How Do You Want to Be Known?

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I recently had a WHOLE can of worms opened up that isn't able to be shut again. It got me thinking — okay, probably overthinking — about my life & my online presence & the mark I am leaving on the world. I have been asking myself over & over again, How do you want to be known?

I am pretty solid on how I want to be known.

I want to be known as both confident AND chaotic.

I want to be known as authentic & discerning — as someone others are attracted to because of those things.

I want to be known as “wordy” &/or articulate & as someone who isn't afraid to talk about mental health.

I want to be known as an introverted homebody who is totally social & pretty open ONLINE but kinda awkward in person.

I want to be known as someone who values COMFORT, for figuring out simple ways to practice self-care, & for telling it like it is…

I am sure there is more, but I thiiink I am painting a clear enough picture for now.

The issue is that I have been feeling quite disconnected from my direct sales business & my entire online strategy lately.

I thought it was because of life events & the pandemic & a ton of things outside my control. BUT, I am starting to think that maybe all of those things didn't CAUSE this misfire & discontentedness with my business. Instead, I am starting to think that they simply put a spotlight on my issues.

I started with my current company because I needed a way to continue feeling better about myself. I don't wear makeup often, but when I do, I get sweaty at odd times & it melts right off. I wanted a product that could withstand that moisture but ALSO NOT feel like I was wearing grease on my face. Nor did I want it to take a chisel to remove when I was ready for it to come off! LOL!

Obviously, this company offers skin care, mineral makeup, & cleaning essentials, all with transparent, clean ingredients.

That's all nice & all, but I am just not passionate about those things on their own. AND, especially in a pandemic, I do NOT use these products daily. Nor do I WANT to, frankly.

They are WONDERFUL products that I recommend wholeheartedly. And I am not sorry I own them or started. But, I just don't see how I can effectively market something I am not passionate about in that way.

So, how do you want to be known?

For me, I know the answer. But, then, it poses the question, what do I do about it? What sets a fire under me?

What I am passionate about is sharing my odd thoughts with the world — articulating how I feel so those who aren't as well equipped at sharing THEIR feelings can speak through me (or at least know they aren't alone in how they feel).

I love blogging — at least the writing portion of it! LOL. And I am learning to be at least adequate with the technological side of it.

And, there is NO greater compliment to me than someone else commenting or messaging that they could SO relate to something I shared… THAT'S what feeds me.

ANYWAY, I was going around in circles trying to understand this.

I was going flippin' crazy over thinking! I was even seriously considering cutting ties & forgetting about direct sales!

I asked some trusted friends & some microbusiness owners & bloggers who knew what I was going through & could understand the nuances of having an online presence & trying to build an income through it. And, I came to a realization.

As with so many things, I need to go back to the beginning & remember why I started doing ANY of this.

I need to be authentic. Be totally me. Share the chaos of my brain.

And, I need to quit seeing things so black & white.

I love direct sales.

It has a bad name by many, but there is a whole group of people in the direct sales world who aren't spammy, scammy, & losing their asses to try to get ahead.

Direct sales offers an incredible community, a fun way to spend your time, & motivation & inspiration to grow as a person — all while holding the possibility of an income as well!

I never thought I would get rich with that endeavor. It was never really my goal. And, I got caught up in ranks & sales & learning marketing to drive it all further along.

But I started with direct sales for the community. And, I love having a vehicle to help other women feel confident & empowered & like they belong & have a voice.

That's my motivation.

But, I still need a plan to grow an income.

I cannot justify the time I spend in my online activities if they aren't also contributing to my family. They could just stay at a hobby level & take hobby-level time & effort. But I actually enjoy a lot of this stuff. Why can't I learn to monetize it too?

So, all of that overthinking I was doing was keeping me totally wrapped up in my head! And it was showing in what I was doing.

Yuck!

So, going forward my primary focus should be on how to ENGAGE people again.

I want to entice & compel people to read this blog, comment on my social media posts, sign up for my emails, & actually want to see what I am up to next.

I want to deliver so much goodness that my audience is excited when they see my name pop up in their inbox or notifications! You should feel good when you've hung out with me in my corner of the InterWebs! And you should be looking forward to whatever I do next. If you aren't, I need to change how I am doing things.

My secondary focus will be treating my direct sales business(es) more like affiliate opportunities.

I will still share those products & opportunities when it makes sense to me. But, I am not going to let the direct sales companies drive what I share & how I share it.

I'm not saying I won't share somewhere when there's a new sale or a new product. But, I will be more selective with where & how that information is shared. And, I will protect my space — your space too when you're sharing it with me! — to keep it a productive, motivating, empowering corner of the InterWebs. It should NOT feel icky or salesy.

Now, I know that, with this plan, I will need to think about how to monetize my endeavors more creatively. And, I can even do so in a way that still supports others in direct sales too, since I do love the whole idea of it.

I have new, ambitious plans to hone in on my strengths & position myself to confidently help others while monetizing.

I even have an idea of what my “niche,” so to speak, would be!

When I think about what I truly envision doing & what really sets me on fire, I tooootally see myself WRITING.

I have had a hard time with my creative brain lately, but my daughter just started back to in-person pre-kindergarten for a few hours every weekday. So, I hope that having that bit of ALONE time, daily, will help me spark my creative mind back into action.

I want to write books that help people using my experiences. AND, I want to try my hand at fiction at some point. I feel like I would have a lot to say, I just need to start taking those baby steps to transition from where I currently am.

So, how do you want to be known? Tell me in the comments.

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