Rhiannon had some really great questions and this is an issue that is applicable not only to creative entrepreneurs who don’t necessarily want to be front and center when it comes to their brand – but also to larger organizations that aren’t necessarily led by a single personality.

That said, I believe it is always appropriate to have a personal brand. First let’s define what it means to have a personal brand. Here at Braid Creative we believe a personal brand is simply blending who you are into the work that you do.

This means your personal values will show up in your business mission. It means that you get to connect the dots between your expertise and your hobbies. It means that your personality is an asset to your bottom line – the thing that makes you “weird” can be the thing that sets you apart from your competitors and attracts your dream customer! And most importantly, it means that your work is creatively fulfilling on a personal level.

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Branded photography can help set the tone and make a good first impression – and it can reassure and build trust with your potential customers because you’re showing them what they can expect when they hire or buy from you.

I know, I know! Just the words “stock photography” conjure up images of very happy and very white middle-aged couples walking along the beach with a glass of wine in hand.

In this article we’re going to cover the basics of what you need to know when it comes to creating and utilizing your own brand photography. But trust, stock photography has come a long way and with a curatorial eye you can find beautiful and diverse imagery that sets the tone for your brand.

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When we first took Brené through the Braid Method* (in 2013) we asked her: what’s the ONE thing you want to be known for? And she said “I want to start a national conversation about vulnerability.” Well, mission accomplished. Through her decades of research Brené redefined vulnerability as the kind uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure and leads you down a path of love, belonging, joy, and wholehearted living.

We point past each other with our words, arguing as though we are looking at the same facts and experiences.

She was about to go on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday for the first time and wanted her personal brand and website to authentically reflect who she was and her vision for where she was going next. To say we were excited to help Brené with her evolving brand is an understatement. These days we continue to work with her team on The Daring Way brand that certifies and trains helping professionals with her work.

Source: https://braidcreative.com/blog

We all intend to plan ahead, but too often let the day-to-day minutia get in the way of making a calendar for the year. Sure, you can’t know every detail to anticipate. Heck, you can’t know half the priorities that will pop up in any particular month. But you can plan for big picture seasonality, busy-times, and events.

Whether promoting our own business, or the organization we work for, how can we get more intentional about bringing the seasons into our message and marketing?

Do this… plot out the next three months. (And make it big. On a big whiteboard, or roll of butcher paper). There’s something about having a big, visual calendar that everyone can see that helps you remember the very things we can take for granted. Don’t get bogged down with every little XYZ.

Source: https://braidcreative.com/blog

A business coach can help you through many stages of your business—from helping you launch a new business or project off the ground to helping you hurdle over a plateau. Here are a few reasons why you might want to hire a business coach

You can get a lot out of both a business coach and a brand platform, but the timing of where you invest your time, energy, and money for maximum impact in your business vision can be a little tricky.

You’ll get the most out of working with a coach if you have awareness around what your goals are and where you’re feeling stuck. A business coach will help you clarify exactly where things aren’t working, prioritize your goals and ideas, break those goals down into actionable next steps, and hold you accountable for getting it done.

Source: https://braidcreative.com/blog

Yet, from experience we know that our own branding clients like to change things up. A major pitfall we see our own clients fall into is wanting to change up their brand platform too soon and too often. And we get it! You want to liven things up – but if you keep rebranding yourself every time you get bored you will, at the very least, diffuse your marketing presence and at worst, confuse your customers.

A promotional campaign is a marketing drive that highlights a specific offering or product for a limited amount of time. For example, let’s say you’re a rockstar – your promotional campaign is your newest album release.

Each album you release has cover art that looks and feels like you, but at the same time is an opportunity to try something a little new. Now, I know you’re not Beyoncé (unless you are! Holla!), but your brand is the rockstar of your business so let’s dig in to a few questions you might have.

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This is harder because you know the project has the potential to be perfect – but keep in mind that if you say yes, you could potentially regret it down the road when you’re not being compensated for all your hard work. Because even the coolest projects are still work … and worthy of compensation.

Saying no by still describing what you do can actually get you the work you want. We’ve used this exact script to say no only to have the rejected potential client send someone who IS a good fit our way.

As a creative entrepreneur, you’re probably resourceful and really great at figuring it out as you go. So when a dream client asks you to do something you can technically do (or figure out how to do) but don’t want to do, it can be really hard to say no. But just because you can do it all doesn’t mean you should.

That would only distract you from what you’re best at and what you really want to be known for. When you say no to this kind of dream customer, be sure to let them know what we’re best at – they may just hire you for your expertise anyway!

Source: https://braidcreative.com/blog

Vague, confusing, and bland don’t instill a lot of confidence or trust in your dream customer—and that’s the whole point of a brand. Now, I feel like “vague,” “confusing,” and “bland” are my own worst nightmares, but they can also pose a big threat to your brand. Let’s dig into these monsters a little more and start to unpack how we can keep them out of our brands.

But the problem with bringing authenticity to your brand is if you don’t really know who you are, that will be reflected in your business as vague, confusing, and bland.

At first glance, Confusing is the opposite of Vague. They’re wearing something very fashion forward that you either absolutely love … or love to hate. Now, this is actually a really great branding tactic and an outward display of authenticity and being who you are. But Confusing’s problem isn’t his outward style—it’s how he talks about how he affords all the clothes (not to mention vacations to Dubai) he buys. 

Source: https://braidcreative.com/blog

“I can’t do that, you [Braid] are already doing that.”

She followed up by asking for a no-nonsense response to how you make it in a saturated market where it feels like everyone is doing the thing you want to be doing. Whether you’re a coach, photographer, painter, marketer, leadership consultant – or even a whole team of people working toward a common goal – it can be easy to question whether you’re adding to the noise or actually contributing something special with your services and talent.

The feel-good response to this self doubt would be: “Only you can combine your personal + professional experience to offer something special (like a unique snowflake!) that nobody else can”

And while there’s truth to that sentiment, I can think of far more practical and straight-forward insights that will help you cut through the noise and stand out among your competitors. And that’s what I want to share with you today.

Source: https://braidcreative.com/blog

It’s not uncommon for us to get pushback from our clients who are uncomfortable with narrowing in on their dream customer. They might say it’s because they don’t want to leave anyone out.

Either a previous customer you’ve already worked with, a friend you know would benefit from your offering, or maybe even a character on a TV show you could imagine hiring you!

But if we’re reading between the lines, we always sense an underlying fear of losing out on any customer willing to pay them. If money were no object, who would your dream customer be? What exactly would you offer them? Why do they need it – what problem are you solving for them?

Source: https://braidcreative.com/blog