The business wasn’t broken. I built it from a template that couldn’t hold my work.

I spent years as a brand strategist, helping new entrepreneurs clarify their message, define their offers, and build businesses that reflected the work they wanted to be known for. Then I left to build my own.

The business worked. The strategy worked. The positioning worked. And still there was a gap between what I had built and what felt honest.

Once I could see that pattern in my own life, I started seeing it everywhere. In founders. In executives. In women leading successful businesses and carrying impressive résumés.

Keisha Kells is the author of The Cost of Admission and the creator of the Permission Pattern™ and Permission Granted™.