
Why Trying to Please Everyone Is Killing Your Brand
From Balanced Ambition by Matt Southam
September 24, 2025 · 45 min
About this episode
Ben Stickland discusses the pitfalls of trying to please everyone in personal branding and introduces his 'Be More YOU' framework.
Is your personal brand holding you back without you even realising? In this episode, personal branding coach Ben Stickland explains why trying to please everyone is one of the biggest mistakes you can make — and how being more you is the ultimate growth strategy. We unpack his “Be More YOU” framework, how to attract the right clients without the sales calls, and why your quirks might just be your biggest superpower. 📲 Connect with Ben: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thepersonalbrandingguy/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepersonalbrandingguy/ 🕒 Timestamps: 00:00 - What a personal brand actually is 01:23 - Why Ben left employment to build his own thing 02:12 - Why pleasing everyone is bad for business 05:00 - “You’re not an office kettle” explained 06:30 - Avoiding nightmare clients 08:30 - Corporate hangovers & being ‘palatable’ online 11:00 - People-pleasing and holding back opinions 13:45 - Branding and… how you eat your KitKat? 17:35 - Using AI to be more human, not less 20:00 - Visual cues that make you unforgettable 22:00 - Moustaches, mullets, and making a statement 23:30 - The dating analogy that says it all 27:00 - Authenticity as a sales filter…
People in this episode
Host: Matt Southam
Guest: Ben Stickland
Topics covered
- personal branding
- business growth
- client attraction
- authenticity
- self-identity
Keywords
- personal brand
- growth strategy
- nightmare clients
- authenticity
- branding framework
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Instagram, LinkedIn
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