The Domain I Couldn’t Let Go Of—and Why It Finally Had to Go

TL;DR

If your messaging feels scattered, it may not be a marketing problem—it may be an identity problem. In this post, I share why finally letting go of my old photography business taught me an important lesson about personal branding: clarity comes from fully committing to who you are now, not who you used to be.

 

I Did It. I Finally Let It Go.

Last week, I released a domain I had been holding onto for six years: mikifoto.com. 

My old photography business. The name people called me for years. The identity I built across four different states, two kids in tow, and more client sessions than I can count.

I have been The Brand CEO since 2020. Six years of brand strategy work, masterminds, speaking stages, and completely rebuilt business under my belt, yet I was still paying the annual renewal fee on that old domain every year.

When I finally hit delete last week, I sat with the moment. 

Not because I was sad, but because I wanted to understand what I had actually been holding onto — and what it says about the way we all carry our old identities forward.

 

It Was Never Really About the Domain.

Here’s the thing about holding onto something old: It feels like loyalty.

Letting go of mikifoto.com felt like abandoning the version of me that had built something from nothing — four times, in four different cities, without a playbook. That domain was proof I had done the work, that people had trusted me, that I had been good at something.

And as long as I was still paying for that URL, some part of me felt like I hadn’t walked away from all of that effort.

But here’s what I finally understood: holding onto the proof of the old version of yourself is not the same thing as honoring where you’ve been. At some point, it becomes a way of staying slightly hedged about where you’re going.

Your past isn’t the problem. It’s when your past competes with your present that your brand starts sending mixed signals.

Mikifoto.com wasn’t keeping me connected to my past, it was keeping me from being fully committed to my future.

 

The Photographer Wasn’t Wrong. She Was Just Finished.

I want to be clear: I’m incredibly proud of my photography career.

It taught me far more than lighting and camera settings. Before every brand shoot, I was asking about mission, vision, ideal clients, personality, and purpose. Looking back, I wasn’t just taking photos—I was uncovering brands.

That’s why the transition wasn’t overnight.

For years I was both photographer and strategist. Fifty-fifty. Then sixty-forty. Then seventy-thirty.

I kept a foot in the old identity because it felt safer.

And then one day I was just done. I changed my website, stopped taking photography clients, and stepped fully into the brand strategist lane.

Once there was no other identity to fall back on, no safety net, no ‘but I also do this’ — the message got sharper, the right clients started finding me faster, and the confusion cleared.

The photographer wasn’t wrong. She was just finished. And it took me years — and one stubborn domain — to fully let her go.

 

What This Looks Like for Your Brand

Maybe you’re not holding onto an old domain. But chances are, you’re holding onto something.

• The service that stopped lighting you up two years ago but is still quietly listed on your website.
• The title you use in your bio because it’s the one people know you by — even though it no longer fits what you actually do.
• The way you introduce yourself that includes the old thing as a safety net: ‘I’m a coach and I also do consulting and I have a background in…’
• The part of your About page that spends three paragraphs on where you came from and one sentence on where you are now.

None of these things seem like a big deal on their own. Together, though, they send a subtle message: you haven’t fully committed to the current version of your brand.

 

The Cost of Staying Split

When your brand is split between who you were and who you are now, your messaging loses its edge.

People may not be able to explain why, but they feel it.

They hesitate.

They don’t book.

Not because you aren’t good enough—but because your brand isn’t fully committed.

Clarity starts the moment you stop hedging.

Releasing mikifoto.com was a small administrative task that turned into a declaration: I am The Brand CEO. That is the whole thing. Nothing else on the table.

And that kind of full-body commitment to one lane? It is the most powerful brand asset you will ever have.

 

Your Brand Work for Today

Before you close this tab, sit with these:

1. What are you still carrying that no longer fits? — Not the skills — those travel with you. The label. The description you use because it feels safer than claiming who you actually are right now. Name it specifically.
2. Is it on your website? — Pull up your homepage. Is there anything there — a service, a headline, a photo, a line of copy — that reflects who you were more than who you are today? Mark it.
3. Introduce yourself out loud. — ‘I am [your current title and what you do].’ How does that land? Confident? Wobbly? The wobble is not a sign you’re wrong. It’s a sign you haven’t practiced yet. Say it again.

You don’t have to release anything today. But notice what you’re carrying — and ask yourself honestly whether it’s keeping you grounded or keeping you hedged.

 

Want to see where your brand is sending a mixed signal?

The SNAP Audit is free, takes 15 minutes, and gives you a clear picture of where your brand is sharp — and where it’s still hedging.

→ Take the free SNAP Audit at thebrandceo.com/snap

 

COMING SOON >>> Ready to step fully into the brand you’ve become?

The BullsEye Brand Blueprint gives you the personalized messaging to match the business you’ve built—so you can stop second-guessing your brand and start communicating it with clarity.

✨ Coming September 14.