Authority is more than words on a page

Whilst one of the best, clearest expressions of your Authority will be the words you use to describe it (from a tagline to a long-form essay that articulates your central thesis and how you work with clients), true Authority lives outside the page.

It lives in the choices you make and the actions you take, day-to-day.

It’s not “these are the copy-ready words I’ve popped on my LinkedIn page”, despite how important those words can be in your quest to call in aligned clients (or not). It’s about defining the identity you want to show up as each and every day.

Words are the articulation; choices are the proof.

Living, breathing positioning choices

Examples of Authority-led business owners I’ve had the pleasure of supporting and collaborating with:

• The consultant guiding businesses to create belonging, uses this very same concept of belonging in every touchpoint of their own marketing, and brand building. It’s a “show then tell” philosophy

• The coach and facilitator who helps C-suite and employees cross inter-generational thresholds, hosts ball games in the park and comedy gigs, inviting clients and friends alike each time, to break down generational siloes.

• The coach who deeply believes in the power of coaching to transform their founders’ lives and businesses, also runs a learning community for founder coaches because of their belief in its importance as a discipline.

I’ll share more case studies and examples of this in action this year, as there are some incredible stories to tell. But what I’ve seen time and time again, is how much these Authority positioning journeys require one special ingredient: conviction. The conviction that comes from owning your own unique experience, and then finding ways to express it, boldly. Which is why positioning makes for an infinitely interesting subject area for me to coach on: sitting in the Venn diagram intersection of psychology and marketing.

For today, I’ll dive into the case study of my own journey so as to offer you the real behind-the-scenes intricacies of how these choices present themselves, and what it looks like to make a difficult choice, to honour it, and then express it in your business.

The cost of pursuing multiple paths

For those unfamiliar, I am a coach for Authority-led business owners.

The definition? A business owner who sells their thinking and intellectual capital as their ‘product’ — such as a consultant, coach, advisor or thought-leader with proprietary beliefs, ideas, and methodologies.

Even with two years of running Authority Club, I still had positioning decisions to make.

That’s because being an entrepreneur provides you with a freedom to choose what you work on and how you do it, and with that choice, comes almost limitless opportunities.

Here are four ‘lanes’ I was pursuing in mid-2025.

1. Growing my membership Authority Club. This requires a deep understanding of how founders build Authority, but in order to be successful, a strong grasp on the intricacies of building a thriving membership community. How to grow sustainably, and continue to reach new audiences through marketing.

2. Writing Monday Mornings, my newsletter dedicated to exploring the shift to mass entrepreneurism and decline of the 9-5. This required an in-depth understanding and research into the changes to policy, education, job markets and more.

3. Coaching entrepreneurs to own their uniqueness, take bold action and overcome the psychological hurdles getting in the way of their own success.

4. Newsletter consulting and advisory. Helping other businesses to define their newsletter proposition, reach more audiences and strengthen their ‘product’. Included a trip to the Newsletter Conference in NYC in May.

Each lane made sense. Collectively, they created drag. On the surface, everything ‘made sense’ from a brand perspective. I always had an exciting client on the books, a new article to share, or a launch up my sleeve. The exterior was glossy. But the reality? I was faced with trade-offs that you rarely hear about: the six-day work weeks, overwhelm and a less coherent vision for the future I was building towards.

With complicated positioning, comes complicated choices and unclear decisions.

• Should I advance my coach training further, and double down on my ICF accredited side of my skillset, so I can go deeper with clients in sessions?

• Should I massively increase my audience size so I can grow my membership and make this my primary revenue stream?

• Should I take a journalism or narrative writing course to increase the quality of the Monday Mornings newsletter?

• Should I build an ‘agency’ side of the business to do newsletter consulting in a more meaningful way, hiring implementers into the team too?

I’m a very all-in or nothing sort of person, yet trying to win four races at once. So I hired a business coach for myself with a clear brief: help me simplify my business operations and brands, and create a more sustainable work schedule.

How I zoned into a positioning that made more sense

Over the next couple of months, I spent a lot of time working ‘on’ the business, meaning thinking about the work and not just doing the work. It coincided with a lower revenue quarter for me, which I’ve noticed is a common pattern. If you slow down to do the thinking work, your execution and output suffers. But the thinking work then creates better outcomes down the line: for example a £50k sales quarter for me in Q4.

My coach was excellent at framing our engagement in terms of long-term outcomes and goals I had, with comprehensive intake questionnaires (I know the power of having these in place with my own clients, for sure).

The combination of 90-min calls on the calendar with him, and my own deliberate thinking, a review of my own strengths, goals and life vision…. all led me to an exercise that made everything fall into place.

A positioning framework I pulled directly out of the Authority Club training materials I’d created! Sometimes the answer is sitting right in front of us.

The outcome? After plotting my business on this positioning axis, I was able to see in which spaces I was playing, and compare that to the spaces that I wanted to play. I thought about ‘competitors’, too. Those operating in similar spaces and how a prospective client might choose between us.

I landed on two big insights: I wanted to do deep work with clients and be hands on, and that I wanted to double down on long-form writing, since this newsletter has been the primary growth engine for my business and the thing I absolutely love the most. Interestingly ‘long form writing’ was not one of those four lanes I listed. But what this exercise allowed me to see was its through line — it cut across everything.

The decisions I’ve made since then?

• To come up with the concept of, and launch, Authority Letters. This is a cohort-based sprint for members to come up with and publish their Hero Piece. A long-form essay that articulates their central thesis to call in aligned clients. (I’ll be running the second cohort again in Q1 this year, and anyone on the waitlist will be eligible for early bird pricing — register your interest here to stay in the loop).

• To merge my newsletters (Monday Mornings and The Ask) into one cohesive brand, Ellen from The Ask, that you are reading right now.

• Move Authority Club from an always-on, rolling membership subscription, to a cohort style ‘6 month commitment’ so that I can both commit to member’s journey in a deeper way, and, support inside now includes on their long-form writing.

• To include editorial direction and writing feedback support to my coaching clients

• Invest in support with my own writing, which is on my to-do list this quarter, to find a writing coach and sparring partner for my own long-form work!

I no longer feel torn between different visions of different businesses, my to-do list has shrunk, my goals are clearer, and working hours are shorter.

The next step now I’ve made these internal decisions, is yes to make sure the ‘writing’ on my website and my LinkedIn is as reflective of these decisions as possible, but also, that my own actions and learning, as well as my offers and support mechanisms for clients that reflect it, too.

Are you in search of this kind of clarity?

Remember that Authority isn’t created by the words on the page alone. It’s revealed by the choices you make when those words start to cost you something.

And we struggle to make these decisions because of that cost. But without the clarity, you’ll stay in the same spot for too long and miss out on the compound impact of Authority- building.

If you recognise yourself anywhere in this; capable, successful, but stretched across too many directions…. this is exactly the work I do with clients.

I’m currently offering a short, focused engagement designed to bring clarity to your positioning, your priorities, and how you spend your time as a result.

Here’s what we’ll do together inside The Authority Decision

• I’ll send you a comprehensive intake form, designed to learn about your business as well as two strengths tests. From here, I understand both you and your business in detail.

• You’ll also send me names of up to five others in your space, so I can do research for context.

• We meet for a deep dive coaching call. Here, we’ll take into account all these data points and address the tensions and questions you’re facing. I’ll coach you towards conclusions about what you might need to let go of, where you’re heading next and the opportunities you have available for a differentiated positioning. We’ll use the Authority Positioning Axis to make this crystal clear, and see in black and white where, and how, you can play.

• After the call, you’ll receive a write-up from me with recommendations and a suggested ‘To do’ and ‘Not to do’ list.

This is different to my longer-term containers, designed to tackle this question urgently, whilst 2026 remains fresh. And, I’m offering 50% off until 1 February 2026.

(Purchase before 1 February to secure 50% off. Your chosen Authority Decision slot can take place after 1 February.)

I can promise you clarity on this because of the reps I’ve put in doing this work with clients many times over. And, on myself, at various junctures — in fact, my obsession with this stuff started in 2016. Who knew a year could be trending? Back then, I decided I would one day be a career coach and help people find their career purpose, after going through an extensive career change process and pivoting my career. Go figure.

This is work I care deeply about, and it’s work I’ll continue to do — in my own business, and with clients who are ready to make deliberate, well-timed decisions.

Thanks so much for reading, as always!

Ellen

Ellen from The Ask is brought to you by Ellen Donnelly, Founder of The Ask, offering strategic business coaching & mentorship to Authority Entrepreneurs ready to grow a profitable business in a way that feels true to them. Get in touch for help growing yours.