If this is you... I get it. This was me too.
Most business owners don’t have a strategy problem. They have an avoidance problem.
You already know the things that will move your business forward. You’ve thought about them, planned for them, and in many cases, you’ve told yourself you’ll get to them when the timing feels right. And yet, they sit on the list. The work that grows your business is rarely the work you feel like doing because it feels uncomfortable. For many, that work is visibility; showing up and being seen. Putting your face and voice alongside your work (terrifying thought!)
However, visibility is often misunderstood. It can feel like self-promotion, or worse, ego. But the reality is, visibility is part of the work. Research shows that people form an opinion about your business in as little as 50 milliseconds — faster than a blink — and up to 94% of that first impression is based on visual design. In fact, studies from Stanford found that 75% of people judge a company’s credibility based purely on how its website looks.
Before they read your words. Before they understand your offer. Before they speak to you — they’ve already decided how they feel. People don’t read your brand first — they see it. And what they see shapes everything that follows.
And yet, this is the exact area so many business owners avoid. I know this because I’ve been there. In fact, I’m a recovering introvert.
Showing up publicly — putting my face to my business, speaking (OMG speaking about what I do and who I am is STILL hard), owning my space — did not come naturally to me. For a long time, it felt uncomfortable, even a little icky. I preferred to stay behind the scenes and let the work speak for itself. I did this for the first 10 years of being a business owner. I was ok, plugging along, creating beautiful family portraits for my wonderful clients. But deep down, I knew I had more to give but I had to change the way I felt about showing up.
So when I launched Branding Profiles in 2021, something shifted. I realised I couldn’t help other business owners step into visibility if I wasn’t willing to do it myself. So I made a decision to lean into it, as much as I dreaded it. But you can’t build a visible brand while staying invisible.
What I didn’t expect was how quickly that decision would compound. How quickly the right people started finding me. How easier the conversations became. The clients felt more aligned. Bigger opportunities also started to present themselves. And internally, something shifted too.
What once felt like self-promotion started to feel like service. Visibility isn’t about being seen — it’s about making it easier for the right people to find and trust you.
There’s also a commercial reality to this. In a crowded market, people don’t spend time trying to figure you out. If your presence feels unclear, outdated, or inconsistent with the level you’re operating at, they move on. If your brand has evolved but your visibility hasn’t, you’re creating doubt before you’ve even had a conversation. And doubt costs you opportunities.
This is where I’ll gently hold you accountable. If you’re investing in your business — refining your offers, building a new website, stepping into a higher level — then your visibility needs to come with you.
Not because you need more content, but because of alignment. You need your external presence to reflect where you plan to go, not where you’ve been. And when that clicks, everything will make sense. Confidence doesn’t come before visibility — it comes because of it.
So if this is the thing you’ve been putting off, consider this your reminder. You already know what to do. So when you’re ready, I’ve got you. Book a time and we can grab coffee.
Until then, stay true to you and just own your brilliance, you earnt it.
Hue Kedge
Founder, Branding Profiles
If this is you…I get it. This was me too.
Most business owners don’t have a strategy problem. They have an avoidance problem.
You already know the things that will move your business forward. You’ve thought about them, planned for them, and in many cases, you’ve told yourself you’ll get to them when the timing feels right. And yet, they sit on the list. The work that grows your business is rarely the work you feel like doing because it feels uncomfortable. For many, that work is visibility; showing up and being seen. Putting your face and voice alongside your work (terrifying thought!)
However, visibility is often misunderstood. It can feel like self-promotion, or worse, ego. But the reality is, visibility is part of the work. Research shows that people form an opinion about your business in as little as 50 milliseconds — faster than a blink — and up to 94% of that first impression is based on visual design. In fact, studies from Stanford found that 75% of people judge a company’s credibility based purely on how its website looks.
Before they read your words. Before they understand your offer. Before they speak to you — they’ve already decided how they feel. People don’t read your brand first — they see it. And what they see shapes everything that follows.
And yet, this is the exact area so many business owners avoid. I know this because I’ve been there. In fact, I’m a recovering introvert.
Showing up publicly — putting my face to my business, speaking (OMG speaking about what I do and who I am is STILL hard), owning my space — did not come naturally to me. For a long time, it felt uncomfortable, even a little icky. I preferred to stay behind the scenes and let the work speak for itself. I did this for the first 10 years of being a business owner. I was ok, plugging along, creating beautiful family portraits for my wonderful clients. But deep down, I knew I had more to give but I had to change the way I felt about showing up.
So when I launched Branding Profiles in 2021, something shifted. I realised I couldn’t help other business owners step into visibility if I wasn’t willing to do it myself. So I made a decision to lean into it, as much as I dreaded it. But you can’t build a visible brand while staying invisible.
What I didn’t expect was how quickly that decision would compound. How quickly the right people started finding me. How easier the conversations became. The clients felt more aligned. Bigger opportunities also started to present themselves. And internally, something shifted too.
What once felt like self-promotion started to feel like service. Visibility isn’t about being seen — it’s about making it easier for the right people to find and trust you.
There’s also a commercial reality to this. In a crowded market, people don’t spend time trying to figure you out. If your presence feels unclear, outdated, or inconsistent with the level you’re operating at, they move on. If your brand has evolved but your visibility hasn’t, you’re creating doubt before you’ve even had a conversation. And doubt costs you opportunities.
This is where I’ll gently hold you accountable. If you’re investing in your business — refining your offers, building a new website, stepping into a higher level — then your visibility needs to come with you.
Not because you need more content, but because of alignment. You need your external presence to reflect where you plan to go, not where you’ve been. And when that clicks, everything will make sense. Confidence doesn’t come before visibility — it comes because of it.
So if this is the thing you’ve been putting off, consider this your reminder. You already know what to do. So when you’re ready, I’ve got you. Book a time and we can grab coffee.
Until then, stay true to you and just own your brilliance, you earnt it.
Hue Kedge
Founder, Branding Profiles