to grow our brand, grow our businesses, dive more into the digital business space or any business space. I'd love to know where our listeners can find you and stay connected with you.
0:37:02 - Jesse Christensen
I am on Instagram at jessie underscore underscore christensen. I also have a podcast. If you're interested in learning about branding more and building a magnetic personal brand, you can find me at the embody your brand podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts. Of course, if you want to learn more about my services and working with me, you can go to jessie-christensencom.
0:37:26 - Michelle Pualani
Beautiful and we'll link all of those as well in the show notes so you can hang out with Jessie really dive into your own personal brand. I think, as you walk away from this conversation, knowing that there is a deeper rooted why and what it is that you're doing, what you're here to accomplish, how you're meant to serve and impact others in your business, whatever form that might take, really tuning into that and getting in alignment with who you are, how you're here to serve, I think that some of the things that you may be feeling as challenges or stuck points will really start to open up in that way, giving yourself the time and space to really lean into that process and embrace it, knowing that you can change, you can evolve, you can grow as your journey, as your personal brand, expands as well.
