Happy Monday.

This morning. The news.  Holy crap, is it ever a shit show right now?  There are so many things going on, so much suffering, horrific events, tragedies and disasters.

We want to do something.

But, what, where or even how to start?

It’s overwhelming.  I’m right there with you.

And, we still need to make money.

We have to work.

We have to talk about what we do.

We have to invite people into our things.

(if we want our businesses to thrive).

Life carries on.  Always.

Somehow, we have to hold space in our hearts for all that is happening and still keep going.  We have to choose where to focus and devote our attention and energy.

We can’t do it all, save it all, carry the burden of everything.

No one can.  But, we can take small steps.

We can have our work matter. We can focus on making a difference.

We can show up and support each other. We can fight where we are able.  We can speak up. We can stand for things.  We can be love.  We can seek joy.  We can do good work in the world.  We can sit with each other. We can do our own healing work.

All of that matters.  The tiniest of little things, they add up – it’s imporant that we keep trying.

Please, as you go about your days, as you get on social media, as you work – don’t lose faith.  Keep praying for peace. Keep contributing in all the ways that you are able.  Keep finding the light.

We all need each other right now.

—-

It can seem strange or selfish or whatever to talk about marketing right now.

But, that is what my work is about.  Part of what my work is about.

Marketing is a component of building a business.

And I know that most you out there, reading this. If you have a business, it is deeply rooted in making a difference.

YOU are committed to things. To helping people, to healing, to contributing, to supporting each other, to doing work that, in your heart, you know will make the world a better place.

So, let’s talk about marketing, which I know is a subject that makes many of us want to crawl back into our caves.

Just saying the word makes many of my clients break out in hives.

What is that about?

Here you are, with a commitment. You know you have something good to offer, and yet we get so weird when it comes time to promote and talk about our work.

I blame this on all the non-sense out there that everyone is trying to sell you on.

• “Do these 4 steps… “
• “Follow my proven formula”
• “The secret to everything you ever wanted”
• “I will teach you how…”
• “This is the way to use social media and you are doing it wrong.”
• “You have to create a brand!”
• “I’ve cracked the code and I am now going to teach you…”
• blah, blah, blah.

We are so inundated that we can’t see straight.

Almost every client I have worked with in the past few years (at least) feels overwhelmed by it all.  Like the only way to be successful is to implement all these strategies and to do it right and get them all in over night.

There is a strange tone of FOMO (fear of missing out)  – fear of messing up? – that can turn us into a paralyzed stuck person.

(such a fun state to be in)

Humans want a magic pill.  An easy answer. A sure thing.

Online business/marketing experts have used that hunger for something certain to manipulate us.  All to get our money.

I could rant on this for a good long while.  It’s why I started talking about UN-Branding.

I really, truly believe that we need to break out of all this mind fuckery. It constrains us, paralyzes us, and leaves us feeling like we don’t know what the heck we are doing.

And listen here my friend… YOU do know what you are doing.

I’m going to say that again – you know what you are doing!!!! 

You know your thing. The service or product or art or ideas that your business was created from.

We have to learn to trust ourselves again.

I don’t know a dang thing about auto mechanics – there is no way that I would start an auto body shop business.

You created your business based off of things that you KNOW.  Things that you do trust yourself to provide. Knowledge you’ve worked hard to acquire.

Most of you out there – you also created your business because you know you can help with something. You can ease burdens and make life more enjoyable.  You know how to guide or support people in really useful ways.

So back to marketing. In its most simple terms, marketing is any activity that serves to promote and sell what you offer.

It’s actually not super complicated and yet it has become a topic that many small business owners feel frustrated about.

It is essential that you do work on marketing if you want your business to succeed.

You know you have something good to offer, and yet, when it comes to marketing…

We all get scared, worried, unsure.  We listen to all the advice and we get confused. Or what is being suggested is just not the types of things that we want to do.

[Sorry friends, but you aren’t going to see my goofy ass dancing for TikToc likes.]

Talking about your work. Sharing what you are creating.. that should be easy right?  Maybe even fun and enjoyable?  Gasp! How dare I say such things!

I think part of why it has gotten so weird is because we’ve stopped trusting ourselves.

So, to help.. let’s get back to the basics of what marketing is and then explore what that means for YOU and YOUR business.

Let’s simplify things.

Can we please unpack all of this and make some space, some FREEDOM to market in healthy, sustainable – even pleasurable –  ways?

Tomorrow’s UN-Branding Chat will be all about this.

Marketing 101, through an UN-Branding lens.  

I don’t normally record these conversations, but this one is such a juicy topic that I am going to make a replay available if you can’t join us live.

October UN-Branding Chat
Tuesday, October 10th
@ 10am PST on zoom.

Register here to get the recording or zoom info to join us live.

I’m really looking forward to this conversation.

Talking about our work should be fun.  🙂

—-

Have faith, my friends, in these crazy times.

Keep going. Stand for what you believe.

And most importantly, trust yourself.

Hugs, Runa