NO PEOPLE PLEASING!
Jojo Smith, 47, from Birmingham believes there is no such thing as “an average Jo”. After a challenging childhood in care, she finally learned to give up people pleasing and transformed her life.
“A childhood in care really af fects your self-wor th, and I felt for a long time that I was struggling to fit in. I spent many years not feeling like I belonged, that I was dulling down my strong character, and apologising for my full spirit, tr ying to be who I thought I should be rather than who I am and people pleasing was what I did. It af fected ever ything I did and it was a real struggle to break out of that box, star t my own business, and become my own fair y godmother, as well as providing the same ser vice to other women. I worked in catering and then retail – in both instances doing well, but with a strong sense that I wasn’t doing what was best for me.
“In 2019 I star ted CreativSAS, a business development and branding business, aiming to help other female business owners find the magic of fully embracing their personalities to unleash their full potential by helping them find their own Self Awareness Strategy. I tackle head on the oftenrecurring behaviour we see within business owners, and female entrepreneurs in par ticular, where they tr y to squeeze themselves into a box in an attempt to fit in – and by default choose to be average by dulling down their true characters. We should all fiercely break out of that box and give ourselves the oppor tunity to enjoy being ourselves, which both ser ves our mental health better and also helps to boost business too.
“It took me years to give up people pleasing, to make that impor tant step which allowed me to be a positive force for other female entrepreneurs and to create my own personal brand that boldly represents my colour ful personality and passion for helping others. CreativSAS built on my unapologetically positive attitude and desire to pay it for ward, where I help my clients to discover their SASSY USP, or Unique Super Power.
“I feel I have come out the other side of a rocky life journey with a happy ending and more closely connected to my true character than ever, and I now want to pay it for ward to help others create their happy ending, by helping them connect their businesses more closely to themselves, so they can stay true to who they really are.”