The Chickens ARE the Brand.
There was a brief period a few weeks ago when I thought to myself, maybe it’s time to have separate Instagram accounts for my business and my life. This was after I’d posted yet another photo of my darling chickens about their business, just doing their chicken stuff (remarkably similar to Parrot Stuff, go figure).
I have a friend who used to give me a really hard time about posting too many pictures of my beloved dog, Mr Burns. While he does have his own Facebook account, Burnsy’s social media manager (ahem) hadn’t gotten around to making him his own Instagram, so there he was, showing his cuteness on my feed. A little too frequently, or so I’m told. I suppose I continue to hear her voice in my head when it’s one more chicken, one more flower, one more rhapsodizing about my real life here on the farmlet.
And then it’s true that I had been seeing quite a few very uniform Instagram business accounts. The kind where you go to their profile, and it’s this very consistent coordinated color palate. I do love the look of that. I do love the idea of strategically creating all of my content at one time and scheduling it out. There’s that.
But when I said that thought aloud, “Maybe I should get a separate Instagram account, you know, so the chickens aren’t all up in my business feed?” in the company of my Mastermind group, fast came the resounding and immediate response: HELL. NAW.
“The chickens ARE your brand.”
Right. Of course. They are, indeed.
But how, you might ask? Why does that make any sense, that chickens (and bees and the rest) are part of my identity as a financial guide for creative entrepreneurs? What on earth do photos of homegrown organic beets or fresh handpicked bouquets have to do with getting right with your numbers so you can grow your impact and your profit?
Um, only everything.
Because here’s my secret mission. Helping with the numbers is the tip of the iceberg.
The numbers are just the doorway, the starting point.
What I really want is for everyone to have success, to feel successful, as themselves on their own terms. In the way that they define. They. Not the latest fad sweeping the online space. Not what their parents, partners, community expect or demand. Just that sweet feeling of success that they themselves invent, which can take so many shapes and be small, medium or large. It’s just such a deeply personal pursuit, a path you cut yourself, sometimes alone, sometimes against the grain, but it’s yours. But it’s YOU.
Success as you on your terms.
That thing I want for you is, not surprisingly, the same thing I want for myself. I do love to say that we coach others on what we ourselves most want to learn. ;>
Me having success as me on my own terms? That’s doing work that is 100% in integrity with who I am & what I’m good at, that helps and opens new possibilities for others. AND that makes possible a dream-life on this piece of land where I live, with my animals and plants and sweetheart (and our new pond, omg!), time and experiences with the people I love. That’s how I define success: being me, doing me, 24/7, in great company, helping make more beauty on this earth.
Honestly, what else is there?
That’s what I’m selling. Success as you on your terms. Sure, it might sound better to some people if I say, “understand your P&L so you can make better business decisions.” That’s true. AND the only point of that imho is so you can own your life, make it exactly how you want it. That’s the part that makes me jump around, that keeps me coming back, that keeps me reconciling bank accounts and generating financials on a monthly basis.
So: chickens. A powerful measure of my own success as me on my own terms. Expect those birds to keep blowing up my Insta feed on the regular. But hang on: poppies are coming, then honey. Stay tuned.
