David C. Baker dropped this truth bomb in his new book The Business of Expertise (highly recommend) that's been rattling around in our heads: "It's easy to be courageous when you have choices."

Sit with that for a minute. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I’ve already shared it with a few clients.

The Truth About Business Courage

Here's my take: Most business owners aren't lacking courage—they're lacking clarity. They're trapped in the paralyzing loop of:

- Keeping that toxic client because "what if we can't replace the revenue?" (BEEN HERE)

- Holding onto underperforming team members because "it takes so long to hire?"

- Saying yes to projects that make your soul die a little because you’re not attracting the right ones

Sound familiar? You're not alone. But here's my lightbulb moment: These aren't courage problems. They're clarity problems.

The Brand Being Connection

This is where brand isn't just about logos and taglines—it's about building your business backbone. When you know who you are and who you're for:

1. You Attract With Intention

- The right clients recognize themselves in your message

- The right talent sees their future in your vision

- The wrong fits filter themselves out (hallelujah!)

2. You Stop Playing Small

- No more contorting yourself into who you think clients want

- No more discounting your worth to keep peace

- No more saying "maybe" when you mean "hell no"

3. You Build Real Power

- Power to walk away from toxic opportunities

- Power to protect your team's wellbeing

- Power to charge what you're actually worth

The Courage Catalyst

Here's how brand clarity transforms into business courage:

For Client Management:

When you're crystal clear on your ideal client, saying goodbye to bad fits isn't just easier—it's necessary. Because every minute spent with the wrong client is a minute stolen from the right one.

For Team Building:

When you know your company's soul, you spot culture fits from a mile away. And more importantly? You spot the misfits before they can derail your team's mojo.
Not only do you have that clarity, but so does potential talent. You get more inquiries because you have a soul in the first place.

For Business Growth:

When you're secure in who you are, you stop chasing every opportunity and start attracting the ones that are actually a good fit. It's like having a business compass that always points to "hell yes" or "hell no."

Your Courage Action Plan

Ready to build your courage muscle? Start here:

1. Get Brutally Honest

- What clients make you dread checking your inbox?

- Which team dynamics keep you up at night?

- What parts of your business feel like they're running you?

2. What’s Your Hot Take?

- What values won't you compromise on?

- What behaviors won't you tolerate?

- What prices won't you undercut?

3. Take Action

- Create a clear brand positioning that attracts the right fit, and keeps them talking about you

- Develop systems for evaluating opportunities against your core values

- Remember, cutting ties with a wrong fit can be the forcing function you need

The Bottom Line

Courage isn't about being fearless—it's about having options. And brand clarity? It's your option generator. It's what turns "I have to" into "I choose to."

Remember: We're not here to change how the world sees you. We're here to change how you see yourself. Because when you see yourself clearly, making the hard calls becomes a whole lot easier.

Ready to build your brand backbone? Let's talk about how Brand Being can transform your clarity into courage.

P.S. Next time you're facing a tough business decision, ask yourself: Am I lacking courage, or am I lacking clarity? Then give us a call. We'll help you figure out which.

Artwork by Nya McClain, article by Senior Art Director, Bri Thomas

A Letter to Designers in the Dark

Dear fellow designer,

It's 4:30 PM, and I'm staring at my screen, trying to choose between two slightly different shades of blue. The office is dark except for my monitor's glow, and somehow, both colors look completely wrong. Sound familiar?

I've been thinking about us lately – all of us creatives huddled over our screens in the darkness, squinting at color swatches and second-guessing our choices. As creatives, we're intimately connected to light. It affects our color perception, influences our mood, and impacts our creative energy. When darkness creeps in before we've even had our afternoon coffee, it doesn't just change our environment – it transforms our entire creative process.

Remember summer? When inspiration seemed to pour through the windows with the sunlight, and every color choice felt confident under that perfect natural light? Now we're here, in the heart of winter, where stepping away from our desks at 5 PM means emerging into what feels like midnight.

The thing is, this seasonal shift doesn't just affect our screens – it seeps into our creative souls. The darkness has a way of making us question everything. That logo that looked perfect at noon? It's somehow different now. The website color scheme you confidently approved? It's playing tricks on you in the monitor's glow.

We're not just designing in the dark; we're navigating a completely different creative landscape.

But here's what I've been realizing: maybe this seasonal creative shift isn't entirely a bad thing. There's something almost poetic about how the darkness forces us to trust our instincts more than our eyes. It's pushing us to think differently about contrast, about visibility, about the way our designs live in different lights and environments.

I've started to find a strange comfort in these dark afternoons. They remind me that design isn't just about what we see on our screens – it's about how our work lives in the real world, where lighting isn't always perfect and conditions aren't always ideal. Every time I question a color choice in the 4:30 PM darkness, I'm actually considering my design in yet another context, another environment where it needs to work. And isn't that what we're really here for? To create designs that work in all lights, all seasons, all contexts?

So to you, my fellow designer sitting in the dark, squinting at your screen and wondering if you should wait until tomorrow's daylight to make that final color decision – I see you. Well, metaphorically at least. It's too dark to actually see much of anything right now.

Remember, we're all in this together, creating in the darkness until spring finds us again.

In solidarity and darkness,
Bri

P.S. If you're reading this during daylight hours, please, for the love of god, make those critical color choices now.

Parliament | Choose Courage: Why Brand Clarity Makes You Bulletproof