These Pictures Say a Lot About Our New Vibe

I don't like photo shoots. I've never liked getting my picture taken. 📸

I've always been more awkward than a Beyoncé ringtone blasting in a quiet room.

Until last week.

I've done three rounds of headshots since opening Chirpy.

I wanted an invisibility cloak for the first one.

I was marginally happier to show up to the second one, but it was still more awkward than blanking on the name of someone you know.

I was actually excited for the third one, which happened last week. I gave it the most effort to date. I actually had a vision for what I wanted out of them. I didn't just get headshots. I got editorial, creative ones also.

Dropping a few as a sneak preview into the vibes of my new branding that I'm working so hard on with Visions Design®. I can't wait until everything goes live in early March. (There's a slow soft launch of a few things in the meantime, like the new logo and color palette.)

If you need new headshots, hopefully this is inspiration to get 'em done. I promise it doesn't hurt as much as you think.

Tip: It REALLY helps if you have a photographer you're comfortable with that also offers posing coaching in the shoot. It's also worth paying a little more for a high-quality photographer.

Can You Be Shy AND Confident? They Seem Like Opposites…

A mentor recently told me I'm a "shy confident person."

I've been pondering that for weeks now because it's such a juxtaposition.

It wasn't necessarily surprising to me as that's entirely accurate and how I feel about myself. However, it had never been told to me in that way by someone else. It hit differently.

For many years now, I've felt that introversion and quietness are superpowers after reading Susan Cain's book "Quiet." It's not that I feel it's a negative way to be. In fact, I think it's the opposite. It's one of my superpowers in many contexts.

It struck me though because I'm actually working on having the ability to be "loud confident" when it's necessary, which is relatively often when you own a business.

It also struck me coming from that mentor because I was hoping to be perceived as more of a "loud confident" person in that case, which led me to be disappointed in myself.

For any naturally introverted person, "loud confidence" can be difficult.

However, I think it's EXTRA difficult for women — particularly as a professional that's a business owner in a male-dominated industry — to embody that.

I'd love to hear others' stories and suggestions relating to being a "loud confident" person to help myself, other women, and other introverts in the world. 🧡

This newsletter is going to start changing.

New design.

Different types of content.

Stay tuned.

#StayChirpy