Three things happen when you step out from behind the scenes of building brands for others and start building for yourself.

1. Everything you know about brand building gets overshadowed by your insecurities 
2. The systems you built for large teams are too big for you, a team of one
3. There’s a dip no one sees. Then there’s a J Curve ⤴

If this resonates, I have a couple of resources at the bottom to help you push through the dip and show up consistently with your content.

Let’s get into it.

#1 - Insecurities

It’s not that you don’t know what to do.

It’s that you know so much about yourself and your expertise that the struggle is to distill it all to its essence.

Otherwise known as the curse of knowledge, you simply have more information (and doubts) to sift through than when you’re building for someone else.

This is why it helps to have a confidant.

You can't read the label from inside the jar, but someone else can help you read from the outside looking in.

No one builds a brand alone.

#2 - Systems

The best system is the one you’ll keep.

What works for a Fortune 100 won’t work for a startup.

What works for a startup won’t work for a one-person team.

It’s easy to look at how established brands operate today and feel like you need to do that to get results.

But that thinking is short-sighted.

And doesn’t account for the fact that the system they have now was not what they had (or needed) when they were at ground zero.

The marketing strategies I used at Whole Foods to launch the Whole Cities Foundation benefited from a Fortune 100 name, human and financial capital, and a loyal customer base built over 30+ years.

That was necessarily different from the scrappy, lean, direct response approach I used to grow startups in the Amazon seller world.

By that same logic, I’ve had to reduce, reduce, reduce, until I got down to a production system I could stick with as a one-woman show to build my own brand.

#3 - The Dip

Starting something new is messy. (Even when you know what to do.)

Because we want results now, but some things just take time.

You’re figuring out your product-message fit, your own creative cadence, and realizing that you’re a beginner all over again.

This is the dip.

Where you’re doing the work, questioning if it’s good, and wondering where the traction is that so many others have.

At some point, that dip becomes a J Curve, where your performance compounds exponentially.

The inner confidence is built in the dip, when you show up despite no proof anything is working.

The external results are seen in the J curve, when your new state is visibly better than your starting place.

If you’re in the dip, I have a couple of resources to help you push through.

Regarding insecurities, I recommend coworking with a friend for a day.

Getting out of your regular environment and into conversations helps you see the unique viewpoint you bring. Things you think are a given might not be so apparent. Or experiences you thought were “just you” actually resonate with others.

In either case, that’s feedback to fuel your content.

You can also ask ChatGPT to interview you.

Just as conversations can help you articulate ideas aloud, having AI prompt you draws out your beliefs and way of doing things.

For systems, use this quarterly goal tracker to determine your focus for the next 90 days.

I’ve updated it every quarter since last fall based on new productivity principles I pick up and observing how well it helps me achieve goals.

Lastly, when you’re in the dip, it helps to be regularly inspired and have a community to bounce ideas off of.

I’ve mentioned to at least a dozen people how impactful reading The Artist’s Way has been to my own process for content creation.

In fact, 5 people have told me they already bought the book and started it.

So I’ve decided I’m leading an Artist Way Book Club in October.

It’s a 12-week timeline to reconnect with your creativity, break through limiting beliefs, and bring your ideas to life.

This book, coupled with the quarterly goal-setting management principles linked above, will give you a powerful framework to accomplish at least one meaningful project by the end of the year.

If you’re interested in being a part of the club, leave a comment.

I’m structuring the program now and would love your input before we start!

Annabel