Trust Doesn’t Require Transparency
You don’t have to share your whole story to build a business people trust.
This month on Strategy with Soul, we’re in Gemini season – exploring a four-part series on voice, visibility, and the power of clear expression.
Not the loud kind. Not the polished kind.
The kind that says what you actually mean – in your work, your marketing, your decisions, and your boundaries.
Sharing can feel like a strategy.
Until it starts feeling like exposure.
Especially when the algorithm rewards vulnerability.
Especially when trauma gets clicks.
Especially when “authenticity” becomes a performance.
But here’s the catch: your pain isn’t a marketing strategy.
And your presence online doesn’t have to come at the cost of your peace.
A few years ago, I would’ve shared everything.
The heartbreak. The behind-the-scenes. The bathroom tiles.
I thought trust meant telling the whole story.
That honesty meant full access.
That if I held anything back, people wouldn’t believe me.
Trust isn’t built through transparency alone. It’s built through resonance. Relevance. Boundaries.
I’ve written before about my own experience with this in What Turning 40 Taught Me About Sharing My Work, and the rupture that changed everything.
Now, I share through a different lens:
Would I be okay with this being taken out of context by a stranger who doesn’t know me at all?
If the answer’s no, I don’t post it.
Not because I’m scared. Because I’m intentional.
We talk a lot about storytelling in business. But not enough about consent.
About how much we owe ourselves before we offer anything to the algorithm.
Visibility should never feel like exposure.
And telling the truth doesn’t mean giving away your whole story.
You’re allowed to have a private life and a public voice.
You’re allowed to hold something back and still be seen.
You’re allowed to build trust without bleeding.
There’s a difference between being seen – and being consumed.
I’ve felt all of this too.
If you’ve ever felt unsure about how much to share…
Or guilty for wanting privacy…
Or like you’re falling behind because you’re not constantly online…
This isn’t fear talking. It’s wisdom.
And if you’re building a business – not an audience for the sake of it –
you get to choose:
What parts of you belong in your brand?
Where does your story end and your strategy begin?
How do you want people to engage with your work?
If you haven’t read You Don’t Have to Be the Brand, it’s a powerful companion to this post.
Because that post was about the pressure to perform.
This one is about the pressure to reveal.
They’re both traps.
But neither is required to build trust.
Especially not the kind that lasts
❤️ If this landed, tap the heart to give it a Like (even if you’re reading on email) or Restack 🔁 to share with others – it helps more than you know.
🔐 If you're a paid member, your new toolkit resource is now live in the library:
→ The Boundaries Before You Share
A mini-tool for defining what’s safe, useful, and true – before you post it online.
Inside, you’ll find:
✦ A 5-question filter to help you stay intentional
✦ A visibility spectrum to map your private vs public boundaries
✦ Journaling prompts to clarify what you owe yourself before you share
✦ Practical next steps to apply your answers across your marketing
This isn’t just for social media – it applies to all your marketing touchpoints: Substack/blog, your website, emails, client content, or anywhere you show up in business.
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Upgrade here to access this resource and the full Members Toolkit Library.
Next week, we enter Cancer season – a softer, more protective energy.
But we’re not slowing down – we’re shifting focus. From how you show up, to how your business supports you. From expression, to protection.
Over the next four posts, we’ll look at what it really takes to earn well — without overgiving.
How to design offers that protect your energy.
And how to build creative revenue that feels nourishing, not draining.
We’re starting with a big one: the emotional truth behind how much money you actually want to make – and what you’re willing (and no longer willing) to do for it.
We’re shifting seasons now. From Gemini’s voice and visibility – into Cancer’s rhythm and steadiness.
This next arc is about emotional boundaries, creative protection, and income that doesn’t come at a cost.
See you next week,
P.S. If you haven’t filled in the reader survey yet, there’s still time – it’s open until Wednesday 18th at midday BST. It takes 3–4 minutes, and your answers are already helping me shape what’s coming next.
As a thank-you, one subscriber will win a 45-minute 1:1 Clarity Session or a Human Design Soul-Map, and another will receive a full year of paid membership!
“You’re allowed to build trust without bleeding.”
Wow what a powerful point, and very true. Many of us are gravitating toward overexposure in all forms when it comes to social media. We are told we all must get in front of our phones and livestream our lives. Did you miss writing today’s article because you had to deal with a family emergency? Write about that instead! We are told it means being ‘authentic’.
We’ve gone too far toward overexposing ourselves. Thanks for bringing some sanity to this issue.