Amplify your True Brand
For the woman building an authentic brand grounded in who she truly is
In 2018, I launched my first company. I had already helped other businesses with their branding, but this time, the brand was me. By anchoring into my natural strengths and values, I grew an idea into a profitable business in six months and a team of five within eighteen. It was all grounded in a clear brand, so people knew exactly who they were working with. That experience taught me this: building a personal brand is about honouring what already lives within you.
This practice can be applied to all kinds of branding whether you're launching a creative venture, building new friendships in a new city, or calling in your soulmate.
What is a True Brand?
A True Brand surfaces and amplifies the elements of our natural selves that already exist. This takes less energy than trying to mould ourselves into something new. And as we strengthen the core parts of our identity, the parts that no longer serve us naturally fade away.
Draw from this practice the elements that will provide clarity to others on what it means to be connected to you.
Identifying and Embodying Your True Brand
Ingredients:
A large piece of paper, pens, and highlighters. I used the back of some building materials as I wanted something big enough to reflect on. Get creative!
A space where you won’t be disturbed.
A way to centre yourself. I use karakia and light a candle to create a sacred container for myself.
Method:
Self-Reflection: On the left-hand side of your writing board, list all the words that describe you. These words should represent you in your entirety and what has been revealed to you so far. It’s an honest assessment of who you are, the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the messy. (e.g., visionary, runner, over-sharer, kind, structured, intuitive, teacher, analyst). You can use words that you have heard others say about you if it feels right. You can also ask others what comes to mind when they think of you if you need inspiration.
Future Visioning: On the right-hand side, write down your dreams, aspirations, intentions, and goals. Who are you becoming?
Your People: Below your dreams, describe the types of people you want with you on the journey and what kind of people you would feel excited about building relationships with. What words come to mind when you think of them?
Brand Magnetism: Using a highlighter, circle the qualities about yourself that will magnetise your dreams and attract the right people and relationships for you. Focus on the qualities that make you unmistakably you. What makes you compelling? How do you look? How do others feel when they’re around you? What do you wish to share with the world?
Refinement: Identify your Top 5 words. These words will form your brand qualities. Place them at the top of your board. Beneath them, keep the remaining qualities that will act as support for your brand. You can thread these in and out of your brand over time.
Affirming Your True Brand: Create one affirmation for each of your Top 5 words, your brand qualities to strengthen your identity.
If your brand includes healthy, fit, beautiful, you might write: "I am healthy, I am fit, I am beautiful through my wellbeing activities that I prioritise each day."
If your brand includes strong financial skills, you might write: "I have strong financial skills using intuition and strategy.”
Refine Your Statements: Polish your affirmations to make them powerful and resonant. You should have an emotional reaction when you read these out. If reading your affirmations makes you squirm a little, you are in the right zone! Keep going in this direction. Allow yourself the freedom to grow and expand through this process.
Embody Your True Brand: Keep your list of brand qualities, dreams, and people somewhere visible. For five minutes every day for 21 days, review your words and speak your affirmations aloud.
This practice will help you integrate your True Brand into your thoughts, habits, and actions, which will strengthen the unique qualities about yourself that you love, thereby weakening the parts of yourself that need to fall away.
Stepping Into Your True Brand
This process is about owning and amplifying who you already are. When you align your brand with your pono (truth), you move through the world with more confidence, energy, and ease.
And when you show up in this way, you naturally attract the right opportunities, people, and experiences that resonate with your essence.
To every woman navigating a major life transition and redefining how you show up for yourself and others, this is your invitation. Step into your brand with clarity and courage. You are already enough.
Let me know how you go. I would love to hear your reflections. 💛
With aroha, Cleo xx
You might like to check out Becoming: 8 Week Programme
