#71 - The Magic in the Mess: How to Market with Creativity, Not Perfection

Today we're saying YES to the mess. 

We're talking all about why your mess — yes, the real, raw, unpolished parts — are actually your magic.

I’m sharing how tapping into your creativity (instead of sticking to rigid formulas) can help you get unstuck, show up more authentically, and connect more deeply with your audience — and the power of embracing the messy and vulnerable aspects of your business. 

✨ Here’s what I dive into:

• How sharing your personal challenges builds trust and makes you magnetic to dream clients
• 3 creative tools that help me move through content blocks (with real-life examples)
• How to reconnect with joy and playfulness in your business

Think of this as a creative reset — an invitation to throw some paint against the wall of your business and let it feel good again.

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I’m hosting a FREE masterclass called Aligned to Scale where we’ll dig even deeper into how to market with alignment, creativity, and clarity. I’d love to have you there!
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Mindset to Market is a Luminous Creative Production. If you'd like to learn more about our business coaching program and group coaching container, please visit us online at DeborahcSmith.com.

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Mindset to Market is produced by Deborah C. Smith and designed to inspire and support big-hearted creatives in finding their own unique path, building a sustainable business, and creating financial, spiritual, mental wellness and abundance.

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Transcript

 You wanna know what's more powerful than the perfect plan or the prettiest Instagram feed your hot mess. Yep. The broken bits, the real moments, the relatable challenges, and even the chaos that you sometimes feel. That's where your magic lives. In this sort of not yet quite formed into a powerful decision energy that can feel really messy, but according to research that was conducted by Horton International and then published in the Harvard Business Review.

Brands that show vulnerability see up to a 30% increase in trust and emotional connection. And as we know, trust is the cornerstone of sales and long-term connections. So that vulnerability you feel around the messy part of your business, the part where you feel like I don't know what I'm doing. Um, and you don't wanna show that to the world, that's actually quite powerful.

There is magic in that mess. So today we're gonna ditch the templates. And the structured marketing formulas, and we are gonna dive into the wild world of creative self-expression. Hey there, and welcome to the Mindset To Market Podcast, your go-to place for practical tools and solutions for the everyday challenges of being a creative and spiritual solopreneur living in a material world.

I'm your host. Deborah Smith. I'm a holistic business coach with 17 years of experience, and I help my clients bust through mindset blocks and build a daily practice that prioritizes your business's financial growth as well as your personal health and wellness. I'm here to offer you support, creativity, mindset, practical how-tos, and getting into imperfect messy actions so you can find balance while building the.

Business. If you're a purpose-driven solepreneur, who's working on that dream one day at a time, then you're in the right place. Let's dive in. Hello, welcome back to the show. Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening. I'm. So excited about this topic today, and I just wanna do a tiny bit of housekeeping before diving in.

Um, if you have not already signed up for it, I want you to know I'm teaching a free class on Thursday, May 22nd at 1:00 PM and this topic is on how to nail down your signature offer. And how that's gonna fit into your overall marketing strategy. So it's kind of a new twist on something that I do with my clients.

I've never taught it in this way before, so I'm very excited about it and I'm sharing a really cool new support tool, um, to help you unlock that signature offer in like a more clear way. And for the people who show up live, we're actually gonna use this tool in real time. So this is really for anyone who's feeling unclear about your main offer, the thing that you.

The package that you sell as an online business, you know, marketer. And so grab the link from my show notes and get in there. It's free, there's a replay, and you really don't wanna miss this class if you're feeling like you could use support in that specific area of your business. Um, also, if you're a frequent flyer, first of all, thank you for listening.

Um, I'm so grateful to have you here. But also, you know, I mentioned, I interviewed, um, a woman named Jess. Freeman about web design and niching down and really how to infuse your copy with niche specific SEO. And I promised it for last week, but it's coming this week. So, um, just wanted to update on that.

And just a personal note on this topic, I love this topic so much. I am a Sagittarius, and so for my astrology peeps out there, you know that that's a double sign. And so it really, it's very present in my life. Um, my business world is very buttoned up and my desk is always me and my pens are, it's kind of almost OCD level, clean in my office.

Um, and I have to pick up all my toys when I'm done playing. Like I'm the girl who makes her bed every morning and, and needs sort of a, a structure in order to things. But when I am in a creative process. And that could be, you know, art, music, whatever. Um, or creating something for my business, I allow myself to get really messy.

And what that's taught me, I, I love this liminal space where you sort of let go of the rigid guidelines that you allow yourself to dream and just sort of become a conductor for whatever your higher purpose truly is. So I believe that we. We truly need to let go a little bit and allow for that messy vulnerability to show and to be seen.

Um, and it allows us to just. Envision our path forward a little bit better, um, than when we're like, no, this is the plan. We have to stick to it. Right? It's actually sort of like in music, there's a phrase that we say about keeping the groove. Um, I'm a musician as well, and I play in a band. So we sometimes refer to the process of forming a song.

Um, we say the loose, is it the loose, tight, or the tight loose. And the idea there is that you have to get your scales down and know the chords in order to be able to execute the song, right? And you have to get tight and, and really like learn the pattern, learn the program before you can loosen up and actually allow the music to flow.

So it's the tight, loose. You gotta get tight before you can get loose. But on the converse. Your body needs to be loosened up and sort of free to allow yourself to learn this new language and to let it flow through you like a conductor, to make new shapes, to make new patterns to, you know, use your brain and your hands and the instrument to create the structure.

So you gotta get loose before you can get tight, and that's the loose type. Um, and I know it's like a hop, skip and a jump over to business for me where. You know, you need to learn the ropes. You need to get tight on your plan. You need to get tight on your brand identity and your copy and clean it all up.

But you also need to allow yourself to be fluid and go with the flow and bend so that you don't break as things inevitably change in the landscape of your business. So, you know, I'm bringing the fire on this topic today because I'm really passionate about creativity as a. Power tool for your business.

So we're gonna talk about the power of your story, your vulnerable, messy life. Then I'm gonna share a reframe on how to think about your business, um, in terms of art and creativity. And followed by that, I'm gonna just share three creative exercises that you can do today right now for free that's gonna jog up some of this, um, creative flow and, and allow you to feel a little bit more.

Comfortable and grounded in your messy middle. Ooh, and let's start right there. What is the messy middle? So, you know, you have this great idea for a business, you've got this great idea for a project. Uh, you've got this great idea for a class topic, um, a product that you're gonna create something forms in your mind and you're like, I know what this is.

This is calling me. I'm gonna do it. And then you get. Then you start to get excited, you get organized, you start to gather tools. You're like, okay, if I'm gonna do this, I need to know this and this and this. You learn things, you sort of level yourself up to be able to be at the capacity to create the thing that you envisioned.

And then there's the sort of beginning of the work part where you have to start showing up and shifting things in your reality to make space for this new thing that you're gonna create. And you know, if you're talking about, let's say like a business offer or. An event or a project, you've literally gotta rearrange your life schedule and your daily routines to make space to create this new thing and give birth to this new thing.

So for entrepreneurs, for solopreneurs, this is a very common feeling where you have to shift from that inspiration and that beginner's mind into the work part of it. And typically we. Go charging headfirst into that part of our creative process where we're like, I got this, I got the structure of the plan.

I'm gonna make, you know, take these specific steps. And there comes a point where you're doing the work and you're doing the work, and you're showing up, and you're showing up and you're, you're following the plan and you're taking action and it, it gets repetitive and, and it's no longer super spicy and creative and juicy and flowing and it's.

It's more routine and mechanical and it becomes more like a job. And that is the beginning of the messy middle in my mind, because that is where you don't see results yet. You don't have testimonials, you don't have sales. And that vision part of it, the exciting creative force that drove, that calls you into action is no longer quite as post potent.

And things start to fall apart. You get sad, you get exhausted, you feel confused. You start to doubt yourself. Imposter syndrome, right? It all the fears creep in that maybe this idea isn't so unique and special or isn't gonna fly. Um, and then it makes doing that routine. Work a lot more difficult that my friend is when we need to tap back in to that creative mess that we started from and get re-inspired.

And so that's what really what we're talking about today. The messy middle is about when you don't know what you're doing, you don't have results yet. You're starting to doubt maybe. You can pull this thing off. Um, every single entrepreneur who has ever succeeded has lived in this place for an uncomfortable amount of time.

So if you are feeling the messy middle, I promise you that there is glory on the other side, but you do have to slog through it. And that's why I'm gonna share some tips with you today because I've been there many times and pushing yourself through the messy middle is a. Pain in the tookus, so we need tools.

Okay, so let's start with the power of your personal story. Real talk your future clients. Excuse me, I got a alarm on my phone. Your future clients, they're not looking for a brand robot. They're craving real. The thing that, that you wanna hide away from us, that divorce, the burnout that you felt, your identity shift.

Like for me, that's a big one. I really pivoted about four years ago. I, I've been teaching online business and coaching women peers in my community for literally a decade. But my online presence and identity was rooted deeply in nutrition and specifically owning a juice bar. And I have not wanted to show the discomfort.

Of the pivot, but I've leaned into it and I've decided to show it because there's no other. That's what it is. That's what I'm going through. Um, that failed launch, right? The, the time that you launch something and not a single person bought, those are your most powerful positioning tools. Believe it or not, your story creates resonance with people.

It makes us say. Oh wow, okay. She's like me. She's also messing this up. Um, she really actually sees me. She gets me. Because here's the simple truth. Emotion is what activates our memory, right? So when you tell stories, you create an anchor in your audience's mind. So your personal story, your mess, your vulnerable, you know, climbing up the hill, climbing your way back after a pivot or a after a period of depression, or going through a hard moment in your life, those are.

Like really powerful moments that when you allow yourself to share, not only do you feel better, but your audience resonates with you and they understand that you're a human being and there is room for them to see themselves in that, right? So they can reflect on that and say, okay, I'm not alone. She sees me and there's, there's just power.

It builds trust. So try this. Think of a challenge in your life or a time when you overcame something really, really uncomfortable, and ask yourself these three questions. What did I learn from this challenge? Okay, what did I learn from the challenge? Number two, how did it shape how I now serve my clients?

Surely if you overcame a big challenge in your life, or if you have a messy, vulnerable, uncomfortable thing that you're going through, it's going to impact how you show up and serve. Whether you create a product or offer a service, your story is infused in how you, you, you act, and how you serve. So question number one, what did I learn from this challenge?

Number two, how did it shape how I serve? And then the third one. What would I say to someone who is living through that challenge right now? Okay. And literally right now I'm sharing with you a story about how I knew that I needed to pivot. I felt called to, to severely change lanes and stepped fully into my role as a business consultant, coach, a mentor, and, and really a teacher of the stuff that I've learned.

Um, but I, I felt uncomfortable. Expressing that, and I'm saying this to you right now because I know what you need to hear, which is follow your calling and your heart on that, right? Okay, so here's the reframe. I want you to think about yourself. For a minute, like a painter, imagine that you're a painter and you have a blank canvas.

You're not copying someone else's brush strokes. You're in the studio. Your canvas is wide open, and you're dipping your paintbrush into the colors that just feel alive to you. They feel vibrant. You're moving the brush on the canvas in a way that feels. Unique to you. It's just moving with the fluidity of your body.

Your natural style is flowing through the way that your actual body moves as you create these brush strokes. It's, it's no different than that with creating your own business, your marketing doesn't have to feel stiff, right? So I'm, this is your permission slip to literally play inside your business to feel into what you might wanna say, not just like what the algorithm spits out or what AI generates that tells you like, this is what the right way to frame this right now.

Or, or, you know, this is what's selling the most online. I mean, you can definitely use. These tools as creative brainstorming. I'm not, I love ai. I use it literally every single day, but I use it kind of as a, almost like a, a partner, business partner to, to shoot ideas back and forth and kind of get the creative brainstorming going.

So the reframe is instead of, what should I post today? What should I say to my client to get them to buy from me? Try thinking to yourself, what do I feel called to share today? Right. And that energy shift makes everything so much more magnetic because it's, that's authenticity is actually pausing and, and, and instead of falling into the trap of what do I need to do or say to get people to like my post or buy my thing, literally just ask yourself, what do I feel called to speak about?

And there's a power in that. Trusting that your feelings have so much value and that authenticity is the magnetic thing. So I think what happens is that we get these ideas in our mind, and I am, by the way, guilty as charged. I've done all of these things, like I've made all these sort of mistakes. I've gotten too rigid in my structured marketing.

Um, you know, you can feel it in the feedback you get from your clients and your audience. Like when you're putting out content and copy that is cookie cutter or copying, or chasing or has like a hungry energy to it, people can feel it. But when you tap into that inside voice and that. Deeper part of you and you put that out there, it really resonates with people.

And then that's when you get, uh, comments on your posts and replies to your emails and people clicking the link and joining your webinar or coming to your event or buying your product. So, um, let me share with you three creative tools that I use to get unstuck and tap into that creative flow when I'm, when I'm stuck in the messy middle, and I realize that I'm getting into like.

Kind of robotic, you know, checkbox lists. And I'm, I'm guilty of doing this where I'm like, I just gotta show up and check the boxes today. So when I get into that space, I, I already know that's not gonna work for me because I, I've lived enough failures to know that. And so I, that's when I know I need to kind of take a quick step back.

Remember that, you know, to loosen up. That have gotten too tight. I need to tap into the, to the loose part of this and allow some creativity and some vulnerability and some of that magic to flow back into the, the tight formula that I'm trying to feed. Right? I hope that's resonating with you guys like that.

There's, there are structures, there are plans, there are systems. We need them. I talk about these like ad nauseum. I teach systems that scale. But without the fluid energy of creativity flowing through your system and that unique, authentic, vulnerable, and yes, messy voice, it's all just a copycat nothingness.

That's what you see a lot of that out there in the echo chamber. So these exercises are designed to help you get unstuck. And just go with the flow. Um, number one, one of my all time favorite things to do, uh, voice notes to yourself. So here's what you do, instead of sitting at your desk and forcing yourself to write a hooky caption, right, or come up with the perfect email topic or, you know, design the perfect flyer for your event.

If you're feeling that tension in your body, if you're feeling that stuckness, I want you to get up, take a walk and turn on your voice notes in your phone and just speak into your phone like ramble, almost like add hawk. Don't worry about what you're saying, just let your creative idea flow. Go back to the original idea that you had.

And flow from a place of internal knowing and just let yourself talk into your phone, record it, and then go back and listen to it later. Um, an example of this is one of my clients was really stuck trying to write a sales post. You know, really, really kind of feeling rigid about how to, you know, put the sale piece of content in there.

And I suggested that she record a voice note while walking her dog just saying what she would tell her friend about her product. And by the end of the block, she had it crystal clear. A passionate pitch that felt so authentic to her, and it turned into her highest converting story slide that she's ever created.

Like, it just, it works. Um, so exercise number one, go for a walk and just ramble into your phone. You will be surprised what, what flows. Um, number two is to create in a different medium than whatever you are used to doing. So let's do something totally non-digital. Get away from your computer and from your desk and pick something that o opens you up.

Go. You know, maybe you have paints and you have a canvas, and you have some, you know, even if they're, even if you're not a painter, just moving. A pencil or some markers around on a blank canvas is gonna free up that stuckness. Okay? Or how about this cooking good in your kitchen and pull out a bunch of ingredients and toss a couple of things together.

Um, another option is, is fluid movement. It could be like allowing yourself to dance freely to some music that you love. Just get out of your head and get into your senses. That's the, that's the goal here is get outta your head. Get into your body, get into your senses, allow yourself to feel. And an example of this exercise is, um, I once was feeling completely drained.

During, I was trying to map out a launch, and this was a, in a period of my business where launching felt really heavy to me. Like I, I had, I was really battling perfectionism. And so every single time I would think about a launch and map out a launch, I would go full tilt boogie, like full Amy Porterfield style launch structure with all the webinar slides and the zillions of emails and the, all the bonuses, and really trying to craft this perfect launch.

Um. I was feeling so stuck and so drained. I'm like just, I was giving up. I honestly felt like I had to give up because it was way too much. Um, instead of giving up, I stepped away from my computer and I just gave myself like 30 minutes to play with. I have some watercolor paints. I left to dabble in watercolor painting.

Um, no plan, no picture to copy, just colors moving around on paper. The next day I went back into my office space and I woke up with like a full outline in my head of exactly how to talk about this service that I was gonna offer in a whole new way. It, and it flowed so easily from me. I realized I don't need to do it the way I was planning on doing it.

That, that, that was a leading me down a dead end and, and just my flow came back because I just let myself let go of the control. Let go of the big perfectionist plan and step into a different mindset. So exercise number two is to create in a different medium so that you can loosen up and let the flow.

You know, go in your body. And then exercise number three is Metaphor writing. This is a great one for jogging and creating, um, actual, it's a great writing tool if you're doing a lot of writing in your business. But this is actually great for even if you don't do a single scrap of the writing for your business, if somebody else does all your copywriting and your sales pages and emails for you, um, this is just for you as a creator.

So the idea here is just creative writing to get you out of your head space. So ask yourself the question, if my business was a landscape or an object, what would it be right now? And then let the image guide your messaging. An example of this is a client told me that her business felt like a messy garage, right?

Full of treasures, but overwhelming, totally unorganized. And then that metaphor became the heart of her next launch. So she literally used the language, let's clean out the garage of your mind and build your dream room. And people loved it because everybody could relate to that, right? They could relate to having a super messy, disorganized garage.

Um, just that visualization tool. And it came from this, this writing exercise. So the idea here again, is just giving yourself permission to step out of the rigid thinking that you're in the lane that you're in, that you're following formulas and templates and plans, and open up your mind to a different.

Pull out a different filing cabinet in your brain and like let the creative expression flow from a different point of view. Um, yeah, so Metaphor writing is just like creating a new visual identity for your business to give it a new shape. Okay. So to recap, the three creative tools to help you get unstuck are.

Voice notes as you're outside taking a walk, creating in a different medium. And metaphor writing. I mean, those are just three of the many, many ways that you can splash some creativity into your day. But there are three that I've used, uh, both personally many times and also with clients that have had such good results.

So I hope that you find one or all of those not only helpful, but fun and much more importantly, I hope if you take the time to employ one of these. Creative tools that it, that it does break something open in you, that you do connect back to that purpose, that sense of self, and just like, feel like it's safe to be the, the youth who you are mess and all.

And just identify that there's, there's power and magic in that creative, messy, not quite yet formed vulnerable space. So, and here is the best part about all of this. When you express yourself through your content, when you tap into that creativity, you really don't need to sell so hard. Like this is where the tables begin to turn.

You become very magnetic because you are turn on that light inside you. You're taking the lampshade off and you're letting that light shine. You become a mirror for your dream client's own story. So this is, this is the power of tapping into that messy middle and using some of these tools to keep moving forward and really harness that creative energy that's in you to infuse whatever you're working on.

And if this is resonating with you, then aligned to scale. My masterclass on Thursday is definitely for you. Um, it's not just a masterclass, it's gonna be a creative sort of permission slip and a reclamation of your voice in business. Creating your signature offer is, it's so fun, I think, but also it, it really does help you just kind of.

Show up in a very crowded marketplace. So again, the details are in the show notes, the link to join for free, come through and throw some paint at the canvas with me. Um, and yeah, in closing, I just wanna say I really believe your creativity is a strategy, right? Your story is the value and your mess and your vulnerability that could become your masterpiece.

So. Lean in to the messy middle, lean in to you as a creator. And until next time, uh, and later this week when I drop this interview for reels this time, I promise, um, keep creating, keep, keep showing up, keep you know, doing what you gotta do to, uh, let your business be seen and experienced by the world we need you.

Um, and, and, and may you of course be vibrant.