Understanding Your Authentic Brand
Happy MakeWavesMonday, dolls! We are SO excited to begin our brand new series: The Unicorn Guide!
Each Monday we will be breaking down the guide and chatting more in depth about the process. With that being said, let us introduce the FIRST segment of the series:
Understanding Your Authentic Brand
What I am about to tell you may shock you, or inspire you. You may think that I am crazy, or pure genius. (PS: I secretly hope a little bit of both!) I am the CEO of a creative business that has NO competition.
Let it sink in, ladies.
I one hundred percent, without a doubt, believe that my PR and event planning agency has absolutely zero competition. Yes, I said it - ZERO! The best part? You can easily eliminate your competition, too! Let me introduce to you to something I like to call, The Unicorn Guide:
The first step in eliminating your competition is truly understanding your authentic brand.
In most circumstances as a creative small business owner, you become the face of your brand. What you like, your brand likes — and what you stand for, your brand stands for, too. The key to having a brand that stands out from the others is simple: stay true to yourself! A piece of cake, right? When developing the core fundamentals of your brand nothing will fire you up more than what you are already passionate about!
Do not — I repeat — DO NOT look at other brands and copy them.
First, you are WAY more creative than that, boss lady! Second, how will you stand out if you are just like the others?
True story: When I founded POSH PR® and began the branding process I was trying hard to not be “too pink” or “too girly” or “too fashion forward” — I was trying to not be me. I wanted to fit right in with the rest, which sounds CRAZY to say that out-loud! You know what happened? I was attracting the wrong client and there was a disconnect between my brand and my heart.
The best business decision I ever made was to move forward fearlessly with a brand (MY brand!) that was unique to me. I was instantly separated from other designers and wedding + event planners because I was now different. The struggle was REAL at first, however. I lost lots of followers (which totally makes sense, I was lying to them about who I really was, anyways!) but was THRILLED to gain...
7,500 followers in ONE YEAR! WHAT?!
How did I make that happen? By being 100% me! You know what though, it is so much harder to deal with unfollows and people with negative comments when you are 100% you - - naturally these things are taken personally. But, you know what? I rather have a sold group of pink loving - fashion guru - girly girls that are 100% in love with my brand as opposed to thousands more followers who are not sure, or "lukewarm" followers.
DISCLAIMER: There is a difference between believing you are the best, and thinking/acting as if you are better than others... remember that!
The bottom line is this: when you stay true to yourself (and trust me, there is no one else just like you!) you have no competition!
PS: Stay tuned... next week we will dive into Never Doubt Yourself!