Stop pretending in business starts with honest conversations…
Let me tell you something I never thought I’d write in a “business” blog:
I used to lie for a living.
Not the evil kind.
Not Ponzi-scheme-level lies.
I’m talking about the polished, airbrushed kind.
The “everything’s great” kind.
The curated confidence.
The filtered success.
You know what I mean.
I was doing the dance.
Saying the right words.
Posting the right wins.
Pretending I had it all together…
While quietly wondering if I was the only one faking it.
Until one day — I stopped pretending.
And everything changed.
Not just my business.
My joy.
My relationships.
My clarity.
My income.
All of it.
Stop pretending in business if you want to connect with clients at a deeper level.
Table of Contents
The Persona I Didn’t Know I Built
When I started this business, I had one goal: help people.
Simple, right?
But somewhere along the way…
Helping turned into hustling.
Authenticity turned into image maintenance.
Clarity turned into copywriting tweaks.
I built a version of me that looked like a “successful entrepreneur”:
- Always booked.
- Always strategic.
- Always high-value.
- Always “in alignment.”
But that wasn’t the full story.
Behind the feed?
- I was exhausted.
- I felt disconnected from my work.
- I didn’t love what I was selling anymore.
- And worst of all… I was afraid to tell the truth about it.
Why?
Because the brand I built was “me.”
And admitting I was tired of it felt like burning my whole house down.
When you stop pretending in business, people sense your real passion.
The Wake-Up Moment
It wasn’t a dramatic breakdown.
No dark-night-of-the-soul.
No sobbing on the floor (well, not that day).
It was quiet.
I was rereading an email draft.
It said something like:
“Let’s unlock your next level…”
And I paused.
I asked myself:
“Do I even know what that means anymore?”
I didn’t.
I was writing the words… but I wasn’t feeling them.
That’s when it hit me:
I wasn’t pretending for them.
I was pretending for me.
Because I didn’t want to admit I had changed.
But once I said it out loud?
I couldn’t un-hear it.
It’s liberating to stop pretending in business and speak from the heart.
The Decision to Stop Performing
That night, I wrote a post.
Not a pitch.
Not a polished strategy.
Just the truth.
I wrote about how I was tired.
How my business looked good on the outside but felt hollow inside.
How I wanted more presence, less pretending.
How I missed the me who started this for the love of helping, not just the love of scaling.
I hit publish… and flinched.
But then?
Something wild happened.
To grow authentically, you must stop pretending in business and embrace your truth.
The Post That Made Me More Money Than a Launch
That truth-telling post?
It didn’t tank my brand.
It built it.
I got more DMs in 24 hours than I had in a month.
Not because people wanted to “buy.”
Because they finally felt like they knew me.
They said:
“Thank you for saying what I’ve been feeling.”
“I thought I was the only one.”
“This is what made me want to work with you.”
And you know what followed?
More alignment.
More connection.
And yes — more clients.
Because real attracts real.
And people aren’t looking for perfection.
They’re looking for permission to be human.
Once you decide to stop pretending in business, alignment and ease follow.
What does it mean to be authentic in business?
What Changed (In Business and Life)
So here’s what changed after I stopped pretending:
✅ 1. My Offers Got Simpler — and Stronger
I stopped building offers to impress.
No more fancy frameworks.
No more shiny bonuses.
Just:
- Who I help
- What we do together
- Why it works
- How to start
That clarity?
Magnetic.
Because it wasn’t about “positioning” anymore.
It was just the truth.
✅ 2. I Showed Up Without a Script
I used to plan every piece of content like a mini TED Talk.
Now?
I open a doc and say what’s real.
That could be:
- A lesson I learned this week
- A mindset shift I’m sitting with
- A conversation that cracked something open
- A rant about industry BS I’m done with
And guess what?
Engagement? Higher.
Sales? Faster.
Ease? Way up.
Because me being me converts better than any content formula ever did.
✅ 3. I Let Go of “Proving”
This one was the hardest.
I used to think I had to prove:
- I was an expert.
- My clients got big wins.
- I had receipts.
- I was always “in demand.”
Now?
I let my presence be proof.
Because the right people don’t need convincing.
They need resonance.
✅ 4. I Attracted Right-Fit Clients
When I was pretending, I attracted clients who wanted the pretend me.
They wanted the performance.
The perfection.
The “always on” energy.
That wasn’t sustainable.
But once I showed up raw and real?
Different clients showed up, too.
- The ones who value depth over dazzle.
- The ones who want a real relationship, not just a transaction.
- The ones who respect your boundaries and trust your process.
I didn’t need more leads.
I needed more alignment.
Questions to Ask Yourself
If any of this hits close to home, try asking yourself:
- Where am I performing instead of being present?
- What parts of my business feel like a character I have to “play”?
- What truths am I avoiding because they might disrupt the image?
- If I stopped pretending, what would I say today?
- Who might connect with me more deeply if I let them see the real me?
Be honest.
Because honesty is your best strategy.
Final Thought: Your Realness Is the Brand
Look—
Pretending is heavy.
Being real is lighter.
You don’t have to market like a robot, launch like a guru, or write like a thought leader.
You just have to feel like you.
Because when you do?
- Your offers align.
- Your content hits.
- Your energy returns.
- Your audience trusts you.
- Your business gets easier.
You don’t need a brand voice.
You need your voice.
And when you stop pretending?
Everything changes.
Want My “No-Pretend” Business Blueprint?
DM me the word REAL and I’ll send you:
✅ My Authentic Offer Design mini-course
✅ 10 Content Prompts That Actually Sound Like You
✅ My “Truth First” Launch Outline
✅ A simple voice alignment framework for writing without pretending
Because pretending is overrated.
And your real self?
That’s your greatest business asset.