Self(ish) Confidence
Your confidence is your superpower… but what if you don’t have any? It can be hard to show up as your authentic self. When we go out, or even scrolling on the couch, it's easy to get trapped in the comparison game, making it even harder to be beautifully you. Self(ish) Confidence is about finding your confidence, shining your light and taking action toward your unconventional life. Every week, we'll chat through barriers that could hold you back. Follow along with me, Jess Clerke, as we learn to find our confidence together and begin to share our magic with the world.
Self(ish) Confidence
Speak Up! Speaker Series w/ Alix Robinson
What happens when you blend nearly 25 years of marketing experience with a passion for empowering women in business? You get Alix Robinson, our final speaker for the Speak Up event, and the inspiring guest on this episode of the Selfish Confidence Podcast! From her journey in the beauty industry and radio advertising to founding her own company, Every Day I'm Branding, Alix shares how her background in accounting and finance uniquely enhances her marketing expertise. We delve into her personal battles with imposter syndrome, exploring how her unconventional entry into marketing has shaped her approach to authenticity and confidence.
In our conversation, we underscore the importance of community and support systems, especially for creative individuals and women striving to find their voice. Alex and I discuss the transformative power of sharing one's true self both online and offline, and the immense impact of overcoming limiting beliefs. Wrapping up, we touch on the magic of the Impostor Sisters podcast and invite you to not only listen in but to share this empowering episode with friends. Let’s spread confidence and magic, one story at a time!
Connect with Alix on IG: @everydayimbranding
Website: www.everydayimbranding.com
Speak Up! Tickets --> https://jessclerke.com/speak-up
Apply for the Speak Up! Panel ---> https://forms.gle/yw2nom5YcMYKmGWu5
Thank you for listening to Self(ish) Confidence! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or on your social media and tag me @jess.clerke so I can personally thank you for helping spread some confidence + love!
Check out my website at: www.jessclerke.com
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My Personal Account ---> @jess.clerke
The Podcast Account ---> @selfishconfidence
Welcome to Selfish Confidence, a place where we can connect and be real about how hard it is to be your damn self. My name is Jess and my goal is to help you build confidence and belief in yourself to live any life path you want, even if it's unconventional. It's time to flip off societal pressures and connect with women who've also felt on the outside by their life choices. We're here to encourage you to grab the mic and speak your truth. I know it can be scary, but we're in this together. Let's get started. Hello, hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Selfish Confidence Podcast. It's Jess here, and today is an exciting day because it is the last day for the Speaker Series announcement. We are announcing the last speaker for Speak Up happening on October 5th and 6th in Halifax, nova Scotia, and I'm not going to keep you waiting, because I know you've been waiting a long time for this, but I have my very good friend, alex Robinson, here, who's going to be our final speaker at Speak Up. Welcome, alex, how are you doing?
Speaker 2:I'm great, I'm excited. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited to have you here. Can you tell us a bit about you and what you do and who you are and all of the magical things about you?
Speaker 2:Sure, yes, let's do it. My name is Alex Robinson. I have worked in marketing or the field of marketing for almost 25 years, which feels really weird to say because I still feel like I'm like 25. But I started it when I was about 23. So, and have worked in kind of a wide range of marketing positions.
Speaker 2:I started in the beauty industry, spent the first 10 years of my career really getting to know the foundational concepts of marketing. Back then social media wasn't really a huge part of that, so it was a lot of traditional marketing, print, radio, that kind of thing. Then I had my son and decided to make a switch, moved into radio advertising and marketing and that's when I really started to learn a little bit more about social media. It was starting to rise a lot and from there did a brief interlude into recruitment marketing but realized pretty quickly that that was not for me and decided to hop into my own business, and that was about six years ago. So six years ago I just took the leap and started.
Speaker 2:My business is called Every Day I'm Branding and it's really a combination of a lot of marketing foundation into different, mostly digital marketing avenues at this point, because that seems to be what most people are engaging with, but it's really kind of niched down into social media marketing and content creation for small business owners, media marketing and content creation for small business owners. And what's really interesting and lovely for me is that I mostly work with women founded small businesses, which is something that I really feel passionate about and helping to empower people and get confident in creating content and marketing initiatives that really feel aligned and are not that scary to put together. So that's sort of a very, very quick overview of who I am from a professional standpoint, like I said, I have a 12 year old son. His name is Carrie and I'm married to my husband, matt, and the three of us live with our dog and cat.
Speaker 1:And they lived happily ever after.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's it, I'm done, See ya.
Speaker 1:I love it so much. I can't believe you've been in the industry for that long, because when you look at Alex and you'll see her at Speak Up, she looks like she is 25. So I don't know what she's talking about, but it's just so great to see the variety that you have in the marketing field and how far you've come to creating your business where you're at now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:Obviously, marketing is ever changing and to be able to work both in business and creative is something that I always really wanted to do. It happens to be the things that I'm the most interested in. I was like reconciling my spending money budgets when I was like six, on family vacations, so I actually didn't even take any marketing courses in my degree. I took accounting and finance, which worked out really well because my marketing budgets were always balanced. So the accounting department always loved me because I was very, very diligent about my receipts and my budgets and making sure that I was staying in line with everything I was supposed to. And that's also been very helpful as a business owner, because my taxes are always filed on time and I have like cash flow projections and profit scenarios and all those types of things which are equally exciting to me, as you know the creative element. So it's fun. It was fun to kind of take all those elements and put them into something that felt pretty aligned for me, at least for the last six years.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's so cool. And can I ask you because you also do have a podcast called the Impostor Sisters with our very good friend Colleen also, and when it comes to not having a marketing degree, did you ever feel that imposter syndrome?
Speaker 2:piece to it a bird course, Like it was considered a joke, which is why I didn't take it. I was like, oh, I have to take the hardest things, I have to take the finance, I have to take the accounting and I really didn't love it that much. It was good, I love the math part of it, but accounting and finance is intense at a university level and eventually in my last year I was like you know, I'm never going to be an accountant, I'm never going to be a financial analyst. And then I did a little bit more management and HR to kind of round off my degree and give myself a bit of a break. So I actually never took one marketing course and, funnily enough, I actually didn't think I was very creative. I thought that I was like a math person because I was always kind of decent at math and really liked business. I had, like, managed an ice cream bar through high school and that's what sort of made me decide that I was going to go into a business degree because I really liked being able to reconcile inventory and those types of things. But then I got when I came out of university and I had to move back home because the job market was not very great.
Speaker 2:And I got this job working within in Yarmouth helping to build websites for small businesses and I had never used a design program before in my life so really had to learn on the fly and really enjoyed that part of it and realized that I kind of had a little bit of a knack for layout and I liked the creative element about it and I kind of taught myself how to do graphic design.
Speaker 2:So didn't really think that I was a creative person, which is kind of hilarious now when I look back at my life and the different things that I'm actually interested in until that point. And then I was like, oh wait, you know I do have these creative elements and how can I mix those two? So yes and no to a certain extent, because the marketing part just seemed to come really intuitively to me. So I didn't feel like I had missed out on much and I knew people who had taken the marketing courses and they were kind of a joke yeah. So I don't know yes and no, I guess I have. I certainly struggle with a lot of imposter syndrome about other things, but having the marketing piece of it, I just find it's almost kind of a funny antidote that I like to tell.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love that so much and, like I took PR in school and I remember learning about marketing Anything I learned in that is now irrelevant at this point. Like the course is always so evolving that it's just like like I think Twitter was like just coming out, so like it's just so funny because it is always going to be changing and it's such a beautiful field and you do it so well. So I was just really curious and I wanted to share with everybody listening right now. Why Alex? Why did I want Alex to be a part of this? Because she was surprised when I messaged her and I really wanted her to be a part of this.
Speaker 1:But Alex is just so magical in who she is and if you know her, you know she is unique and beautiful and strong, not only in her business and in what she does, but just in her everyday life as a mom.
Speaker 1:She's a mom to a really unique and beautiful child and she just does life her way and I have always admired that. Like seeing you, seeing just how you dress and how you act, like you are the perfect balance of personal brand and when I think of someone who is authentically 100% themselves, I think of you and I think that with this stage and with this event, we need people like you, who are living their life and living their brand out loud, that it's going to inspire so many people to do the same, and so I knew it was you, like it had to be you, and so when you said yes, I did a little dance, I celebrated a lot and I was so excited, and I know so many people are going to be excited to see you too, so I'm just really yeah, I think this is going to be an awesome place for you to shine your light in your personal life, and also in your professional life, and share a little bit about, like, personal branding. I'm just so excited.
Speaker 2:I mean. Thank you, those are very sweet, lovely things that you said. And I also did a little dance when you asked me too, because, like I said before, I do struggle with some imposter syndrome about who I am and how I'm showing up, and I'd mentioned that the first six years of my business were really intuitive and I knew exactly where I was going with it and it felt really aligned. And I'm really at this place now where I know that there's a shift coming. I can't quite figure out what it is, I can't place my finger on it, but this whole coming into your own and being who you want to be, that is a work in progress.
Speaker 2:That is something that I have been striving for my entire life and I think I'm getting the closest to it that I've ever been at this point in terms of, like you said, the way that I dress or the way that I show up or the way that I'm parenting or who I am as a person.
Speaker 2:But that is like a lifelong journey. But that is like a lifelong journey and I think the older I get, the further I get away from what other people hear or say. Obviously I'm still. I still work within those confines a little bit and I'm and you know I'm working to leave that behind entirely, but I think part of your personal brand is being really secure in who you are and who you want to be and what you stand for. It doesn't necessarily mean that you need to share all of your personal life details or, like you know, put everything out on the line for people to see. It's not really about that at all. In fact, you don't have to share any of your private life to have a personal brand, but you do need to be really clear on who you are and what you stand for and what your values are, and I think that's something that's really made a huge difference for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think too, like marketing, like how you are is ever changing, like every year, even like on your birthday, like you're changing, you're evolving, we're going through things like the pandemic changed a lot of us, and so, figuring that out over and over again, I think some people often get stuck in that, oh well, this is who I am and this is who I was at 21. So this is who I am at 41. And it's just not the case that sometimes we have to do this work and I love that you're like digging into this new era of what Alex could be going through right now, which is really cool.
Speaker 2:It really is a fluid process and it should be a fluid process and I think you're right, we do get really rigid about like, well, this is what people expect from us, so this is what we have to live up to, and that can be really restricting, because we are changing and our environments are changing and our priorities are changing and the audience that we want to speak to is changing as a result. So being able to to adapt slightly or maybe entirely, depending on what's going on, it's a really important skill to have, but it's tricky and it's scary and it takes a lot of bravery.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, which is why it's just going to be so much fun to see you on that stage.
Speaker 2:Who knows who I'll be by then.
Speaker 1:I know Same with me. Who knows who I'll be by then. It's wild. You can be a totally different person, and that is a beautiful thing. What are you looking forward to most when it comes to this event? Speak Up.
Speaker 2:I really am leaning into this new part of me that's really trying to be this person and to lean into who I am and my unique attributes and individuality. So I'm really excited to kind of carve that out into something that I can share with other people, sort of taking this journey, this like 46-year journey, and kind of really looking at the pieces of it that have been pivotable moments for me and try to build that into something that could help others. So I'm excited to dive into that, because it has been an interesting journey and there's definitely moments that have shaped the direction of where I've gone as a person, both professionally and personally, and I really want to dive into some of that, to kind of see what those kind of key moments are and share that with others in the hopes that it can help them too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm so excited for that too. I'm just so yeah, it's going to be so great. Do you have an idea of what you might be speaking about, like on the stage?
Speaker 2:Or are we like maybe Alex is a whole new person in a few months, a personal brand that feels aligned, and I think the reason a lot of people don't show up in their businesses or even personally is because they don't feel confident or they don't feel like they can be their true self.
Speaker 2:And when we are being our true self online or in person or in any facet of that there's an innate confidence that comes with that. So being able to cultivate that personal brand and figure out what the elements are of yourself that you want to share and that you want to project is really important. So I want to talk about those elements of personal branding and how to build on them and how to really lean into the things that make you you and how to kind of combat some of the limiting beliefs that come up with some of that stuff, which is part of the reason we started our podcast on imposter syndrome, because that can be really limiting for people in terms of missed opportunities, and I think the same thing can be said from a personal branding perspective as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%, and I think that that's going to be really helpful for not only the business owners in the room, but just for everyone who wants to share a little bit more on social media and wants to do it in a really authentic way. But, like, it's scary out there, like don't get me wrong, every time I get on there without makeup which is like pretty much all the time it's I never have makeup on, but it still is scary because you're just like there's people out there who are going to judge you for certain things or to be filter free and step into what your brand can look like. But I also think that attracts the beautiful and right people, which is why I'm so attracted to Alex, which is why I feel like she's probably also so connected to me. It's because we are ourselves and, like, personal branding is a part of that. So I love that you're going to be teaching everybody a little snippet of how they can do that in the real world too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I mean I do. I feel the same way about you. I'm 100% drawn to you. I think the work that you're doing out there is amazing and so important, and I think, the more time, more we can get out there, especially as millennials and myself as like a Gen X, where we were taught a certain way on how we're supposed to show up to kind of disrupt that pattern and show up the way that we want to and the way that we should, is really, really important, and I don't know that there's a ton of messaging out there for women in our age bracket about how to do that necessarily. So that's something that I'm really passionate about is, you know, trying to change some of those narratives that we've grown up with that tell us that we, you know, shouldn't be proud of ourselves, or shouldn't get too big for our britches, or you know those kind of things that are on repeat in our head whenever we start to feel good about ourselves. How we can kind of get rid of that messaging and start a new narrative for ourselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's going to happen in this room at Speak Up, which I love. So one more quick question for you is why is community so important to you and supporting women so important to you? Like you mentioned how you work a lot with small businesses, mostly women owned, like. Why is that something that you strive for?
Speaker 2:I think for a lot of creative people and I mean I'll speak for myself here um, I think for a lot of creative people and I mean I'll speak for myself here in earlier life, it can be really isolating when you don't really feel like you have found your people and I see my son struggling with it a lot because he's a very eccentric um person who you know is sometimes difficult to find the niches that he fits in. And I think, when get older and we start to get more aware of our unique aspects and attributes, finding those communities that were really suited to us is key to building the confidence, to have that support system. When maybe you're feeling a little less confident or you're feeling under the weather or you're you're having, you know those thoughts are being a little bit more overpowering than you need to have people that can like kind of I use this analogy a lot that crash pad like when you're falling, and they can bounce you back up into life. You know, having that, that support system and sound board is so important, especially for entrepreneurs who are, who typically work alone, for creatives who can feel isolated, for for women, honestly, you know, community of women is just so uplifting to have to know other people that are going through some of the struggles that you, that we go through as women, which can be very unique.
Speaker 2:So I think just having people who understand you, who get you, who can lift you up, who you can feel safe with and can trust Outside of your family too, it's important. Your family like obviously the family is a very important thing to have and support. But those outside communities that can see you in a different light, whether it's professionally, whether it's as a parent, whether it's as a friend, those are really important lenses to have back as well. So I think, you know, having a variety of communities is just sort of it's a very important and integral part of building out your personal brand.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I love that. I'm I'm just so excited to have you here, to have you at this event and for you to be a part of it. A fun question for you. You ready? What superpower would you choose for yourself, and why?
Speaker 2:what superpower would you choose for yourself and why? I'd really love to be able to read minds Part of marketing. I feel like I do try to read minds on a daily, but I would really love to know if I was right. So much of marketing is understanding human behavior and why people do the things they do, and I'm so fascinated about human psychology and even, like buying decisions or just even decisions in general, why people do the things they do.
Speaker 2:I'm constantly like when my husband drives, I'm looking into people's backyards as we drive by because I just want to know how people live. I want to know what they're doing. Nothing excites me more than being able to see, like if someone's watching something on TV when I drive by which is so creepy. I know my husband's always like you're such a creep, but I'm like I just want to know why. What people do. I want to know what the people are doing. That's it. So I think if I could read minds, that would be so interesting to know. You know cause you make all these assumptions about people, but I just really like to know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know what's really cool, even you saying that, I feel like a creep sometimes too, because I'm very similar in that sense where I just like to watch people. And at the recent retreat in Barbados, I would just like watch the attendees see what they were doing, and they told me that I should change that from watching to observing. But it's a very projector thing, which we learned that Alex is a projector in human design, because we're here to like see things. We're like the bird on the perch and we just like watch how people can do things better. So we love to just observe people. So it's, I'm totally with you. I think it's the coolest thing.
Speaker 2:So it's not creepy, I'm glad I'm not the only the only creep around. I do, I'm a creep in too. People are so fascinating and the way that they do things and the way that they go about life and I just, yeah, I could watch people all day long.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so fun. Someone's going to listen to this and be like I'm not coming to this event because they're just going to be watching me.
Speaker 2:They're like where is she, or maybe?
Speaker 1:you'll be like, hey, you'll feel seen and loved and heard because we just think you're the coolest thing in the world. Yeah, like I'm just fascinated by people. Yeah, I know. Well, thank you so much, alex. Can you share with everyone where they can connect with you?
Speaker 2:online before the event. Sure, you can find me on Instagram. I'm at Everyday, I'm Branding all one. I'm also on Facebook, but I'm not very active there, I'll be honest. I do have a website, too, everydayinbrandingcom, but I'm mostly active on Instagram. So please come follow and let's connect. I'd love to watch you.
Speaker 1:Just kidding, I love it so much. And also you can check out the Impostor Sisters podcast.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah yeah, Impostor Sisters. I believe we're Impostor Sisters Podcast on Instagram and impostorsisterspodcastcom is our website. I believe I will double check and you can throw that in the show notes.
Speaker 1:Amazing. Thank you so much, Alex, for being here. I cannot wait to see you at Speak Up.
Speaker 2:I'm so excited. Thank you so much for thinking of me.
Speaker 1:What's up, sis? I am so glad we could hang out today. If you love this episode, send it to a friend or share it on your social media and tag me so I can personally thank you for helping me sprinkle some confidence in the world. And don't forget you are magic. Let's show the world your shine.
