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The real deal - how being authentic is key to success
Zuzana Taylor • 23 June 2021
We live in a society where it’s very easy to present polished and edited versions of ourselves — that ‘perfect’ shot on Instagram or gushing post on Facebook — only showing the best parts of our lives.
To be truly authentic, we need to go past that superficial level and look within ourselves to find our true self. This is how people connect with people and how they connect with your business.
It’s about connecting with your thoughts, beliefs, values and goals and allowing these to come through in how you lead your life.
Questions to ask yourself to connect with your authentic self:
- What are my true desires?
- What are my real values?
- What are my beliefs?
- What do I want to achieve?
- Am I being my true self?
Being authentic in business is about building loyalty and trust. People want to feel they are being told the truth and see the real people behind the business. They will buy into a product if they feel their values align. By opening up to people, you create greater connections with your ideal clients, so they get to know you better, then start to like you and trust you. People buy from businesses they trust.
And, as a consumer, by choosing and being loyal to authentic businesses, people are also saying something about their personal authenticity.
So, how do you show authenticity in business?
Tell your story!
Origin story - this is your own story, how you came to set up your business, who you are, where you want to go, what your values are. This is your chance to shine, showing your uniqueness.
Product Story - if your business is product based this is your opportunity to tell people why you created it, what problem is it trying to solve, what hurdles did you face bringing your product to life?
Maker Story - this is linked to the product story and is an opportunity to showcase the people behind it — who makes it, what drives them to do this, what processes are used to ‘make’ the product?
KNOW YOUR VALUES
As a business you will have a set of values that drives the way you operate and how you present yourself to the world. What are those values? Where did they come from? How do they create connections with clients/customers?
BE CONSISTENT
Have a strong mission statement, be active on social media, have coordinated branding - this shows a cohesive, considered presentation of you and your business.
BE RESPONSIVE
In today’s connected society, there is no excuse for not getting back to a client! However you communicate (email, text, messenger) be sincere and always answer questions honestly, even if it’s less than positive.
SAY HOW YOU FEEL
Don’t be frightened to say no to something or express your concerns about an idea/suggestion. We often feel pressured into taking on more than we can cope with or always agreeing with clients because we want to please them. By showing a less than perfect side to ourselves, we are creating the opportunity for a two-way open dialogue.
ADMIT TO MISTAKES
We’ve all been there - we’re only human after all. Don’t try to hide or cover up something you’ve done wrong. Look for solutions and be upfront - own your mistake. Communication is key and, if done in an authentic way, can turn a problem into an opportunity. This will help build trust and show people you are open and honest.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
This is similar to the ‘treat others how you expect to be treated’ mantra. Model the behaviour you expect from others, for example, follow up when you say you will, listen carefully to what you’re being told/asked, take responsibility, show up on your social media - these are all part of the day-to-day running of a business but it’s how you do them that matters.
REPUTATION
People buy into people and testimonials from real people are a powerful tool. Share any other awards you may have been nominated for/won and any professional organisations you are a member of - all of these go towards showing you and your business as being reliable and trustworthy.
When you know who you are really are, everything will start flowing naturally.
You are what makes you unique and that is how you will start attracting your ideal clients. People will see your genuine true self and that will help you to stand out in an already busy space.
Mindset is everything for business owners. The success mindset is a certain way of thinking; it’s about the way you approach challenges and mistakes. It builds confidence, resilience, enthusiasm and positive outlook on business and life in general. Mindset development leads to learning skills that allow you to work better and feel happier in all areas of your life. A negative self-destructive mindset can lead to self-doubt and low confidence, reflected in your performance and business. This usually leads to failure. Perhaps you are reading this because you want to improve things. Now is the time for you to change and develop your new success mindset. By reprogramming your negative thoughts, making changes and creating new habits, you will start seeing a positive effect, make progress and train your mind to succeed by developing the success mindset.
Before I had my two children, I was a very independent and ambitious woman with a vibrancy for living my best life. A creative and curious dreamer, as a child, I grew up in the beautiful country of Slovakia with the belief that I could do anything I dreamed of, a belief system nurtured by my parents. I was determined to work towards having flexibility and freedom to be my own boss and have my own business one day, that would fulfil my ambition to be successful and have everything I dreamed of. After studying psychology and a career working in London companies in business and marketing, I got married to the best man in the world, we bought a house and started a family. I was getting closer to my dream.
Being a mum already feels like a full-time job. When I wanted to start my own business a few years ago it felt almost impossible to have any time for a business and myself. However, having my own business had been a dream for a long time and I was determined to make it a reality. I quickly realised that being a mum adds to our skills; we are organised, flexible, patient and used to waking up earlier; this worked in my favour. I still had to make sure that I managed time to create balance between work and family. Here are my top five tips: 1. Be realistic about time Time is limited with family responsibilities. It helps to be realistic how much time you can locate to your business and yourself every day. Plan ahead — work with people in your household as a team. Discuss every evening what plans you have for the next day and synchronise diaries and tasks. Having family organised allows you to focus on yourself and your business. 2. To-do list Weekly planning to focus on three main things Every morning, think of three tasks for the day Make a list of monthly tasks 3. Prioritise A to-do list can be overwhelming so go through it and categorise; urgent and important, non-urgent but important, urgent but not important and non-urgent and not important. 4. Routine Waking up early before the children gives you a block of time to exercise or work on a particularly important task. Equally, if you are a ‘night person’, then that is also a time for such activities. Kids love routines; it gives them sense of security knowing what’s happening and what to expect. Allow for days off for quality time with family and friends and yourself. Rest, relax and recharge. Turn off your phone giving you space to reconnect with yourself. 5. Do not be afraid to ask for help: Learned to delegate Get help around the house and consider childcare Involve children in helping with house chores A virtual assistant or coach might be helpful for your business and keeping you on track Connect with likeminded people to discuss any problems and share experience Remember to Celebrate This is an especially important part and acknowledges what you have done or achieved, either by gratitude or a weekly treat. It will take time to implement these tips and for them to become routine. Be consistent and do not give up. Work smart, not hard, and be organised.
I am sharing with you a story I have told hardly anyone that relates back to WHY I do the work that I do today. If you really intend to transform your business, that you need to get started working on your mindset now... Why? I will share my personal story that started my mindset transformation. I haven’t shared this story with many people yet, but I think it should be heard. “We often think that starting a small business is a big deal, it’s stressful and we are not good enough, no money, no time and so on…Can you relate to this? Before we even start looking into it, we scare ourselves away just by thinking like that, we end up giving up. I believe, and I apply it with my clients that doing something you love should be fun and rewarding process. Yes, it takes courage, requires self-discipline, responsibility, it is hard sometimes, it’s challenging and exciting but fulfilling at the same time. It gives you that satisfying feeling of doing something for yourself and moving somewhere. And that was the reason for me to have my own business. Whenever I was thinking about starting my business, I used to say to myself… WHEN I have more time…, WHEN my children go to school…, WHEN I finish my course…, WHEN I have a website…, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN… Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I used to do this. I wanted it so much, but with WHEN I was just buying some time simply because I was scared to take that first step. Looking back now I know that there is never right time to for anything, it’s all about making that decision and going for it! I used to WAIT and WAIT and there was always something in my way or something happening that would not allow me to do what I dream of. I really believed that the right time will come. I got so tired of waiting, so one day I decided that no matter what will come in my way I will deal with it as and when it comes. I was determined to do whatever it takes to start the process of my own dream. And that’s when I turned my thinking around and made that shift in my mindset. I was determined to give it my all. Everything I have! This was a huge transformation towards my own personal and business success. I realised that I cannot predict what life will bring and I shouldn’t let that hold me back from following my dreams, from doing what I love. START WHERE YOU ARE and START NOW! NOW is the right time.” I know it's easy to put things off... and to tell yourself that you'll get to it later. But in this case, I really want you to avoid that temptation. You are here for a reason! In fact, if you're not absolutely eager to get started rocking with your Mindset Development and changing your life forever, then you are missing on a huge opportunity to make changes in your business and life in general. So, please do yourself a favour and start making those changes NOW! I know you can, Zuzana x
In LOVE with ME! The transformational power of loving yourself well. WHY am I talking about self-love? BECAUSE, that’s where LOVE starts. It starts with loving yourself. YOU first! Does it sound selfish? It may, but, if you cannot love myself, how can you love others, what you do and everything around you? The way you treat yourself sets standards how others treat you. Whether it is in business and/or personal life. Self-love unconditional Self-love is an ongoing, expanding learning process – a self-love journey. The more you learn and give, the more you get. As you learn to love yourself, you learn to love others and you get love in return in all forms. WATCH and be aware While practising self-love, you become more confident and accepting yourself and situations you find yourself in. Spring is a time for new beginnings, and is a reminder of how beautiful change can be. Now is a great time to learn and practise self-love. What is Self-love to me? Ask yourself this simple question. Write down whatever pops into your mind first. There is no right or wrong - just simple observation of what you feel and need to know in this moment. 20 self-love thoughts Choosing myself, recognising what is best for me. If it means leaving the party before everybody else, because I feel tired and I know I have children at home that might wake up the minute I get into my bed or wake up early in the morning. Or I am just simply done and happy to go home. Learning to set boundaries and being able to say ‘NO’ Saying what is truth to me, about how I feel and what I am going through Loving my body the way it is at this moment. It is easy to see and judge the parts and bits that we think are not ‘perfect’ or how they used to be. Everything is exactly how it should be at this moment. I learned to love every part of my body how it is and looks now. Loving the way I choose to dress and look every day according to how I feel. What my needs are and what the situation is. As opposed to what is trendy right now and how others dress. Listening to my body’s needs, seeing the warning signals to help me avoid pain, discomfort and suffering. Supplying my body with nourishment, balanced and healthy food Giving my body on the physical level what it is designed to do, movement, challenge it to keep it strong, relaxation and stretch. Making time to do what I love, having ME time and not feeling guilty about it. Learning from my falls and mistakes and using them to learn, move on and grow. Not comparing myself to others, as we are all on our own journey. Learning to get motivated and inspired. Not blaming others for current problems, instead finding ways how to heal those wounds and changing my limiting believes. Following my intuition, my gut feeling. Staying in my integrity, meaning being who I truly am. Going back to it in times when I feel lost. Allowing myself to dream BIG. All achievements start with a dream. Identifying my dreams and desires and making time to connect. Letting go of everything that no longer serves me. Feeding my brain and soul. Spending quality time connecting with myself, reading books and self-development. Practicing yoga, kindness, meditations, mindfulness, going to nature … Being aware that everything is energy. Where and how I spend my energy and how to gain energy. Trusting the journey I am taking and enjoy being in the NOW. Finally, loving and accepting myself for who I am, I have shared 20 things about self-love, there are more and more to learn. Perhaps write your own? It is an exciting journey of many benefits. Start falling in love with YOU today! What is the first thing you are going to do to love yourself even more? Zuzana x
“I am going to die”, I said to my husband while I was in labour in unbearable, undescribable pain. In the middle of all that, I found myself somewhere between here and the other life. I was in a half bright and half dark place like a tunnel. I heard outside noises around me, but not quite clearly and they were a bit echoed. I was aware of everything around me but not there. I thought that was my journey to the other world and I was dying. But, I didn’t feel any of that excruciating pain anymore, it was nice and I felt like flowing through the tunnel. I Let Go! When I let go and “died” a huge transformation replaced that space and these things happened: l surrender into my body, trusting my body and trusting the contractions to do the job for me. I stopped pushing, stopped forcing and my body did it all. My daughter was born! Almost 3 years later 15.1. Just before my daughters 3rd birthday I realised and saw the connection of my old self “dying”. That old person was stuck in her own way, determined to push through anything and everything including pain to make things work and suffering with pain. A new person was born; a mum, a business woman, a woman who is learning to let go of things that no longer serve her. My daughter was only 15 months old when I started my business and I had a 3 year old son. I am growing, learning and empowering others every single day . I am so grateful for my 2 children who are my everything, my motivation inspiration my best friends and my big WHY. I am here to live, to love, learn and be a better version of myself everyday. I fulfil my desires and dreams, having beautiful experiences. I am light, I am energy, I am divine. I learned my lesson and the magic of letting go, where I gain more than than the thing I was holding onto for my dear life. Is there anything you are holding onto? Sit with yourself quietly and simply ask yourself this question. The answer is within you. When you have your answer, you know what to do next, right? Let go! Trust your journey! & Thank the Universe. Zuzana x