But even that description is actually really woolly, and it’s a hindrance at times because if you look at all the amazing solopreneurs, mumpreneurs, entrepreneurs, they’ll all say the same thing. Be absolutely clear on exactly what you do so that you can ‘pitch’ your business to others…….hmmm, oh dear!
I’ve talked with my clients, asking them ‘how would you describe what I do, and what you’ve experienced?‘ And I watch the now-familiar frown appear on their heads when they say ‘I’m not exactly sure, but it really resonated with me, I got incredible insights and I feel lighter and clearer on what I need to do and better able to tackle things.‘ One person said to me that what I do should be on the National Health as it’s incredibly empowering, releases burden and encourages great self-insights which enable people to tackle life better. Yet neither of us could come up with a clear, succinct definition of what I do.
I recently met an outgoing, accomplished lady who runs an amazing networking and membership site, and she very helpfully described what the experience was to her, and how it could be described ‘What you do is create a safe environment creatively and graciously to allow problems and concerns to come out to play and become friends with them in order to let them go peacefully’. Now unless you know the tools I use, this also probably doesn’t really nail what I do, so here is one of the main tools that I use to help you and the problems you’re experiencing ‘come out to play’…
These are beautiful dual-coloured bottles within a system called ‘Colour Mirror’s’ which came into being in 2001:
“Colour Mirrors is a system that will make your life more colourful, abundant and fun! We help you see yourself more clearly in the mirror of colour and once you have acknowledged your own power and beauty, everything else will fall into place so that you can live a life of abundant joy.”
Melissie Jolly – Founder
They work by you choosing the colours you feel drawn to. It’s not a logical thinking approach, rather you look at the colours and pick the bottles that appeal to you. It’s intuitive and instinctive. As Melissie goes on to describe;
“Each of the colour choices is like your mirror which shows you the potential you hold, reminding you of your talents, gifts, personal power and the truth of the light that you are. At the same time your choices will reflect specific patterns of behaviour that could be sub-consciously sabotaging love, health, happiness and abundance in your life.”
If we look at colour as a language, or a frequency, we absorb colour every day. The sun gives us the right amount of light with the various colour frequencies encased within. You only have to have a prism to see light separating into bands of colour- the rainbow as we know it. We also use ultra-violet and infra-red to support our health and wellbeing. Basic science shows us how light and the frequencies of light work.
We also use colour in our language- have you heard of the following? ‘I was green with envy’, ‘I’m feeling off-colour’, ‘ I feel blue today’, ‘I’m in the pink’, “It’s the black dog affecting me at the moment’. So when we translate these statements, we are actually exploring the emotions that sit behind the words. This is colour psychology.
Colour therapy has been around for considerable time and can be traced back to Ancient Egypt and Greece. It has been used as a therapeutic and transformative tool and one such explorer of colour was Carl Jung. He was interested in the properties and meaning of colour as a tool for psychotherapy. He attempted to develop a colour language as a means to develop transmutation, and by doing so, transforming the inner life of his clients. This inner life was described as relating to our self belief, self worth, our values and our cultural and gender identity. Rudolph Steiner was another advocate for colour as a therapy and tool for self-transformation. So colour therapy and usage continues to grow in interest and in particular it is an important part of business when it comes to branding and developing products, websites, clothing, designing office space, hospitals and prisons, and advertising.
Colours therefore have emotional perceptions and meaning. A quick google search will show you the emotional values attributed to each colour. For examples, turquoise is a colour that is made up of green and blue with a 2:1 ration of blue to green. The ’emotional’ or psychological attributes of turquoise are:
- Feminine
- Calm
- Heart centred- able to express heartfelt communication
- Wisdom
- Creative
- Tranquil
- Peaceful
- Emotional balance
- Spiritual grounding
To name just a few. Yet as well as all these beautiful positive attributes, there are also attributes which show where emotional difficulties are experienced when drawn to this colour. These are attributes that reflect patterns of behaviour within ourselves that could be subconsciously sabotaging us moving forward confidently and positively in life.
- Emotional Over-introspection
- Emotional control
- Out of flow
- Self-centred
- Isolating self from others as a form of punishment
- Indifference
- Aloof
- Frozen
- Unable to speak feelings
So at an individual level (that is when someone comes to me to have a colour reading session) we explore the negative attributes of the colours they choose in order to identify and clarify the underlying emotions and subconscious patterns that are getting in the way of the person moving forward and tackling life in productive and positive ways. We then look at all the positive attributes to remind them of the skills and abilities they have and how to apply them in such a way that they are able to overcome difficulties and move forward confidently.
At a business level, there is a swathe of evidence to support the importance of getting the colours right for your logo, your branding, your website and your product or service. You might have noticed that banks tend to opt for blues and some greens, solicitors also tend to have these as their dominant colours. Why? Because blue inspires the emotion of safety, it creates the perception of loyalty, great communication and consistency. But would you like to know the number 1 mistake that business owners make when developing their branding?
Ok. So the number 1 mistake that I see small business owners do when they are starting out is that they choose their branding colours based on their own personal preference rather than what their clients are most likely to like. When they do this, they have already alienated the very clients they are trying to attract.
So if you are a business owner who is looking to explore their branding and their colours the first tip I would give you is to get to know your ‘niche’ market, and your clients. When you know who they are, what they like, what they value, what problems they are trying to solve and what they most desire, you can then begin to explore the right colours that will represent the answers to those questions.
The second tip is to ask them directly. Ask them what are their top three favourite colours and why. Yes you will get a range, but you will also find the ‘same colours’ that keep popping up and you can then take that into consideration when designing your branding.
The third tip is to share your ‘draft’ branding with your clients- you’re including them and engaging them and they will soon tell you whether your logo or colour scheme looks vibrant, fresh, boring or confusing.
And my final tip– you don’t have to rush out and spend loads of money on locating brand experts, all you need to do is start with a basic understanding of colour psychology then explore with your clients what colours they like. Yes it may take a little longer than just outsourcing and getting the brand created, but it will save you money and will attract more income to you if your clients feel good about visiting your website or seeing your brand colours.
I hope that gives you a better understanding of what I do as a colour coach, and if you can come up with an even more concise definition of what I do, I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please pop a comment below and let me know your views. If you are a business owner looking to rebrand or maybe you are starting out and want some pointers, then do get in touch and I’d be happy to help!