After our conversation the other night, something stayed with me.
Many of us are refining our offers, adjusting our messaging, or trying to get clearer about how we show up online.
And there’s a pattern I see often — one that makes sense on the surface, but quietly creates friction underneath.
We start with the ideal client.
We ask:
- Who is she?
- What does she struggle with?
- What language will resonate?
- How do I position this so it lands?
Those are good questions.
They’re just not the first questions.
The Mindset Shift: Inner Work Comes First
As coaches and holistic practitioners, we already understand something fundamental:
If you want to guide someone else, your work begins with your own inner work.
Branding follows the same principle.
Before you define your niche, your avatar, or your positioning, you need clarity about yourself as a human being.
Not your offer.
Not your credentials.
Not your target market.
You.
If you’re building a personal brand, your life is the root system. Your worldview is the soil. Your lived convictions are the signal.
Ask yourself:
- What do I believe about life?
- What do I believe about growth, struggle, healing, responsibility, freedom?
- What themes consistently show up in my own story?
- What is non-negotiable for me as a human being?
- What kind of energy do I naturally bring into a room?
- What feels true to me even if it doesn’t neatly fit my “business”?
This isn’t business strategy.
It’s identity clarity.
If you skip this layer, your messaging may sound polished — but it won’t feel magnetic.
When your brand grows from your lived convictions rather than surface positioning, it carries coherence. And coherence builds trust.
The Tool Set: Naming Your Signal
Sometimes it’s hard to see ourselves clearly from the inside.
That’s where tools can help.
I often recommend Kay Putnam’s Brand Personality Quiz, which is grounded in Jungian psychology. It can help you name the archetypal patterns behind how YOU naturally show up.
You can also explore:
- Your Enneagram insights
- Myers-Briggs tendencies
- Patterns in your relationships
- Conflicts that shaped you
- Stories that consistently move you
- Causes that light you up
These are not marketing exercises.
They are identity exercises.
When you begin to name your natural tone, pace, and orientation toward life, you’ll start to see:
- What your messaging should sound like
- What emotional quality your visuals should carry
- What colors feel aligned with your inner world
- What posture your brand naturally holds
Later, this clarity will merge with your ideal client work.
But starting here makes that next step far more accurate.
Because your raving fans are not looking for a perfectly constructed niche.
They’re looking for someone whose signal feels like home.
The Order Matters
You will eventually define your ideal client more specifically.
You will refine your avatar.
You will tailor your language.
You will narrow your focus.
But you cannot truly dial that in until you’ve done your own reflection first.
Just like in transformational coaching, it starts with you.
Your clarity precedes your positioning.
And when your inner work leads your outer expression, your offer doesn’t just make sense.
It resonates.
🌿
