ļ»æ[00:00:00] Today on the podcast, I am with a lovely Megan. Um, do you want to do a little intro? Tell us who you are and what you do. Absolutely. Thanks for having me on. Uh, my name is Megan Gersh. I'm a branding and website designer, and I primarily work with creative visionary types of folks who want to really step into their power and scale their business.
[00:00:33] Amazing. I love how like, to the point that was, whenever someone asks me what I do, I ramble for like 20 minutes. Thank you. Um, one of the things you said when you were sort of talking about being on the podcast was embracing your weirdness in your brand. So tell me about that because I love this idea.
[00:00:51] Absolutely. So this is one of my favorite things to talk about, honestly, because like everybody has a unique story and a unique background. And what I found with [00:01:00] my branding and website design clients is that I tend to work with folks that are a bit more like alternative, a bit more, uh, they tend to go their own way and they tend to kind of do their own thing and kind of just leave the rules by the wayside and kind of just work their own way.
[00:01:15] Forge their own path. And I've found that when we really start, uh, when I encourage them to lean into who they truly are and lean into their weird, that's when the magic starts to happen because they start to attract in their dreamiest clients. And so it's, it really is like tapping into a superpower. I love that.
[00:01:35] I love the idea of it being a superpower because I guess, you know, I'm just thinking about when I'm scrolling on Instagram or in the online space, it's very easy for everything to sort of blur into just. A big mess, isn't it? And I think when you are really embracing you and your uniqueness and your differences, it's so much easier to stand out.
[00:01:53] And it's not like you need to do anything special. You just need to really step into being you. Yeah, absolutely. And like, I [00:02:00] always say to my clients too, like, The world doesn't need more of the same, you know, there's so much of the same going on, especially in the entrepreneur space. You hear a lot of the same sentiments over and over and over, but like really tapping into like those core values, like what you stand for and what makes you unique is going to really help to propel you to even stand out from the rest even more.
[00:02:23] And I, as a consumer, I totally get that, but I, I feel like I can hear people listening to this and screaming, but like, but it's so hard to do because it is hard, isn't it? To sort of be yourself and to stand up and be like, this is me and this is my quirks and this is my differences. And, you know, you either like it or you don't.
[00:02:41] I think that takes Confidence. What would you say to those people who are listening to this and thinking, I would love to do that, but I'm terrified of doing that. Yeah, I mean, I totally get that too. I mean, being seen in general is terrifying, right? Like, a lot of folks are very, very afraid of, like, [00:03:00] judgment from others, like, and, you know, putting themselves out there in front of strangers.
[00:03:05] Um, but it honestly is the kind of thing where you have to practice at it. You have to, Put yourself out there consistently, because that's the way that you're going to get confident with sharing those values and sharing the real part of yourself. Um, there's unfortunately no shortcut. Like you have to just, you know, be brave, push the button, and then maybe tomorrow we'll come and say, like, okay, we're going to be brave again.
[00:03:28] We're going to push the button again. Um, and so really just putting yourself out there with consistency. I almost like in the beginning of my content creation journey, I just kind of made it almost like a game with myself. Like, how many times can I put my Like, how many times can I, you know, show my work, um, and just really kind of made it like this challenge for myself so that I would consistently show up.
[00:03:51] Um, and throughout that journey, I just got more and more confident along the way. I love that idea of making it a sort of challenge for yourself because I'm [00:04:00] all about making things fun where they can be. Um. Totally. I'm intrigued about your thoughts on whether there is too much of sharing yourself that you can do.
[00:04:11] Um, I know there's like this conversation around how much do we open up, how much do we share with the world, and how much do we keep for ourselves. What are your thoughts on how much of our, our kind of like personalities and our differences we should share? Is there a downside to sharing too much do you think?
[00:04:27] Um, I don't know. Well, I think it really depends on your brand. Um, it's the beauty of it, too, is like you get to decide, like, how much you want to let your audience in. So, like, not everything has to be on the Internet, right? Like, you don't have to go out and dish your deepest, darkest secrets, but if you're able to tell a story and maybe inspire someone, you know, if that's a personal story to you, like.
[00:04:52] Your audience might, it might help your audience to see themselves in you and to draw them in a bit closer. Um, you [00:05:00] know, when you're sharing like personal tidbits about your life, like these are the pieces of business that help to connect us to one another. So. It's always really, really helpful to keep that in mind when you're thinking about branding, how much you want to put yourself out there.
[00:05:15] Um, you know, like go a little bit beyond just like the service level things. Like I have a dog or I, you know, have a husband or, you know, I like to do X, Y, Z on the weekends. Like go a little bit deeper than that, because the more that you can connect on like an emotional level, I would say the closer that your audience is going to feel to you.
[00:05:35] And that's what makes people buy from us, right? It's that. It's that connection piece. And it's, I say this from like personal experience, it's very hard to spend money with someone who you can't really connect with, who feels like this sort of perfect Instagram picture, um, that doesn't show any of their kind of differences or, or personality traits.
[00:05:54] And it's like, I really want to invest in you, but I'm really finding it difficult to see any parts of myself in [00:06:00] you. So I don't know whether you're going to see me. Yeah. And I think also, in addition to that, like, think about. They're probably brands out there that you haven't bought from before because you don't align with them on a core values level or that they support X, Y, or Z, right?
[00:06:16] Like, it's the same thing where, like, it's so important for us as personal brands to really show that side of like that. That create that likability and that relatability just because like sales, like you said, are such emotional decisions. And like, we've really want to do business with people that we relate to and that we like as people.
[00:06:38] Yeah. I mean, if I'm going to like spend my money, I want it to be someone that I like. And, you know, there's a reason I go to the same coffee shop every day. It's because I love the people who run it and, you know, I enjoy giving them my money. And if it was just a. I don't know, like a self service machine.
[00:06:53] Without that, I probably wouldn't be loyal because, you know, there's, there's no connection there. Um, something I really want to talk [00:07:00] about, but I'm also terrified to talk about, is that you lost a huge following on Instagram, which is one of, like, this is what I have nightmares about. So this is why I'm worried about speaking about it.
[00:07:11] But, um, tell me how that happened. What was the story? Yeah, fill us in. Well, it was my Tik TOK account, so it was my, it was a 72, 000 follower Tik TOK account that, um, I was out at my husband's like, um, company party one night and I happened to get away for a second. I opened my phone and I had a little notice there that said like, your account has been permanently banned.
[00:07:37] And I was like, Okay. I'm not, I'm not going to break down right now. You know, I'm going to just like, hold this inside and just like deal with this later. And so I woke up the next day and I was like, wow, like, this is like really gone. Um, and so I went through all the proper motions. I asked, um, tick talk for it to be reinstated several times, reached out to their support.
[00:07:59] It was [00:08:00] pretty much just like automated responses from them. Um, I reached out to friends who I had contacts at tick talk. Nothing happened there. Um, basically the account was gone. And after, you know, about a month, month and a half of like trying, I kind of just like, I was like, okay, we need to just move on from this.
[00:08:21] I, in the, in the meantime had started a new account and started posting content because I didn't want to get out of the habit of posting content. And I wanted to like, stay sharp when it came to content creation skills. Um, and so I just kept posting and, you know, It's, it's just been a process of like building up that account and like, really, I feel like after that moment I, I really became a bit more platform agnostic in a way.
[00:08:50] Um, really trying to not favor one platform over another and really just like, Taking a look at what was [00:09:00] working. Um, and you know, that had always kind of been in the back of my mind, but like there was a period where TikTok was just like the most fun platform for me to create on, and it was very playful and it was very like in the height of the pandemic, like, you know, a lot of us were going there for some comedic relief, for some inspiration, you know, a lot of that was like that escapism aspect to it.
[00:09:25] And like, when this happened. A lot of that was just like crushed for me. Like I was just, I was just trying to focus on other avenues where I could still keep my business afloat because prior to the ban, like 50 percent of my clients came from TikTok. And so, um, I was just figuring out different ways that I could keep clients coming into my business and keep, uh, you know, new leads coming in and all of that, uh, without that platform.
[00:09:53] So that's kind of the short version of the story. It's, it's really scary because, and I know we all [00:10:00] know this, but it's not our platform, right? And so you can build an Instagram account, a TikTok account, whatever. And ultimately, like, we don't really have control over those things. And it's easy to ignore that when you're going day to day and you think, Oh, well, it won't happen to me.
[00:10:16] We see it happen to other people, but it won't be me until it is you. And. You know, the thought of you, 50 percent of your income potentially disappearing overnight is, is terrifying. Did it have a kind of lasting impact on you financially, or were you able to kind of jump into other areas and, and kind of save it all?
[00:10:35] It definitely did. Um, and it's been still a process. I mean, now we're almost a year later. I've seen. So I've been kind of like, you know, figuring out like what that means for my business. Um, but I mean, it's been a challenge in some ways and it's definitely been, um, you know, I've had to get creative with what I've done with like my offers and, you know, trying to figure out how I can like, [00:11:00] um, you know, tap into other platforms and different networking opportunities and that kind of thing to keep things afloat.
[00:11:07] Did you consider. walking away from social media altogether at any point? I don't think so. I, I mean, there was definitely like a period of like mourning that account, right? Like there was definitely like a period of like, Oh, Oh shoot. Like, what do I do now? Um, like, you know, things have really shifted, but I mean, I feel like there was like a mourning period.
[00:11:30] And then I kind of just like, Came into like an acceptance period of like, okay, well, this is where we are now. What do we need to do now instead of sitting in this place of like, kind of stewing with it, right? Like, I never really considered leaving social media altogether. In fact, I feel like I went deeper into it just because I was just like, okay, well, this isn't.
[00:11:53] My thing anymore. So what else can I leverage? So I kind of like went into other platforms being like, [00:12:00] all right, let's go really, really hard on these other platforms. I really admire your resilience in handling it, because I think for me, I would definitely have a moment of being like, do you know what, forget it.
[00:12:17] I give up. I'm done. I've spent years building this. I put so much time and effort in and I think I would just feel a lot of frustration. I don't really know who at or what at, but just, you know, when you put so much time and energy into something, it's really hard for that to be taken away without your control.
[00:12:34] Um, and I know as business owners, we have to be resilient. We have to be able to bounce back. Um, but I think it's a really hard thing to navigate when, especially when it is contributing to your income and your lifestyle. Um, What would your advice be to people listening to this who are thinking, oh my gosh, that's my biggest fear.
[00:12:52] That's my worst nightmare. How can they prepare? Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you. Um, I, it's definitely like one of the [00:13:00] most important skills that you can l learn and build as a business owner is that resilience and that kind of like ability to roll with the punches. Um, but as far as like preparing for something like that, like you really, like, I never thought it could happen to me, and it happened to me.
[00:13:15] I post. Purely educational content. So like. You know, there's no rhyme or reason to why it happened. So what I would recommend is always having a backup of your content, which luckily I did have some of my content backed up. Um, also I know that this is cliche advice, but always be thinking about how you can move people from one platform to another.
[00:13:36] Build your email list, um, and really get intentional with connecting with people so that when something like this happens, um, you have another means for connecting with them. Uh, whether that be, you know, your email, phone, texting lists, like some kind of private community, bringing them off of these social platforms, um, just because you just never know what could [00:14:00] happen.
[00:14:01] Yeah, such good advice. And one of those things that, like I said, we all hope never happens, but good to prepare just, just in case. Um, coming back to what you kind of do day to day with brand and things, are there any mistakes that you see people making that you, that you would love to kind of put out there and say, don't do this, this works really well, um, any advice you would give to people?
[00:14:22] Yeah, absolutely. So I see, um, a lot of brands tend to gravitate towards like trends and branding. Um, Which I personally try to avoid when it comes to developing brand design. And that is purely because like, if you follow trends in branding, like you're just going to wind up spending your spinning your wheels, like redeveloping your brand every few years.
[00:14:45] And it's going to just cost you more money in the long run. So I tend to take a more timeless approach when I approach branding. So making sure that I'm creating. Creating assets for the business that will last them, you know, 5, 10, 15 years in [00:15:00] the future and really trying to create assets that, um, you know, are, are that sustainable are more on that sustainable side.
[00:15:11] And is there anything that you would say has been your sort of biggest takeaway from your experience in business so far? Oh, geez. I mean, the resilience piece, like we talked about is like a really, really big one. I think a lot of people don't realize when you become an entrepreneur, like How it's literally like the fast track to self development.
[00:15:31] Like, I feel like I've had like 20 years worth of therapy, you know, just like figuring out things about myself, um, figuring out my strengths, figuring out my weaknesses, where I need improvement. Um, and it's really just like the fast track to like figuring out like everything about yourself, business and non.
[00:15:53] I would totally agree with that. I feel like business takes your. All of your stuff and makes it bigger, [00:16:00] magnifies everything. So if you are an anxious person, you're going to be more anxious than ever. If you are someone who isn't very good at saying no, that's going to be blown up too. Um, and I think for me, it's been a really good way of identifying where I need to work on myself.
[00:16:14] Like it makes it very clear, like, okay, this area, I need to work on that because that's clearly coming up in the business over and over again. Yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah. I mean, I am, I'm a person who has anxiety and like, I totally understand that as well. That's something that I figured out in the very beginning of my business, like, okay, I need to get a handle on this and get some, you know, coping mechanisms, um, kind of in my back pocket because, you know, Every, you know, every problem that comes up, I can't just be like, you know, wanting to throw my business out the window.
[00:16:45] Like we need to figure out a way to navigate these different things. Yeah, I, I totally agree. I have anxiety too. And, um, I know we have quite a lot of listeners who are anxious business owners. Is there anything that you found [00:17:00] through kind of your time in business that has really helped you to adjust your business to support your uniqueness?
[00:17:09] I mean, honestly, figuring out a schedule that works for me, um, I will give you one example of this. Like, I like to keep my Mondays and my Fridays, like fairly light when it comes to like, you know, I don't take any client calls or any of that kind of thing on those days. Um, and that really helps to like, give me like the, the mental kind of breathing room and also like room for my creativity as well.
[00:17:33] Um, and those are, those are days that like, I'll either build in like some time for my CEO date, um, or, you know, I'll work on my own business, work on my own, like marketing, um, or I can build in time for, you know, life things that may come up. Like, if I need to run an errand or I need to go to the pharmacy or like, you know, whatever the case that gives me like a little bit more breathing room, uh, in my business.
[00:17:59] I love that [00:18:00] because I do exactly the same Mondays and Fridays. I don't really do anything in terms of like client facing. And I do more of my strategy stuff or writing content, just getting really deep into what I'm doing for me. Like I used to find that I got really anxious first thing in the morning.
[00:18:15] So whenever I do calls, I don't do them first thing in the morning, because I know I'm just going to make life harder for myself and a big part of the kind of learning curve for me was I can't run my business like, Everyone else, like my business coach, like my friends, because. We're all so different.
[00:18:30] Like we're all so unique. We've all got our own things going on. And I think, um, you know, what you said there really kind of reminded me. It's that piece around building what works for you and kind of comes full circle with branding, right. And being a hundred percent you and embracing your uniqueness, because we all have to do that because, you know, my business wouldn't work for you and vice versa.
[00:18:50] Um, what would your advice be to the person who has been in business a little bit of time, but is realizing that they're kind of just soaking everything up and. [00:19:00] Repeating what they've been told rather than just kind of showing up and being completely themselves. Yeah. Oh my God. I've totally been there.
[00:19:07] First of all. Um, I think we all have, uh, if you've been in a, in business a few years that like, at some point it's like you're consuming so much that it's like, okay, like, I feel like I have all of the advice. Like, what do I actually think? Right. Like figuring out like, what is your, actually, what is your opinion on the thing?
[00:19:25] Um, And honestly, one thing that's really helped me the most has been, uh, if I ever feel like I have, um, I don't want to call it jealousy, but like folks that I, I just like, I, they're doing the same thing as me in the niche or they are, I, I feel like some kind of, there's some kind of something within me that feels that like, er.
[00:19:51] You know, like, it feels that, like, anxiousness. Um, I just have started blocking people, to be honest with you. Um, getting them out of [00:20:00] my, uh, you know, realm of, uh, my feed and, um, you know, like, really trying to focus on, like, Putting the blinders on in my business and being like, okay, well, what do I want to do?
[00:20:12] What is my mission? What do I think about this thing? Um, and in the same kind of vein to like, I'm really, and this is like a thing that I'm actively working on. Like lots of folks will say the similar things or they will, uh, you know, like. Take inspiration from your content and like, really just like releasing that in a way, just being like, people are going to say the similar things in your niche.
[00:20:38] It doesn't mean that they're copying one another. It doesn't mean that they're like, you know, trying to be malicious with things. I try to think forward thinking in my business to, to a degree of like. I do not need to think about my old ideas. I really love that. I've never heard anyone word it like that before, but it's so true.
[00:20:58] And, um, [00:21:00] it reminds me of that kind of pick your battles thing. It's in business. There's going to be so much, there's going to be so many things that you disagree with or people who handle things in ways that you wouldn't handle things in the same way, and all this stuff happens. And I think if you get.
[00:21:17] Worked up about everything you would just permanently struggle. And for me, it's been, I need to decide what am I going to get upset about? What am I going to get angry about everything else? I just have to let go because otherwise I'm just gonna be upset and angry all the time. Um, and that was something that happened to me when my content was stolen.
[00:21:34] And I remember at the time I was quite new to business. Um, it was like a little baby and I was upset and I was like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe somebody did this to me. And I was messaging them and, and I look back now and I just think, Oh, who cares? Like, I, I just do not care, like you can take stuff. You can't, you can't get me, you know, you can take my content, but you can't take me as the person.
[00:21:53] And, um, yeah, that kind of thing wouldn't bother me now, but it's easier said than done, I think, in hindsight. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. That's another [00:22:00] thing that definitely takes a little bit of practice. Yeah. And all of this is practice, isn't it? It's, if you were listening to this on day one of your business, you, this would probably just be like, I don't care about this right now.
[00:22:10] I just need to get clients, you know, I don't care about this whole conversation. But I think. Six months, a year, two years in, you come back round to some of these things and you think actually, do you know what? That doesn't bother me anymore. Or that actually is something I'm really passionate about. And I really want to talk about that.
[00:22:25] Um, but it's all just time, isn't it? You have to give yourself time to figure these things out. Yeah. Yeah. And it's, it's the hardest thing too, right? Like, cause I feel like if I think back to my, like myself, when I first started my business, like Everything that went wrong was just like an explosion, right?
[00:22:43] Like, but like, and I couldn't even see to where I am now of like, Oh, that something happened. Okay. Like, you know, it just kind of let it roll off and onto the next thing. But I couldn't even like imagine that person in that moment. Yeah. I mean, if you're listening to this right [00:23:00] now, it does get easier. It definitely gets easier over time.
[00:23:04] And, um, It's just one of those you've got to go through. I wish I could like fast forward for everybody so they skip the difficult bit, but I think you have to go through it to really understand who you are and what you want. The grit. Yep. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for having this conversation with us and sharing your, your kind of story and everything.
[00:23:23] It's been so interesting. Is there anything, one last piece of advice you'd like to leave us with? Oh, my gosh. Yes. Just lean into who you truly truly are. And, uh, your most ideal clients, customers, and audience will start flocking to you. I can't emphasize enough, like how, like, like we said earlier, like leaning into your weird and embracing that part of yourself, like is such a superpower.
[00:23:48] And this is something that I work with all of my clients on. It's I've seen it time and time and time again, the more that you lean into that. Yeah. The happier you're going to be in the most aligned folks are [00:24:00] going to start flocking to you. Thank you. If people want to come and connect with you, where can they find you?
[00:24:06] Sure. I'm on all the socials making at Megan Gersh and it's Megan Gersh. com. It's M E G A N G E R S C H. com. Amazing. Thank you so much. Oh my God. Thank you for having me on.
