What Do You Stand For? Finding Your Why and Core Message in Business

Uncovering Personal Foundations

What do you stand for?

In 2024 I was taking a social media course followed by a business mentorship in 2025, and both my mentors asked me this question. I thought I had the answer ready. But when I sat with the question - really sat with it - I realized I'd been skating on the surface of something much deeper. This wasn't just about my business positioning. This was about uncovering the foundation I'd been building on all along.

So for context, I started my business in 2021 having zero experience from either being self employed or from this type of industry which is in the online space, within a spiritual context and somewhat within the coaching realm (although I never called myself or consider myself to be a coach but that’s another episode).

So basically I was winging it for the first three years, trying everything and throwing spaghetti at my business wall to see what would stick. My business also evolved during this time (as most businesses do). I started out as a Human Design reader, then added Astrology and the Gene Keys to the mix. I started focusing on helping people find their purpose in life and after that changed to help people find their dream careers. 

I’ve always had a talent for spotting other people’s talents, like see what they’re good at and somehow over the years friends and colleagues have come to me for career advice. So again, a natural progression and there is a red thread in there. BUT. Not gonna lie, I don’t think it was clear to my audience what I was actually selling. 

So when this question came up I knew I didn’t want to be another human design expert or astrologer and only do career astrology in the online space teaching about these systems. I love these systems, but I didn’t want them to be at the forefront of what I was about. They are powerful tools, but I wanted to be known for something else, I wanted to have an impact and create change in the world. 

Now, I’m not saying you can’t do that by teaching these systems, because self-knowledge and personal development in any shape or form is something I know everyone would benefit from. But that’s not what I wanted to be known for. 

Embracing Sovereignty in Entrepreneurship

So my business coach asked me “if you were to lead a movement” what would that movement be about? What would you call it? And I really took my time to sit with that. And regardless of Human Design, Astrology or any other interests or passions I’ve had throughout my life, there was always one red thread, one common theme.

Sovereignty over Conformity.

Those three words captured everything I'd been circling around for years. And once I named it, I understood why it resonated so deeply.

Sovereignty. Independence. Doing things my own way. Forging my own path. It’s the “don’t tell me what to do energy”. This comes down to the core of my identity as an Aries. Independence, initiating and taking action are typical traits of Aries. Now, if you know about astrology you know that there is so much more to you than your sun sign, but essentially our sun sign is our core identity, the archetype we are here to embrace and evolve into and embody. 

And for me, these typical Aries characteristics of self empowerment are something I hold dearly and also want to inspire others to embrace in their lives. I truly believe everyone deserves to choose their own path instead of following others, to choose based on what they want and not what they think they should. I believe in individuality because I think we all uniquely contribute to this world by being ourselves instead of fitting into molds. But…

Individuality has become such a negative word. I think it’s because it gets mixed up with individualism and egotism. But in its truest form, individuality is not a bad thing. 

When I speak of individuality I mean being true to yourself, embracing who you are instead of trying to fit in and conform to some preconceived notion of what is right vs wrong. Society has given us plenty of boxes to cram ourselves into with little or no regard of what our unique gifts or skills or passions actually are. 

We are collectively moving into an era of individuality. I will do an episode just about this collective shift, but basically we are moving into an era of collective revolution through individual reclamation. We are done conforming, we are done being told by institutions what to do and how to behave. It truly is an era of power to the people and old structures are crumbling. 

I am passionate about sovereignty because I believe individuality is a positive thing while individualism or egotism is not. My wish is for more people to step into their own sovereignty and stop conforming to made-up norms or small boxes that don’t honor their individual uniqueness. Trying to be like everyone else is exhausting and you will only end up resentful and lose yourself. 

Encouraging people to go their own way has always been part of my work, but I wasn’t communicating it in a clear way. Once I decided on this movement or method, everything else in my business became so much clearer. Instead of trying different things or selling different versions of my offer, I now have a clear umbrella or head title under which everything is organized. 

Understanding Your Unique Value Proposition

So why did I want to talk about this today? Well for once, as I’ve now clearly stated, I am passionate about sovereignty and one aspect of that is claiming sovereignty over your career especially by choosing to become an entrepreneur. 

Entrepreneurship really is the ultimate form of sovereignty because you are on your own, putting yourself out there TRUSTING that your skills, gifts and uniqueness will contribute to the betterment of others, to society. And no one is coming to save you, you need to believe in yourself and show up. It is the biggest school of life in so many ways that yes, it is absolutely challenging but one of the most rewarding journeys that I've been on. 

But I also wanted to inspire you to reflect on this as well if you are wanting to step into sovereignty and start your own business. Perhaps you’ve felt called to entrepreneurship but don’t know where to start. Understanding your passions, your gifts, talents etc is obviously key to know what type of business you want to run, but I wanna encourage you to start here. Understanding what you stand for and why you do what you do is going to help you get started and understand where you want to go and what you want to offer to the world. 

Maybe you have a hobby or a passion that you wish to monetize, but you already see a lot of people in that space and wondering what makes me different? For instance, perhaps you love interior design and you’re really great at it and have helped friends renovate or decorate their homes. But you look at the interior design space and see it as this big industry that feels really saturated and you wonder “how do i stand out”? 

Well start here, start with understanding the core theme behind what you do. Don’t start with “I am an interior designer” start with “I help transform people’s environment so they can or because…insert your mantra or movement. This will clarify the foundation of what you do, not only for your clients, but for yourself. 

When you lead with your 'why' - your movement - you're not just another service provider in a crowded market. You're someone with a perspective, a mission, a reason for doing what you do that goes beyond making money. And that's what makes people want to work with YOU specifically.

This episode is your starting point. I want you to sit with the question my coach asked me: If you were to lead a movement, what would it be about?

Don't rush this. Journal on it. Let it marinate. Notice what keeps showing up in your life, your work, your conversations with friends. What do people come to you for? What makes you fired up or frustrated about the world? Your movement doesn't need to be grand or revolutionary - it just needs to be true to you.

Resources for Self-Discovery and Sovereignty

Now, if you're thinking "Anna, I don't even know where to start with this reflection" - I've got two free resources that can help:

First, the Passion Pattern Framework - this is perfect if you're still figuring out your underlying themes, what you're naturally good at, and what patterns keep showing up in your life. It's the foundational work that makes the "what do I stand for?" question easier to answer. You can grab that through the link in the show notes. 

And second, once you have a sense of what you stand for - or even if you're just ready to start practicing sovereignty while you figure it out - I have the Sovereignty Challenge. Five days of small rebellions against conformity. I’ll share that link in the show notes as well. 

But honestly? Just listening to this episode and sitting with that movement question is enough to get started.