Your Business Is Not a Business.
It's a Person.

I posted a photo of my squash garden on a client's social media account.

It made no logical sense. The client wasn't in agriculture. The post had nothing to do with their services, their products, or their target audience in any obvious way. It was a picture of vegetables I grew in my backyard with a caption about patience and growth.

It outperformed every other post we had published for them that year. By a lot.

I've thought about why ever since.

Businesses hide. People connect.

Here's what most businesses do on social media: they approach every post from the vantage point of the business. What does the business have to announce? What product is on sale? What award did the company win?

That's not a social media strategy. That's a broadcast. And people don't connect with broadcasts. They connect with people.

The squash photo worked because it had a person in it. Not literally — there was no photo of me. But it had a point of view. A story. A moment that could only have happened to a real human being who grew actual vegetables in an actual backyard.

That's what people respond to. Not features. Not announcements. Humanity.

Your customer is the hero.

Donald Miller wrote a book about this. The core idea: your brand is not the hero of the story. Your customer is. Your job is to be the guide — the person who shows up with the tools, the wisdom, and the understanding to help them get where they're trying to go.

When you think about it that way, everything changes. You stop talking about yourself and start talking about them. You stop leading with what you've accomplished and start leading with what they're trying to solve.

The squash photo worked because it was relatable. It was about tending something, waiting, watching it grow. Anyone who's ever tried to build something — a garden, a business, a career — felt that. The post wasn't about me. It was about them.

Who is your customer, really?

Before you post another thing, get specific about who you're talking to. Not "small business owners." Not "homeowners aged 35-65." A real person.

Give them a name. Know what they do on Saturday mornings. Know what keeps them up at night. Know what they're proud of and what they're embarrassed about. Know what they'd share with a friend and what they'd never say out loud.

Then talk to that person. Heart to heart. As if you're a person, not a brand.

Because here's the truth: the most interesting version of your business is already inside it. It's in your people. Your stories. Your weird opinions and hard-won lessons.

Stop hiding it behind your logo. Let it out.