As an industry leader of individuality and influence, I can be viewed as a trendsetter by some and I'm often continuously followed as a source of new ideas (not all I must emphasize - as my most respected colleagues value their own creativity in the same manner that I do). At a point in my career it got weird and excessive in a way I was not prepared for. A few had outright told me that they routinely follow my lead and "do as I do". Unfortunately in one particularly extreme, unhealthy and off-putting instance, this included my day-to-day life activities, plans, hobbies, patch-writing and sometimes copy and pasting and expressing to me disliking herself so much she was physically changing herself to look more like me. It was something I never expected to experience in my career and not something that felt good. It made me truly sad and I actively discourage and do not condone this. I actually deplore excessive fandom. This is also my inspiration for writing this as I had seen it reach an unhealthy extent in that case. I feel passionately that every single person should celebrate who they are and they're unique identity.
Although it is flattering to be viewed as a role model, I do not prefer the spotlight. I am more critical of myself than of anyone else. I share this piece of constructive criticism. By trying to be someone else one does themselves an disservice. One would be far better suited to embracing their own individuality and everything that sets them apart and makes them unique, rather than fawning over someone else's ongoings.
Instead I advertise and unapologetically own the influence I have not as a form of vanity, but take it as an opportunity to uplift and encourage others to develop their own originality and creativity. Inspiration is one thing, plagiarism and blatant imitation is quite another entirely. I truly believe everyone has something unique and important to bring to the world. There is only one you. There are plenty who are inspired by my work and create something completely different and unique to themselves, not simply "doing as I do" - and that is something I recognize and admire far more.
From a business standpoint their are very pragmatic and beneficial reasons to embrace creativity and kindle the desire to be different in one's business.
It aids search ranking
Google penalizes website ranking for duplicate or similar content by date of creation. Original content is a factor that moves a website farther up on the 1st page of search results.
The opposite is bad for business
Words mean more when they match presentation. Someone could call themselves unique, authentic or any similar descriptor all day but be unmasked as a fake if volumes of people can easily see glaring displays of evidence and dates of entire business built on inauthentic recycled content. We see this all the time with public figures in various industries who get caught fudging plagiarized material and it becomes an open association with the brand resulting in bad PR and damage to the business. When someone's content/business is not original or maybe in an extreme example copy and pasting, it gives the impression a person doesn't care about their brand as well even if words state the opposite. This then reflects poorly on caring about other things such as one's training, sessions, safety protocol ect to someone viewing that persons content. A business owner wants to express they care about their business enough and are confident enough to want it to stand out and be different. This is a major factor in success. Some of the most incredibly successful Dommes I have seen have a highly focused esthetic and business that in part propels their success.
Even if only to an extent - reputation is still important
Just as anyone wants to feel safe and part of a community of people whom they can respect and can trust, others want to feel the same. Things such as what I describe create an environment lacking a sense of trust. In any group people may naturally avoid an individual who expects other to do their work without consent or doesn't pull their own weight. People naturally want to protect themselves and their energy. They might wonder what else the person may be willing to do to their peers or be unethical about or wonder even if the individual may be conflict oriented and using certain actions towards others to generate conflict they can feed off. People make mistakes and grow from it but you don't want to be the person who becomes known for habitually doing a particular thing to step on the toes of peers or stir conflict. No one wants to express they're in the ballpark of outsiders who think this isn't a real job, that it's easy money, and requires no effort. A business owner wants to express that, just as they respect their business and the efforts put into it, that they also respect others having to do the same in the industry.
Being yourself builds confidence and uplifts the individual
No one is perfect. Traits an individual may dislike may be the very same traits that people actually love. Words don't have to be perfect, opinions don't have to be perfect. All people make mistakes. Everyone learns and hone skills over time. In-authenticity mistreats oneself.
There are things that act as facilitators of self criticism and feeling like ones identity is "lacking". Social media for example encourages an environment where person can get wrapped up in being inauthentic to chase clout and constantly comparing themselves. These platforms are also very "reactive" (ex). A person can get stuck performing continuously trying to please an audience. Social media is designed around cheap dopamine hits that become addictive rather than sustaining over time. Everyone is advertising there best face forward and that's most of what you see. This can create unrealistic self metrics and in some people an idea they're not good enough or they're to boring or just too uninteresting or not talented enough. So a person may think they should focus on being someone they think has a better life, success, money, maybe more clients ect and by being them they will feel better. This thought process is actually based in self loathing rather than admiration. Over time this will deeply cut into a sense of confidence and harm. What's not harmful is looking at another success and believing that you are capable of reaching the same by being you.
A foundation of strong confidence, individualism and identity is important. These are the best guards against the above. From a strong foundation comes a strong long term business. Individuals will want to get to know you for you, clients and otherwise. You'll attract clients who you click with, enjoy and uplift your energy rather than drain it over time. Professional dominatrices are a group of powerful personalities and projection of power in our role and our businesses operate, contrary to stigma, like other self-run businesses in a variety of industries so advice is applicable across most industries. Every single person, no matter what they think of themselves, is capable, unique and worth celebrating for who they are. The options and combinations and unique approaches to this are endless. Self love is power.