Building a brand starts with a great foundation. Before diving into each pillar, we’re exploring the importance of changing your brand mindset and why it’s so critical for your business!
I had the honor of joining in on a Facebook Live this week with a good friend and mastermind partner, Erin Newman. One of the question she asked about branding really stuck with me and inspired me to dive a little deeper into my own understanding of branding, and how to best teach what I know.
She asked, “For those that are just starting out, what should they do to build their brand?”
My immediate response was to just start. I am a firm believer in clarity coming from action. We can sit around all day thinking about what we want our brand to be, but until we actually act on those thoughts, we’re stuck with an idea, not a brand.
Not Knowing Where to Start.
Looking back, I still agree with that statement. But, when I think about the question even more, I remember my own journey of getting started and building my brand. The feelings of the frustration in not knowing how to start or where to begin. Of hearing people say, ‘Just start,” and not fully understanding what that actually meant. Of thinking over and over, “Yea, start. I get it. But start WHERE?”
As a marketer, I completely understood the importance of building a solid brand. That it was (and is) the foundation for building connection with my community. I was all-in on the idea of a strong brand.
Except…
Except I had no idea where to start.
I made a logo. I picked out some colors and fonts for our blog.
In my mind, that meant I had a brand.
But, when I looked at other people in my space, what I saw was amazing… and looked NOTHING like what I had put together for myself. There was a disconnect between what I was envisioning, what I saw from others and what I had actually created.
Sound familiar?
Introducing a New Series: Building a Brand Foundation.
I have to imagine that your journey was (or is) similar to mine.
You understand the concept of a brand. You know that it’s important. You can recognize a great brand when you see one. But when it comes to getting from ‘Point A’ – a pretty logo, a few colors and maybe a font or two – to ‘Point B’ – a brand that resonates with your community, builds an audience, books clients and creates raving fans – you’re completely lost.
My goal in creating the Building a Brand Foundation series is to walk you through the steps and help you really understand how to get from Point A to Point B.
Changing Your Brand Mindset
Before we go through the roadmap, we need to talk mindset.
Why?
Because comparison sucks and it can deter even the most ambitious and motivated entrepreneur.
Those seemingly endless hours spent looking at website after website or mindlessly scrolling your Instagram feed are not going to fuel your creativity. And, you must understand that you’re more than likely comparing your starting point with someone else’s middle.
They are at their Point B… Or hell, even Point F.
Branding is an evolution; it’s an evolving process that needs to be fluid. Your visual brand changes almost as much as your company. What you have right now is not going to be exactly the same five years from now… probably not even one year from now.
Once you understand and give yourself permission to “get it wrong,” I promise your brand will start to come together.
We put so much pressure on ourselves to get it PERFECT the first time.
Can we just agree that there is absolutely no such thing as perfect?
Friends, progress is so much better than perfection.
All you have to do to get to your Point B is take one step forward. And then tomorrow, take another step forward. And keep taking those baby steps… and before you know it, a few months have gone by and you realize you’ve established a great brand foundation!
Building a Brand Foundation is a weekly series. Check back here next week for step two in creating a rock solid brand foundation!
All my best,
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