I LOVE Halloween. I love the fanfare, the costumes, the pretending. I love free candy day. I love the annual discussion of whether Rocky Horror is a Halloween movie or the ultimate Valentine story.

But if Halloween were every day, I probably wouldn’t feel the same way. There would be so much pressure to get the outfit right, the makeup perfect, to stay on trend (or at least retro enough to be cool).

Now here’s something I’ve noticed.

Sooooo many business owners are dressing up their businesses every single day of the year.

“What are you dressed up as?”
“Another sales & marketing formula”
“A pivot”
“A rebrand”

Recently, I’ve been having a lot of conversations about the alternative to this compulsive dress-up party. People are tired. They’re tired of hustling, jostling, trying to get noticed in a noisy online space. They’re tired of keeping up with algorithms and changes in trends. They’re tired of acting like everything is perfect behind the scenes while they juggle too many balls. They’re tired of dressing up as something they’re not.

So what’s the answer?
This is what I have so far (Halloween edition):

• Your magic is different from everyone else’s
• You can prepare for more candy with a bigger bag but a bigger bag won’t help you if you’re walking the same old route
• Recognize a costume for what it is: a costume
• When it comes to business, it’s best to go as yourself

There will always be those who push to the front of the line, who run shrieking up and down the road. But between you and me, I don’t want to trick or treat with them and my bag of candy is plenty full of the good stuff.

I’m going my own way.
Will you join me?