My HGTV problem + A branding identity crisis
My name is Amber and I've got an HGTV problem.
Rather, I'm currently a little beyond OB-SESSED with the show Fixer Upper (with a dash of Tiny House Hunters thrown in there too).
All I can think about while my daughter is watching cartoons, is switching off Little Einsteins so this mama can get her fix.
It's getting a little crazy up in here.
I'm over here planning out the addition to our house and fantasizing about calling Chip & Joanna to get on up here to the granite state to help us start the demo process.
I think my husband is a little worried, but he humored me this weekend with some custom built-in bookshelves for my office.
He came home from the Depot with a car full of boards and screws and proceeded to explain why he chose the 1 x 3"s vs. the 2 x 4"s and whole lot of other things I pretended to care about as I smiled and nodded only wanting to know when I could start adorning my new shelves.
So the bookshelf construction has been going along swimmingly until last night after the babe went to bed and he started to install the frames.
Apparently, in a house that has been "fixed up" more than a few rounds over the last 70 years, things don't always measure up in straight lines.
In just a 4" span, the walls are so crooked, he had to hack off an 1/4" from one side of the brackets and planks he created.
So onward we go with gradual tweaks and the trims until we can get them to fit just right.
You might be wondering why I am telling you about bookshelves and Joanna Gaines' swoon-worthy interior decorating swagger?
Well, my darling, it's because it has literally, EVERYTHING to do with the (sometimes rugged) process of rebranding or designing a brand from the ground up.
If you have a website that needs a total demo or are building a brandy new digi-space, both will require some heavy-lifting, brain power and numerous gut checks.
Not only are you physically building a digital representation of yourself and your business, you are telling the world THIS IS WHO I AM in pixels on the screen.
You are making a bold statement about how you can best deliver your products and services to improve someone's life.
And you've got, on average, between 4" and 13" of screen space to tell that story...and a mere 5 seconds or less to make a solid first impression to engage your future dreamies.
No pressure, right?
I took to my rebranding project a few weeks ago excited and energized and ready to ROCK the socks off this thing.
I was ready to BE the example for what knowing yourself looks and feels like.
I was all-in to whip this puppy up in an afternoon and unveil it to the world with the anticipation and excitement of the iPhone 7.
And that's when the HGTV thing started...
Each day, I was chipping away at it, sketching it out, writing pages and pages of words...painstakingly asking (and annoying) my best friends and biz buds, "How would you describe me to a friend who might need my help?" OR "How do you see me?" which finally turned to..."TELL ME WHO I AM DAMNIT!"
Their answers were amazing, humbling, loving, generous, affirming and EXACTLY what I was hoping they would say...yet, I still couldn't figure out how to put it on the screen in a way that not only felt compelling, welcoming and fun; but, also would make people want to CLICK and sign-up and say, "Where have you been all my life, woman?"
And when those parameters started to shrink the room around me, making it harder and harder for me to be me, to do what I do, to show up in my power...I just stopped.
I stopped before I started.
I judged the hell out of myself and practically dismantled my entire old website in the process so I was left with nothing but a blinking cursor.
It felt easier to hide behind dark chocolate and the remote than it did to start doing what I love most, which is:
- Seeing myself like I see my clients...magnificent and important with a message worth sharing
- Allowing myself to be vulnerable, excited and transparent all at once.
- Trusting in my own process
- Putting the pieces together and building something that tells the story of my heart.
- Recognizing that judging myself so harshly leaves no room for the light to shine.
It's when I stopped to remember WHY I do this work in the first place, I could focus on exactly what our friends, Chip and Joanna are trying to teach us, and that's the power of simply getting to work.
So here I am tweaking and trimming...writing and rewriting...shifting and adjusting the new photos, new words, a new logo, a new look and feel....and the same heart and passionate soul on a mission driving that big vision of my life.
It's all me...right here, right now and I can't wait to see what you think!
Here's to rugged rebrands, self-discovery and trusting the process...
Til next time! (I've got a fresh, new episode waiting for me on the Apple TV)
xo - Amber
PS - Need help with your rebrand? Check out our latest work over here and book in a free brand development consultation here. Friends don't let friends rebrand alone.