Being yourself can be the secret to your success. But why?

When I first started my business, I looked at other businesses similar to mine or ones that had stared similarly to mine. I studied what was successful and what was not. And I studied the journeys to that success. From all of that study, I created a plan of how I wanted my business to be.

It didn’t work for me.

My business didn’t become better until I threw away my ideas that I had received from others and started moving towards what was closer to who I am as a person.

Does that mean I’m advocating for you to throw away every single piece of advice you receive from others? Absolutely not. Analyze it to see if it is helpful. If it isn’t, throw it away. If it is, then internalize it to see if it fits who you are. Keep the advice that fits and throw the rest away.

Why? There are so many reasons.

It will make you stand out

When there’s a world full of people who are doing similar things, it’s good to stand out. If you move away from the cookie cutter approach so many are applying, then more people will notice you. And getting people to notice you is half the battle.

One of the most important factors in getting hired is being noticed. And it’s getting harder and harder to be noticed. Honestly it’s the biggest frustration I’ve been hearing from similar business owners. So why would you even think about copying other businesses at this point?

Stand out in your next pitch by just being yourself. The rest will come together.

It will make running a business easier

I’ve never been more miserable than when I tried to run my business the same way as everyone else and when I tried to move it along the same path as others had gone down before. It felt like I was trying to be someone else, which is just tiring.

The fact is that if you’re constantly trying to be someone or something else, then you are using energy that might be better used towards building your business. When you’re being pulled in every direction, it’s so important to make sure your energy goes to the right things.

In addition to this, other people build their businesses to suit how their brains work. Your brain doesn’t work the same as everyone else. So if all you’re doing is copying and pasting, you’re also copying and pasting things that just might not fit how you work. Trust me when I say that it’s far better to start from scratch and build a business around who you are as a person.

You will attract the right clients

I am a very unique person who attracts very unique clients. But I can’t attract those clients if I’m not being my unique self.

I have heard from business owners time and time again that they don’t want to turn off potential clients. I assure you that being yourself is not about turning off clients but about turning on the right ones. You’re never going to connect to the right clients that will make your heart sing if you’re trying to be someone else. Instead, your roster will fill with clients that will drain you because they connected with something that was not authentically you.

Being myself is also my best technique for filtering out the clients I don’t want to work with. When a potential client is bothered that I write about my own depression, it’s likely they don’t take mental health seriously as an organization. When a potential client is bothered that I juggle being a business owner with having a two year old at home,  it’s likely they also will not like it when I put up some boundaries to help me get their work done in an efficient manner. What most people might consider things that might turn a client off, I consider things that will tell me a client is not right for me and my company.

You are not everyone’s cup of tea. Your business needs to be built to find those who want that cup of tea. That requires you be yourself.

Are you being yourself while you run your business? Does it make it easier or harder?