The Real Reason You’re Not Expanding

AI Generated Image There is a silent struggle unfolding in boardrooms, networking events, and leadership circles across the country — a struggle rarely spoken about, yet deeply felt by business owners who have already achieved substantial success. Many founders who have built companies worth tens or hundreds of crores find themselves facing an unexpected hurdle: despite their competence and experience, they are unable to scale to the next level. Their operations run smoothly, their clients...

min read

AI Generated Image There is a silent struggle unfolding in boardrooms, networking events, and leadership circles across the country — a struggle rarely spoken about, yet deeply felt by business owners who have already achieved substantial success. Many founders who have built companies worth tens or hundreds of crores find themselves facing an unexpected hurdle: despite their competence and experience, they are unable to scale to the next level. Their operations run smoothly, their clients are satisfied, and their teams respect them, yet expansion remains frustratingly slow. Recently, a business owner shared a thought that many silently carry: “I’m doing everything right, but I’m not being seen the way I want to be seen.” He was honest, humble, and hardworking. He listened more than he spoke, stayed polite at networking events, delivered consistently, and maintained a quiet presence. But in a world where visibility often determines opportunity, quiet confidence can easily be mistaken for lack of influence. The reality is stark: growth today is not driven only by performance. It is powered by perception. And when a founder’s personal brand does not match the scale of their ambition, the world struggles to understand their value. This is the hidden gap that many high-performing business owners never address. They assume their work will speak for itself. But the modern marketplace doesn’t reward silence — it rewards clarity, presence, and personality. If your visiting card, website, social media, communication, and leadership presence all tell different stories, the world cannot form a clear image of who you are. And when your identity is unclear, the opportunities meant for you stay out of reach. A founder may be exceptional at what they do, but if their personal brand is scattered or outdated, it creates confusion. Prospects hesitate. Opportunities slow down. Collaborations slip away. Clients choose competitors who appear more authoritative, even if they are not more capable. The loss is subtle, but constant — a quiet erosion of potential. This problem is not obvious, which is why many business owners fail to diagnose it. They think they have a sales issue, a market issue, or a demand issue. But often, what they truly have is a positioning issue. They are known, but not known well enough. Respected, but not remembered. Present, but not impactful. And this is where personal branding becomes far more than a marketing activity. It becomes a strategic growth tool. A strong personal brand aligns who you are with how the world perceives you. It ensures that your voice carries authority, your presence commands attention, and your identity reflects the scale of your vision. It transforms the way people experience you — in meetings, online, on stage, and in every business interaction. When a founder’s personal brand is powerful, trust is built faster, decisions are made quicker, and opportunities expand naturally. Clients approach with confidence. Partners open doors. Teams feel inspired. The business grows because the leader grows in visibility, influence, and clarity. For many business owners, the missing piece is not skill — it is story. Not ability — but alignment. Not hard work — but the perception of leadership. In a world where attention decides advantage, your personal brand is not a luxury. It is the currency that determines your future. If you are a founder, leader, or business owner who feels you are capable of more but not being seen at the level you deserve, it may be time to refine your personal positioning. Your next phase of growth will not come from working harder. It will come from being perceived in a way that matches the excellence you already possess. And if you’re ready to discover what your current brand is saying about you — and how it can be transformed into your most profitable business asset — you can reach out for a free consultation call at: https://sprect.com/pro/divyaaadvaani Because opportunities don’t always go to the best. They go to the best perceived. (The author is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries. Views personal.)

When the Princess Left Her Fortress…

Anishkaa Muthe
Dec 30, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Jan 2

I recently saw a movie, it had this dialogue “teenage girls are psychopaths” and maybe it is right, maybe we are a generation full of messed up kids trying to survive in this deathly jungle we’ve created for ourselves. And this survival gets harder when you’re a 16-year-old that moves into a city way bigger than their own, to ‘step into the world’ with rosy dreams and rosy expectations. I am one of those 16-year-olds, who with very romanticised notions, very naively decided to step into the ‘City of Dreams’: Mumbai.

Mumbai, is probably 10 times the size of my not very humble, but very little town. Moving to Mumbai was my dream since 1st grade, and when that dream manifested, I was on Cloud 9. I thought my life would be perfect, I’d have the perfect group of friends, I’d go to fancy parties, I’d do lots of events in college, I’d be known, I’d be in my ‘Academic Beast’ ‘It Girl’ era and what not; but reality is pretty far from any of that. Back in my town, I was the top of the hierarchy, the Perfect Girl, centre of attention, the Lovely Queen; after moving to Mumbai, my life of the last 13yrs came crashing down on me. I became this introverted, invisible person; the friends’ group or lots of parties definitely did not happen, neither did the academic beast and It girl era.

I came to realise that Mumbai, no matter how pretty, beautiful and picture-worthy, is very harsh and extremely tough. No matter how much anyone says ‘Mumbai embraces all’, the ‘All’ still do feel left out to some extent, when everyone around you is this confident Mumbai Kid and you’re this awkward girl from out of town who knows nothing about the city, its people or its ‘culture’, who’s trying to push through this humongous crowd that’s, without trying very hard, swallowing you down; but standing here, watching this city move past me, I wonder Does Mumbai really not bother about anyone Or Is it just not willing to let you in?

But there’s still something to hang on to, somewhere to belong, isn’t there? When you go back home and you have friends there; Spoiler Alert: you don’t. When I went back home for my first holiday, I realised I didn’t belong there anymore, now I was the Mumbai Girl; 13yrs lost and forgotten, within 3 months. That’s when it hit ‘I’m all alone now’ neither do I belong in Mumbai, neither do I back at home. Trust me, I have never felt more lost in my life.

I’m the kind of people who thrive on attention and external validation, to have that very thing taken from me was very hard to live with. So, I chose to cope by holding on, holding on how? Well, simple tactic, making an indirect statement saying “you excluded me, but I belong in places better than you” how I did that? I held onto my past self, my actions were based on how pretty, fun and ‘happening’ my life was to look on Instagram. I did have fun, not that I didn’t, but most of it was for the eyes of the world and not my own satisfaction [it still is that way, I haven’t gotten any better yet].

Then came my midterms, and I wasn’t as great as I thought I’d be and my extracurriculars weren’t anything major either. That made me realise that I was like any other kid around me here, unlike when I was back home, always the different one, the one that stood out, and suddenly I didn’t anymore, I was ordinary. The realisation hit me, right in the face, hard and strong, that in this huge ocean, I was no whale or shark, just another little fish in the Shoal. My future suddenly became scary, thinking about college and university became terrifying and I just wanted to avoid it all, simply run away [I still do, sometimes] And now, I’m a mess.

But not all of it was bad honestly, Mumbai taught me a lot of things, it humbled me and it helped see: within myself and so many things about myself that I never really knew and were suddenly crystal clear in front of my eyes, as if a very loud noise had been shut down and I could hear clearly again. Back at home, I had this persona designated to me: ‘The Perfect Girl’ and suddenly I didn’t have to be anyone anymore, it was harder that way honestly, to not have a script to follow anymore. I had to discover myself and who I truly was for the first time Ever; I think that’s what I’m doing now, getting to know myself beyond who I was 6 months ago.

Things aren’t any better right now, I don’t think they will be for very long and sometimes moving here may seem like the biggest mistake I’ve ever made, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. So, this new year I have one resolution: I’m going to find who I am, a new persona, a new person, not defined by her past self, past life and this Social Jungle of teenagers she’s surviving in. This new year will be of rediscovery. So, here’s to 2025 and to all of us, whose lives changed because they stepped into the big, bad world out there; let us all be proud of ourselves as this year ends, because leaving our homes and lives behind is not easy and we lived that down: The Shift, the way it hit our egos and shattered our sense of belonging, but we didn’t run away, we strived through it and are surviving to see the light of day.

So, A Very Happy New Year People.

(The author is a student of St. Xavier College, Mumbai.)

1 Comment

Jayaram Kousik .

Jun 12

Great write, yes Mumbai is a jungle and you have to fund your true bearings and none towards your destination