Inside the Pickle Jar

Picture this: You're inside a pickle jar.

You’re hard at work, knee-deep in brine, expertly slicing perfectly even dill chips with those fancy ripple-edged knives. You know this jar better than anyone: every peppercorn, every groove in the glass, the exact blend of seasonings. You’ve got it down to a science.

But you have absolutely no idea what the jar looks like from the outside.

Maybe the label’s crooked. Maybe the glass is too foggy for anyone to see what’s inside. Or maybe — gasp! — the label says Bread and Butter when it should say Kosher Dill! That would explain why no one’s buying your pickles. (Because honestly, who actually eats bread and butter pickles?)

But you’d never know. Because you’re inside the jar.

We’re All Pickle People

This is what happens when we’re deep in our own businesses.

We get so immersed in the day-to-day routine, refining our process, obsessing over the little details. It's easy to lose sight of how we actually appear to the outside world.

I see this all the time with my clients (and I’ve caught myself doing it too). They have a high-quality offer, solid systems, and they are intimately familiar with all of the technical details of their work. But their messaging is unclear, or their value isn’t coming across the way they think it is.

Sometimes they have a lot more value to offer than they realize. But because it’s second nature to them, they assume everyone else would think it’s nothing special when the truth is they are sitting on a gold mine of expertise and experience that other people would pay top dollar to have access to.

We don’t know what we don’t know, and we need people to point out what we can’t see from deep inside our work jar.

The Value of Fresh Eyes

We all need Label Readers. People we trust who aren’t swimming in our day-to-day, who can offer a fresh, honest perspective.

Label Readers can help you see:

• How you actually come across (vs. how you think you do)

• What’s unclear or confusing about your message

• Where you’re overcomplicating things

• Opportunities you’re missing because you’re too close to see them

• Strengths you take for granted that others find remarkable

These people might be friends, family, peers, mentors, clients, or even strangers you meet at a networking event. The key is: they’re outside the jar.

How to Find Your Label Readers

Here are a few simple ways to get that outside perspective:

🔍 Ask direct questions. Ask a friend, “If you had to explain what I do to someone else, what would you say?”

👂 Pay attention to introductions. Listen to how others describe your business when they introduce you. Their version might reveal more than you expect.

📣 Survey your audience. Ask clients or subscribers how they’d describe your work, or what problem they believe you solve best.

🤝 Find a business buddy. Trade “label-reading” sessions with another entrepreneur and give each other honest feedback.

👥 Join a mastermind or peer group. (Shameless plug: this is exactly what we’re doing in the Sidekick Mastermind.)

Last week in our very first Sidekick Mastermind session, I got to see this play out as four different business owners circled up and helped each other gain clarity and fresh perspective on some of their business challenges. It was awesome!

What Does Your Label Say?

Here’s my challenge for you this week:

You might find your label’s already doing the job. Or it might be time for a refresh.

Either way, you’ll walk away with something you can’t get alone: outside perspective, and deeper connection.

Speaking of fresh perspective and connection… Our next Sidekick Mastermind session is Thursday, August 7 at 1pm EST.If you’re curious and want to join us, shoot me a message and I’ll send you the details.