Sometimes a conversation starts in one place, only to lead you somewhere else.
That's what happened with Michelle and me.
Some conversations slowly reveal themselves.
They begin with one question, wander through unexpected places, and quietly leave you with another.
When Michelle and I sat down together, we thought we were going to talk about showing up online. Instead, we found ourselves talking about identity.
About comparison.
About growth.
About the hidden pressure of feeling like we always need to become more.
Michelle has been part of my journey in more ways than one. She was the floral designer behind my wedding, and one of the people who encouraged me to start IMA.
Perhaps that's why this conversation felt so familiar.
Neither of us was looking for answers.
We were simply trying to make sense of the same questions.
Showing Up Without Performing
The conversation began with something many founders silently experience.
Before business, showing up online felt easy.
Sharing thoughts.
Daily life.
Little moments.
Then somewhere along the way, it became different.
"Before I started doing business... I was super comfortable sharing my thoughts."
As founders, we don't just represent ourselves anymore.
We represent our work.
Our values.
Our businesses.
Every post begins carrying more weight than we intended.
Michelle shared,
"I don't get to share what I'm thinking, not because I don't think things, but because I'm so bothered by what people will receive it as."
Not because she had nothing to say.
But because she cared how it would be interpreted.
At one point she laughed and asked,
"People want to see that you're also not perfect... but then it's like... how not perfect can I be?"
We both laughed.
But underneath the humour was something many of us understand.
Authenticity sounds simple.
Until we're the ones deciding how much of ourselves to reveal.
The Image We Think We Need
As our conversation unfolded, another layer emerged.
Michelle shared how becoming a founder changed the way she saw herself online.
"After you start work, then you'll be like... I need to portray myself as an image. A certain profession."
That sentence immediately resonated.
Because I think many of us carry versions of that expectation.
We begin believing we have to sound more certain.
Appear more polished.
Have the answers before we speak.
As Michelle put it,
"You feel like there's this image you have to maintain... like I know everything. I'm a professional."
We both laughed. Because it sounded almost impossible.
How much of ourselves are people actually asking to see?
And when does authenticity begin feeling like performance?
Later she reflected,
"There will always be people who criticise you, or don't understand you. You just need to learn to be okay with that."
Not because criticism stops hurting.
But because waiting until everyone understands us often means never showing up at all.
Growing In Our Own Way
Somewhere along the conversation, we realised we weren't really talking about social media anymore.
We were talking about growth.
As founders, growth often feels like the expected next step.
Bigger.
Faster.
More.
The question almost writes itself.
But another question gradually surfaced beneath it.
"Do I expand, or do I stay true to what I want?"
I don't think either of us was questioning whether we wanted to grow.
We do.
We both care deeply about the things we're building. What we were really asking was something else.
How do we continue growing while staying true to the reason we began?
Michelle spoke about how easily we compare ourselves with businesses that look bigger or move faster. How success can start feeling like a single path.
But perhaps it doesn't have to.
One sentence brought us both back to ourselves.
"We still want to make it big. Just in our own way."
That wasn't a rejection of ambition.
It was a reminder that success doesn't have to look the same for everyone.
Finding Our Own Way
I left that conversation thinking about how easy it is to measure ourselves against someone else's journey.
Someone else's timeline. Someone else's version of success.
Maybe that's inevitable.
But perhaps comparison isn't asking us to stop growing. Perhaps it's inviting us to become clearer about what growth actually means to us.
For me, IMA was never created simply to become bigger.
It was created because I wanted to create comfort in a way that felt safe, transparent and intentional. Those values are still the reason I wake up and do this.
And I hope they remain the reason, no matter where the journey leads.
Ironically, while we were talking about showing up imperfectly, I spent part of the afternoon worrying about camera storage, missing footage and whether I'd captured enough. Michelle, on the other hand, simply got to be present. Looking back, it feels strangely fitting. The conversation survived anyway.
Closing
Some conversations leave you with answers.
Others leave you with better questions. This was one of them.
Thank you, Michelle, for the conversation.
It reminded me that perhaps there isn't one "right" way to grow.
There is only the challenge of continuing to build something that still feels true to who we are.
Watch Episode 5 on Instagram → Reel, Reflection
— Elissa
Intimate Moments Aroma
Calm. Cosy. Connected.