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I’m pretty proud of the brand I’ve built today, but even more so that branding was always at the forefront of my decisions in business early on. We haven’t discussed branding in great detail on the Goal Digger Podcast for quite some time, but it’s clear that this is a topic you’re interested in and want to dig into – the posts and questions in the Goal Digger Podcast Insiders Facebook group about developing a strong brand are proof!
So with that, Kylie is back on the show to lead me through a discussion on, yup, branding! We’ll tackle a few of your questions from the Facebook group and I’ll share what I would do if I was creating a new brand from scratch today. We’ll also discuss what makes a brand cohesive and address the personal-brand-vs-business-brand debate head on. Let’s dive in!
Brand = Message not Logo
I remember thinking before I launched my business to the world that I needed a logo. And I think that now, when I look at branding it’s more about how does your work or the way that you show up make somebody feel? It’s about making the right people or the people that you’re trying to reach feel welcome and help them qualify themselves that they’re in the right place. I don’t necessarily know that I would’ve said this 10 years ago or that I would have even understood it 10 years ago.
If I were creating a new brand today, I would recognize now that it is so much less about the logo or the color scheme or anything like that. It’s more about the messaging. I would really look at things like the headline or the sub-headline or the messaging that is showing up to provide the consistency for someone to feel like they can know, like, and trust you.
Is a Personal Brand Right for You?
If I created a new brand and business today, I would still begin with a personal brand, but I don’t think it’s right for everyone.
Something to consider: When I was at a mastermind with a bunch of incredible business leaders, they were saying every single person wants to create something that is non-personal brand related income.
That could be creating a journal that they sell for other people, it could be a supplement or a product, but you want to have some sort of revenue down the road that is not reliant on your namesake, because if growing a company that doesn’t rely on you or that could potentially be sold or acquired is on your radar or a goal, then having something that can stand alone as a brand is important.
Personal Brand Benefits
A personal brand can be a benefit and sometimes a requirement to start and establish a credible business. When I was a wedding photographer and operating under Photographs by Jenna Leigh, I recognized that when people were talking about me and my work, they weren’t saying I hired Photographs by Jenna Leigh, they were saying, “I hired Jenna Kutcher”. And I realized there was a disconnect between my brand online and how people are talking about me or the way that they’re referencing me. So I transitioned out of that business name and started operating under my own name.
I do believe that because of my personal brand and because I am the face and the name of it, I have been able to pivot multiple times and into many different spaces because people don’t necessarily care a ton about the finished product; they care about me as a person.
More from this Episode
Should you combine your personal social media and your business social media if you’re transitioning to a personal brand? Is it okay to *not* have a personal brand? And what’s next for the Jenna Kutcher brand? Press play for a full discussion about developing a cohesive and original brand on the Goal Digger Podcast and don’t forget to join us in the Goal Digger Podcast Insiders Facebook group to get your branding questions answered by a community of over 60,000 Goal Diggers like you!
