Those of you who run your own business know how critical it is to be able to articulate clearly who you are, what you do, for whom, and why. And yet it also happens to be one of the most difficult things to do.

When I first felt the call to step out of the corporate world and into the entrepreneurial world, I was full of ideas and excitement. Finally I was going to be able to unleash my own unique genius in the way that I wanted and I was going to do things on my terms, in my own way. I had a vague idea of how I wanted to serve others through my business, and I thought that would be enough to get started.

But it wasn’t.

I struggled to find the right words to explain what I do in my branding and marketing material in a way that would captivate and magnetize people. Despite the passion I felt in my own heart, I wasn’t able to convey that passion to others in a way that made sense to them.

And then the dreaded question at social gatherings – “What do you do for a living?”

I always dreaded that question because no matter how hard I tried, I struggled to spit out a powerful, succinct answer. And my business was suffering as a result. I failed to consistently attract the right people who needed what I uniquely had to offer.

Thankfully, early this year I found Jeffrey Davis’ 4-month ArtMark^TM experience at Tracking Wonder, and everything changed.

ArtMark is a group program designed to help you “Captivate Customers and Community with an Irresistible Brand Message and Story.” The program helps you get crystal clear on your unique brand promise, identity, and services – and perhaps most importantly – who you are here specifically to serve.

Jeffrey’s philosophy and approach are built around the idea that inner clarity about your business comes from a deep awareness and appreciation of your own unique personality, gifts, and strengths.

The program begins with a deep dive into understanding your unique personality, and how you specifically captivate and elevate people. One of the tools used is Sally Hogshead’s Fascination Advantage Personality Test, which helps you discover the Primary and Secondary Archetypes that best describe your unique personality – and more importantly, how to leverage them fully to captivate your audience.

The program then leads you through a deep process of self-reflection and self-discovery to uncover:

• Who your competitors are and how they present their unique brand message and story so that you can understand where you fit into the already existing market;
• ‘Your Signature Elixir’ – the unique services that you offer that solve a particular problem that people have.
• Developing your Captivating Story to magnetize your people.
• Your ‘Gallery of Experiences’ that will serve your people in the most effective way (often referred to as Business Funnel – as a side note, Jeffrey has developed a refreshing vocabulary to describe common marketing terms in a way that feels much more authentic, customer-focused, and service-oriented.)
• Your Visibility Strategy.

The beauty of the program is that it helps you distill large amounts of information and self-analysis into succinct sentences that capture who you are and what you do. The ability to clearly describe yourself, your mission, and your vision, are truly empowering.

Here are some of the sentences that emerged on my ArtMark journey, which have allowed me to overhaul my branding and marketing strategy and materials in order to attract the people I am here to specifically serve.

My Anthem (My Fascinate Unique Advantage)

Cutting-Edge Expertise

My ‘Trueline’

I guide people to freedom and joy by reconnecting them to their hearts and true potential.

My ‘Centerline’

In a world where we’re so often pressured to be something that we’re not, I guide and empower heart-centered professionals to find and walk their true path so they can make a difference doing work they love.

My ‘Tagline’

Helping Heart-Centered Changemakers Find and Walk Their True Path.

The biggest revelation in the whole ArtMark experience for me personally was discovering the words to describe my ‘niche’. I’d struggled for so long to clearly articulate this part, which meant that I sometimes attracted clients who were a great fit to work with me – and sometimes not. I could never quite understand what the missing piece was in being able to consistently attract the right people.

There have always been a couple of threads running through my unique ‘purpose’.

1. I empower people to reconnect with their authentic voice and to live their truth proudly and impactfully.
2. I help people who feel unfulfilled in their career to find the path that allows them to express themselves and their unique gifts fully.

Until ArtMark I was missing the one critical thread that makes my purpose complete:

3. I help heart-centered changemakers make the impact they desire.

These were the words I finally uncovered thanks to Jeffrey’s powerful process:

Heart-Centered Changemakers

It was such a big revelation that I dedicated an entire blog post to it here – ‘Relax, You Are Exactly Where You’re Meant to Be: A Powerful Lesson in Trusting the Flow of Life.’

As a result of The ArtMark experience, I’ve been able to develop my Business Manifesto for Heart-Centered Changemakers.Are you a Heart-Centered Changemaker? If so, please do come and join our Community! The Heart-Centered Changemakers

My hat goes off to Jeffrey and his team for their ability to help passionate and budding entrepreneurs like myself and my fellow ArtMark colleagues find the clarity and insight we desperately need in order to thrive in business and make our unique impact on the world.

Doing It Together

Jeffrey’s operating motto is always “Doing it together (DIT) beats Doing it Yourself (DIY)”. To honour some of the great work being done by my ArtMark colleagues, here are some beautiful branding examples that are the result of this year’s ArtMark experience.

• Michaelene Ruhl’s new website DragonFly Journeys.
• Suzi Hunn’s new Teach Your Thing branding and website.
• Sally Jean Fox’s new Vital Presence: Create and Thrive in Your Peak Season website and article describing her ArtMark Journey.
• Anne VanBruaene Ingersoll’s new website College Bound Associates LLC.

To find out more about the ArtMark experience, please visit Jeffrey Davis’ website at Tracking Wonder. I can’t recommend his programs highly enough.

Please leave a comment below if you resonated with something in my article! And share with your friends using the social media icons below!

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Katie De Jong, Ph.D
Global Career Coach for Thriving Professionals
Inspired Careers International
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com