Are you avoiding visibility in your life?

I’ve never really had an issue with showing my “work”.  My work is a part of my life right? My definition of “work” has been the image that shows the makeup application that I’ve provided… coined “my work”.  As a makeup artist I have to showcase my work. It has to be visible in order for my business to thrive. This beautiful work of makeup artistry application that is applied to a carefully chosen model that is then in turned edited by a professional photographer, it sounds like an excellent process but in the grand scheme of moving toward visibility, in a whole sense it’s not. When it comes to portfolio building or showcasing my talents, I’ve done this in a careful calculated way, And for years I had always left “me” out of the equation; leaving the artist and her soul behind the scenes nowhere to be found.

How have you gone about being visible? Is it a care calculated process to showing only what you want other to see? Has there been an element of vulnerability and authenticity misssing?

This process of perfection is a true hindrance to being visible!

However….I have had bigger goals than just applying beautiful makeup. I’ve also  achieved those goals too.  Goals like starting my own coahing company, starting a christian coach certificaiton program, and growing my makeup business to talent agency stats.

There was a time when each person’s face that my makeup brushes touched had no clue about the other aspects and gift that I had, I (Justina Ford) had so much more than a makeup application to offer. There’s a level of mentorship, mindset & strategt work around visibility, money, communication, and collaboration that I had to engage in, in order to see the results that I have had, this far. I’ve been able to take my clients on a beautiful journey of healing their limiting beliefs and creating their soulfully aligned brands.

However, This whole idea of perfection that I’ve implemented in making my work visible stifled my ability to step out and just offer new solutions, gifts and talents to multipassionate women of faith who were looking to be seen, heard, and profitable in their own markets. I was stifled for years. I had to get out perfectionism mode, I had to stop being afraid to be seen. This fear of visibility showed up first in my makeup business.

For a long time as a makeup artist, I never posted any pictures of myself. I didn’t want to deter clients away from working with me. I didn’t want to be judged by the color of my skin or by the crazy bigness and naturalness of my hair. I’m not a naturally glammed up person so my lack of desire to wear makeup on a daily basis caused me to hold back from being visible as well. “What will they think of me?” “They’ll say she surely doesn’t know what she is talking about”. I thought seeing my work and work alone would be good enough. I tried to hide. I wanted to be invisible, it wasn’t about me it, it should have only been about the work.

SO not true…you are an integral part of your work

But this wasn’t true. It wasn’t until I stepped out of my comfort zone of hiding behind the work did I see a shift. I had to go out to networking events, set up the meetings, and start up the conversations. Peopel needed to see me and what I stood for: Beauty, Business, & Beliefs.

As I navigate this online world of social media, I have found that people want to see YOU, they HAVE to see YOU. It’s almost a requirement.  For small business owners, coaches, consultants, and creatives who want to touch the lives of so many in a personal way, you must be willing to show yourself. I’m not just talking about showing an image of yourself either, I’m talking about speaking openly to our values, your beliefs, nurturing your audience with great content, being genuine, and authentic in our approach. The right clients will come that understand your value and how you’re able t help to propel them from from where they are to where they want to be.