Differently
Simple, yet powerful ideas for building a life, differently. Hosted by Carla Reeves, creator of The Differently Coaching Experience, this podcast offers thought-provoking conversations and practical insights for anyone looking to get out of survival mode and build a life that is truly your own. From the highs and lows of love and relationships, to the challenges and opportunities of work and career, Differently will challenge you to to rethink what’s possible.
Differently
From Burnout to Brand Brilliance with Erin Davis
If you’re a woman in business who feels pulled in too many directions – responsibilities to your work, your family, your relationships, all the rest – this is the episode for you!
Doing life as a mom, a business owner, and a woman in this modern world makes you wonder how many more decisions you can possibly make in a day and how many more to-dos you can put on your list. This leads to BURNOUT, which is really opportunity in disguise, inviting you to redefine how you can keep showing up, grow in a way that feels in alignment, and keep doing what you love to meet your financial goals.
In this episode, Erin Davis, brand strategist and founder of Matchbox Women, shares her journey, insights, and actionable strategies to help you infuse the humanity of your business into your brand. Tune in as we explore the power of community, the importance of aligning your brand with your personal values, and how to sustain your business by staying true to yourself.
Resources Mentioned:
- Visit Erin’s website at matchboxwomen.com for free resources like the Message Mastery Workbook and the Authentic Brand Guide
- Connect with Erin on Instagram and Facebook
- Join Erin’s email list for more personalized insights and updates
Enjoy!
Learn more about Carla:
Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/
Connect on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reevescarla/
Connect on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@differentlythepodcast
Go to https://www.carlareeves.com/getunstuck.com to download Carla's on demand journaling workshop + exercise to help you stop spinning and start moving forward.
Explore Coaching with Carla: https://bookme.name/carlareeves/lite/explore-coaching
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Thank you for listening!
I'm Carla Reeves, and this is Differently. Whether you feel stuck in survival, navigating a change, or seeking more for your life, may this podcast be your weekly nudge to take a risk to build a life that is uniquely bold, authentic and in alignment with your deepest values. What if you worried less about the bumps in the road and instead got equipped for the journey? Get ready to rethink what's possible. Are you attempting to blend your life and business, or work with more intention and flow? Do you ever feel like, when life happens maybe in the personal realm that your business gets derailed? If so, you're going to find relief and inspiration in this conversation.
Speaker 1:Erin Davis and I were recently introduced by a mutual friend and my bookkeeper, kelly Marshall, who, you may remember, she's been on the show several times. So meet Erin Davis. She's a brand strategist and marketing coach, helping women entrepreneurs really lean into their authentic brand using their whole spirit, mind and body. I'm really excited to share this conversation with you. Erin is so real and opens her heart in this conversation, sharing her story, her pivots, her challenges. We dig into why your brand is the humanity of your business and how to really lean into this. Erin is a huge fan of community and how this can help us overcome entrepreneurial challenges, and she's going to give you some quick strategy and actions that you can put in place right away.
Speaker 1:Whether you've been in business for a while or you're just starting out, aaron's going to stir your thinking about where you can really draw out the heart of your business and make some tweaks that bring life to your business and to your everyday. I think you're going to love this conversation. Enjoy of this conversation. Enjoy, hey everyone. I have a very special guest today. Her name is Erin Davis and our mutual friend, kelly Marshall, introduced us and I'm so grateful, erin, that she has introduced us and how quickly I feel like we're building this friendship. So if you have been wondering about brand or thinking about your brand or thinking about creating a brand or rethinking your brand, you're going to love this conversation. We're going to dive into all of those things and, erin, I just want to welcome you to Differently.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I'm so excited to be here, and likewise thank you, kelly Marshall, for introducing us, and I have loved getting to know you and discovering this kind of kismet connection, even though it's through technology. It's just been really awesome and I love it.
Speaker 1:It's amazing I think we talked about that Like it is amazing how we make friends for these really special virtual friends and hopefully someday we get to meet in person. Yes, also, I loved that you were listening to the podcast. I don't know if Kelly had shared it with you, but you've been listening to the podcast before we connected and that was really special for me too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I've actually loved it and it's in kind of my favorites, and so I hope everyone that might be tuning in for the first time will, you know, find some of your other episodes and, um, I love the connection of your work and journaling and, um, yeah, so that's been really meaningful for me too, so to be able to be here with you is just super cool, so good.
Speaker 1:So Erin is a brand strategist and marketing coach for women business owners and really around authentic brands. So give us a sense of like what's been your journey getting to doing this work, because I feel like there's some important pieces there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks for asking. So I've been in this communications marketing world for over 20 years. My education was in communications and marketing and then all my work as an employee at different entities and then into starting my own business has all been centered around this sort of work. But a couple of years ago I just kind of reached probably age related but also just kind of that burnout point where I had taken on probably too many clients and I'd started to wear more hats than probably were suited for me and it was just time to rethink what I was doing and why I was doing it. And so that's where Matchbox Women was born. But what I had done over that 20 years or so was honed how I did what I was doing and how I made it work for my clients so that they could use my know-how and kind of run with it. So Matchbox Women is a shift to working specifically with women business owners and taking that methodology of defining who you are and what your gifts are and how you can apply that to your business, which creates that sustainability.
Speaker 2:We often think of sustainability as it relates to our income or money or how we kind of keep going. We think about scaling and growth. But there's another piece of sustainability is how do I keep doing this, how do I keep showing up, how do I grow in a way that matches me and what I can keep doing and what I can keep carrying, and not just growing to meet a financial goal? While that's important, I think sometimes we leave the other half behind and my work is helping women go. How do I do both?
Speaker 1:That's so beautiful, I think it's so fascinating, like when you were talking about reaching a point of burnout. I feel like I've had so many conversations lately of like that is the pivot point, like the challenge that shows up in our life is often the pivot point to something so beautiful. And I think when you were in that pivot point and the uncomfortableness and the pain of the challenge, we forget that often those are like those pivot points that you know turn to something really great on the other side. So I just wanted to highlight that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that and I feel like excuse me, I feel like burnout is a bit of an overused word and really burnout is just kind of like a bit of an opportunity where you're forced to take a look at oh my gosh, what am I doing, where am I at, how did I get here and what am I going to do now? And I feel like it's it's kind of that crossroads position, um, to give it kind of other words and another name than just you know the I don't know the overused burnout that we're all used to now, so true.
Speaker 1:Would you be willing to share, like what that burnout looked like for you, like what was the impact of that? That was painful enough. That caused you to pivot.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I started my own business to get the freedom that we all want, freedom with schedule. I'm a mom of four, I have a husband, I have extended family members, my husband and I support our aging parents, and you know we all have other facets to our life than just our work. And all of that freedom that I tried to create had. Just I didn't have it anymore, and so that pivot point was like, wait a minute. It actually would just be easier to go somewhere else and just do what I'm told, meaning go find an employer, and just not. I just was done, thinking I was done, striving I was done. I just couldn't do it all and I'd lost the freedom that I had.
Speaker 2:You know, started out seeking where I was and that freedom was doing the work, but using my gifts in a way that, like, made sense and was sustainable.
Speaker 2:But I stopped listening to myself and I actually didn't know how anymore, like I was just doing all the things that people were asking of me or that people needed from me or that I had signed a contract for, and it just all became too much and I didn't know how to answer my own questions or take the next step, and that's when I went wait a minute, everything that I'm doing for my clients around branding and marketing which marketing to me is just it's just the business word for making a relationship so that there's a meaningful interaction, so that you serve somebody and that you have a transaction or a money exchange so you can keep doing it but all of the work that I'd been doing for clients I wasn't applying to myself, and so I had to stop, turn around and go okay, let's apply this to yourself.
Speaker 2:And in doing that, I was like wow, I wonder if there are other women in the same position as me that need this, that need this kind of like rebuild of the foundation. And it turned out that there were. There were plenty of women out there trying to run their businesses and do it in a way that they knew how to answer their own questions, they knew how to show up every day and it was aligned with who they wanted to be and what their gifts were and how they were really going to be able to show up for the people that they wanted to serve and, you know, have the impact they wanted to make and still be the mom and still be the wife and still, you know, show up for friends and family in ways that they wanted.
Speaker 1:I think that that's so important. Like, even sometimes, when we're doing work that we love, we can get sort of buried in that. You know, even still, I can think back to a pivot in my life where I had to, like, really look at. Even still, like I can think back to a pivot in my life where I had to, like, really look at like I was being overproductive and even doing work that I love, and I feel like I'm in a pivot right now in my business. Like I feel like this conversation is really timely for me too, because I think there there comes. Well, actually, I want to ask you that, like, are there different times in our business life cycle where you know, when do we need to be looking back at brand and kind of reassessing and rethinking, and are there indicators of when we, you know, could be looking at that?
Speaker 2:Well, I would say the most simple answer. I have a brand guide, and I think brand guides people usually think of well, it's the place where I keep my marketing images, my fonts and my colors and my logos, and and that's what my brand guide is. Well, my version of a brand guide is way more than that. It's everything. It's. It's really what your essence is, but written down and articulated, which kind of dovetails with your practice of journaling. There's something that happens when you write it down and you articulate it to the best of your ability, and so the short answer to your question is you need to revisit that. So if someone works with me and we create their brand guide, or they take my course and they learn how to build it themselves, they're not really done right. The brand, just like a human being, grows, evolves and changes, and so you need to go back to that brand guide and breathe new life into it. Answer the questions does this still fit who I am? Are these still my goals? You know your origin story and probably maybe your mission or your vision might remain the same, but maybe you've grown a new skill, or you're offering a new service, or you want to pivot all of your services to something else. But you've still got that foundation and it's that regular checking back in to make sure that all of the aspects you articulated still reflect who you are. But if all of that just lives in your head and kind of this, like nebulous, this is who I am, this is who my business is, you really it's really hard in a busy world to go, okay, what do I need to change? Cause you're not looking at anything and you're kind of like, where do I start?
Speaker 2:If you've got your brand guide, if you've got a brand written down, um, you know where to go. Right, and you can. You can do pieces at a time. You can do a whole rebrand fret or a rebrand. It's it's really up to you. But you've got a place like a backdrop, a firm foundation to go. What do I want to do next? And without that, it's just more decisions we have to make, it's more things on our to-do list. That we stay on our to-do list because we don't really know where to start.
Speaker 2:And I think that's one of the hardest parts of doing life as a mom, a business owner, a woman in this modern world is how many more decisions can I possibly make in a day? How many more to-dos can I possibly put on my list? And by building a brand that encompasses so much of who you are and even your habits, you've got a place to go back to. That's, it's all written down, it's streamlined. You go and you decide yes, this still reflects. Move on, keep making decisions that look like that brand that you've already designed.
Speaker 2:And I like to say that your brand is basically the humanity of your business, and that's why I think a brand starts with the person. It starts with the person behind the business, or it could be the people behind the business, and you are deciding who is that business going to show up to be? The brand is the humanity of that business. How is that human going to conduct themselves? How are they going to deliver on services? Why are they here? Have they grown and are changing and are going to do something new? That's the power and the definition that a brand gives. It's so personal, while it's still the forward facing business. At the same time, it's really just kind of magical.
Speaker 1:Wow. I mean, I believe in this so much, not only for your business but for your life, like having a vision and having commitments that I'm in my life, for my marriage, for how I parent, for my business, for the way I operate outside in my life. Having that is so essential to everything for me because of my humanity. Oh, you know, I can go to sleep overnight and like kind of forget what, who am I and what am I doing and what's important, and like falling back on that over and over again is so incredibly important. And I think sometimes we think of brand as, I don't know, maybe it's like this added luxury, but the way that you're describing it, it is not an added luxury, this is like a foundational matter that can help anchor everything that you're doing. So I know that you speak a lot about, you know, authentic brand and I think you've already started to describe that a little bit. But would you talk about that a little bit more?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Um, I think you could, somebody could, as an example, somebody could call me and be like Erin, this is what I do. Um, this is how I do it. These are my services. I could poke around online. I could find some of your work, I could see what people have said about you and I could build a brand guide for you. I really could.
Speaker 2:But there is something different about starting with yourself and and putting your own personal components in it first and then building to connecting your business to it. So I start all of my brand clients and, in my course, when someone's doing that on their own, I frame the whole thing around the body and mind and spirit, and that connects to the why, how and what of your business. So, um, making sure that you've defined those personal elements and then building upon those and pulling them into the business creates this, um, this truth and this articulation of who you are, and then you've, kind of like, evolved it into a business and that's you being you. That's. Let's take, I don't know. Let's take coaching. You and I both coach clients. There are millions I don't know, maybe that's not the right number thousands and thousands of coaches out there. Yeah, yeah, I mean. So you know, maybe that's not the right number thousands and thousands of coaches, feels like it. Yeah, yeah, and I mean so you know, coaches, if you're going to just, you know, kind of water down the services, you're talking to people directly and helping them overcome this, this or that, whatever it is, but that's what coaches do. But what's the difference? The difference is you. There is no one like Carla. There is only one, carla, and Carla shows up to deliver on these services in Carla's way.
Speaker 2:Right Now, you can replicate your way if you have other service providers working with you or contractors doing something for you, and that's kind of the extended value of having a brand is being able to kind of replicate yourself. But that differentiation that feels so right and so true and is you. That's the difference. Like, makes me a different coach than you and you a different coach from Kelly or whoever it is. Yeah, and that's the authentic part that we need to get out of us, and there is a process for that and there's other people's processes too, but that is the part that we need to pull out of us and articulate so we can share it. It, if it's not in language that resonates with the people, we want to hear it and take it in and go. Oh, maybe you can help me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a brand is an authentic one is us taking our gifts and being able to share them, which that's why we're all here. We are all different and we all have different, unique gifts and different ways of displaying them or sharing them, and it takes us all, which is kind of the philosophy of the matchbox women. It's a togetherness, it's a community way. You're not doing it by yourself. I'm not doing it by myself. It's the way we come together and share so that we have hope and that we can keep going and we can keep serving. We can keep sharing our gifts, because that's what we're meant to do.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think that it's like what you're saying is having a coach or having people around you to help you do that, because I'm at a place in my business where I feel like some of that is happening on a greater level than I've ever experienced, because I have a small team, like people around me that help reflect that Sometimes we're so close to it like we don't know what those things are. You know, but like their reflection back to me or what they experienced inside the program with me cause they both went through it is so valuable. Does that make sense?
Speaker 2:And so I imagine in your community.
Speaker 1:you guys are all reflecting to each other like who you are, and I feel like that's such a gift.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, even even when you're trying to just articulate a point, you say it out loud and then you hear somebody's feedback or you hear them repeat it back to you. That's really valuable. Yes, you know, some of the challenges I faced in, uh, in my business was I was very solo preneur, um, I was running a business that really should have uh, should have maybe isn't the right way to say it, but, like you know, could have expanded to include more support, like human support to um, take on some of the work. Um, but I wasn't, I was doing it by myself and I'd really just kind of I'd really gotten. The business got bigger, but I got smaller and I I just was. I got to stay in control of all these things.
Speaker 2:And when I actually got to a place where it was kind of like I got to do something, I got a coach, I got a business coach and all of a sudden it was like I was hearing things reflected back to me and I was able to share something and it was even in that you know, kind of simple relationship that was not just myself, but I was building this community where I was hearing more and all of a sudden I was like, okay, okay, yeah, no, that's not what I want anymore.
Speaker 2:Like I, I want to, I need to shift and there's encouragement and there's okay, wait, I said that out loud and no, that's not what I meant. I want to. I want to make it different, right, like there's. We're meant to be in community and I have learned that. So I guess, practically over the last couple of years, that we're just not meant to do any of this on our own. We're not meant to carry grief on our own. We're not meant to build businesses on our own. We're not meant to mother on our own. Um, and I just I don't know that I ever believed that before and and I can't see doing it any other way now.
Speaker 1:Wow, I can totally relate. Like for so many years I just thought I'm just going to be a solopreneur and this is how it is and I didn't see it any other way and I didn't want it any other way. And in the last year God has showed me, like all these people that are around me, that I don't know like I saw them but I didn't see them and then literally, like, helped me see people that would be more closely involved. And and then you know, I had two people go through my program that are like we want to help you share this as much as we can, and so now they're part of the team and that just what you're saying.
Speaker 1:It made me emotional because that has been the greatest gift and like I feel selfish in a way that all those years, like, and maybe it just wasn't the right timing, it is such a gift to have other people and it has opened up so much that I never even realized and I feel like I had this amazing playground of the work I do and it was like it's time to share that and let other people come into the sandbox and play too. Oh, I love that. It brought me so much joy. So I totally believe what you're saying and maybe for people listening, like if you feel like you don't have that, you might have it and not actually realize it too, because I feel like that was true for me. I didn't realize how much community was around me because I think I was looking for it to look a certain way and I love that like example or kind of picture of the playground.
Speaker 2:It's kind of like you built this playground but you had the gates locked and you only let someone come in, like when you were like, okay, I want to play with you, like, can we do this? And you get to a place where you're just kind of like I'm just going to open the gate and if someone walks by and they're interested, or you put a sign out that's like, hey, come play. Play hours are 10 to two every day. And all of a sudden you're kind of like, okay, I'm going to see, see what happens here.
Speaker 2:And I think, as women, sometimes we like get guilty or we're like, oh, I did it wrong. Or like being the solopreneur for the time, oh, I shouldn't have done that, I should have let people in earlier. It's like that's, that's gone, it's done. And you know you and I are both. You know you live and you learn. And you get to this place and neither of us would be, you know, at this kind of, I guess, more um, community oriented place without having that lived experience, um, and and there's a time and a season.
Speaker 1:Well, there's just a time and a season for everything, yeah, for all of it, for each part, yeah, yeah, yeah. So two things One can you speak a little bit to like what it like? Just a tiny snapshot of what it means to have sort of your mind, body, spirit in the brand Like? Can you paint a little picture of what that is?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So let's see if I can like backtrack a little bit from like maybe the more practical the why, how, what was made famous by Simon Sinek, right, the why of what you're doing. Then the how how do you deliver upon your work? Maybe your values, um, the style in which you offer your services, and then your what is just the thing you do, right? You coach you, I don't know, make widgets Like the thing you do is that it's real simple. The why is what keeps you anchored and, um, kind of breathes life, if you will into the rest of the how and the what From the mind, body, spirit perspective. Well, let me back that you need the why, how and the what. You need all three of those things in your business to flourish, to grow, to connect with others. People don't just connect with services. Like we said, there's lots of coaches out there, but what makes you different? And people connect with you on why you're doing it? When they hear your story they're like, yep, you're my person, right? The same goes for your mind, body, spirit connection.
Speaker 2:I think a lot of us are well-versed at living in our mind and our body. Like we physically have to get up every day. We think through what we're going to do. We've got a business. There's all this mind and body, action or dovetailing it with the why, how, what. There's a lot of how and what living right, but the spirit and the why is kind of the hand in hand of the business and the personal.
Speaker 2:We need all three of those things in our life. We have to feed our spirit, which animates and gives a life to the body and the mind, the thinking and the doing of everything. But we often, I think, neglect our spirit. We neglect the things that are important to that part of us. And if we're neglecting one part of us, we will reach a stage. We will reach a point at which our life, your God, whoever it is that you call in to that spiritual part of you that will come calling. And if we can do that, like right now, if we can decide that I'm going to, like I feed into my body, my mind, my how, my what in my business, if I can inject time and attention and intentionality to my why and into my spirit, that essence of us, that animating life force, I'm going to do better, I'm going to be able to keep going. I'm going to have all three parts of me pumping and working, not just two, and for me, making sure that I spend time and intention in all three of those aspects of me has made all the difference.
Speaker 2:And it's not a new concept. I didn't make that up. I think it's pretty common to understand there's three parts of us, but what I think is less common is being really intentional about that third part, which is the spirit, and I think some people would call it soul. I call it spirit Cause for me, you know, I connect to God, I connect to my heavenly father. That and that's how I nurture that part of me that really floods the rest of the part of me that people are interacting with on a regular basis and that my business is interacting with on a regular basis, does that I can't.
Speaker 1:It totally communicates and I think it is more different than you may realize. Um, because I don't think that we, you know, you think about. I have this writing exercise. It's like I think it's a mind, body, spirit and it's kind of like what, what? But it's like houses, rooms in your house, and it it asks you like how much time do you spend in each of these rooms and what's your go-to room when things are going wrong? And it's really insightful because I think what you find is that you, you certain room and or you don't spend as much time there. And if we can be spending time in all of those rooms, the more I am centered and grounded, the better I can do everything in my business.
Speaker 1:And it's so counterintuitive to what I used to think because the mind just you know it just wants to be a machine and just keep you working like a machine. And I've had to reprogram my mind to be able to create more space in my life for spirit, for God, for being a relaxed human being, so that I can show up and do all the other things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, I love that example of the rooms in the house that, like that, resonates so so much. Um, and I think what's coming up for me is that, you know, if we don't know how to approach that room, or if we don't, we're not used to going in there, and we kind of go in there and we stand and we're like what am I doing here? Um, you know, we we might just kind of slink or like move back into what's comfortable and, um, I think, through my work and what I've helped, um, other women do, is to decide what are my habits, um, around those different aspects of who I am, um, or what do I do in that room, so that when I get there I know what to do. And that evolves and grows over time and it changes. But a starting place is to be like what am I going to do there and how much time am I going to spend there? And we might find that to start we're like doing nothing, but we said we're going to spend 10 minutes in that room. Or we said we're going to spend 10 minutes, you know, allowing that part of us to exist and being aware of it. And so you do that and, just like a business grows and evolves over time, so do those different rooms, if you will. That are a part of you and as you keep feeding those things and as you keep allowing that growth to happen, you will see that happen in your business. It just it can't not. It just it does, it does happen and I think it's it's the best, most beautiful part about connecting our humanity to our business.
Speaker 2:And actually for women, you know you don't want to be in this like sales status, like you don't want to be in the sales cycle all the time. I mean, it does exist, right, it is a part of business, but it's, it's a name and um, or it's a, it's just a vernacular. That, you know, for me is more about relationship and is you know more about that opportunity to show up and and help somebody, and I do that best when I'm doing my best, and for me, a brand is is today's a good example? Um, you and I spoke earlier. I have had a heck of a week. There's been all sorts of unforeseen um, you know bummer stuff that has happened, and then you couple first week of school with that as well and it's just a lot.
Speaker 2:But I know how I want to show up so that my future self can thank me. And without the work I've done to build myself into my brand and into my business myself, into my brand and into my business, I wouldn't know how to serve my future self. And so today, being here with you, it was a much easier decision because I knew how to show up. And the reality is is that we don't always want to or we don't always feel like it and we don't always know how. But if we've articulated what, how we can serve our future self, not just, oh, I want to do my best, I want my future self to thank me, like that's just words, um, but if we've articulated that and defined it like, we can use that, like we can, we can go okay, I know what to do, even if I don't feel like it.
Speaker 2:I, I, I feel in life you can hold two things. You can hold sorrow and grief, or tragedy, or struggle or anger, and you can do the other stuff too. You can show it for your work and you can do your business and you can, you know, be there for your kids or whatever your responsibility or or or thing is that day. But if you don't know how, or you have nothing else to fall back on. That's where we go. Oh man, I can't. I can't possibly keep going.
Speaker 2:But today it was kind of this really cool and special reminder that I know how to show up, like I know I know myself and, yes, am I holding this other like hard stuff, like a literally a bucket of hard stuff? Yeah, but I, I also have this other direction. I also have this other stuff that's really good that I can lean into and I can follow and and I'm building my community and Carla's part of that, and I'm really looking forward to talking to Carla and she speaks life into me and that is good and right and I know I'm where I'm supposed to be and so, yeah, it was so beautiful because you literally modeled what you do in the world today, because for you listening, I heard what her week was like and actually said, like we can reschedule this conversation.
Speaker 1:And when we actually got on the video, she's like that sounded really good, like that's really what I wanted to do. Yes, please, how real is that? Like? How many times do we want to cancel on something? And sometimes that is the right thing to do, but sometimes the right thing to do is to show up because that's what you've committed to doing and like that's who you've committed to being and that's what she described.
Speaker 1:She like explained that this was like a moment to fall back into her own brand and who she's committed to being, and that we, we, we have that. You know the way she describes brand. You have something to fall back to that reminds you like I can do this and I think that's so, so, so valuable. I am at one point in the work I do, I have a lesson about commitments versus feelings, and that came from a period of my life where I noticed like my feelings were just all over the place on any given day and if I followed those I was never going to get anywhere, and so I still have those days. Yes, but having commitments, it like, takes out the thinking work, because you're just like nope, like I'm committed to this and so I'm going to show up, and that's what you did, and I just thank you for modeling that. It was awesome to witness. Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:Well, I do want to say that I, like I don't act alone.
Speaker 2:You know, the time I spend in my spirit encourages and fuels me, but also allowing community to kind of lift and buoy me is in you.
Speaker 2:That makes all the difference and I would just, I guess a big encouragement I would have for any listeners is to look around you and if you're feeling alone, like that's your sign, like reach out to, to somebody, start doing life and work with, with others, and that I really feel like that will make all the difference, because I had someone to share, who I am with today, like and when I say that like my brand, like I had somewhere to use that and that was with you today and and your listeners, and that makes all the difference. Life is hard, life is hard and we're not, we're just not meant to to do it alone. And I guess don't get me wrong A brand also has, like your messaging and your marketing outlets and like all that tactical stuff. I know we're, we're talking a lot about maybe the the more like intuitive and like essence things. Yeah, the heart of it, but it does include all of that, well, all that other stuff stems from all of that, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can come back and talk about the other stuff too.
Speaker 2:We'll do nuts and bolts later.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, so you talk about brand being a rule of life, so have we covered that, or is that anything you want to add to that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I feel like we've kind of covered that. So what I didn't share was just that part of my method was the translation of what I had been doing for clients and customers for so many years. And then I was introduced to what a rule of life is and I recognized the connection between this articulation of who you are. So rule of life is really just defining who you are, what you live by.
Speaker 2:Most of the saints have a rule of life that you can look up or Google and see that they decided and they were intentional about how they were going to live their life, the values they were going to adhere to, the practices, et cetera. And reading and learning about what a rule of life is, I was like that's oddly similar to what the brand work that I do, um, and so a true you brand, which is, you know, kind of the, the title, the name of the work that I, that I do, um. That is kind of found its initial beginnings in this connection between a rule of life and, um, what a brand can do for your life and your work. I love that.
Speaker 2:So, yes, I guess yeah, We've. I feel like we've hit on that.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, love that, okay. So if someone is listening and wants to get into action around this right now, like what, would you tell them where to start?
Speaker 2:Um, I would say, um, maybe a couple of quick actions that you can take is start with yourself, start with what makes you different, and I feel like the easiest thing to do is maybe it's your credentials, like your schooling. Do you have any certificates? Do you have any history of doing X, y or Z? Do you have a particular methodology that you kind of would put on a resume? And then the other thing that I would say in there is now write down what your gifts are, what are the things that you naturally possess that you are naturally good at. That is a gifting that you have, um, that makes you stand out. So I would, I would hone in on what those things are about you that make you stand out, and kind of in those two different categories, the next thing I would do is write down your values, and not from a sense like just a one word, um, like integrity or transparency, um, but what does define what your values are? But then, how does it show up in how you act? Does it show up in how you act when, if you have, if punctuality?
Speaker 2:I was working with a client and um it, she was struggling in this value area because she was like, well, there's lots of good values, like I want to be all those things, and I said, yeah, right, don't? We all were like, oh yeah, I'm that too, and I'm that too. Um, but I said, well, let's back up and let's look at how you already deliver on your services, like what are some commonalities in those areas that you naturally have? And so one of those was punctuality. And I think you would never usually I shouldn't say never I don't think it's a common value that somebody would be like I am punctual, I'm going to list that as my top, top value for my business. But for her and her clients, it was something she always delivered on and something her clients highly valued. And so for her, what that meant was meeting deadlines. Her work is very deadline driven and because she works with teams, it's like a domino effect. Very deadline driven, and because she works with teams, it's like a domino effect. So punctuality was really important in her, you know, defining how she was going to deliver on her services. And so you know, pick the word and then say how does that show up? What does that look like from a client perspective? And then, finally, I would take your services and what those things, what you offer. I would define them and articulate how your values show up in those different services.
Speaker 2:I have a couple of freebies on my website that would kind of easily they're little workbooks. You could easily walk through those processes and articulate those for yourself and I think you will find that articulation, that process of writing it out, will make you feel lighter. It will make you be more clear about how you want to share. It will enhance anything you want to put on social media. It will enhance your conversations and I would. I guess maybe the last thing I would do is reach out to and this is a great way to help build your network or community.
Speaker 2:I would reach out to your top colleagues, your top clients, your top stakeholders that might be, depending on the industry or business that you're in and ask them for a testimonial why, why would you recommend me?
Speaker 2:What were the best services, strategies or results you had with working for me? How did you feel when you were working with me? I would collect those stories and they're going to do two things they're going to make you feel good and that's really important, and they're going to be kind of your social proof for others and it might even help you articulate if you're kind of hung up on those values or you're hung up on your differentiators. It might be like a work backwards process. You'll read it in those testimonials and you'll be like, okay, I was right, or my hunch was right, or yep, I'm going to choose that value and then start living with it, start working with just kind of those three, four main areas and see how it feels. But I think you'll be. I know you'll be well on your way to being more yourself and showing up in more of the ways that you can sustain just by doing those simple, simple things.
Speaker 1:Those are amazing. Go back and rewind and write all of those down. I was like furiously writing those down too. That was so great. Okay, Two last questions. One is tell us the. So I want you to tell all the places people can find where you are. But before you do that, give us a little snapshot about Matchbox Women, because I know there's a story about why it's called Matchbox Women, and then tell us where we can find all about what you're doing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you for asking. I think the name might throw people a little bit, but I'm okay with that. The story really is. It came a story from my grandmother, something she shared with.
Speaker 2:I have lots of cousins and it speaks into this community aspect that one matchbox or one matchstick is easily broken when it stands by itself. But and you can actually do this, I've done it with my kids If you put several matchsticks together, you'll find that you cannot break them. And so by coming together and being together, if you, you know, maybe you're weak but you can lean up against you know, the other people around you until you can be strong, and then they're going to need that leaning or that that someone else to um to help support them. So the idea of Matchbox Women is us coming together and doing life and work together so we're not as easily broken. So I hope that women as they look to you know, build their brand or do marketing in a way that's more aligned with them, would not do it alone. It doesn't have to be with me, but would not do it alone.
Speaker 2:So matchboxwomencom is my website. There's a couple of freebies on there. It's matchboxwomencom. Slash message mastery, um or slash branding, authentic brand guide and the some of the stuff that we've been talking about you'll find in those. They're just free. Um. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at matchboxwomencom. Um. My favorite place to interact, though, is on email, so I would love to invite any of your listeners that um like more, you know, relational communication to join me on my email list.
Speaker 1:Um and, yeah, amazing. Check out what she's doing. I love the work you're doing. I'm so grateful for this conversation and just thank you. Thank you for your time and your wisdom and so grateful that our paths have crossed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, me too. Thank you so much. This has been super fun. I've loved it, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Differently. It's been an honor to share this conversation with you. You know, one of the keys to living fully is to take action when you're inspired to do so. I hope you found that spark of inspiration today and would you help us spread the word. Did someone you know come to mind while you were listening? If this episode could impact someone you know, please share it and pass it along. New episodes drop weekly, so tap that subscribe button and join us next time as we continue to challenge the status quo and get equipped to live life differently.