In the mental health space, we see different types of therapists, trauma therapists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and play therapists. Why though? It is all about specializing in areas of strength; if not, you will be the all-in-one therapist and fall into burnout.

Before even setting foot into starting your private practice and marketing yourself, you must understand yourself first and know how you function because this will project in running your business and brand.

Knowing your strengths keeps you laser-focused and confident in yourself, especially in decision-making in your business. For instance, if you are looking at niching down, you can narrow down to a specific group of people, a problem, and a solution, confidently, based on what you are good at.

Going this way in thriving with your strengths will help with growth in the business when marketing. You will see the effectiveness once you stay true to your strengths and weaknesses.

Though many say to make your weaknesses your strength, it does require lots of energy and time. It works for personal growth, but in business and marketing, you need to be efficient when running your business. That is why strengths are the focus of marketing.

In business, focusing on your strengths unlocks opportunities and avoids focusing on the negatives. Focus your energy on the things you are good at. Focusing on the negative factors about yourself will decrease your self-confidence, enthusiasm, and overall performance, and struggle marketing yourself.

Working on your weaknesses is for personal growth, but do it outside the business. When you have something you want to work on because you are not good at, improve them on the side and slowly integrate it into your business to improve performance; but this is with time.

In your business, work around your weaknesses and find ways where it does not stand in your way of running your business.

Knowing your weaknesses gives you a clearer understanding of things that may be holding you back, and you can then work around finding ways to avoid your weaknesses pulling you behind.

Here are a few points to be aware of if you do not know your strengths and weaknesses:

You will not market yourself effectively.

You will only fall back on copying other art therapists’ marketing strategies because you saw that it made them successful. You must realize that they have different ideal clients and strengths than you. Coping someone else can hurt your opportunity to market yourself from an authentic place, and people will take notice that video content is not for you, or email marketing is not for you. You build your marketing strategy based on your ideal client and your strengths. For instance, Are you a good public speaker? Maybe look at a podcast as a way to deliver your content marketing.

People will sense your lack of confidence and feel they can’t trust you.

When there is a lack of sense of self, there is a lack of performance, and your ideal client will pick up on that energy while you are trying to market your services. Building trust is the main component when connecting with your ideal client and marketing to them, stay true about you and why they should hire you or buy your product or service. It is best to focus on the positives about ourselves because it will improve how you present yourself and your offer or content. People look for people they can connect with and trust to open the door for exchange of goods or services or at least subscribe to you. Take time to dive into your strengths and weakness, learn how to integrate your strengths into your marketing plan.

It can lead you into too many rabbit holes where you lose yourself and put in a position where it might hurt your opportunity to achieve success.

You will jump onto the trend train; it will take you down too many paths leading you to feel lost and overwhelmed of all the niches and ideas. You end up hobbling around testing too many ideas feeling burnt out but not getting anywhere! It only leaves you feeling completely lost and disconnected with yourself due to listening to everyone else and following the trends for success. Now you are in a spot that makes you feel unhappy and uncomfortable because you did not stay in tune with your true self.

Reduces your ability to be competitive in the market.

Marketing stems from your uniqueness and personality; these are part of the ingredients needed to stand out in the industry. Struggling with your identity 100% and not knowing your strengths and weaknesses, it will be hard to get clients and stand out. Focus on building your personality and superpower for a better outlook on your business and potential marketing tactics.

Unable to identify a superpower that can present you with an opportunity.

Your strengths and weaknesses are natural traits of your personality and what makes you different in how you function and approach tasks. The strengths side would be a superpower in your business and brand. For example you can be analytical and precise. In marketing you want to mention these traits because your ideal client would look for someone analytical to solve a complex problem. It can grow into other opportunities once that ideal client spreads the word about your analytical skills, which would be referral marketing.

Take time to learn about yourself, especially your strengths and weaknesses, see them as your assets in anything you do in your business. Make them your friends because they will be there for you when building a marketing plan or creating an offer. To summarize, what happens without knowing your strengths and weakness can affect your marketing efficiency, decrease self-confidence and self-worth, coping other therapists, and jump on the trend train leading to loss of self and falling into an uncomfortable position where you are doing something you hate. Reduces your ability to stand out where no one will notice you, and you struggle to identify your superpower miss out on opportunities.

Make room right now to find those strengths and weaknesses, to build amazing offers and marketing strategies that are effortless because you are stepping into your true self and projecting what you are the best at and sharing those traits.

I will leave you with journaling prompts so that you can begin to find out what you are the best at and what is not your best qualities.

1. What are some activities or tasks that come naturally to me? What do I enjoy doing?
   
   
2. Think about a recent accomplishment. What strengths did I utilize to achieve that goal?
   
   
3. In a difficult situation, what strengths do I count on to get through it?
   
   
4. What are areas that I feel confident in? What experiences have contributed to that confidence?
   
   
5. On the other hand, what are some areas that I struggle with? What experiences have contributed to those struggles?
   
   
6. What feedback have I received from others about my strengths and weaknesses? How can I use that feedback to improve?
   
   
7. Think about a time when I faced a challenge. What weaknesses did I notice? How can I work on improving those weaknesses?
   
   
8. What are some values that are important to me? How do my strengths and weaknesses align with those values?
   
   
9. Imagine yourself in your dream job. What strengths would you need to excel in that role? What weaknesses would you need to work on?
   
   
10. Reflect on a time when you felt confident and accomplished. What strengths were you using at that time? How can you use those strengths in other areas of your life?