EPISODE 56 OF WHAT WOULD THEY DO? THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE PODCAST FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
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In today’s guest episode, I‘m joined by brand coach Suz Chadwick to unpack a big, timely question:
“In the age of AI slop, what does an authentic personal brand actually look like? And how do you create a customer experience that still feels real?”
Together, we explore what personal branding truly means in 2026, why authenticity is becoming a competitive advantage, and how AI can either amplify your voice… or dilute it entirely.
If you’re an expert who knows your stuff but still feels like you’re hiding behind your business, this conversation is your gentle nudge to make some big moves.
What we cover:
What a personal brand actually is (beyond the buzzword)
Why memorability and reputation matter more than ever
How AI is impacting personal branding — for better and worse
How to “chunk down” your expertise so your audience can digest it
How authenticity strengthens the entire customer journey
Soundbites:
“Often, we don’t ask ourselves the question of what am I not saying? And it’s the things that we don’t say that are the things that land in the biggest way, because nobody else is really willing to say it.”
“I am so here for the posts where people are like, let me just be clear about who I am and what I believe. And then they say exactly what they stand for, what they support, what they don’t support. If you don’t agree with what I’m saying now, please feel free to unfollow. I am here for those posts, because they have left nothing to chance about who they are and what they believe.”
Connect with my guest, Suz Chadwick:
Website: https://suzchadwick.com/
Podcast: https://suzchadwick.com/podcast/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/suzchadwick
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Episode Transcript:
Nadine Nethery (00:01)
Hello, hello and officially welcome back to another episode of the podcast. I’m so glad you have decided to tune in and the topic has resonated with you. I’m super excited for today’s guest because I have been in her orbit for a while. It seems like I’ve known her forever and she just seemed perfectly positioned to share her answer and her take on today’s listener question. So what we’re going to look at today is this question.
In the age of AI slop, what does an authentic personal brand actually look like? And how do you create a customer experience that still feels real? So to answer this question, I’ve invited the amazing brand coach and fellow Aussie, Seuss Chatwick. Welcome to the show.
Suz Chadwick (00:48)
Thanks Nadine, I’m excited to be here. What a great question.
Nadine Nethery (00:52)
good, isn’t it? I’m like, I love a good juicy question and going beyond the, you know, how to five steps to XYZ, like a juicy topic that can go so many different directions. But yeah, as I said, we’ve been in each other’s orbits for years. I saw you speak live at the Huddle, which I’m so sad. I’ve disappeared this amazing event for women in Orange Country, New South Wales, I need to find a new
Suz Chadwick (00:59)
Yeah.
Nadine Nethery (01:17)
In-person event, any listener tips are more than welcome. But yeah, I also guessed it on your podcast. How long ago was that? A few years. I know, right? But yeah, amazing podcast, all about personal branding, really growing and authentic brands. So make sure you check it out. It’s called Brand Builders Lab. And yeah, why don’t you give us a bit of a rundown? I always feel like I butcher the introductions.
Suz Chadwick (01:24)
It was a long time ago, it was a few years ago, I would say.
Nadine Nethery (01:44)
So you’re probably best positioned to tell us a little more about what you do and how you can support our listeners.
Suz Chadwick (01:51)
Yeah, absolutely. So, sis Chadwick, I am in Melbourne. I have had my business for 10 years and I’m a personal brand business and mindset coach. So, and I mainly work not only, but I mainly work with women in business. I have a few amazing brand aligned men that find me and they’re like, please, can I work with you? And I say yes to that. But 99 % of my audience are women. And my goal is really working with women who are experienced and experts in their field.
who struggled to come out from behind the brand. So they might have a six figure, multi six figure or seven figure business and they’ve had success and they’ve done well, but they, they struggle to be the face of the business. And so I help them with the confidence to be able to do that. And I also helped them because one of the biggest issues is they know so much and they’ve been doing it for so long.
that they find it really hard to what I call chunk it down. It’s like, how do I make what I talk about and all of this knowledge that I have, how do I make it digestible for the people who I’m trying to connect with? And how do I do it in a connected storytelling, personal brand-esque way when they’ve not really had to do that before?
Nadine Nethery (02:48)
Mmm.
heart relate here. It’s like, I can totally relate. And I think it’s such a female problem. I don’t think you’d find many men who go, you know, I’m an expert. I don’t know, women just seem to hide behind brands and facades and websites and I don’t know. It’s easy.
Suz Chadwick (03:19)
Yeah, I think that
both deal with it. I think women have a lot of extra layers, thanks to our lovely patriarchy. And thanks to a lot of years, many years as children and teenagers and all the rest of it. Don’t be too much, don’t be too loud, don’t try and take all the attention. So we’ve kind of got an extra layer of what we are supposed to do.
Nadine Nethery (03:25)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (03:47)
And how much attention we’re supposed to have. And so we have to deal with a lot of that too. And so, one of the things I talk about is that when I first started my business, came out of consulting and very male dominated industries where. You know, you spoke up.
Yeah. Like you, I couldn’t not be somebody that spoke up. So when I came into my own business, I would do a lot of strategies for women. And then I’d be like, like, what’s happening? Where are you? And didn’t realize that there was this whole layer of so much history of them being told not to show up, not to be the center of attention, not to be too loud.
Nadine Nethery (04:05)
Yeah.
Mm.
Mm. Yeah.
Suz Chadwick (04:30)
which is when I went and did my certification as a mindset coach, but I interviewed like 50 or more women and these were the stories that came out. And then I kind of knew what I was dealing with where I was like, okay. So we’re not just trying to build a business here. We’ve actually got to deal with all of this history and all of these inner thoughts and voices that have really stopped us from being the person that shows up and builds a personal brand, which
Nadine Nethery (04:39)
Hmm.
Suz Chadwick (04:58)
I was fascinated with and I still am.
Nadine Nethery (04:58)
Mm.
Yes, so there’s so much potential for women. I feel like this is the era for women to finally step up, like we’re so overdue. And I find, you know, good things rarely happen in your comfort zone. That’s what we need to remind ourselves of, right? Like it might be easy to just step back and…
Suz Chadwick (05:05)
my gosh.
Yeah.
Nadine Nethery (05:19)
I don’t know, be quiet. the good things, the success, like the things that we’re trying to get to, to achieve, yeah, happen when we push through that level of discomfort. But yeah.
Suz Chadwick (05:22)
Yeah.
Yeah, I have
one piece of homework that I give all of my clients and it’s practice imperfection every day and practice discomfort. Because if you don’t feel uncomfortable, yeah. And you’re filtering yourself because my word for the year is unfiltered. Then you’re, then you’re not, you’re not doing it enough. Like you’re not putting yourself out there enough. You’re not saying what you really want to say. If, if there’s not that. And I just think we have to understand that that’s what we have to practice all the time.
Nadine Nethery (05:36)
Mmm.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Yeah.
Absolutely. So much to digest and we’re only like a few minutes in. goodness. In your own words, how would you define a personal brand in 2026? And the layer to that question, has AI shifted what a personal brand means?
Suz Chadwick (06:02)
Ha
the answer to question one is that a personal brand is your rep is your reputation, but it’s also your memorability. Like I think when you build a strong personal brand, you create a space for people who want to come back and connect with you again and again and again. And so your personal brand, as we know is your reputation. It’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room. But I think in today’s market, it’s really about.
Nadine Nethery (06:28)
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (06:49)
how you create that connection where people like where you’re the first one, two or third person that somebody thinks about when it comes to what you want to be known for. So you’re probably one of like if somebody said, I’m looking for a really great copywriter. I’m like, there’s probably three people that come to mind for me and you’re one of them. And so, yeah. And so, you know, this is the thing is that, and a
Nadine Nethery (07:00)
Hmm.
Suz Chadwick (07:16)
give you a really quick example is that one of my recent clients, she was at a networking event and she said to somebody who knows me, I really need to build my personal brand and I need to get out of my own way to be able to do that. Like just build my confidence around it. And the person who was at the event said, well, then you need to speak to Sue’s. And so it’s kind of that personal brand is the thing I feel like sometimes when we hear something over and over again, it loses its impact, but it’s the thing that you want to be known for. It’s a thing that.
people are saying you have to speak to you, whoever you are that’s listening, when they say, I’ve got this problem. Like that’s what you’re known for. That’s what people connect with you. And so you have to be intentional about that. The answer to the second question about AI is I think it depends on who you are. think that people that use AI as a tool to amplify what it is that they’re
Nadine Nethery (07:49)
Yep.
Mm.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Suz Chadwick (08:15)
they’re saying themselves authentically, I think they’re the ones that stand out. I think people who use AI to create their message, you can pick it from a mile away. And I think that you can lose credibility very fast when what you say feels very generated.
Nadine Nethery (08:33)
Hmm, absolutely. There’s so much middle of the road content, I feel, you know, like the safe content, very similar opinions, very similar feel to it and vibe. yeah, funny you say that, you know, top three people come to mind. I was having a conversation with a one-on-one client, probably last year and she was looking for a coach, a branding coach. So, you were one of the people.
came to mind. So it does work if you own your opinions, you know, you have things to say, you don’t necessarily rely on AI to come up with your opinions for you. So really powerful takeaway here. So Big Bold Branding is one of your
strengths, but also what you support your customers with. So we touched on mindset already and really understanding that, you need to step out of the comfort zone. You need to own your brand, your expertise, your opinions. Is there another layer to it where people need to have a mindset shift before they start using AI? feel everyone just goes straight to chat GPT, plugs in a prompt and then trusts
the output to replace their opinions. How do you work with your customers? Do you support them in a way to make that shift where they’re embedding AI in their content creation and marketing?
Suz Chadwick (09:51)
Yeah. So one of the things I teach my clients is what I call a content, an authority content engine. So it’s really taking a look at how you take your knowledge and expertise and create master content. And then you can use AI to help speed up the process. So I’ll give you a really good example is that I use Descript.
Nadine Nethery (09:57)
Hmm?
Suz Chadwick (10:12)
as my editing tool, and there’s a lot of AI tools within there that, you know, get rid of the arms and get rid of the silences and sound audio, you know, equalizer and all the rest of it. So it’s great. It’s, it’s so much faster than what I used to have. And so it’s more about what are the tools that you’re using that are helping you to do things faster, which means you can get more out there and amplify your brand. The thing that we use.
Nadine Nethery (10:33)
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (10:41)
AI for is that, you know, if I’ve got a framework, if I’ve got things that I give my clients as a tool before AI, there would be worksheets, there would be workshops, there would be certain things that was, were more manual, but we’ve just taken that and we’ve just put that into AI. So for example, my clients have got access to, my BBA. ⁓
Nadine Nethery (10:58)
Mm-hmm.
Suz Chadwick (11:07)
AI coach and what we did with that, like that takes so much backend work where we put all of the transcripts to our videos. We put all of the worksheets and the questions. So it’s not coming from chat GPT or it’s not coming from Claude or whatever platform you’re using. It’s coming from me, but it’s allowing them to do things faster. And so for example, it might say if we’ve got seven modules within BBA.
Nadine Nethery (11:16)
Mm.
Yeah.
Suz Chadwick (11:34)
it might say, what are you struggling with now? And they might tell it and we’ll go, okay, let’s go to module six and here’s the worksheets or the questions or the framework that you can use that Susan’s created for you to be able to work through this faster. And so we’ve just really used it as a speed up tool. when it comes to how we work with our clients, obviously we’ve still got, they can ask questions and all the rest of it.
Nadine Nethery (11:58)
Yeah.
Suz Chadwick (12:00)
But that’s like one of the ways that we’ve been using it is how do we allow our clients to get access to my content, my thinking at two o’clock in the morning if they so happen to be up and I’m not around, how can they do that? And then we’ve got other tools as well that we’ve kind of created to help them do what we would normally do with them.
Nadine Nethery (12:08)
Hmm.
Yeah, it’s so true. AI, how powerful is it to help take things off our plates, especially as women. So often we’re just one women shows, we’re trying to do everything ourselves. So using AI in a way that, as you said, amplifies your potential and opens up.
time to focus more on being more you, getting yourself out there is just such a smart way to embrace AI. I personally as well, I use it to speed things up, but I still don’t use it to replace my, my email content, my writing. because I just feel
Yeah, I don’t know, it’s part of the experience. I’m just too scared to butcher that and hand it over to someone else. I feel there’s a personal connection with my audience that is too precious to hand over to artificial intelligence. Well, yeah, maybe one day. I don’t know, things are moving so fast, right? It’s hard to know what’s coming.
Suz Chadwick (13:01)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. And like I said, I yeah.
Yeah, it is a bit scary. And I think that, you know, for me as well, just being really conscious of the whole critical thinking element, like being somebody was like, I can think about this, I can create this, I can write this, I can build this from my brain and not like leaving it up to a machine. So
Nadine Nethery (13:24)
yes.
Hmm.
Yeah.
Suz Chadwick (13:38)
As I said before, it’s a tool that helps me execute what I’m already, what I already have or what I want to build. But that’s all that I’m using it for as well. And then a lot of tech stuff. Like I said, video editing, creating clips, repurposing things. So what I do is I also take the transcript from my videos that are me 100%.
And then I’ll be like, okay, take the transcript and help me to do X, Y, and Z from it. And it, and that has been really great, from a speed perspective and from getting more out of what I’m creating and something that I’m really enjoying at the moment is that I take a lot of my coaching calls. The one thing I want to say is that I always have no matter what I’m using that I don’t share the information with chat or with, with Claude.
Nadine Nethery (14:08)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (14:31)
Cause that’s a setting that you have. Are you happy for us to learn from what you’re putting in? I always like that setting is off for me. but I do take coaching calls. Cause sometimes when I’m in flow and we’re having great conversations and I get really good questions, and I feel like I kind of go blank after my coaching calls a little bit where I’m like, that was so good. What did we talk about? and so I take a lot of my coaching calls and I’m like,
Nadine Nethery (14:36)
Thanks
Yeah.
Suz Chadwick (14:53)
from what I talked about, from what we had this conversation, like give me the nuggets. And that’s been really good as well. Cause I’m like, yes, like that was such a good little like snippet that we talked about. And then I’ll take that and I’ll expand on it. So as somebody whose memory is not always the best, like where you kind of blank out when you’re in the middle of a really good conversation, it’s really helped me to extract gold.
Nadine Nethery (14:58)
Mmm.
Mm. Mm.
Suz Chadwick (15:20)
from the conversations I’m already
having where I might have forgotten that little, that little thing, that little tip, that little conversation, that great question. I’m like, my gosh, that was so good. Yes, I need to talk about that.
Nadine Nethery (15:33)
Yeah, it’s maybe it’s being peri menipausal That’s me anyway. It’s like, sometimes I feel like what just happened five minutes ago? my God. But yeah, I’m with you on that. I record a podcast in Riverside and Riverside has got so many awesome features. Same thing, you know, it creates reels. It picks up the key moments and you go, that’s right. That was, yes, I love that. So again, working out where, you know, the Nadine factor or the Suz checked factor comes into the picture and then.
Suz Chadwick (15:37)
100%. Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Nadine Nethery (16:02)
preserving that and getting it out there. Yeah, using the tools in a way that amplifies rather replaces you. And critical thinking, so true. Ideation, I’m so conscious not to…
Go to ChatGPT and go, you know, I’ve got an idea. I need to run an event. Just can you come up with a concept? It’s just, that’s my rule anyway. When I go to ChatGPT, the various tools, I need to have ideated first. the idea I put in needs to be mine. And then it’s a matter of, going back and forth discussing. I do like that, but yeah.
Suz Chadwick (16:35)
Yeah, I was about to say, get it to ask me questions. So I do like the voice cause
I’m better at speaking than writing generally, where I’m just like, okay, this is the idea I’ve got. was having a conversation, like this is how I speak to it. I was having a conversation with a client the other day and these were the things we were talking about. And I really want to start to do more of this thing, blah, blah. And I’ll just like give it my verbal diarrhea. And then I’ll say, ask me, ask me some questions around this so that we can flesh it out.
Nadine Nethery (16:42)
Yeah.
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (17:03)
And then I get it to ask me more questions than I do give it me giving giving me the answers. Yeah. So that’s been really interesting as well. where I’ll put something in and I’m like, just ask me all the questions that you need me to answer for this to be like, to be more storytelling on my part or for me to share a framework or
Nadine Nethery (17:10)
Yeah.
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (17:26)
for
me to give you examples of where we’ve been able to do this with clients or so that everything, the one thing I’m really conscious of, cause early on when I was using AI and I didn’t really understand how it worked as well, it would just give me all this stuff where I’m like, that didn’t happen. No? Yeah. Yeah. Where it would be like giving me these things. And I think you’ve got to be careful as well.
Nadine Nethery (17:44)
It’s fantasizing.
Suz Chadwick (17:51)
Because it was saying that I had done all this stuff or my, had done these things with my clients. Like it was just creating these examples. And I was like, that never happened. And so that that’s when I learned. And I think you’ve really got to understand it. That’s when I learned about, you know, creating. So I’ve got projects and folders depending on which one I’m using. I’m using Claude a lot more than chat GPT now.
Nadine Nethery (17:55)
Mm.
Yeah.
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (18:16)
but I’ve got projects where I’ll go in and I’ll share all my testimonials. Yeah. And then I’ll do case studies and then I’ll do my models and my methods and all of these. So I’m really building the foundation so that I’m like, okay, go to my testimonials and let’s pull out like two or three stories of clients that were able to do X. And then that’s how I start to populate some of the things that I’m wanting to build on.
Nadine Nethery (18:43)
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (18:44)
and just making sure that it’s taking from me and my experience of my clients, not from its imagination. Yeah.
Nadine Nethery (18:49)
The actual. And
I feel like it’s designed to stroke your ego too, do find that? Whatever you put in, it’s like, yeah.
Suz Chadwick (18:57)
So, okay, so this is really
interesting. I’m a little bit of a direct coach. I was gonna say hard ass, but very direct coach, which my clients love, you know, and that’s our dynamic, but it’s interesting because I find that Claude is like that with me. Yeah, so chat is very compliant and very stroking your ego.
Nadine Nethery (19:05)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
⁓
Suz Chadwick (19:23)
Claude is like, well, let’s get serious, Suze. That’s not something you would really wanna say. And I’m just like, ⁓ this is so good. I love it.
Nadine Nethery (19:26)
⁓ love it. Bring
it on.
Suz Chadwick (19:32)
Yeah.
So I find, and I don’t know if it’s because of what I feed it, that it’s almost reflecting back to me where it’s like, well, that would be a waste of time. So let’s not do that. And I’m just like, well, okay then. Yeah. I’m so, I’m so here for it. It definitely calls me out on things which I prefer a lot more than, that’s such a great idea. Yeah.
Nadine Nethery (19:38)
Mmm.
how refreshing. Yeah.
Mmm.
yeah, Because according to Chet GPT, I’m about to win
a Nobel Prize in something. Like every idea is just, let’s do it. You’re genius. So I might have to play around more with Claude ⁓ and see how that goes. Yeah, I do prefer someone to go, yeah, nah, totally on the wrong track. Like what, what are you even thinking? Like what’s going on?
Suz Chadwick (20:03)
Yeah.
Claude’s fantastic, yeah, that’s very good.
Mmm, what were you thinking?
Nadine Nethery (20:17)
my God. Let’s talk about how personal brand plays into the customer experience long-term as well. Obviously, this podcast is all about customer experience. I feel personal brand often is portrayed as this shiny thing. You’re just this public persona, but…
Customer experience is a lot about how we feel and how a person is leaving us after interacting with them. So how do you see personal brand playing into the bigger customer experience and the customer journey and that long-term relationship?
Suz Chadwick (20:51)
Yeah, I feel like it’s literally what we were just talking about is that you will gravitate towards somebody whose tonality, personality, way of being, the way that they communicate and connect really resonates for us. And this is where the unfiltered element comes from, is that when we are trying to be something that we’re not, when we’re not being truly authentic, where we’re saying things, it’s like chat, it’s like, let me say things that’ll make you feel good.
Nadine Nethery (21:19)
Yeah.
Suz Chadwick (21:19)
Yeah.
When we’re being that kind of personal brand instead of the, I know you’re feeling this way, but you kind of need to practice imperfection and you need to get uncomfortable if you really want success. Like that’s more my tone. And so I think that when it comes to personal branding and our customer journey and the way that we show up, it’s the people that really resonate with who we truly are and the way that we want to show up and be, that will be the ones that stick with us. Yeah.
Nadine Nethery (21:27)
Mm.
Hmm.
Suz Chadwick (21:48)
When you’re somebody that is placating, when you’re somebody who is just like trying to be like somebody else, you will lose people along the way because I think it’s very hard to sustain something that is not authentic. And so I think the question for your listeners is how am I truly being me? Am I actually showing up and saying the thing that I want to say, or am I just saying the thing that I think people want to hear?
And also how am I consistently doing that throughout the customer journey? So from the time they find me on socials to the email that they get when they grab my freebie or whatever. And then when I’m sending weekly emails for me, I’m going to give myself as an example. Am I challenging my audience? Am I saying what I really want to say? Am I making the offer that I want to make?
Nadine Nethery (22:24)
Mm-hmm.
Suz Chadwick (22:41)
Like how am I being myself where my personal brand does not change from the moment that you see me online to all of our interactions. And I think that sometimes people can struggle with that because they’re like, well, I want to show up in this way, but then they don’t know how to consistently do that throughout their customer journey. And I think your personal brand is really just who you are. Yeah. But you’re just.
Nadine Nethery (22:55)
Hmm.
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (23:10)
putting it on a bigger stage. It’s the stuff that you’re passionate about talking about. It’s your true opinion. It’s your real personality. It’s the silly as well as the serious. And I think that it’s just you going, am I actually showing up as myself?
Nadine Nethery (23:13)
Yeah.
And what I love about your take on this is that it is the natural filter to make sure your people are on your mailing list in your universe and really looking at unsubscribes as a good thing. It’s that whole thing, right? Like we’re so scared to lose subscribers, to lose followers, but those people were never the right people.
Suz Chadwick (23:42)
Fine.
Nadine Nethery (23:52)
those people who resonate with what we have to say, who are going to buy from us in the long run. And to take it back a step, I want to get your opinion on this. Again, it sort of starts almost with visibility opportunities and being really conscious about who you invite into your world, right? Like picking the right stages, speaking at the right virtual summits, if that’s you’re choosing. So saying yes to the opportunities that are aligned with your take.
on business to automatically get people into the universe that are perfectly positioned to resonate with what you have to say.
Suz Chadwick (24:26)
Yeah. I think that you have to know, and I’ve actually just had, he’s a old colleague and a friend who’s got his own business and he works with leaders and entrepreneurs around values alignment. And this, this is coming out on my podcast soon, but we had this juicy, gorgeous, amazing conversation about being values aligned. And I think in today’s world, before we started this podcast, we were both like, the world is a dumpster fire.
Nadine Nethery (24:38)
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (24:53)
think values alignment is one of the most important things right now that you have to step into as a personal brand. I am so here for the posts where people are like, let me just be clear about who I am and what I believe. And then they say exactly what they stand for, what they support, what they don’t support. If you don’t agree with what I’m saying now, please feel free to unfollow. I am here for those posts because they have left nothing to chance about.
Nadine Nethery (25:06)
Yeah.
Suz Chadwick (25:22)
who they are and what they believe. And I think that when we talk about saying yes and no to opportunities, saying yes and no with our dollars, like what we buy and who we buy from, I think that your personal brand has to be, this is my opinion, it has to be outwardly values first. Like you, I think that it’s such an important thing today. And I think you asking the question of,
Nadine Nethery (25:30)
Mm-mm.
Hmm.
Suz Chadwick (25:50)
Is this opportunity values aligned? this, is this person somebody who I want to be seen next to? Like when it comes to the things that they support, am I also in support? And I’m not saying it needs to be a hundred percent, but I think our values and the things that we believe also have a little bit of a hierarchy. It’s like the stuff that you’re like diehard about. I think that that’s where you’ve got to make decisions. You know, if it’s stuff that’s not as important.
Nadine Nethery (25:53)
Yeah.
Mm. Mm.
Suz Chadwick (26:20)
then that’s a call you have to make. But I think in today’s world with AI and everything that’s going on in the world and the fact that every man and his dog is talking about personal branding. I’ve been doing personal branding for over 15 years now. Like I started working with leaders in corporate about how they show up and share their personal brand and their story years ago. Your values are going to be one of your biggest differentiators right now when it comes to your personal brand.
Nadine Nethery (26:37)
Mm.
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (26:50)
And I think that if you want to go down the path of being unfiltered and being authentically you. And when I say unfiltered, I’m not, I’m not saying like letting it all hang out, but what I am saying is saying what you really believe and saying what you really want to say that is relevant to your audience and to you. think those are the personal brands that are really going to rise above.
Nadine Nethery (27:10)
Hmm.
Yeah, totally agree. And brands.
I feel that I’m scared to stand out or try different things as well. You know, being bold, as he said, comes with, you know, owning your zone of genius, but also then going, you know, everyone is doing X, Y, Z because we feel like we have to, why don’t we try maybe and see, and see how that goes. So personally, like in my brand, the amount of feedback I have received from people, how refreshing it is to have someone who just goes against the grain, tries different things, isn’t scared to.
Suz Chadwick (27:21)
Yeah.
Nadine Nethery (27:47)
give things a go, experiment. your customers are paying attention to what you’re doing. They’re watching you even if they’re not replying to every email and if you are consistent and standing up for what you believe in, what’s important to you, you are going to automatically attract the right people and whether they buy today, tomorrow,
The day after they’re going to come to you when they’re ready and when the time is right. Yes. such a good topic. And I’m just so passionate about personal branding and people understanding just how important it is to speak up and also to weather the storm. Because I totally think AI is in this crazy phase where everyone’s seeing how far they can push it when it comes to getting AI to do all the things.
Suz Chadwick (28:27)
Yeah.
thing that I’ll just say on it as well is something that’s always really stuck with me is that it’s often the things that are unscalable that make the biggest impact and have the biggest difference. So, you know, I, I think AI is fantastic for helping with efficiencies and helping with amplification, but
Nadine Nethery (28:37)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely.
Suz Chadwick (28:51)
I want to send a DM to someone and say, I think you look amazing today, or I really loved your piece of content that you shared. And I just wanted to let you know, I sent a DM to one of my old clients today and it just went, you always look so incredible. And she’s like, I think her baby is like, I don’t know, six months old or something. And she was just like, my God, you’ve made my day. And I think it’s the things that are unscalable, the things that we do from the heart where we’re not trying to.
Nadine Nethery (28:54)
Mm.
Mm.
Suz Chadwick (29:19)
cry every email with AI or whatever it is, that that’s what people feel.
Nadine Nethery (29:26)
the human element right like human to human and I think we just need to make sure that doesn’t get lost in the process. my god. Before we wrap up because you know short attention span, busy people, if you had to give people one thing from this episode, one practical thing they can do to help uncover
Suz Chadwick (29:27)
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Yeah, 100%.
Nadine Nethery (29:46)
what makes them uniquely them, what would you recommend?
Suz Chadwick (29:50)
Yeah, I would sit down and I would ask yourself this question. What is it that you want to say to your audience that you’re not saying? Like, what are the things that what’s the hill that you’re willing to die on?
Like what is that we were talking about values alignment, like what is the thing that you’re just like, if I only told them one thing, this is the thing that they need to know and why they need to know it. And I think often we don’t ask ourselves the question of what am I not saying?
Nadine Nethery (30:18)
Hmm.
Suz Chadwick (30:27)
that I really think. And it’s the things that we don’t say often that are the things that land in the biggest way, because nobody else is really willing to say it a lot of the time, but it’s the thing that matters the most.
Nadine Nethery (30:40)
Yeah, love it. So listeners, get a notepad if you’re old fashioned or get out your notes app and put aside a few minutes to sit on that because it’s such a good question. And then one question I ask every guest is this one. So what is one burning customer experience question that is on your mind right now?
Suz Chadwick (31:01)
How do we make our audience feel like we’re the person that they have to come back to again and again? Like what are the things that we can do, whether it’s in our email or in our socials, where they’re just like, I’m always opening that email. Like I’m always going to the socials. Like how do we create the stickiness to…
Nadine Nethery (31:27)
Yeah.
Suz Chadwick (31:29)
build that connection and make it even stronger in a world that is so loud and so busy.
Nadine Nethery (31:37)
Such a good question because it can go into so many different directions, right? Like email strategy, content creation. So good. awesome. So I would love my listeners to find out more about you and get into your world because you have so many amazing things to share. So how can they connect with you online?
Suz Chadwick (31:59)
Yeah. So Sue’s Chadwick, so S-U-Z, uh, Chadwick.com is my website. I’m Sue’s Chadwick on all platforms. Every platform that’s out there. I’m Sue’s Chadwick. So you can find me there. And then I’ve got the brand builders lab podcast as well, which has like 437 episodes. So you’ll never run out of Sue’s if you, if you want more.
Nadine Nethery (32:22)
Soos to go around for everyone. It’s great. Awesome. I’ll link up all those places in the show notes. Please do make sure you hop over to Suz’s various platforms. Thanks so much for coming on the show Suz. I always love hearing your genius and picking your brain.
for you listeners. you have enjoyed this episode, please make sure you hit follow, you subscribe in all the places and potentially even share it with a business buddy who might need to hear exactly what we shared today, all about owning a zone of genius. And yeah, I will be back in your Airpods next week. See you then.
