Ditch the Polish: Why Authenticity is Your Best Business Strategy

You do not need to be polished or more perfect or more put together to grow your business. In fact, trying to be perfect online is often the very thing that is blocking connections. Somewhere along the way, marketing turned into a highlight reel, filters, carefully curated captions, and the pressure to always look like you've got it all figured out. Here's the truth: People don't connect to polished robots. They connect to people. Real faces, real voices, real stories, real lives. Think about the social media accounts you love following as a business owner; it's rarely the most perfect ones. It's the ones that share a messy middle, things that go wrong, the honest lessons, like 'this didn't quite go to plan, but here's what I learnt from that thing.' It is time to stop performing and start connecting, because connection builds trust, and that's what we're looking for. Trust certainly builds relationships, and relationships build a really sustainable, feel-good business. Here's a quick fix for you this week: I'd love for you to share one real moment. Not a sales pitch, not a perfectly branded post, just something human. It could be a behind-the-scenes moment from your day, a small win you're really proud of, a lesson you've learned recently to help somebody else, or something that didn't go to plan – the mistakes we make can be valuable for yourself and others. It could even be something you normally wouldn't talk about but want to share with your audience. I know your brain might be saying things like, 'but this isn't professional enough,' 'does this actually make me look silly,' or 'what about if no one cares?' Share it anyway. Because I promise you this: your honest audience craves that honesty, they're craving permission to be human too. When you show up as yourself, you don't just attract more people, you attract the right people. Remember, being you is not a weakness, it's not unprofessional, it's not something you need to fix, because YOU is your strategy. So go and share something real this week and notice what shifts. We'd love to hear about it, so please reach out and let us know how real you've been.