It's like riding a bike

Learning to push through the wobbles and steer in the right direction

*Note: Thank you, dear readers, for following Melanie’s Musings over the past couple of years. As I ramp up My Brand Mirror, I will be sunsetting Melanie’s Musings and transitioning sharing updates through The Looking Glass, my business newsletter. I will have occasional posts on Melanie’s Musings, but the bulk of my writing will be shared there. The following is a recent post from The Looking Glass that I wanted to share with you all. Please consider subscribing to The Looking Glass to keep up with the latest. Thank you for your support! -Melanie

I love a good sports metaphor used not quite correctly.

Just ask any of my former choir students. I probably used sports metaphors once a day to get my choir to physicalize an idea and put it into their sound. Using a bow and arrow to get a focused sound? Absolutely. Pretending to shoot a basket to launch a sound forward? Worked like a charm. Lifting a heavy weight to connect with your support? A classic.

Recently, I’ve been using the metaphor of riding a bike in reference to starting a business. While the true meaning of the idiom is “once you learn something, you won’t forget it”, I’ve been using it as a metaphor of pushing through challenges even if you’re feeling shaky.

The grand irony here is that the last time I rode a bike, I fell and did not get back up. Some inspiration for starting a business.

This all changed a few weeks ago. Turns out, starting a business and trying out your brand messaging really is just like riding a bike. Let’s explore how.

The Story

I have not ridden a bike in 22 years. Or, rather, I had not ridden a bike in 22 years until recently when my friend Mary and I went glamping and she lovingly forced me to get on a bike and overcome my fear.

For as long as I can remember, I have been afraid of falling. Off a bike, from a ski lift, through the open slat between steps in a spiral staircase—doesn’t matter. Anything is was slightly unstable, I try to avoid. To protect myself from falling and getting hurt.

When I got on the bike this time, I fell. A lot. And almost immediately. I couldn’t catch my balance with the heavy basket on the front, and I steered (or didn’t steer as the case may be) right into a rock.

But this time, I got back on. We switched out the bike for one with out a basket, and Mary held the bike for me so I could feel like I was starting with more stability. It was a little shaky at first, but I pushed through the wobbles, I started to pedal, Mary let go, and I found a rhythm. It wasn’t always smooth—I also ran into a ditch and a planter—but each time, I got back on, got more confident, and I went further. And when I was feeling unsure or slightly askew, Mary was right there, reminding me to steer and to lean into the fall. With her coaching, I grew more confident because I knew she had my back.

By the end of our bike riding time, I was actually having fun. As I pedaled down a hill, I said to myself “I’m riding a bike!” with pure joy and so much pride, knowing I could face whatever was in my way.

The reflection

Being an entrepreneur, you’re building something from scratch there’s no rule book, no path to follow, and it’s quite a shaky road with a lot of bumps along the way. And without training wheels or support, you could be falling down a lot.

This is especially true for establishing a brand voice and your brand message. When you’re starting out, you may have a broad idea of who your audience is, and so you use a big basket to try to capture everyone with your messaging. That approach often leads to hitting rocks (or roadblocks) and stalled momentum because the message isn’t clear and it isn’t resonating with your ideal audience. You’re trying to cover too much ground in talking to everyone, so your message isn’t specific enough to connect with the right people. You get so caught up in the weeds of your story, that it can be hard to have a good perspective on what aspects of your message aren’t working for your audience and your goals.

Which is why you need a coach. An outside perspective can help shine a light on what isn’t working—maybe you have too big a basket or are slightly off center—and provide fresh solutions with more clarity.

This is the approach I take with clients. We start with the broad picture and then get really specific about the messages you want to convey to your audience. The specificity of knowing who your audience is and what they want to hear (for example, how you’re solving their pain points), is what makes the message less wobbly and more stable. As your brand story gets even more focused, you steer in the right direction by refining your expertise and how you want your audience to feel when interacting with your brand. There is still trial and error—that’s a part of the process, but this forward momentum will keep you pushing through the challenging hills. Pretty soon, you have the foundation for a complete content strategy that will power you forward and help you soar.

Just like riding a bike, building a brand voice and brand story doesn’t have to be unstable or shaky. Sometimes you just need someone to hold the bike and remind you to steer.

Are you hitting roadblocks with you brand messaging? What are some of the challenges you have faced? I’d love to help you pedal forward!

- Melanie