Self-Portrait Challenge ~ Pop Art ~ Week 1

Pink Packaging

This month's Self Portrait Challenge is Pop Art. And one of the inspiration words was "packaging." When I started my coaching practice, I thought a lot about how I would package what I had to offer. I considered colours, images, words, phrases. I asked everyone I knew for feedback. I tried to determine who my ideal client was. I brushed up on marketing and communications. And as a person in a service-profession, I knew that my packaging had to really say something about me.

And then I started to get stuck and nervous. I started to feel constricted by packaging. I started to feel like if I didn't have exactly the right words and colours and images, people wouldn't see me or would only see parts of me or would get the wrong impression of me. And at that point, for the sake of my sanity, I learned that my practice is not all of me. I didn't need to sum up "Jamie." I wanted to capture who Jamie is as a coach.

When my mom suggested that I make Stella a part of my marketing, I resisted. I knew that Stella would say "fun, playful, joyful, optimistic, creative, spunky and maybe even slightly mischievious." But would people take me seriously? Would they know that I was " professional"? Would they know that I was strong enough to hold the weight of their hurts and brave enough to stand with them to face their fears?

And then my coach said, what are you saying to your clients by choosing Stella? Bing! I thought, yeah, I can be professional and strong and brave AND laugh and have fun and find joy and go on adventures. That's the whole dang point!

And so I not only invited Stella to be my packaging, I went with the brightest pink I could. Printers have tried to convince me to tone it down. Tone it down? Again, that's the whole point - to live outloud, to be who we are, to shine in glorious colour and know that our power is in being who we are.

Note: Ack, I think I jumped into the Pop Art challenge too soon! I hope you'll forgive me for my early start.