TOC #131: Don't wash off your tattoos
(June 27, 2023) The one thing everyone needs to remember in order to market successfully
It's never a sign of something good when your panicked toddler runs into the bathroom, interrupting your shower.
“MOMMY!!!!” he screeched, skidding into the bathroom, looking stressed as hell.
Immediately, my brain jumped to every possible nightmarish conclusion:
He set something on fire.
He flooded the apartment.
He threw something and cracked the TV.
He knocked down his bookshelf and smashed a lamp.
He let a stranger in the house, who is now going to kidnap us both and sell us on the black market.
After running through the “holy hell, what is he about to admit to me?” list, I was prepared for complete DOOM; total chaos to ensue, as soon as he told me what was wrong.
(Well, mentally prepared. I *was* still naked, after all.)
“DON'T WASH OFF YOUR TATTOOS!” he yelled, completely frantic, and clearly in distress.
I was too confused to even be relieved.
“What?” I said, “Honey, my tattoos are permanent. Mine don't wash off.”
He stared at me, dumbfounded. “Don't wash them OFF," he said, urgency in his eyes and his tone.
“Woo, my tattoos aren't like the little ones I put on you,” I continued, trying to understand his panic. “They're on my body forever, see?”
I began furiously scrubbing at my arms, showing him that the patchwork sleeve wasn't going anywhere.
After what felt like way too long rubbing a loofah all over my tiny spots of black and red ink, he finally seemed to understand that the tattoos really weren't going anywhere.
I opened the shower door and crouched down to his level, and gently asked “Woo, why are you so nervous about my tattoos?”
“Because you wouldn't be you without them, mommy” he said. “I want you to be you.”
Once I mopped myself off the floor after melting from that cute ass comment, I got out of the shower, lazily threw a towel over my body, and headed straight for my phone—foregoing my precious Summer Fridays CC Me serum for my Notes app.
“This story is obviously going in the newsletter,” I thought to myself.
The One Thing Every Business Owner Needs To Remember To Successfully Market Their Brand & Themselves
Now, speaking of tattoos, I'm about to get this tattooed on my forehead. 👇
DON'T TRY TO BE ANYONE BUT YOURSELF.
People—the right people, the people you actually care about—will like you for EXACTLY who you are. Right now. No changes required.
The end.
Wesley may only be 4 years old, but he made an extremely wise point when he frantically asked me not to wash off my tattoos.
Whether he realized it or not, what he was actually saying was this:
Please don't change anything about yourself. I like you exactly the way you are, and I don't want you to change. This is the version of you I want to keep seeing.
And—I'm so happy that I get to be the one to remind you of this—my toddler isn't the only one who feels that way.
Your ideal clients + customers feel that way, too.
They LIKE who you are.
They LIKE your quirks.
They LIKE your stupid stories.
They LIKE when you swear, and call yourself a Hoe For Italics on your website.
(Okay, maybe that's my ideal client… but still. You know what I'm saying.)
It's always such a shame when I see people trying to do “what works”—aka what some random bro marketer online bullied them into doing—and completely forsaking their character, their personality, their interests, their authenticity…
…when, in reality, simply being 🤠them🤠 would have been SO MUCH BETTER.
Communicating with your target audience becomes easier when you let them in a little bit; when you're willing to be your true self. It repels the people you don't want to work with, and simultaneously attracts the people you DO.
So, take it from me (and Woo):
Be yourself. It's what the people want.
& while I'm here, on my soapbox about important reminders for business owners, I figured I might as well share 100 more. 👇
» READ: 100 Things Every Creative Business Owner Should Know
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