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What is visibility and why is it important?
If you’ve been in business for any number of months, you’ve probably been told at least once, “You need to get more visible!”
But what does it really mean to be more visible in your business? And how can you do it in a way that works for you?
In this post, you’ll learn what visibility means, why visibility is important in business, and what to do if being visible feels like a challenge.
What “being visible” in your business really means
When we start a business, it’s really easy to think that all we need to do is declare our business to family and friends, put up a website, and wait for leads to come in.
But it doesn’t work this way!
Even though a website is super important to attracting and converting clients, a website alone — especially at the beginning — can’t do all the heavy lifting of bringing clients your way.
That’s why you need to be more visible — to proactively get in front of a larger audience so you can connect with more clients and grow your business.
Being visible allows you to attract more clients
It’s no secret that the coaches and healers who put themselves out there attract the biggest audience.
They show up consistently, get known for something, and build an audience over time, while attracting and signing more clients.
That’s why being visible is so important! It can help you grow your business much faster.
Here’s what visibility in business can do for you:
- Helps you get exposure to a larger audience
- Builds your brand awareness, so that people know who you are and how you help
- Establishes your credibility and expertise
- Allows you to reach and sign more ideal clients
- Connects you to opportunities you wouldn’t have otherwise
The truth is, people won’t know you exist unless you put yourself out there!
And your ideal clients, the ones you truly want to serve, are just waiting for you to show up.
Why being visible in your business can be challenging
There are many reasons why it might be challenging for you to be visible online, including:
- You’re new to entrepreneurship. What’s new is often uncomfortable. If you’re not used to being the face and voice of your business, or selling and marketing yourself, this can feel awkward at first.
- You’re stepping into a new identity as a coach, healer, or entrepreneur (as opposed to an employee). This new identity may naturally bring up some impostor syndrome.
- You may have past trauma wounds around being seen and heard. We can’t escape the effects of trauma or past experiences, even in our business. These fears can show up as you step into the spotlight.
- You’re an introvert and/or highly sensitive person. If you’re an introvert, you may not be super comfortable with being in front of the camera. If you’re a highly sensitive person, your nervous system may be easily overwhelmed with all the stimuli that are present when it comes to being visible online.
Getting visible often requires doing deeper work
So often when people are struggling with visibility, they want to know what to say and how to say it. While your messaging is an important part of connecting with your audience, it’s not the first — nor the most important — part.
The first and most important part is addressing your thoughts, feelings, and experiences around being visible in the first place.
Many of us have some trauma wounding around being seen and heard as a child. Consider this:
- How did you experience being seen and heard as a child?
- Were you ever shut down, ignored, or told to be quiet?
- How did people react when you were “the real you”?
We develop coping mechanisms based on our childhood experiences. So in cases like the above, we did what we needed to survive. That could mean shutting down when we wanted to speak up or acting in a certain way to please others, not necessarily in a way that reflected our authentic selves.
When we don’t do the inner work to address this, we grow into adults who carry around these experiences like baggage that holds us back from getting visible and showing up online.
Even if we *want* to be our authentic selves, to share our work, to speak up, we might still feel challenged in actually doing it. This is an indicator that something deeper is at play.
That “something deeper” can be uncovered and addressed through inner work, including:
- Mindset work of examining your thoughts and beliefs around being seen and showing up in your business
- Somatic work of tapping into your feelings and bodily sensations that come up when it’s time to get visible.
When you are willing to do the deeper work, you can unlock the key to understanding and supporting yourself, so you can show up more powerfully — in your business and everywhere else!
Strategy is only one part of getting visible
When you do the deeper work around being visible, it makes all aspects of showing up in your business easier.
For example:
- You can “go live” on social media without sweating or second-guessing yourself
- You can show up to networking events and confidently speak about your business
- You can even have more powerful, authentic sales consultations with potential clients
You can experience a greater sense of ease and confidence when getting visible in all aspects of your business.
When it comes time to develop the strategy and the plan for your visibility (including where and how you’ll show up and what you’ll talk about) is just the icing on the cake.
When you do the inner work along with creating a visibility strategy and a sustainable plan, you set yourself up for success.
Ready to get more visible in your business?
Being visible in your business can be challenging for many new entrepreneurs. The key is being able to manage your mindset as well as creating a strategy that works for you.
If visibility is challenging for you, there might be something deeper at play. Many heart-centered entrepreneurs struggle with showing up and being seen. If that sounds like you, my free guide, How to Manage the Fear of Being Seen may help.
