How to deal with the anxiety of finding out you were the butt of a groups joke

i think you should try and make a joke back? Pretend you are launching some merch including phone cases ajd post on social

Absolutely. They'll mock harder and I'd instantly mute her for posting cringey "validate me" teen drama. It is indeed terrible advice.

Not to mention it might start a flame war, which the other woman might enjoy but the OP probably couldn't cope with.

When I buy something it is a bit of a treat. I want it to be a positive pleasant experience. I ideally want to deal with positive pleasant people. Under no circumstances do I want to put up with hearing about some petty drama or some plea to stop bullying or about somebody's health battles. I just don't. Please don't put anything on your business site about this.

I agree. It’s bad advice. And your reasons are sound. I hope OP doesn’t go down this road.

This is hideously bad advice. Bringing petty personal problems into your professional social media just leaves a bad impression on your potential clients/customers and makes you look a bit wet.

If anyone taking the piss out of the OP sees it they won't feel bad, they'll just have more ammunition to make fun.

She sounds like a twat…. You have a thriving business.
Feel pity for her, don’t give it any more thought and move on.

To each their own. I think that if you run a business you need to be able to cope with this kind of situations and ten times tougher even. People will criticise you and your products. It is part and parcel of the process.

If you are not prepared to deal with this, then you are simply not cut out for the ruthless cutthroat world of entrepreneurship.

Well it sounds like she was giving you free advertising space on holiday!

Op just sit on this knowledge. At some point you'll probably come into contact with content creator again and if she's on her phone (like most people are much of the time) you can say "lovely to see you! Although I'm a bit disappointed you've not using the phone case with my face on it". Make her squirm! By the time you get this opportunity you genuinely won't give a shit about any of this so it will come out light-hearted, unlike anything you're tempted to say now.

It's pretty shit that people on this thread accused you of doing MLM. as if women can't run successful businesses on their own that aren't MLM.

You're right, people engage with people, and you can turn this to your advantage.

Make it into piece of content, a personal story.

Turn it into an example, a disussion around what might lead to bullying behaviour. What might lie beneath it and drive it. How you felt initially, honestly and authentically, and how you're processing the experience. Ask if others have encountered this themselves. It will help you deal with it.

With any luck they'll see it and realise they're being vile. And wonder what drove them to do it.

I'll bet they're envious of your visibility and the results your approach is having for you.

There's a person who sometimes gets ripped apart on here who's getting t shirts printed with the best trolling examples she's received, in her engaging discussions on why people choose to bully.

Think of every successful woman in the public eye. Now think of how many times you've read something cruel about them. Now think about which position you'd rather be in. That of a woman who's put herself out there and lifted herself from invisibility, or that of someone who didn't go after their dreams and get noticed in the process. Because unfortunately, the world being as it is, the more visible you are, the greater your chances of being the target for someone's unkindness. The best advice is to accept that as the trade off for your success, and learn to ignore it.

this .

What really strikes me about her behaviour is that it is a very foolish mistake to mock previous clients and share on social media. As it would be very offputting to me if I was a future client. I'd think she was very immature, lacking in good business sense and respect for the people she works with. Its her that looks shit in this episode - not you!.

As I understand it, you were working with her, it took up too much of your time and you stopped working for her.

Maybe that stung her pride a bit and she complained to her friend. This must happen all the time in business. It is probably a one off and not ongoing. Next week it will be another client. This woman was not your friend. She was your employee for a time. Its NOT personal.

It might even be that her friend was trying to say "God stop going on about it" with the phone case. She probably never thought you'd even hear about it.

I wouldn't dwell on how nasty etc... since as many have said you don't know the content. You don't know that they all hate you. In some ways it could also have been that her friends thought she was so focused on her clients that they were laughing at HER.
You don't know. So forget about it. What does it matter what they think? Who are they to you. No one. You are already successful in your own right. Keep going as you are... its clearly working!! and don't let silly idiots drag you down with their unimaginative girls night humour.
For all you know, she might have found her friend's joke a bit offensive and was styling it out to show she didn't care. I bet in the cold hard light of day she's regretting posting this about a client.
If this is a one off, just ignore her and move on - you don't know the context and it really is beneath your notice.

Love this approach! Love the attitude!

Shes the one with the issue - not you!

You are the successful one!

Congrats on making a good life for yourself…. As for her?
Pffttt…. Irrelevant x

Nah sorry I'd have to say something. I wouldn't post anything online I would message this woman privately and call her out on it calmly. Fuck that, what a nasty thing to do. Honestly as a woman I sometimes despair of how pathetic and bitchy a group of women can sometimes be.

It's one thing to have a gossip or a joke about someone to a friend and it goes no further, but to actually print a phone case and a cryptic message online over this really personal and nasty 'joke' about someone is a horrible and nasty thing to do.

She is stupid aswell to think this wouldn't get back to you as it clearly has now and really upset you.

I feel sorry for the friend here who is getting a bit of a bashing.

She probably assumed OP would find out somehow and thought it would be better to hear from someone close.

Also it's the kind of thing you need to know in a small town, so you know not to trust certain people going forward or assume they have your best interests at heart.

It's a horrible thing to do, I can't believe some people don't think it's a big deal.

I wouldn't do that, I always think it's a bit unprofessional and tacky when people post such personal stuff. You could do a generic let's empower each other thing. If it was me I'd be posting myself EVErY DAY

I agree 100%

Two options.

The first is she was just joking and you have taken it all too seriously, since this is third hand hearsay that's quite possible. In which case, approaching her will make you look like a neurotic fool.

The second is she is a bully and enjoyed mocking you, in which case approaching her will give her ammunition to mock you further.

Don't say a word about it, and don't allude to it in any way. You are going to have to be much thicker skinned if you're using yourself to market your brand.

It's not very nice, but in the scheme of things it's a nothing burger. Ignore completely.

First congratulations on your success and well done for your hard work.

Second, being hurt by this is normal, what she did was shitty and just nasty. I would be gutted, too.

I agree with others that it is an unfortunate consequence of putting your face online. The other side of this is that “no publicity is bad publicity” and it is a chance to get a thicker skin. As the poster above me said, your success brought out the worst in her. I like that way of phrasing it.

I'd try and see it as a huge success. Your campaign has obviously worked, you've gained lots of attention and they're all talking about you. These are all what you set out to achieve.

The nastyiness is precisely because you've been so successful, unfortunately other's success can bring out the worst in some people. Take it as a compliment.

Fantastic work! Never EVER underestimate what you have achieved. I see you feeling like you need to explain yourself and justify your approach. You really don't. The proof is in the results. You owe nobody an explanation.

Cheering you on from the internet!

Post of the day, absolutely perfect!
This is definitely the way to look at it.
Dreadfully sad that grown women try to drag another woman down,
it's because you're winning at life, do you hear me? WINNING!!!!
Shine that crown, chin up & tits out, be proud of yourself ❤️

Really? You must be an interesting character not to be really upset at being the butt of this joke. I think it’s normal to be upset and not at all normal to react in the way you say you would have.

You need to grow a thicker skin, for goodness sake!
It is just a stupid harmless joke. And free advertising, by the way!
If you plaster your face all over the Internet like you say, you should have expected this kind of things could happen.
I would frown upon some harassment or offensive comment, but to get hurt by this is frankly bloody ridiculous.

So one cannot buy phone cases with your image on?
She downloaded your image and printed it ?

That's very strange behaviour.

The online world is full of petty spite and jealousy.

She sounds bitchy, and it's an inane thing to have done.