It’s never easy showing up fully.
As small business owners, we all have that desire to help and connect with others. We want to help others win but sometimes choose to struggle in silence because we don’t want to be seen as weak people. There’s this silent battle between sharing personal stories and keeping things professional. But what if I told you my platform grew after I opened up about mental illness?
For the longest time, I used my social media platform to share my craft and positive quotes.
On bad days, I would mindlessly scroll on Pinterest, grab a cute quote, and plaster it to a pretty picture.
I hesitated to share the truth about my mental health and filtered my way through social media with a painted canvas and surface message.
After experiencing a miscarriage in 2017, I hit depression and anxiety head-on and could no longer hide behind a pretty picture. I archived all my posts and began sharing my journey. I opened up about our horrible loss, I shared about my battle with depression and anxiety, and to my surprise, my transparency didn’t just allow me to connect deeper and help others, but also allowed me to grow my platform and make more sales.
Over the past year, I have seen so many therapists use their online presence to share about trauma and mental wellness. While many people find comfort through others sharing their vulnerabilities, it’s still quite a challenge to show up with our mental illness out in the open. And whether you struggle with mental illness or not, we all thrive off making personal connections. I’d love to challenge you to show up in your business entirely, unfiltered and unrefined.
But before sharing about mental wellness, there are two lies I want you to unlearn.
Mental illness doesn’t make you weak.
Sharing about your mental illness doesn’t mean you’re weak.
If you are looking into sharing your truth on mental illness as an entrepreneur, here are a couple of things to consider.
- Before sharing, make sure you are taking action in your healing. Seek Therapy.
- Journal first. Allow the words to flow on to your paper and then decide what you’d like to share on your platform.
- Have someone that you trust look over and edit your writing.
- Form boundaries. You don’t have to share everything. If something is tough to talk about, start by sharing on your Instagram Stories that the day has been a little off.
- Vulnerability attracts, and perfection repels. People want to see the grit in the journey. Just as people love behind the scenes, they also want to see the human side of the business.
The truth is that many small business owners and clients struggle with mental illness. And, most of them struggle with sharing about mental wellness. Remember, people are looking for meaningful connections, community, and support, and they may find it through you.
Ready focus on your mental health as an entrepreneur? Get our Mental Wellness Ultimate Guide here.
