It's All About Me - Faye Blake

Aries 2013

Aries represents the new, the daring, the fast, and the egocentric.

So this post, unlike those gone before, will be in this vein. I’m going to talk about myself. However there is a message in here for everyone else too.

I am always raving on about being authentic and doing what you love. In my cooperative venture, Strut Your Stuff, I am constantly giving the advice to be authentic in your branding of yourself or your company. And I have often repeated Simon Sinek’s mantra of “people don’t buy what you do – they buy why you do it.” See below.

But like the builder who needs a new kitchen, or the plumber with the leaky tap, I haven’t really succeeded in defining a brand for myself. Although I have tried. So I am going to give my websites a makeover.

So: Why do I do what I do?

A simple question, I thought – and for a long time I knew it was because of my love for astrology. I knew how useful it could be, and I wanted to do what I love. But that doesn’t really answer the question. I was always stubborn about being transparent in my use of astrological techniques, unlike some of my colleagues. My mission seemed to be to get astrology on the ‘non-flaky’ map, and this has been achieved with my clients. But can I operate in a wider area? Am I ‘only’ an astrologer?

Learning astrology changes the way you look at life, and I have come to realise that it is this unorthodox view, rather than astrology per se, that makes me different. My friends (very sweet as they are) have always said – but you are good at lots of things – you need to incorporate those skills too! And it’s true, due to being around on this planet for a fair while, that I have a lot of valuable experience. But my dilemma has always been: do I profile myself as a coach – a title I truly hate – and become just one of a vast number of coaches, many of whom have no experience or credentials in true coaching, or do I promote myself as an astrologer, keeping my USP but cutting out a large chunk of potential clients? Let’s face it – no one types ‘business astrologer’ into Google! Coach – maybe… That’s why I have tried packaging products like Strut Your Stuff, which does work well. But that is marketing the what rather than the why of Sinek again! However people understand the product. The problem with marketing astrology is that you can do virtually anything with it. But people are actually buying ME. So what is that? Many freelancers have this problem.

A term that I do approve of is corporate or company DNA. That’s what I am looking for – what’s mine? What is the essence that makes me unique? How can I express why I do what I do? What drives me? In the links below I have listed a good article defining corporate DNA with a list of questions to help you discover your DNA or that of your company. I can help you do this too through the use of a horoscope and my experience.

Back to the matter at hand…
I need your help with this but here’s where I am coming from. This is what I love and highlights the reasons I do what I do…

The moment a client says – “Yes that’s it! That’s exactly how it feels. Now I understand it.”
The knowledge that I have made a difference to someone’s life through an idea.
That alchemical moment when something has happened in a meeting and an undefinable something has woken up. New things become possible.
The moment I learn something about how a horoscope (and thus the universe) works. People have always been fascinating to me.
Laughing, brainstorming and being silly – the best recipe for great ideas.
When someone actually takes my advice:)

Astrology helps me do this. But most people don’t care about that. They just care about the results.

I also have skills in IT, training, marketing, strategy and plain ol’ common sense. And of course I have therapy training, so am a good mentor. I am by nature practical and result-oriented, and have worked in several countries and different cultures.

Help!
I sent out a questionnaire with this post and had a wonderful response. The idea of the questionnaire was to find out what you think I do and who you think I am! (Sounds like a TV program.) What is my DNA? That is often far easier for others to see than it is for yourself. I also asked for any ideas for future services and where there was room for improvement. It is a process I highly recommend if you want to know about how you are seen by clients and possible clients. But it is not for the faint-hearted!

Faye Blake-Cossar

Interesting Websites of the Month

This is a good article written by Tito Philips jr. on ‘Business DNA: Why Your Company’s Success Desperately Depends On It!’ He describes the 5 components that he finds necessary for creating business DNA and provides the questions you need to address. Where I would differ from him is that I would suggest that your DNA is a function of the time you or your company are ‘born’. But the focus of my reading of your (company) DNA would be the same.