BIO: Michelle Griffin is a certified international personal brand strategist with clients from around the world. She is also a certified StoryBrand Marketing Guide and a credentialed digital marketer and copywriter. She is the host of the Personal Branding Clubhouse Weekly Show.
STORY: Michelle had always wanted to be her own boss, but imposter syndrome made her lose so much time before she could muster enough confidence to do it.
LEARNING: Take the first step and put yourself out there so that people know you. Be consistent in providing value.
“Our most important commodity is just showing up consistently every day.”
Michelle Griffin
Guest profile
Michelle Griffin is a certified international personal brand strategist with clients from around the world. She is also a certified StoryBrand Marketing Guide and a credentialed digital marketer and copywriter. She is the host of the Personal Branding Clubhouse Weekly Show.
Worst investment ever
After graduating with a Master’s degree in PR, Michelle was so excited to become an entrepreneur. She had always dreamed of having her own business since she was in her 20s.
Letting her dream remain just a dream
Even though she wanted to be an entrepreneur, Michelle threw her dream off to the side and went on to employment.
Michelle’s dream kept haunting her. About five or six years ago, she started getting very interested in entrepreneurship and the online world. She wanted it so bad. Michelle invested in courses, promising herself that one day her dream would come true and she’d be her own boss.
A severe case of imposter syndrome
Even with all her skills and experience, Michelle didn’t feel confident enough to go into business on her own. Every day, she would wake up with the same dream but never give into it. Michelle was waiting for someone to give her permission, but only she would give herself that permission.
Getting out of her comfort zone
Years later, Michelle was asked to give a talk to her local association—a group of cybersecurity professionals. She spent weeks developing this unique framework she called Own Your Message: How to Step Out to Stand Out and Succeed in Your Industry. She gave her talk, and it was a hit.
This was when it dawned on her that she was not practicing what she was preaching. It was right after that that she turned in her resignation and started her business.
Lessons learned
Take that first step
Even though you are scared and don’t want to do it, you just need to take that first step. You must get out of your comfort zone to grow. Once you take that one step, you won’t stop; you’ll keep going.
Put yourself out there so that people know who you are
To market your brand, you must put yourself out there. If you stay hidden and make yourself small, your customers will not know who you are. Your job is to help others, but they have to know who you are and what you stand for.
Just show up
Show up authentically and help people. Soon, they’re going to realize you’re there to help them, and they’re going to want to come to you so.
Consistency breeds confidence which results in success
When you’re consistent in what you do, you become confident, and then you get bolder and can go out and meet people; then you slowly develop your community.
Andrew’s takeaways
Identify what your number one constraint to growth is
Find out what is the number one constraint to growth in your life. This could be lack of sleep, feeling overwhelmed, procrastination, and so much more.
It doesn’t have to be complicated, just consistent
You don’t have to do something complex for people to know you and what you have to offer. Just get out there and make it a habit to contribute value consistently.
Actionable advice
Put yourself first because if you don’t take care of yourself, you’re not going to help others. Put yourself out there and be consistent. Don’t give up because people see you. Always remember that it takes a while to succeed in this oversaturated, noisy world. Just be consistent.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Michelle’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to launch a podcast and a LinkedIn live show. She plans to keep building those platforms and probably create mini-courses and training to continue growing her community and help more people.
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Connect with Michelle Griffin
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Further reading mentioned
