If showing up authentically online feels like offering your nervous system as a sacrifice to the algorithm gods, press play!
In this episode, I’m joined by the brilliant and refreshingly real Tori Sprankel — brand & web designer, champion of CEO moms, and walking Pinterest board of business wisdom. Tori and I talk about everything from ditching corporate life and designing a business that truly works for your life… to the branding advice we’d love to burn and the magic of picking your personal over perfect.
We also pull back the curtain on how your services can (and should) evolve, what real client experience looks like in a personal brand, and why connection > competition every single time.
Here's what we don't talk about enough when it comes to running a business: adaptability. Not the fake kind where you pretend to roll with the punches while secretly dying inside. But the real kind, where you acknowledge that most things are out of your control and you just need to pivot when needed.
Tori and I both had our runaway-from-corporate moments. Mine lasted two months at a five-star hotel (yes, really). Hers involved getting let go on maternity leave during COVID. And instead of panicking or going back to the same system that wasn't working, we both leaned into the unknown.
As Tori put it:
"Taking everything as data and nothing as personal is the key."
Which honestly might be the most important thing any of us can remember when the algorithm changes, a client ghosts you, or you're just having one of those cry-in-the-corner days. Because it's not about you. It's about what you do next.
We had to go there. Because honestly, how many times have you heard "just be yourself" or "show up authentically" and thought... okay, but how?
Tori nailed it when she said that just showing up as you are isn't the full story. The real magic happens when you find the parts of you that connect with the people you're trying to attract. It's not about performing or faking it. It's about being strategic with what you share.
Think of it like this: you have at least three masks. One you wear with friends and family. Another with your partner. And one that only you know, because it's who you are when no one's watching. None of those masks are inauthentic. They're just different sides of the same person.
The same goes for your business persona. When I'm recording a podcast, I'm not the same Eva who's lying on the couch watching Netflix. But I'm also not performing or being someone I'm not. I'm just showing up as the version of me that makes sense for this space.
Tori brought up how she's an Enneagram 3, and there's this whole stereotype about threes being able to "put on a mask" for whoever they're with. But as she pointed out, that adaptability isn't about being inauthentic. It's about reading the room and showing up in a way that serves the moment.
So yeah, if you're worried that choosing which parts of yourself to share in your business makes you fake? It doesn't. It just makes you smart.
I know, I know. That phrase gets thrown around a lot. But here's the thing: it's true.
Tori and I are both designers. We could've easily looked at each other as competition. But instead, we're here having this conversation because we know we're serving totally different people. And even if we weren't, there's enough work for everyone.
The whole scarcity mindset in creative industries is exhausting. Like we're all fighting over the same clients when really, people hire you because they connect with you specifically.
And if you're a baby designer (or baby anything) reading this and feeling inadequate because someone else seems more successful? Don't. Those vanity metrics are surface level. Behind every big following is someone who's probably had just as many messy moments as you.
Making business personal is what makes you stand out. It's what turns you from just another service provider into someone people actually want to work with.
For Tori, that means working in sprint timelines because she knows her clients are busy moms who need things done fast. For me, it's a 12-week immersive process where we become best friends and tackle everything from branding to website to marketing assets. Neither approach is better. They're just different, and they attract different people.
Your services should reflect how you actually want to work and who you want to work with. Not what some guru told you was the "right" way to do things.
And yeah, that means some people won't be the right fit. But that's the whole point. You're not trying to be for everyone. You're trying to be for the right people.
If there's one hill Tori's willing to die on, it's this: client experience and customer service above all else.
You can have similar services to other people in your industry. But what makes people talk about you, come back to work with you again, and refer you to everyone they know is how you made them feel.
Tori's whole vibe is making her clients feel like they're sipping a fancy drink in a hotel lobby watching The Office with no kids around. That giant sigh of relief where everything just feels taken care of.
And, actually, that's what we should all be aiming for. Not just delivering great work, but creating an experience that people actually want to be part of.
Making business personal isn't about oversharing every detail of your life or putting yourself out there in ways that feel uncomfortable. It's about finding the intersection between who you are and what your people need. It's about building connections without taking every "no" or algorithm change as a personal attack.
Because at the end of the day, people won't remember exactly what you said or what font you used. They'll remember how you made them feel. And that's worth way more than any viral reel or perfectly curated feed.
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This episode was co-produced with Adrienne Cruz.
Brand & Web Designer
Over the last 5 years as a Brand & Marketing Designer, I’ve helped freaks like us design their unconventional brands so they can step onto the main stage & own their weird. Because if you wanted to be, look or sound like everyone else, you wouldn’t be where you are today. Now it’s your turn.
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