Personal Brand Authenticity: Rebuilding Your Life as a Woman and Female Entrepreneur
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Will my story hurt my credibility...or become my greatest strength?
It's one of the most common questions I hear from women building a personal brand.
How much should I share?...What if people judge me?...Will clients take me seriously if they know what I've been through?...Shouldn't I wait until everything is "fixed" before I tell my story?
For a long time, I wrestled with those same questions. Seeing posts on facebook of people asking "Why do people air out their dirty laundry on social" sort of spewing out their disdain for such behavior noting how cringeworthy it is...
But as entrepreneurs, we're often told to be authentic, but no one really explains what that entails. Somewhere between "share everything" and "keep it professional," many women end up doing something else entirely: editing themselves.
We post the wins. We soften the setbacks.
We summarize years of rebuilding into a single sentence because we're afraid the full story will make us look broken instead of capable.
I know that feeling because I lived it.
One of the greatest privileges of the work I do is hearing from women after I share my own story. Time and time again, they thank me for saying the things they've been carrying in silence. They tell me they finally felt seen. That they thought they were the only one. That they needed someone to say it first.
The truth is, not every woman will ever choose to tell her story publicly.
And that's okay.
Healing doesn't require an audience. Worth doesn't depend on vulnerability. And we don't owe the internet our pain.
But if you're building a personal brand, there may come a moment when you realize the chapters you've been hiding aren't liabilities at all. They're the very experiences that shaped your values, your perspective, your resilience, and ultimately, the way you serve others.
I recently had one of these moments that was shared with over 6,000 people.
During the relaunch of my brand and sharing my services, reached a point where I couldn't keep editing my story to make it more comfortable for other people. How had I been doing this for 7 years but I'm telling new friends in my industry that I'm "starting over". Overwhelmed with the explanation, I was done. I wrote the Facebook post below without worrying about whether it was too long, too personal, or too much.
It wasn't written as a marketing strategy. I was fed up. Fed up with perfect answers and feeling like some people who were "watching" were thinking that my beautiful brand didn't line up with the pause I had taken...it was to share what I was really doing the whole time.
I was done carrying the weight of deciding which parts of my life were "appropriate" enough to share. This wasn't a post on my website or a headliner...it was just a post on my personal Facebook page. The one I keep around to re-watch the memories of with my mom before she passed.
Ironically, it became one of the most-read and most-shared things I've written during this relaunch.
Not because my story is extraordinary. Unfortunately, many women will recognize pieces of it.
It resonated because behind so many successful women are a version of themselves they almost convinced themselves to hide. It makes things feel unattainable.
If you're rebuilding your life, questioning your purpose, or wondering whether your hardest chapters belong in your personal brand, I hope this reminds you of one thing:
Authenticity isn't about telling everyone everything. It's about no longer editing the parts of yourself that explain away and edit the pause you needed to take.
Here's the story I finally stopped holding back one random day on Facebook...
(Images added for depth that were not orignally posted to FB)
I’ve always been really good at turning my adversity into life lessons for the people around me.
I'm done being quiet.🚨DV Trigger Warning🚨 Life updates and brushes with cancer...lets go...it'll be fun 😈
I tried to do it differently this time. Telling myself "I'm not hiding my truth, I'm just being tasteful about what I post...". When really I was cherry picking updates so it went down easier for…who exactly? 🙄 I realized…updates don’t exist for judgement, they exist as a part of my human experience…
and update we shall…this will either leave you inspired or with more sh*t to talk…😏
A couple of days ago I was managing my podcast which was bought out by Spotify and re-distributed over the last couple of years. In the last year, almost 5,000 people around the world didn’t just *listen* to my podcast, they downloaded specific episodes. 92% of those people identified as women, and over 80% of them downloaded an aired podcast called, “What Is My Purpose and How Do I Find It?” (this is no longer available as I've archived it for a remake).
😳I needed this moment. Sharing my authentic story, igniting something within the hearts of women is my calling...my purpose. And I haven’t defied everything I’ve faced just to quiet down now.
😌So Story time:
Over the last 3 years, I made a conscious effort to pause my “work in the world” so I could get out. #Backstory: A couple of years after my ex was involved in a fatal shooting defending a woman and her child, he himself became the abuser. Yes, he was sick and hurting, but there are no excuses, and eventually he was criminally charged by the state. Period.
I paused. I planned. I moved. I moved again. I hid tears. I parented anyway. I played the part. I hid new fears. Got a corporate job where I met many wonderful people and built a powerful network…and eventually, started over.
During that time, I surrendered evidence, signed waivers, and no longer wanted to be quiet and hide his secrets. Since then, speaking my truth became so much more than a trending hash tag. It was the way out.
Fast forward to 2024-2025. While trying to finalize the divorce, I was told to end my order of protection with my ex because "that's what a good mom would do”. Then I was threatened by him and his family through anonymous messages, FB, and other social media comments “it was my fault he had these charges” and that I should keep it to myself. During the divorce and trial (2 years long) I did compromise, I gave into some things, and on others I held my ground...It was exhausting but I finally got justice.
I continued to keep my head down and moved forward. Then ✨PLOT-TWIST ✨in early 2025, I lost my job (shout out to Rob, it was fun while it lasted) and it was time to step fully back into my calling. But life had other plans…
One night in the bath tub I discovered a lump🙂. Super fun. Do not recommend. It was biopsied, left an infection, necrotic breast tissue and…more lumps. (srsly...don't be jealous)....I’d spend the next 9 months of my life getting new lumps biopsied like it was going out of style. After being absorbed into a class action lawsuit and working with the best insurance specialists at MU, my surgery was finally approved. I had to. It was only a matter of time before these painful and spontaneous lumps in my breasts, armpits, and groin turned into lymphoma.
The remedy: In February 2026, they removed 95% of my breast tissue leaving me with lots of questions about my confidence and femininity.
Meanwhile... I’ve always had a way of gaining recognition with big names and getting into rooms today that I didn’t know existed yesterday. So during my down time I worked anyway, planting seeds with companies like Jay Shetty and Amy Porterfield, meeting with their CEO’s and editor in chiefs….all while hiding blood filled tubes and fighting bouts of cellulitis below the Zoom screen.
What's hilarious is that I thought working with them was the easy way out lol. That was cute.
Over 36 months, I signed victim statements and name change documents. Got scared of my boobies, then lost my boobies. I’ve been seen, I’ve been given hope, I’ve been harshly judged, criticized, ignored, shamed, found support and had it ripped away. And within the small spaces of these moments…I continued to donate more than 50K in services to non-profits that empower women with cancer. I’ve smiled anyway at people who don’t like me. And I parent fairly and equally with someone who once held me bleeding against the floor.
Despite the knock downs, the loss of my mother STILL cuts through all of it like a knife. Her last written words stick with me to this day, "I wonder if I've done enough yet in my life?" and just like that, I remember what I’m fighting for.
To some, what I've done wasn't enough. To some, I haven’t moved fast enough. To some, I haven’t given enough. To some, what I've done is fake, unrealistic, and all talk. To some, I’m just plain not enough or better yet, I'm too much.😏 But..to myself...I'm just getting started. I'm everything.
Just like everyone else…My worth is inherent. It's automatic. It's f*cking immovable, do you understand? Because it goes for you too. It doesn’t exist to be judged, it exists to create impact. To change lives and inspire women to take radical and unruly action.
The happy ending: My name is now (legally again) Jessica Mejia (👏insert applause👏). And I am a first-generation American, founder, speaker, entrepreneur, award-winning life coach, and brand architect for women. I love that I get to weave everything together to create my own sort of magic. This is my little-insanely-unrealistic-ambitious corner of the world, and if you don't want to be a part of it, you can kindly GTFO.😘
And today…I’m happy to announce my first in-person speaking event in 3 years during the Main Street Summit. Because if you can't tell...I have a few words to share.
Dm me, if you’re a woman in business who could use a little momentum and want to attend. It will take place the morning before the summit begins @ the Heist.
Unapologetically,
Jess"
If you're reading this...I hope you realize that behind those beautiful aesthetic branded posts of anyone's life there's a real story. A real person.
You're not doing anything wrong, I promise. You don't need to go faster or be more perfect. \
Breathe, and begin again. Don't stop. Don't let side eyes and judgements stop you. You've got a life to live my friend.
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