It’s Pride Month!
You know this isn’t just a marketing angle for me.
Not as a rainbow slapped on a caption.
I’m all about authenticity EVERY month of the year, so let’s go deeper here, shall we?
Let’s talk about Pride as the kind of perseverance that says:
I am not disappearing to make other people comfortable.
I am done editing myself down into something easier for other people to understand.
Pride is the part of me that stands firm, gives others the genuine version of me, not the polished, palatable, trimmed-down version I used to think I had to offer in order to belong.
That’s right, Pride isn’t just a theoretical thing.
It’s personal.
It’s personal for a lot of us: LGBTQ+ founders who are not only trying to build a business, but also trying to be seen, trusted, and chosen in a world that still makes very quick assumptions about who looks credible, who sounds “professional,” and who gets to take up space without being second-guessed.
Visibility Is Not Neutral
“Just post more content!” They say.
Visibility is just a strategy issue, right?
Post more.
Say more.
Be consistent.
Get your face out there.
Build the brand.
Okay… let’s slow that down for a second.
The truth is, for many of us, visibility comes with a cost.
It can stir up fear or past rejection.
We self-edit because there is so much pressure online to be liked (or to get likes).
We buy into the pressure to not be too much (or too little).
We offer up hot takes or professional opinions, and immediately get torn down for our looks, our differences, or the fact that we had an opinion at all.
That stuff is not imaginary.
It lives in the body.
When people act like content creation is only about discipline, they miss the whole emotional layer underneath it.
The issue is that posting asks you to stand where people can see you.
Let’s name it: being seen isn’t always safe.
Palatable Is Not a Strategy
I think gay business owners have been taught, quietly or loudly, that success comes easier if you make yourself easier to swallow.
Be warm, but not too bold.
Be clear, but not too direct.
Be polished, but not too perfect.
Be visible, but only in ways that do not make other people uncomfortable.
Look, it’s what the world rewards. There are definitely plenty of content experts who will say that this is the way to go.
For me? That’s a hard no. Thanks.
Being palatable means your business eventually starts to sound like everybody else’s.
Your point of view will get buried under jargon and “professionalism” and all the little edits you make before you ever press publish.
And then you sit there wondering why your content feels off. Why it feels like you are teaching the internet for free and getting crumbs back.
I’m not going to lie to you, outrage performs. People-pleasing performs too. But sustainable brands are built on resonance, not performance.
Your people can feel when you are simply performing for likes.
They can also know when you are speaking from somewhere genuine.
The Right People Are Not Looking for a Watered-Down Version of You
Let’s start with the facts: There are over 36 million businesses in the United States.
There are over 340 million people in the US.
And I bet you know that every one of those people has more than one need. A few studies point to anywhere between 10 and 14 business interactions per day.
There is so much business to go around.
So many people.
So many needs.
So many rooms you have not walked into yet.
Out of all of those 340 million people? You don’t need everybody. I’d actually guess that you don’t really want everybody. Your business couldn’t handle everybody.
You need your people.
And your people are not drawn to the version of you that sounds like every other brochure.
They are drawn to the version that has a pulse.
The version of you that has opinions (even ones that are “controversial to mainstream”).
The one with personality (even if it’s “too much” or “not enough”).
The one who says the thing they have been feeling but have not known how to say.
That is what creates resonance.
As one of my teammates, Jacque often quotes, “More you is better.”
That is why I care so much about helping people show up online in a way that still feels like themselves. Because the goal is not only visibility.
It is resonance, connection, and building a business where the right people can feel you before they ever hire you.
Pride Is Not Only Personal. It Is Practical.
Pride Month reminds me that visibility can be brave.
That being seen can cost something.
Authenticity is not always rewarded by everyone.
That people still get judged before they get understood.
I know that. I live that.
I also know the relief of being myself in a world that might not know how to react to me all the time. I know the freedom that comes when you stop trying to promote from a version of yourself that is easier for other people to digest.
It’s exactly the sort of freedom that I want for you.
The number of times my team gets to the end of a call with one of our clients, and that client says, “I just talked for an hour: I’m not sure how you’ll make content out of that!” and we get the pleasure of responding, “You showed up as you. That’s exactly what we needed.”
Not performance.
Not perfection.
Not endless pressure to be inspirational every day.
Just a stronger connection to your own voice.
And, shameless plug, if you need help using that voice? I’ve got an expert team that can create that authentic content with less than 2 hours of your time each month. Book a free consultation here!
Post With Pride
So if June is asking anything of you, maybe it is this:
Say the thing you have been meaning to say.
Not the version that sounds like you ran it through twelve filters, Chat GPT and a corporate committee.
The one that feels like you.
That is what this month means to me.
Show up with pride.
Lead with pride.
Speak with pride.
Build with pride.
Post with pride.
Your people deserve to find you as you actually are.
Confidence Practice
This week, notice one place where you are still editing yourself before you speak, post, or pitch. Then ask: what would change if I said it more like me?
Powerline
Powerline
(Each month, we’ll share a Powerline: a punchy phrase to steady your energy, lock in your confidence, and help you lead online and off.)
“I rise with pride. I speak what’s true. I show the world who I am and what I can do.”
At Holloway Media Services, we help CEOs and founders build visibility that feels steady, genuine, and unmistakably theirs. If you are ready to show up online without sanding off your edges, let’s talk about what that could look like.
Cheering you on,
Heather 
If you are ready to show up online without sanding off your edges, let’s talk about what that could look like.
