Our hot takes about messy action? Let’s lay it all out right here…It’s overly glorified and misapplied in the coaching industry. It doesn’t mean what you think it means for your content. It doesn’t mean mean that your content needs to be messy. In fact, your “messy” content is actually sabotaging your confidence. The quickest way to feel more confident online is to fix your content, and it’s as important as the rest of the mindset work.

What “messy action gets right”

Okay, so hear us out. There is a time and place for messy action. If you’re in coaching, entrepreneurship, or anything remotely related you’re very familiar with this concept. It’s primarily a way to motivate you when you’re feeling scared, stuck, or less than. And don’t get us wrong, there’s a lot of value in taking action rather than being stagnant. It’s important not to wait until you think everything is “perfect,” since that doesn’t exist. And we should prioritize a mindset where we learn, grow, and view everything as feedback. All good things.

Where “messy action” goes wrong

But we also see it go wrong. So wrong. In the circles we’ve been in, it’s excessively glorified. It’s not just a way to get started taking action. The mess continues. And it gets applied to everything. At its worst, the pendulum swings so far the other way that people are left to feel that anything that isn’t messy is somehow inauthentic or less than.

The message isn’t just that looks aren’t everything. The message is that looks don’t matter at all. And in fact, that there’s something wrong with content that’s “pretty” or actually looks good. That no one will be able to relate to you. And that it’s not worth the investment of your time or money to improve your content. The takehome? Messy doesn’t need to be literal.

The truth about first impressions and your brand

While this thinking is heavily perpetuated (and believed) in the industry, it doesn’t take into account the truth. Looks do matter, and your potential clients are making judgments about your content, your personal brand, and your business. It’s human nature and it happens even without conscious thought. It also happens quickly, in about 50 milliseconds, or 0.05 seconds.

Also, whether or not you believe you have a personal brand, you do have a personal brand. You can choose to ignore this if you want, but it won’t do you any favors. With every piece of content you post, every social media network you’re on, your website, business card, events, and services you provide, you’re contributing to your brand.

In fact, no one outside of our industry denies this. Mostly because it’s backed by more science and statistics than you can imagine. The problem is that our industry has convinced itself of the opposite and everyone has been drinking the kool-aid for way too long.

Side note – there’s much better ways for people to relate to you. And of course life is messy. But this sense of connection doesn’t come through ugly content. It comes from incorporating honest and vulnerable stories into your content.

And there’s a disconnect

Meanwhile, many nurse coaches and entrepreneurs are navigating this while at the same time feeling a disconnect and a dissonance. And what’s more a lack of alignment. Their content doesn’t feel like an accurate representation of who they are. They know it and they don’t like it. But they’re told to just keep showing up and showing up messy, because they have been wrongly convinced that looks don’t matter.

However long it goes on, it slowly erodes your confidence in a way that no amount of mindset work can “fix.”

Don’t get us wrong

We’re not saying that looks are everything or that your content is worthless if it’s ugly. But our industry has a bit of an image problem (and if we didn’t care about hurting your feelings we’d tell you it’s oversaturated with ugly and confusing content). It’s also perpetuated by people who didn’t need their social media to look good to be successful as coaches. Which honestly, let’s not forget, is actually a good thing. As a coach you always have the option to do your marketing offline and get referrals by word of mouth. And that’s a huge advantage! So no shade there.

You’re allowed to want to love your brand and your content

On the other hand, it’s 2025 and it’s highly likely that you’re showing up online – on social media and on your website – to some degree. It’s also highly likely that you do care about the impression you give to potential clients, and that includes how your content looks. And we’re here to tell you that’s not only normal, it’s welcome!

But social media can feel overwhelming…

We know that the internet and social media is FULL of noise about how to do this. It’s full of accounts teaching you how to grow your audience with no regard for the fact that you actually need to build relationships, not just followers and vanity metrics. Your feed is full of 5 second tutorials that make it feel like you’re learning something useful but you can’t actually implement it. And you might have even bought a course, or several, that promised you the sun and the moon but didn’t deliver or felt far too advanced.

There’s a better way

As coaches ourselves, who also love writing, design, and all the social media things, we’ve learned a thing or two. In our business and any mentorship or coaching groups we’ve been a part of, we’ve always been the go to people for help with content. We’ve created content for other coaches.  And we have also led both groups and 1:1 clients teaching what they actually need to know about social media, and not what they don’t!

For example, you can stop worrying about posting every day in the name of “consistency,” wondering what to post and when, feeling overwhelmed by reels, or believing that you have to keep doing more and more and more.

And you can start creating a meaningful body of work, learning a system and a strategy to easily repurpose your content, and create content you’re proud of. Content that actually feels like it showcases the real magic of who you are and what it’s like to work with you!

And we’d love to help!

If all of this sounds good to you, congrats, you’re in the right place!! We would love to show you a better way and see if we’re a good fit. Whether you’re looking for content that’s done with you or done for you, education and coaching in a group or 1:1, or something completely customized we have offers to match. We would love to learn more about you and help you bring your vision to life. Get started by booking a free 30 min call with us!