When I started my business over 7 years ago, a marketing coach who I followed at the time told me I needed to be more visible. And at that point with very little confidence, her suggestion filled me with dread. She recommended that I post anything as a way of building my tribe, my following. I took her advice and naturally because I love food there were quite a lot of posts accompanied by photos showing food I had made.

I recall one of my husband’s friends gently poking fun at me back then wondering why anyone would be interested in that. Of course there was some truth in his comment as when there’s no context and you are relatively unknown, the ego says “so what”. Slowly over time I realised that my approach of posting whatever came to mind “the scattergun effect” had very little impact.

One of the most valuable lessons I learnt in marketing was that less is more. So I took time to go within and get clear about what I, and my business as an extension of me, stood for. These days I still share posts about food – the difference is I am clear why I am doing it. Having that clarity means that the posts resonate more with people.

It takes time…

If the first aspect of visibility is getting clear about your why before you start posting, taking the pressure off and realising your marketing will change over time makes it easier. The clarity I got came with trial and error.

When you start a business, it is not unlike being a baby who has to learn to walk. A baby doesn’t just stand up and start walking. First they learn to sit up; then they may rock or bum shuffle; after months of that they start crawling and pulling themselves up to standing. Somewhere between 12-19 months they learn to walk.

It’s therefore about allowing yourself space to experiment and try different things. Knowing that they won’t all work. Visibility is challenging because it makes you vulnerable. Posting on social media, you have no control over who will see it or how they will react.

Fear: another of the traps

Fear often stops people from stepping up. Awareness of that feeling is the first step to change. Let’s unpack the feeling. Fear comes in part perhaps because whilst you want your business to be noticed and gain traction, you don’t want to be judged.

If you think that you are not enough then it is quite likely that you will believe that you need others’ support to become visible. You may look to those who are more established to give you a leg up.

The truth is that they are working it out as they go along too and battling their own fears. Often times you will get a push back because others are afraid supporting you will dilute their brand and its impact. We find ego in Yellow and when it’s in the driving seat, it will become very protective of you not wanting you to get hurt.

Power and control

This leads to two other barriers you are likely to find on the path to visibility and they are power and control. How do you feel about power? The more visible you become, the more in demand you will be. That can be overwhelming.

People notice you and then want a piece of you. They tag you in their posts and offerings so that they can expand their reach. Your notifications go through the roof, you cannot keep up with all the requests you receive and it’s as if people are shouting. With more and more people clamouring for your attention the shouting gets louder and louder.

Along with that when your business gets to a certain size you won’t be able to manage everything. You will have to let go of control and bring in others to help you. That can feel very scary too.

One of the principles of colour psychology is recognising that we do not control anything. This is quite a scary concept for the ego to grasp. So how do you shift?

An alternative reality

There is a hash tag doing the rounds currently that I like very much. It states simply together we can. For me that means aligning with businesses and movements that have similar values so that you can have greater reach and impact. When you support another from a place of generosity, it will be repaid to you.

It is for this reason that recently I became involved in #HumansFirst. A wonderful opportunity to connect, share ideas and grow. I love it so much that I have offered to host one of the sessions.

And whilst I am an advocate of aligned action, it is also important to spend time working out what your values are; what your business stands for. Then it is much easier to feel into whether there’s a fit when someone asks you to collaborate on a project.

Authentic power

The truly great people focus more on how to be of service rather than how to keep control. If you look you can sense it in their energy and it comes from knowing the following truth about sovereignty.

You are the vice-regent of your business. You are making the decisions on behalf of the Divine. Try that on, what does it give you? Perhaps you experience a long exhale. When you can let go of that human need for control and certainty, you can rest into the Divine. It is always present. How could it not be as you are an aspect of the Divine yourself? Can you sense the relief when you try that on fully?

It’s so much easier operating from that space. You don’t have to shout to be heard above everyone else. You just need to align to your truth and in so doing, you will find you can let go of those small concerns that belong with the ego and allow space for what wants to happen. As Beth Moore said:

We were created for the purpose of giving God’s invisible character a glimpse of visibility.

If you have found yourself nodding at any point during this article, perhaps you have experienced fear around visibility or found yourself wanting to be in control and have certainty over the future. Equally you may have had some real challenges around owning your power and really letting your whole self show up. Working with colour especially Yellow and Gold is a great way to expand your visibility and authentic power so get in touch if you want to find out more.

What’s stopping you from getting your message out there?
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