You got Forleo-ed. Now what?

It’s crazy right?

You started a service business because there was this thing you’re really good at.

Something you had expertise and credentials for coming out of your hooha.

A thing that, once you took away the office politics from your previous jobs, made you feel as though you’d gamed the system. Like, “as if I can get paid for this?!” sort of gamed. Because you loved your craft so much, you’d have done it for free.

Plenty of people were giving you referrals. But the gurus told you you HAD to market yourself too.

So, you set up your Instagram account, booked your first brand photoshoot and accidentally became “a personal brand”.

Cue: SO much doubt.

Now, you weren’t just hobnobbing with a few people in your network. You were suddenly exposed to EVERYONE running a service-based business online, all pushing different formulas for how to market yourself. And with every opinion, every Hot Take, every “this is killing your growth” post, you started to shrink.

You quickly forgot all the things you did know, and became aware of everything you didn’t.

It was clear: you were doing this business thing wrong. And who were you to think anyone needed to hear your opinion? In your old life, you felt like an expert. But now? Total beginner.

Then there were all the skills you needed, on top of your craft. Accountancy. Marketing. Social media marketing. Social media algorithms. Website building. Canva design. Copywriting. Email lists.

You felt like you’d never catch up.

So you downloaded a bunch of freebies from big names who were further along in their business, hoping for the magic success formula they promised (it never came).

You started going to those Make Your First 10k Month webinars. But they only made you feel worse. More panicked. More behind.

You learned what a funnel was. And that there were formulas for “selling in the DMs”. You felt hot shame for the amount of conversations you were having with no sales agenda whatsoever. You were doing this whole thing wrong.

As insecurity crept in – casting its long, insidious shadow on the walls of your mind – you started to doubt yourself and your craft.

That impressive CV of yours? Didn’t matter as much as some woman in a wide-brimmed hat telling you the path to true freedom was a multi-six-figure year and hundreds of low-ticket sales (and she’d teach you how to do it all inside her group programme, priced at $4444).

The rave reviews and reams of happy clients running around like a testimonial tag-team for your business? You felt like they were about to find you out. That everything you’d done for them was a fluke. Like you had NO idea what you were even doing.

The passion and experience you’d spent years building up? You bought a course in your area of expertise, just to check you were doing it right.

In short, the online-biz rabbit hole got you good

You got well and truly Forleo-ed. Absolutely Kutchered. Totally Robinsed. And for a while back there, you didn’t know which way was up.

But now, it’s different.

After years of self-doubt and comparisonitis, you KNOW you’re legitimately Really Fucking Good at what you do.

You’ve got the expertise. The experience. And that counts for more than a seismic Instagram following and a $25 low-ticket offer that (apparently) "sells while they sleep/scroll by the pool/[insert other toxic humble brag here]".

The years of “lil old me” freelancer mentality are over.

You KNOW you’re the real deal. And now you’re ready to show up like it.

There’s just one little issue… it’s not 2020 anymore and you’re in a really crowded niche.

You have to stand out if you want to be the option people not only recognise, but reach for.

But all those years of doubting yourself and trying to shape your business and brand around someone else’s winning formula have stuck.

And it’s not that you haven’t tried to stand out. The problem is, there’s so much noise in the online sphere (and you’re so busy spinning all the plates in your business), you simply can’t see the wood for the trees when it comes to fully owning who you are and what you stand for as a business owner and brand.

You need to unwrite your story before you can write it again. You need to peel back the parts of your business that belong to someone else.

If you’re a coach, consultant, or creative entrepreneur who's been burned by generic cookie-cutter advice and are ready for copy and messaging that actually sound like you, this is your sign to stop following and start leading.

Because a Run And Tell Everyone brand starts with an uncopyable message that’s unmistakably you.

No template. No 5-step formula. Just a version of you that’s 100% clear on your story (what got you here) your style (what you do best, and how) and a strategy that underpins it all.

Ask yourself:

→ Which parts of your story have you been hiding because a bunch of Insta-famous faces told you there was only one way to do things?

→ Which parts of your skillset do you use daily, but never talk about because you don’t think they’re important?

→ Which words would you use to describe what you do if you’d never been told there was a right and wrong way to show up?

Start writing those.

The helpline for those who've been Forle-oed is open 24 hours and can be reached here.