Bridgett Battles is an executive presence strategist, keynote speaker, and author of “Beauty in Her Battle,” a 30-day interactive style guide. As the founder of the BB Experience, she helps executives, CEOs, and entrepreneurs develop a powerful presence that translates into confidence and substantial income. Originally from High Point, North Carolina, she moved to the Philadelphia area 20 years ago and built her brand from scratch, evolving from selling jewelry online to keynoting for organizations like the Women Grocers of America and the Women of APEX.
Host: Richard Lowe | Guest: Bridgett Battles
Conversation Transcript
Richard: How did you get started in that business?
Bridgett: I like to call it a beautiful disaster, because I didn’t start out saying I wanted to be a business owner. I’m originally from High Point, North Carolina. I moved to the Philadelphia area about 20 years ago. I didn’t and still don’t have any family here. It was all career-based, figuring out what I wanted life to look like coming from a small city.
Because I didn’t know a lot of people, and I’ve always loved fashion and conversation, I started selling jewelry online and sharing my fashion advice, creating my own little network and community. What started as a pastime eventually moved into a hobby. Fast forward 14 years later and we’re loving every minute of it.
Richard: That’s kind of the way it was with my business. I left the corporate world and decided to start on my own, ran into ghostwriting, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. You told me you’ve written a book. What was that about?
Bridgett: My book is called “Beauty in Her Battle,” and it’s a 30-day style guide. I didn’t set out to write a book either. Fashion and business have always been two of my favorite things to talk about, and a publisher reached out to me after seeing my content and asked if I’d consider writing a book. I said, how about this: content I’ve written and share every day, let’s turn that into a 30-day style guide. An easy read that’s interactive. It helped shape my business and the brand conversation and started introducing me to different people. I’m your commander in style and fashion, and I help you look and show up as your best and authentic self.
Richard: You’ve just proven the power of a book. That’s what I talk to everybody about. A book is powerful. It builds your brand and gives you an in to conversations and speeches. You said you just got off a talk recently.
Speaking Engagements Through LinkedIn
Bridgett: Today I did a luncheon for my local Chamber of Commerce, Delaware County Chamber of Commerce. A lot of my business and brand content is around confidence, owning your space, and executive presence. Today’s keynote was on strategizing for your executive presence. One of the things I love is that when you connect with people, you really find the value in the conversation, not immediately trying to sell stuff. When you create your executive presence, you’re demonstrating your value.
I give people three different tools, my framework that has proven successful over and over. One of my clients, her bottom line increased by 30% following my framework. Another client, 20%. The way you look is tied to your finances, especially when you have a brand and you package and position yourself correctly.
Richard: How do you get on a Chamber of Commerce to do speeches? Is that difficult?
Bridgett: LinkedIn is my favorite place to hang out. You consume information, share articles and resources and content. I’ve been getting a lot of my speaking engagements through LinkedIn. The past month or so I’ve been to Texas twice, keynoted for the Women Grocers of America and the Women of APEX. I started sharing that content around me traveling and speaking, and my audience saw me doing the things I’m telling them I do. They experienced it online and now they want to experience it in person.
Richard: They reached out to you?
Bridgett: They reached out to me. Because of my LinkedIn presence.
Richard: Did you target them specifically?
Bridgett: I’ve perfected my messaging so that it speaks to leadership. Here’s the thing I like to focus on: leadership does not always mean a specific job title. I call my community CEOs, because everybody is the chief executive officer of your own life. That calls you into leadership. If you want to take that leadership and grow it to whatever you want your life to look like, those are the people in my audience.
Finding Your Niche
Richard: Did you start that way from the beginning, or is this something you grew into?
Bridgett: I grew into it. In the beginning I thought I was Walmart. I thought I had service for everybody. I can do this, I can do that. But the more I got into the business, refining the brand and understanding where my impact is, and the fact that I live the life I’m displaying on social, I really began to speak into that. It aligned with my core values, and that’s how it evolved.
Richard: I found the same thing. I’m a computer guy, I’ve done digital transformation, cybersecurity, geology, photography. I put myself out there initially like I could do all this stuff. Just like you said, that doesn’t work. It drew in some business, but people don’t really like to hire the jack of all trades. They want to hire the ghostwriter. Once I figured that out, it was relatively easy to come up with the brand. You have to be pinpoint.
Bridgett: Whenever you narrow down who your audience is, you’re really able to measure your success and your impact. When I thought I was Walmart, I became frustrated with myself because I was spending a lot of time customizing things for people who weren’t my target audience. You have to be crystal clear on what you want to do and who you are, because a confused buyer doesn’t buy. I had to learn that the hard way. Be specific in your messaging, specific in your conversation, and consistent. You can’t be great today and depressed tomorrow. People want consistency.
Protecting Your Brand on Social Media
Richard: You can be depressed in the comfort of your own home, but in public you need to keep your non-branded emotions to yourself.
Bridgett: You have to be careful with that, though. Whenever you are building a brand, you have to be careful how much of your personal life you share. Anything you put on social, you’re inviting someone else’s opinion. You want people to know they can trust you. Not that you’re all over the place, sharing so much of your life that you get feedback you’re offended by.
I was dating a particular guy a couple of years ago. He friended me on social media and I declined all his requests. My personal life is not for social media. I use my social media for my audience. They get behind the scenes of the business and the branding. They get a chance to see me as a person, but not my personal life. The person you see in person matches the person you see online.
Richard: There’s become this culture where people put whatever’s on their mind out on the Internet. I used to do social media cleansings where somebody would hire me and I’d go through their social media and clean it up. CEOs with drunken photos from college still up there. It was hard to make a living at because people don’t understand why they need it. But they needed it.
Bridgett: Absolutely.
Richard: On the Internet, things generally don’t really die. If you put something out there, it’s going to be somewhere forever.
Executive Presence Is More Than Clothing
Richard: What I’m seeing as a consumer looking at you is a very sophisticated person who knows what she’s doing. Confident. The way the hair is leaves your face open so you come across as genuine, somebody I’d probably want to do business with. You smile a lot, which I think is important. If you’re always frowning, I’m probably not going to do business with you. Your eyes are bright and staring at the camera. You’ve nailed it.
Bridgett: Thank you. I’m a big proponent of self-help and doing your internal work. Every year I have a theme. This year it was simple: when people ask how I’m doing and I say I’m good, I really want to mean it. A lot of times people ask how you’re doing and they say they’re fine and they really aren’t. I’ve taken the time to do my internal work as a person. Being your authentic self, doing right by people. I believe you have to treat everybody right.
Richard: Something I’ve learned getting older is I’m not perfect and I don’t need to be perfect. Being perfect is a stupid goal. I think sometimes part of the brand is coming across a little vulnerable, because people don’t like dealing with statues.
Grieving Two Deaths at Once
Bridgett: I’ll share this on a personal note because it’s been part of my messaging. About six to eight years ago, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He died while I was going through a divorce after 20 years of marriage, writing a book, and building a business all at the same time. I was grieving two deaths at once: the death of my father and the death of my marriage.
What I learned through that process is that yes, life does happen, but you can’t stop living. In order to keep living, you’ve got to do your internal work. It doesn’t mean you’re perfect or you get everything right. Your feelings are valid and who you are is important. But I have to show up for me and for the people I serve. That’s why I put in the work to be the best version of myself, to show up as my authentic self, and to always be relatable. You never know what somebody else is experiencing, and I may not have the answers, but being present is what we can do.
Richard: Right. To a limit, because I’ve had people in my life who were what I call psychic vampires. People who leech off your emotions and make you want to be sad. You’ve got to get rid of those toxic people. They take and take until you’re sitting on the ground crying and they’re happy. But most people aren’t like that, fortunately.
When my wife passed away, I was in grief and I had to go out. I started photographing and hiking and meeting people, because I felt I could sit at home and die from grief, or I could go out and talk to people and have fun. I chose to let it out.
Show Up as Your Best Self
Bridgett: I would love to be connected to you, so feel free to connect with me on all forms of social under my name, Bridgett Battles. I want you to show up as the best version of yourself, your authentic self, and be okay with you. Show up and create the life that you love.
Richard: The most important thing is we’re all going to the same place in this journey. The question is, do we enjoy it or not? You make that choice every single minute of every day. Why not enjoy it?
Learn more about Bridgett Battles at thebbexperience.com.
Find Richard Lowe at TheWritingKing.com.