Going out on your own

How to Build Your Personal Brand and Step into Self Employment with Confidence

Stepping into the world of self-employment for the first time is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. One minute, you're fuelled by ambition and the excitement of creating something that's truly yours, and the next, imposter syndrome creeps in, whispering doubts in your ear. I’ve been there.

Building my brand, The Well Woman Project, has been a journey of trial and error, self-doubt, and constant learning. Developing my personal brand is key but what I’ve come to realise is that isn’t just about aesthetics or social media presence—it’s about owning who you are, showing up consistently, and knowing your value.

My journey is rooted in authenticity. From the start, I decided that if I was going to build something, it had to be real. I didn’t want to create a perfectly polished, unattainable image—I wanted people to come along with me, to feel like they were part of my world. That’s why my brand isn’t just about Pilates or nutrition; it’s about my life, the daily choices I make, the things I try, the things I get wrong, and the lessons I learn along the way. Whether I’m sharing my current experience, right now its all about reintroducing dairy into my diet, or posting snippets of my self-employed life balancing Pilates classes, event planning, and content creation, my goal is always the same: to invite people into my journey as if they’re my bestie!

It wasn’t always easy. When I first started, I questioned everything. Would people care? Would they judge me? Would I even be able to make this work? But I realised that the more I showed up as myself, the stronger my connections became. My audience grew not because I followed a rigid social media strategy, but because I let people in. I spoke about wellness in a way that felt relatable rather than prescriptive. I talked about movement not as something to perfect, but as something to enjoy and explore. Over time, my passion for content creation grew, and with it, my vision expanded. Now, I’m looking ahead to the next phase—branching into online coaching, offering Pilates, strength training, and nutrition guidance to support even more people on their journeys.

The path to building a brand isn’t a straight line. It’s a process of figuring things out as you go, trusting yourself, and understanding that growth happens through experience. The key is to show up, stay open, and keep moving forward—even when doubt tries to slow you down. And if my journey has taught me anything, it’s that people don’t just follow a brand—they follow a person. So if you’re building something, build it with heart, with truth, and with a willingness to evolve. That’s where the real magic happens.