Brand Building: Living The Whole Picture with Jama Pantel
Brand Building: Living the Whole Picture is the go-to podcast for ambitious women ready to elevate their visibility, build authentic confidence, and become the face of their brand.
Hosted by luxury portrait photographer, author, educator, and former influencer Jama Pantel, this podcast delivers actionable strategies on personal branding, photography, and business growth—so you can step into the spotlight with clarity and purpose.
If you've ever felt unseen in your industry, struggled with confidence on camera, or hesitated to show up boldly, this is your roadmap to build a powerful presence that gets you noticed and respected.
Join Jama as she helps you build a brand that stands out, master your presence in photos and video, and turn your expertise into a magnetic business.
It’s time to stop playing small and start showing up like the leader you were meant to be.
Brand Building: Living The Whole Picture with Jama Pantel
Stop Waiting to Feel Ready
Episode Description:
If you've been holding back from launching something, showing up on camera, or finally putting yourself out there, this episode is your sign. You're not actually waiting for the right moment—you're waiting to feel ready. But guess what? That feeling might never come.
In this episode, I'm breaking down the real reason we hesitate, what you're actually waiting for, and why the only way to feel confident is to take action anyway. No fluff, no pressure—just the truth about how readiness is built, not found.
Timestamps:
00:00 – The myth of “readiness” and why we cling to it
00:38 – What “I’m not ready” is really code for
02:05 – A behind-the-scenes story from launching this podcast and app
02:23 – Why waiting to feel ready means you delay your purpose
02:55 – You don’t need perfection—you need courage
03:33 – One small challenge for the week that could change everything
Key Takeaways:
- Readiness is not real. It’s a feeling that often never arrives—but action creates the feeling you’re waiting for.
- Hesitation is usually fear in disguise. “I’m not ready” often means “I don’t feel safe being seen.”
- You don’t need a perfect plan. You need movement, consistency, and trust in your voice.
- Confidence is built by doing. Not before. Not after. During.
- Start small. But start. You’ll learn more by doing than by waiting.
Free Resources Mentioned:
Want to build confidence on camera and elevate your personal brand?
Grab one (or all) of my free resources to help you show up with clarity, ease, and authenticity:
✔️ Quick Tips for Social Media Portraits
✔️ Natural Light Cheat Sheet
✔️ Strike a Pose Guide
✔️ 30 Days of Personal Brand Prompts
Looking for more in-depth support?
✔️ Watch my pre-recorded course: Show Up Confidently on Camera
Have questions or want to work together?
✔️ Reach out here: www.jamapantel.com/contact
And be sure to subscribe so you never miss new tips, trainings, or tools:
✔️ www.jamapantel.com
Hey y'all, it's your podcast bestie Jama, coming at you again with a tiny but mighty reminder that we all need. On today's episode, I'm going to call us out on something that so many of us believe: you know- the I'll start when I'm ready, or I'll speak up when I know more, or I'll get pictures taken when I feel confident. Let's be honest, y'all, most of us aren't waiting for the right moment. We're waiting to feel ready. But here's the truth readiness never existed, and if you keep waiting for it, you'll never take the steps you actually need to make you ready. Now let's unpack this.
Jama Pantel:The "I'm not ready sounds like a logical reason to hold off on a lot of things, but more often than not it's code, for I'm scared I'll mess up, or I don't feel qualified, I'm not sure I can handle being seen right now, or I don't want to disappoint anyone, including myself. I've lived all of these and sometimes I still do. I still remember the time I tried to get my first paid portrait photography client, or even in December, when I launched this podcast. All of it felt really scary, really shaky, and I never felt fully ready. But I showed up anyway, and each time something shifted a little bit, not because it was perfect and I still don't think I'm perfect to this day but because I proved to myself that I could take action before I felt 100% confident and ready. And I know you can too. So let me ask you this what are you really waiting for? A better version of yourself, more credentials, a moment when the fear goes away? Here's the secret y'all. That moment doesn't magically arrive. You create it by taking the small forward steps. Confidence doesn't precede action. Action creates confidence and, yes, it might be uncomfortable at first and often throughout the course of all of it, and it might feel clumsy, but every time you do the thing anyways, you teach your nervous system. I can trust myself to show up scared and still be okay.
Jama Pantel:I'll share a quick story with you about when I first launched this podcast because it's one of the newest things I'm doing, or, heck, even the launch of my app. I keep asking myself who am I to do this? I'm not making millions. What if no one listens or likes what I put out there? And for a while those thoughts won.
Jama Pantel:I put off this podcast for years when it first came into my mind and I stayed quiet. But the turning point came when I finally realized this, if I waited until I felt ready, someone else would speak the message that I was meant to deliver, and they might not do it with the same heart or nuance or experience that I have lived and that I bring. So I hit publish anyways, and I started talking. And no, it wasn't perfect and it's still not perfect to this day, but it's real and it's what people connect with, or at least I hope they do.
Jama Pantel:So here's what I want you to hear and want you to remember - you don't have to be the loudest voice in the room. You don't need a flawless brand strategy, and you don't even have to be 100% clear yet on what you're doing. I still don't know what I'm doing with this podcast, yet some of y'all still show up weekly, and I so appreciate it. So what you do need is the courage to show up anyway and to move while fear is still there. To start small, but to start anyway, because movement builds momentum and momentum builds trust in yourself and in your audience too. So here's your gentle push.
Jama Pantel:Pick one thing you've been putting off because you're not ready. Maybe it's posting a photo or updating your website, going live for the first time, finally talking about what you really care about. Whatever it is, do it this week, not because you feel 100% confident, because you're learning to trust yourself through action. So I hope you got something out of this episode and that you don't have to wait to be perfect to show up. Just do it in silence, do it scared, do it anyways, and I will leave some freebies in the show notes for you if you need any help with showing up confidently. That's all.
