Are you being ‘the real you’ in your business?

I was chatting with the other ladies in my Facebook mastermind group last week and discussing what we put out there on our business pages and what gets the most reach. We all agreed that reach can be fairly pitiful, depending on what we’re sharing. It got me thinking about the content I post on a daily basis and the content of other people’s pages I see. Obviously we tend to see people’s highlights, so where can you be ‘the real you’ instead of a carefully curated version of yourself?

Being ‘authentic’ – for want of a better word…

I shared this particularly ‘authentic’ (I’m not sure I like that word in this context!) photo of myself on my page in the middle of the week after the chat with my mastermind buddies.

I decided to bemoan the fact I feel obliged to have a phone for my business, although I never actually answer it. I get enquiries via email 99 per cent of the time, anyway!

I always thought I was quite unusual in having a bit of a phone phobia, but the engagement I got on my post was amazing! Who knew so many others dislike talking on the phone? I’m actually thinking of getting rid of the phone later this year and only having an email address on my website.

Is this something you would consider doing? Do you have a phone only because you think you have to have one?

When I started my business I did all the stuff I thought I should be doing, and I offered certain services in my then virtual assistant business because other VAs did, so I thought I should too. I didn’t realise that I could just offer something I really enjoyed doing, i.e. transcription, and forget about the other stuff.

The same goes for how I have portrayed myself on social media and so on. For a while now I’ve been considering changing the picture I have on my website, Facebook page and Twitter profile. It’s the same picture, and it’s fine, it’s a nice businesslike shot and I’m smiling. But is the picture above more like me in my business on a day to day basis?!?

Lastly I do consider myself to be a bit of an introvert. That’s not to say I’m not the life and soul of the party when I want to be, but only on my terms. I would far rather have a glass of wine and a laugh with a small group of friends than be thrown into a gaggle of people all competing to see who can talk the loudest. This probably explains why I love to work on my own so much, and why I can lose myself in the interesting content that I transcribe on a daily basis.

So…what do you consider is ‘the real you’ in your business? Do you try and present an idealised picture to the outside world, or do you show yourself and all your flaws, warts and all? Please comment below, or pop over to my Facebook page and check out my recent posts!