As a business owner, you might be constantly thinking about ways in which you can change yourself in order to grow your business. Maybe it’s the way you look, the way you dress, or even the way you talk, but do you really need to change who you are for the sake of your business, or can you grow your business by being exactly who you have always been? For this conundrum, Julie Kenny from Softly Inspired shares her three ways to boost your business without changing a thing about yourself.
1. Get To Know Yourself Better
This may seem a bit spiritual or introspective, but it’s true; in order to know exactly how your business should be, you first need to know who you really are. The most basic premise of business is that no matter what fancy advancements we have in marketing or sales or PR, this fact still remains: people buy from people.
But what does that really mean? Well, at the end of the day, if you can’t be convincing enough or if you don’t stand out enough, people will be less inclined to do business with you. However, this begs the question: how do you stand out?
You might think that you know yourself but we’re rarely aware of how other people perceive us and what they expect from us. On the other hand, we may identify certain traits of ourselves simply because somebody has pointed them out before. How many people say “Oh I’m a bit clumsy,” not because they know they are clumsy, but because other people have told them so and they may have never even noticed it before?
This perception could be eye-opening but could also be catastrophic if all you remember from what people say about you are the negatives. You could spend your whole life thinking you have some bad trait or imperfection simply because in one context, someone perceived this about you, but is that really a fair assessment?
So, even if other people’s perceptions may not be the most accurate, it’s still worth considering how you are viewed. When it comes to yourself, though, you still need to know how you work, how you function well, what makes you tick, what drives you, and what is the best way for you to work.
It’s easy to think, “Oh, I’ll just get up at 5 am, take a cold shower, run 20 miles and then respond to emails for 3 hours,” because you think that’s what successful people do, but what if you are a night owl who works best when it’s dark and quiet out? Understanding the idiosyncratic things that make you able to work best is far more important than following some cliche success formula.
Pro Tip: Be Attentive, Not Inventive
Everybody wants to reinvent the wheel when it comes to personality. Everyone always thinks, “Oh, what can I say about me that’s different?” but before you can find that unique trait, you need to first notice more. You need to speak to other people in your circle and see what they think about you, but at the same time, what are things you keep private to yourself away from prying eyes?
It’s hard to really notice details about our own selves, but a great way to do so is by journaling. Writing things down wasn’t just great for studying, but it’s also super effective for figuring out details about yourself. You can write about pretty much anything remotely useful or special, such as a good comment from a client, something that motivated you, a moment you are enjoying, or even a rant you wanted to get off your chest.
Journaling is such an effective tool of self-discovery because you pretty much have a written version of your personality, interests, struggles, and drive on paper in front of you. These little moments go a long way when you need to remember them down the line, even if it’s for something as simple as feeling gratitude. But how do you journal?
The simple answer is, do it any way you like. You can use a pad and paper and go old school, you can use note-taking software, or you can even record voice memos like a detective. The most important thing is to have some sort of documentation of your thoughts and feelings to increase your awareness of yourself.
2. Build a Network of People Who Are Aligned With You
If we don’t know who we are, then we won’t know who we should align with, but we all need a network of people who share similar mindsets, goals, and interests. This network will support you, work with you, or even buy from you, but without understanding who you are, what your values are, and the type of thing that drives you, it’s really hard to know who you need to be talking to and who you need to be building those relationships with.
You can’t find your tribe if you don’t know what they look like which is why you need to put in extra effort to make sure your network is on the same wavelength as you. You need people who get you and understand the highs and lows of your journey. You need people you can celebrate with, rant with, or even go to for advice.
Your friends and family can take you so far in this regard, but if they are not in business themselves, then there will always be this distance that you need other people who do the same thing you do to be able to shorten. Most importantly, you need people you can LEARN from.
Now, you can find this support in the form of networking meetings, but it can extend far beyond that. Even in networking meetings, you need like-minded people. There’s a funny stereotype in the world of marketing known as “Marketing bros” – people who go to networking meetings and act extremely aggressively in regards to marketing. They may be like-minded with each other, but for other marketers, they could be the complete opposite.
Being like-minded doesn’t stop at the business level, though, because the more you surround yourself with people who share your philosophies and ideologies, the more comfortable you will be. For instance, if you are someone who doesn’t care about being ultra-rich or having a million cars and houses, then you want your circle to have this same mindset.
However, if you’re someone who doesn’t care about these things but all the people around you would do anything to be rich, famous, or have those million cars, then that connection will be very hard to maintain. Another crucial benefit of having a close network is getting yourself out there to potential clients and partners.
If you are part of a relatively big network, then you will have people who will say, “Oh I know the perfect person for this job,” if an opportunity comes up. Your network will recommend you and tell people how much they should work with you. In turn, you will have more business opportunities and an even bigger network.
3. Learn To Speak For Your Business
Once you know who you are, what you are doing, and what drives you, you then need to be able to speak about it. Whether it’s for a pitch, a networking event, a presentation, a conference, etc., you need to be able to be the best ambassador for your own business.
Now, it may not be hard to praise your business, but you need to speak in a way that invites a conversation. If you have a conversation going, it’s easier to find people who are aligned with you or find people who know people who will be aligned with you.
Timing is another important factor when speaking about your business. For example, you never want to get up and do a hard sell in the middle of a networking meeting because it’s simply not the right time or place. Yet, once again, people buy from people and the more you keep that in mind, the better you will be at fostering relationships with prospects.
Although we have preached that you need to be yourself as much as possible, you still need to hone your speaking skills. There are so many opportunities to work on your speaking skills, whether it’s through networking groups, courses, or clubs like Toastmasters that bring people together to enhance their soft skills further.
Takeaway
The fact that you need to act or look a certain way to grow your business is simply a myth. As long as you know exactly who you are, have people who share your values and mindset, and can effectively speak for your business, then you can remain true to exactly who you are while your business thrives because of it.
Last Updated on June 10, 2025
