Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Success isn't given, it's earned. And earning it means becoming the person who deserves it. The bottom line is where we cut through the chaos to simplify success, uncovering the strategies, mindset and resilience it takes to win. Real stories, expert insights and practical tools. Because the only way to the top is by putting in the world. This is the bottom line.
Welcome to the Bottom Line. I'm your host Ryan Herpin. And today's episode is about more than just logos and taglines. It's about building a brand that truly reflects who you are and why you do what you do. If your messaging feels disjointed or if you're constantly explaining your brand but not seeing it, really seeing it, click with your audience and your customers. Clients.
You really want to target this because clarity really builds trust.
And trust is the foundation of every successful brand that has ever existed, whether personal or professional.
That's why I'm thrilled to welcome today's guest, Alana Reese. With over a decade of experience working with powerhouse names like Skippy, Poland Spring, Starbucks, Elena now helps entrepreneurs and purpose driven brands align their voice, their vibe and their vision.
Alana, welcome to the show. It's such a pleasure having you.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: Thank you so much, Ryan. So glad to be here.
[00:01:30] Speaker A: So I want to kind of highlight some of the problem that it really lies within this. A lot of entrepreneurs and leaders struggle with staying consistent with their messaging. Their brand feels disjointed and they're not quite sure how to align everything with their purpose. And it can be really frustrating. Really, really frustrating. I've dealt with it myself. I've dealt with clients that deal with it. And we've got to solve this because without having that aligned brand, we can't truly build that, that know that like and that trust that we need from the people that see our brand. So I want to dove right as the name would suggest. I like to get to the bottom line. So, Alanda, so you have an impressive background with big name brands. What made you shift your focus to helping smaller businesses and entrepreneurs.
[00:02:19] Speaker B: Multilayers in what you were just saying. So thank you for the question. So for starters, when you're talking about brand and consistency, I think one of the things that's really important, and this is for big brands as well as small brands, is authenticity.
So if you're like true to what your brand represents, it'll be easier to be consistent in your messaging and that resonates with consumers. They understand you better. So whether that's a big brand or personal brand or A small business having the same messaging across platforms, across different communication is really important.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: I couldn't agree with you more. It's one thing that can destroy somebody is credibility, is inconsistencies and really integrity all at the same time. If you can't stay aligned, how could you possibly have integrity? But what does brand alignment mean to you on a personal level?
[00:03:18] Speaker B: On a personal level, it's beyond just where you're working. It's what you're doing, why you're doing it, how you've come to do it. Which back to your question, why I do what I do.
I started working in big corporations and yes, some of those names you dropped have been amazingly amazing brands, amazing experiences.
Cutting my teeth on some of these powerhouse brands has been incredible and I've met incredible people.
The backdrop behind all of it and what makes those brands successful is, is the same as what would make a small brand successful, which is that connection, that authenticity, having the same message that goes out and having it true to who you are. So with that I look at who I am and what is important to me.
I had to make sure that I could be available for my kids when they needed me. And in the corporate environment, this is pre Covid when people were not doing remote work, I couldn't find physically clone myself. I had to find a way to be present with my kids when they needed me. And I had to unfortunately or fortunately leave corporate in order to attend to something more flexible that has grown and developed and evolved. And so I now have the opportunity and the ability to work with people and help them understand what is authentic to them and what are the steps that they ultimately are going to take.
What moves might they make to keep that authenticity and to keep what's true to them.
So what is a brand? Right? Like we know, for example, Starbucks. We all have an idea of what does Starbucks mean? It's upscale, it's got this like third space in stores.
It's a very high quality coffee brand.
And if you were to, as one of my, one of my sales guys once did, start promoting something in like a bubblegum pink that just was not consistent with the branding, we had to put a stop to that. We had to say, hey, let's be consistent with what this brand is, what it represents so that the end user understands and trusts what they're getting. They have a certain perception. So it's the same on a personal basis, right? Like for me, once I became a mom, that became a priority for me. So when I was doing something that was inconsistent with that priority, I had to make shift. I had to do what was working for me to keep that constant.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: That's extremely powerful. And I. I have to unpack some of that because there's a lot of gold in what you just said. First and foremost on that personal level. Right. That authenticity aspect. I think a lot of people feel like in the world of business, they sometimes have to be someone they're not. They have to present themselves as someone they're not. Maybe their brand has to do things that's not really what they truly care for. But there's a. Something I kind of live by, a little, Little mantra that I like to use in life and in business. And it's. I stand for what's good, what's right, what's honest. Therefore, I operate within what's good, what's right, what's honest. If I can't be me, it's not worth doing, it's not worth being.
So at the same time, when I had my kids, when I had. When my son was born, I had to very quickly make the decision to stay within the corporate world, running big manufacturing companies or start my own thing and put the priorities where they really needed to be. And family had to come before business. And staying in that corporate environment where I couldn't have the freedom to decide it, it just wasn't for me.
So it also became part of my personal brand.
[00:06:59] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:59] Speaker A: To be that business owner, that entrepreneur, that consultant, that speaker that still puts family first.
So I can relate to that in such a deep level. But how do you help someone find the right atmosphere or brand vibe that truly reflects who they are?
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Yeah, I think I just want to comment on something before I answer that, which is being who you are, being an individual, and being that same person across all platforms. There is a difference between being professional and not being professional. So I do think sometimes people have to understand, and most people do, but there are some that need to be reminded. You still need to talk with respect. You still need to put yourself in a. In a place where you're. You're not sloppy, where you're still professional. Right. Like, there is still a delineation. And some people maybe want to overlap the two. And sometimes you. You need to keep them separate in terms of bringing and finding what that authentic part of you is, what's important. I think it becomes really relevant to often take stock of what your goals are, what you're. How you're defining success. We've talked about that before.
And then from there you can pursue what's consistent with that. In the corporate world or in a business world, knowing that you're working with people who have some of the same values as you or a company that shares certain values is going to be really helpful to understand that you're working in the right place.
Sometimes you can't tell until you're inside, and then you realize, oops, this maybe wasn't the right fit. And that's okay. You can shift, you can shift. You're not stuck in one place. I think one of the coolest things about life, professional, personal, and the integration of is that you don't have to stay exactly still at all. You shouldn't stay still. It's important to evolve, and sometimes that means making a change. So sometimes that means looking for something different.
There's so many opportunities out there, and we don't always consider them because we have a certain idea in our head like it has to be this way. This is the route we have to take. Sometimes that's not the case.
[00:09:17] Speaker A: That's a really good point. I am really glad that you did point out that yes, authenticity is important, but there is that dichotomy that has to be there. There is a professional you and an also professional you. But I think when you truly do have a goal in mind, a purpose in mind, an objective in mind, you start to align with that on a personal level as well. So for me, my professional image very much, I'll put it this way, my private image, the image I have in my life, my family, these things, it became my professional image in a lot of ways. I just am who I am in all ways. But. But you're right, though. You do have to be careful because sometimes what you say, what you do, can compromise your business integrity. It can compromise your brand integrity. And what might be good for business might not be good for life. What might be good for life might not be good for business all the time. So I'm really glad you pointed that out because that to. To make assumptions there could definitely put some people in a hole. But, you know, I'm. I'm curious.
Why did you get started in this?
What, what was it about helping people find that, that, that brand, that voice for themselves, that voice for their business. What about that really brought you in?
[00:10:32] Speaker B: You know, I think back to as long as I can remember, the idea of being a hypocrite is like the biggest sin in my mind. I don't know why, but that has always resonated. Like if somebody is inconsistent or a brand is inconsistent, for me, that is like, no, I don't trust you. I don't like you. That's wrong. For whatever reason. And so this idea of really digging into who each of us is and what makes you you and bringing that to life, it just resonates more. For starters, in addition, you're so much more successful when you're doing things that come with ease, when you're doing things that are meaningful, when you're doing things that make sense to you.
You, they're your strengths, and if you focus on them, you can really excel at those. Those things I'm always about, I'm always interested. When you get a review, when you're talking with your manager and they go through your, your successes, your failures, what you, what your strengths are, what you need to work on. The first thing we do, it's a psychology thing. The first thing we do is, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm good, I'm good, I'm bad at that, or I messed that up. And you're so focused on this one thing that didn't fit, that didn't go right. But the, the reality is you've got all these things that you rock at, that you succeed at.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: I couldn't agree with you more. Actually, I need to jump in right there because I couldn't agree with you more. And I want to dig into this more in the next segment. So don't go anywhere, Grab popcorn, grab coffee, whatever it is you got to grab. Come back with a pen and pad because we have more in the next segment of the Bottom Line.
Love what you're watching. Don't miss a moment of the Bottom Line or any of your favorite NOW Media TV shows live or on demand, anytime, anywhere. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and enjoy instant access to our full lineup of bilingual programming in both English and Spanish.
Prefer to listen on the Go catch the podcast version of the show right on the NOW Media TV website at www. Now Media tv. From business and breaking news to lifestyle, culture and everything in between, now media TV is streaming 247 ready whenever you are.
So we are back on the Bottom Line. And I, I, I'm still joined by the brilliant Atlanta. And in this segment, we're talking about how to create messaging that's not just clever but meaningful and moving.
Something that's not just quirky but drives results.
In the first half of the show here, you know, the, the first segment, we, we uncovered the heart behind building a brand that's authentic and aligned. Now we're diving deeper into the message itself. Because once your brand, it has clarity.
You need to be able to communicate it in a way that actually moves people. It's one thing to say things, it's another to make them stick.
So Elena helps her clients move from sounding smart to sounding real. And that is extremely important in today's ever changing markets. So I want to dive right into this.
You know, Elena, it's still great to have you on the show. Such a pleasure to have you here. You're so intelligent and so powerful with your messaging.
[00:13:52] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: So I want to dive in. How do you help clients discover the emotional core of their branding?
[00:14:02] Speaker B: I think it's important to look at what the brand messaging is intended to be, what the feeling is intended to be. Whether it's, as I was talking about, Starbucks earlier, upscale, or are you looking at something that's really for everybody? Are you a Michael Jordan? Are you a Knight? Mikey? What? What are you? Right. What do you mean? And from a personal standpoint, what do you mean as well?
It's easy with social media to get confused, I think. I think it's easier, easy to see that things are just so pervasive or out there being whatever. Whatever they are, whatever people are doing on social media that it feels like that anything goes.
But that's not the case. Even the. The big players on social media are very deliberate and very intentional about what messaging they want to convey. I like making sure that whatever messaging you're doing from a personal brand, from a business brand, is consistent and authentic with what the brand is intended to represent.
[00:15:10] Speaker A: Okay.
That.
I would say that is noteworthy for sure. So at the same time, though, I'm curious. You've been doing this a while. You've got a lot of very developed beliefs, philosophies and strategies that you've seen consistent work. So could you tell us a time or maybe an instance where your help has really helped somebody develop and really become their brand?
[00:15:38] Speaker B: Absolutely. So I have a client who has been in the corporate world for a while in sales, and she's always been a rock star in sales. Every time she gets into something, she owns it, she embodies it, and she kicks tail. Right? She does really, really good job, but there's always been something missing for her, something lacking. And so we sat back and kept talking about what areas inspire her? What does she put. If. If sales and money weren't an issue, what would she focus on? What areas does she want to teach people? What things keep resonating with her? What things does she read about, dream about, talk about want to create. And it kept coming back for this particular client. It kept coming back to things in the world of cannabis.
And so for her, she ultimately decided that she wanted to start doing something like in the cannabis world, business wise, which I think is such a cool opportunity and nothing I would have ever been able to pursue. But this is completely up her alley. And now she's working on a product called Candles with the two ends like cannabis. And that's something that she's promoting and developing and selling. So she's bringing her, her skills and her experience and her tools and combining it with her passion and building something that is truly meaningful to her and that she can sell even more passionately because it's true to her heart.
So that's just an example of, of one person digging into what is really important to you, what lights you up and how can we do something with that where you're, you're merging your worlds in a way that makes sense.
[00:17:23] Speaker A: You know, there's, there's a little bit of a saying that I use when working with some of my clients, you know, especially when, when we talk about the, the brand of the business, the culture, the atmosphere. You know, something that I think ties to this very well is it's really only a, it's a job if you don't have a good, clear reason why. When you have a good, clear reason why something powerful, it goes from a job to a career.
And when you're the one steering that ship, when it's your brand, it goes from career to true calling. And I think there's a lot of power in that that's often missed because we can get stuck in that grind, the mundane of doing the same thing again and again and again and feeling like because we've built this thing to where it is, we, we gotta stick there. Otherwise we're gonna lose that momentum and lose all that time and effort. But I, I, I think there's a lot of power in finding that call. If you find something that works, stick with it.
Doesn't matter what it is. Some people might not agree with it, but if it works for you, it works for you. What matters is you stay passionate and fired up about it and you feel that alignment with it. So what advice would you give somebody who's struggling to communicate their purpose clearly?
[00:18:35] Speaker B: So I think one thing that's, that I want to note is sometimes people come to me and they're either coming from a big company or they're focused on getting a position at a big company.
And I think it's important to sometimes consider that there are companies out there that either are no name, not no name, but are smaller companies, maybe not as prestigious, or offer brands that again maybe aren't quite as well known, that may fit exactly what they're looking for. Right.
I have a client, for example, who was in a particular industry and he had a passion, has a passion for cars and he was doing insurance for cars and he was switching industries, in essence still bringing his skills, passion, experience to the table, but ultimately went with a company that was smaller, that had cars as one of the things that they, that they work on.
And it was, for him, it was easy. He understood that he didn't need to be at a big name brand company to fulfill what he was seeking. But one thing I would encourage people to consider is there may be companies out there, opportunities out there, positions out there that are off the beaten path, that will still pay what you're looking for, that will still give you the cachet, the experience, the growth, the opportunity, the management, whatever it is that you're looking for will still give that to you on a different scale. And one, I think it's important to consider that when you're, when you're looking to change.
[00:20:11] Speaker A: I've got to highlight something extremely important that you said in there.
Sometimes we're looking in the wrong places to find that thing that fulfills us. Sometimes it's not that big name, sometimes not that big brand, sometimes not that big company, the big entity, sometimes it's the smaller one that has the opportunity, that has the opening, that has the culture that can drive your success.
Right? I find fulfillment to be my driving force, serving my purpose, receiving fulfillment. It now takes place over money in 99.9% of scenarios for me because there's something so much more valuable to me in achieving and earning that fulfillment over anything.
But Elena, you have pretty much just given us a master class on meaningful messaging. For anyone watching that is trying to really work on their brand clarity, communication, connection. How can they find you? How can they reach out to you?
[00:21:09] Speaker B: You can look either on my website, which is success compass.com the number six, the letter S, the word compass, or send me an email at info@success compass.com.
[00:21:28] Speaker A: I love it. Super simple, super easy to find you and the amount of information, knowledge you have is absolutely incredible. You've seen it from the top end in the large corporate environment all the way to the small business owners. And something I also want to highlight that you, you mentioned, especially in the first segment, is a lot of the same things that work in the big environments work in the smaller ones. A lot of the same things that work in the corporate entities work in the small LLCs even. And there's a lot there too.
I can attest to this coming from large corporate environments now, consulting for smaller, mid size, even other large businesses, a lot of it still applies. So I have one more big question for you.
What branding message are you trying to send to the world?
Wow.
[00:22:16] Speaker B: Okay, let's see. I guess being true to yourself, to thine own self, be true, right? Be true to yourself.
Because at the end of the day, how you will define your life when you're putting something in your obituary or your gravestone, ideally you don't want to have any regrets that you weren't true to who you are.
[00:22:42] Speaker A: That is a very, very powerfully said. And it's funny because something a very important question my mentor asked me a long, long time ago is when you pass, how do you want to be remembered?
And for me, that very much became my brand, very much became how I operate, who I am, the way I want people to see me.
So it's, it's almost identify who you want to become and just start being that.
And that is just, that is the brand for you, right? So that, that's absolutely incredible. That is such a very deep, powerful thing. I'm so happy you shared that with us. It has been an absolute pleasure having you on the show today. I can tell you firsthand, I wish I would have taken notes because there's a few things there that are going to stick with me for quite some time because even myself, for my clients, for my brand, there's always more to learn, there's always more to do. And to work with an expert like you is a blessing that oh my goodness, so many people in our nation around the world would very, very much benefit from. So thank you for being on the show today and for all of our viewers.
If you have loved every bit of this, you need to reach out to her. She's absolutely incredible. She's powerful and she knows how to get the most power out of your brand in the way that suits you and makes you known, liked and trusted. And that is the key to growing in business.
Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more of the Bottom Line.
Loving what you're watching. Don't miss a moment of the Bottom Line or any of your favorite NOW Media TV shows, live or on demand, anytime, anywhere. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and enjoy instant access to our full lineup of bilingual programming in both English and Spanish. Prefer to listen on the go catch the podcast version of the show right on Now Media TV's website at www.
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From business and breaking news to lifestyle, culture and everything in between, now Media TV is streaming 247 ready whenever you are Foreign Back on the bottom line and I want to take a moment to zoom out and reflect on something powerful that came through in my conversation with Atlanta Alignment Alignment is in business isn't just about branding. It's about making sure that what we say aligns with what we do and what we believe all at the same time.
There's a lot to unpack with this. It's really, really easy to get caught up in what we say and sometimes we have to do things differently to get the results we want. But at the same time, sometimes you compromise what you believe to get the results you're looking for. See, branding is the way the world sees the way the world sees your business.
Alignment for that is extremely critical because hypocrisy is when we say something and do something different.
Integrity is when we say and act upon our beliefs.
So when you start breaking down that alignment, you're not compromising your integrity and that hurts your credibility. See, people don't want to buy products or services from someone they don't know like and trust. It applies the same way to an overall brand.
If they don't know like and trust the brand, why would they want to buy it? See, when your brand isn't aligned with your heart, you'll constantly feel like you're performing instead of leading.
It's. It's acting as if.
And to tell you the truth, I've been a culprit of this before.
I have been in a position where I'm running a company and I'm having to make calls and decisions based on numbers instead of what I really believe and what I really feel. You see, when you go so far into the corporate world, depending on where you're at, what you do, you have to become somebody that puts the heart aside to handle big matters without a whole lot of passion and compassion.
And when that happens, you start creating self doubt. You start hurting your own belief of yourself, who you are, the way you think, the way you operate, you start hurting your internal integrity. And that can be a major problem. So when it comes to brand alignment, you've got to stay on the same page with what you say, what you do and what you believe.
And it all starts with what you believe See, consistency isn't just a marketing tool, it's a trust builder.
When you do what you say over and over and over, people then can predict what you do.
This builds trust.
So think of it like this.
If you have a coach, sports coach, they show up every day before the practice begins.
They follow up with you after every practice and tells you, and they tell you where they think you need improvement, where you're falling short, what you're struggling with, what they think you could do. If they did this consistently all the time, you would really, really trust that that coach has your best interest in mind. They truly care, they truly want your success.
But if they showed up late, if they never really followed up with you, how could you trust them? How could you believe they truly want your success? Right? So it's the same thing with leadership.
How do you expect your team to follow you if you don't have that consistency?
It's impossible, right? So alignment is about knowing your purpose and making sure every decision, product and piece of content reflects that purpose. You see, in my chapter that I wrote in the series, the Change with Jim Britt, Jim Lutz, Les Brown, I really focused on my three pillars, my three principles of success. And the first one, the first most important one is purpose. Purpose is the foundation that your life is built.
It's the difference between building a home, actually, I'll put it this way. It's the difference between building a building on sand versus stone.
The sand can wash away, the sand can blow away, the stone will remain, right? Building that foundation is extremely important. And that foundation is rooted in purpose.
From there, everything else in life you build will stand on that firm foundation, right? So aligning every decision, everything you say, all the content with that purpose is going to build that building, right? And having that purpose strong, focused and understood gives you that, that, that really good ground to stand on. Now, customers don't just want services, they want authenticity. When they sense inconsistency, they start to question credibility. So we touched base on this a little bit before, but I, I really need to focus on this a little bit more because it is really easy to get off brand. It's really easy to say things and not mean.
This is where a lot of what I believe corporate America struggles with. It's really, really easy to come up with a brand you think people are going to like. You don't believe it in it entirely. You, you, you're, you're putting out there what you think people like, not what you like, not what you love, not what you're passionate about. And that is where instability and consistency breaks down.
It's a big problem.
You see, you've got to.
If you're not truly passionate about what brand it is you're putting out there, it's not second nature to communicate on these things in conversation. You could slip up and communicate something that's not exactly what you're trying to present.
Right. Same with content. So it's really important to understand that your brand has to be rooted in something as passionate that you're passionate in. But strong brands really aren't just born from clever campaigns. They're built from clear convictions that, that deep reason why that, that, that burning. See, most people on the planet can stay passionate for a day, two days, a couple weeks, couple months, even a year or two.
Very, very few in our population can stay fired up, motivated and truly convicted for a decade.
This is where you get the Walmarts. This is where you get the Starbucks. This is where you get those really big entities and businesses that are wildly successful, globally known and automatically trusted.
It is consistent discipline applied towards authenticity and presence.
It is extremely important to start as soon as possible in building that major brand presence. See, people want to talk about moving mountains.
Well, mountains can be moved one stone at a time, just like mountains can be built one stone at a time.
It's the same thing with building a big successful brand. It all comes from the consistent discipline, the small executions again and again and again.
That is how it works.
There's no shortcut, there's no overnight success.
That is how it happens. So you're building something.
The question is, what if you're not actively working on your brand, your brand is still being built and it's pretty safe to say it's not going to be exactly what you want it to be. So you have to put some intention, you have to take some time, you have to focus on, you have to actually put effort towards.
What brand are you building? How is the world seeing you in your business? It's just like a team.
The culture of your team is going to be built no matter what you do.
Truth is, it's up to you to decide. Are you going to build it or is your team going to build it for you?
So ask yourself, does my brand reflect who I am or just what I sell?
You see, I, I'm a firm believer in the reason why is more important than the what.
People buy into the reason why, deeper than they do the what.
So something that, that Alana and I talked about and, and I will repeat, I'll Echo this.
The difference between a job and a career is a really good reason why.
The same with your team. If your team sees the reason why you do this, the reason why the business is the way it is, the reason why you're driving this direction, trying to execute xyz, if they can tie that, if they can connect that to their reason why, they then can put passion behind it. They're going to move more efficiently, more effectively, and execute in ways that you never imagined, right? This is the difference between a job and a career. For a job, people just show up. They want a paycheck, they want to leave a career. People show up with fire to execute. It's for a purpose. A bigger reason why than just money. And I also address this in a different way. Fulfillment. When you have a really good reason why it's tied to your purpose, and when executing your purpose, you find fulfillment. Fulfillment is worth more than money.
Some of you might think I'm crazy.
Sure, maybe I am crazy. But the truth is, when you've earned a lot of money, it can get very dull very fast.
Money doesn't buy happiness.
Money can buy excitement, think about some joy. But deep happiness comes from fulfillment. So maybe it's safer to say money can't buy fulfillment. Can it create the opportunities to be fulfilled? Sure. But you can create those opportunities now. You can be fulfilled now. And a big part of that is identifying your purpose and moving in alignment with who you are. That means your brand. Consistent with what you believe, what you say and what you do, you will find that fulfillment.
And then it gets really fun because then you don't stress and worry about the money as much.
You see, I believe in any successful brand, any successful business, if you pursue execution of purpose for fulfillment, money is just the byproduct. It's automatic.
So when you execute what you love good consistently, money's automatic. It's gonna happen.
So when it comes to alignment, I cannot stress enough. You have to get in alignment. It's easy to say things, it's not as easy to do them.
Actions speak louder than words. But at the same time, if you don't have a true belief in what it is you're doing, your actions and your words will always clash.
So I would like to move on to the next topic that I believe is going to be very impactful. So don't go anywhere. We'll be right back on the Bottom Line.
Love what you're watching. Don't miss a moment of the Bottom Line or any of your favorite now media TV shows. Live or on demand, anytime, anywhere. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and enjoy instant access to our full lineup of bilingual programming in both English and Spanish. Prefer to listen on the Go catch the podcast version of the show right on the Now Media TV website at www.nowmedia.tv.
from business and breaking news to lifestyle, culture and everything in between, now media TV is streaming 247 ready whenever you are.
Welcome back to the Bottom we have been talking about brand, brand alignment, brand consistency, and some of the deeper reasons why this matters. So I want to wrap up the show today with something that really hits home for me, right?
I want to leave this with you. Your brand already exists. It's just waiting for you to show up for it.
You see that that ties into who you're meant to be, who you're becoming, what your purpose is, what you're designed to do, right? A lot of people live their life not truly knowing what they want to do.
You know, I think part of the system that we live in makes it hard. You go to school and you're tasked to figure out what it is you want to do for the rest of your life well before you're ready to actually do it.
So with that being the case, we're pressured, we're pressured and pressured and pressured to figure out exactly who we want to be before we really understand what to look for.
So with purpose, understanding your purpose, you're going to very clearly see what it is you need to become and how you need to do it. So a few things I want to talk about. The best branding strategy is self awareness.
When you truly know who you are, you become magnetic. You see authenticity, genuine personality, right? Real attracts real.
That's it. It's, it's cliche. It is cliche and it, it easily, easily made fun of. But truth is a fun old saying. Real, recognize real. That that's fair. It is real. You see when, when you start really living in who you're meant to be and you start being the best version of yourself, executing in your brand presence with consistency, you're going to find people that are like minded and that want to do it with you. They want to be a part of it, they want to be around you. Or maybe they're doing their own thing, but they connect with you because they relate, right? When you start living with a deep sense of self awareness, you become consistent.
You build that, that, that credibility, that integrity with those around you. They just see it, they feel it and people are drawn to you in the world of business, it's extremely important. To be successful means you've got to be able to bring people in.
You can't really make money and grow success if no one buys your product or service.
So to be really self aware and to work on your integrity, work on your consistency, work on your brand messaging, your purpose, all these things, you're going to bring people in and it is very important. See, you don't need to copy what everyone else is doing. Your uniqueness is your competitive advantage.
For me, it's funny, my competitive advantage as a consultant is broken down into a few different things. Number one, I'm not just a consultant, I'm a coach, I'm a mentor, I'm a speaker and I'm a fractional partner.
You see, my, my brand is not like the typical consultant in the market.
You see, my uniqueness is that I don't just give you actionable recommendations, I don't just give you strategies.
I will build you up, I'll help you find a reason why, I'll help motivate you, but at the same time I will jump into your business. So my team, we will take hats off your head, execute, take over responsibilities of a department, production, management, doesn't matter what it is, we will refine things, clean it up, get measurable results, and then hand it back to you or delegate it to one of your team members. That creates a sense that that really has created a lot of success for me because it's unique, it's different and that becomes a competitive advantage. Another competitive advantage.
For people to know, like and trust me, you gotta ask questions. Well, one of the big questions people ask me is what's your education? What's your background?
Well, newsflash, I don't have a college education.
I put myself to trade school.
I learned business by walking through fire.
That was my path, that was my college, that was my education.
Started as a welder, worked my way up into business, ended up taking over a very large manufacturing company.
Thanks to having a very powerful, intelligent, meaningful mentor, I was able to learn a lot of things that I wouldn't have learned otherwise. But I also developed an attitude and a belief system that allowed me to study, allowed me to learn, made me interested in becoming. You see, I developed a belief that no one could outwork me.
It didn't matter what I needed to learn, I would learn it, I would teach myself. There's nothing I couldn't teach myself, right? And that became an advantage because my work ethic, my discipline, my belief in myself made me stand out amongst my competition, when it came to running a big company, that made me stand out when it comes to, when it comes to me as a consultant, makes me stand out because even if I don't know it, my track record proves I can learn it quickly, I can learn it well, and I can learn it well enough to teach others.
So it's not just knowledge, it's knowledge utilized.
People say knowledge is power.
No, utilize. Knowledge is power.
Action upon that knowledge is what creates results. Just knowing it doesn't matter, right? So stop chasing visibility and start living your values. That's when your brain becomes undeniable, right? So for me, knowing my brain was going to be different, knowing people were not going to see me as the typical consultant in this market, I just had to be me.
My values are, are what's good, what's right, what's honest.
I want to. I'm not in the business of bad business, is what I like to say. So, and I'm saying all this as, as reference because it gives you things to chew on, gives you things to think about, right? What works for me might not work for you, but maybe what worked for me can. It will work.
It's just a matter of being open to the idea, open to the concept. You see, for me to do what's good, what's right and what's honest, that means transparency.
That means a disciplined action towards doing it right as often as possible. And when I struggle, I fail, or I mess up or I don't know, I have to be honest about it.
It's being in the business of good business.
Transparency is a good policy.
Honesty is a good policy.
And doing it right and good is very good policy.
When you have those, those, those values, it shines.
You see, actions speak louder than words. So when your actions are consistently good and get good results, people know people, people feel it, they see it, they understand it, they trust it. And that means you will get the results you're truly looking for.
People follow authenticity. They trust consistency and they support businesses that feel like they see them.
You see, it's really, really hard to keep customers, clients and people coming back if they don't feel seen, heard and know right. It's the same thing as they don't buy from people they don't know, like and trust. It's the same thing the other way around. They want to feel like they are known, liked and trusted.
So when you, when you are authentic, people follow.
People want to be around it because authenticity is genuine. It brings in genuine interest, genuine care, genuine Faith, genuine trust. Right?
Don't just build a business, build a brand that speaks even when you're not in the room.
Easier said than done.
Simple, but really not easy.
It takes a lot of time, effort and consistency to build that brand. That is loud when you're not there, that is present when you're not there.
It takes work, takes intentionality. You see, no successful brand was built overnight. So there's a few brands we can think of that mean business. They're serious. We know the quality Apple, great example. We know the quality of Apple phones, we know the consistency of Apple phones. Yeah, there might not be a ton of things that we like, you know, there might not be, there might be some holes, some gaps and things that we're not too fond of. But the overall brand of Apple, they are consistent, they're controlled. We know what they think, we know what they do, we know what to expect.
And that makes them relevant even when they're not in the room.
So relevant that I would say a large portion of, of America as an Apple phone.
It's just the way things work. That's how branding works, is how it operates.
So to build a, a brand that still has a presence when you're not around, it's important.
That's how you get people to come back. It's how you get it to where you're not having to work on sales and marketing as much because people just know people see it. So it's just like word of mouth referrals, right? When your reputation starts to speak for you, others want to speak on behalf of your reputation. Same thing with your brand.
Your ability to get consistent results and to take care of the people around you, your clients, you're going to have that brand speak for you. So remember, what makes you different is what makes you valuable.
In a market that is crowded with tons and tons of people and businesses that do it all the same way. To stand out is not a bad thing. To be different is not a bad thing. You never know what outside of the box idea is going to turn your business into the next Google.
Maybe I'm optimistic, sure. But this line of thinking, this thought process has helped me transform businesses of all shapes and sizes to completely different, different levels. And it's through outside of the box thinking. The differences make you valuable. Standing out makes you valuable people.
It's funny, when you've got 10 companies that do the exact same thing, they're going to go with the one they see first, the one they see the most, because as soon as they start seeing it, they realize it doesn't really matter. They all do the same thing. It's which one spends more time standing out.
So it's the same thing when it comes to your differences, standing out in your market. Be different. If you have more things to market, market in a different way, execute it in a different way, have different things to show for it. You will stand out. You will get results.
So I want to wrap this up with my favorite saying on the planet. Because it's the same thing with your brand.
Same thing with your brand.
A consistent brand creates success.
Success isn't given, it's earned.
Just like your brand.
So thank you for tuning in today. I look forward to seeing you next time on the Bottom Line.
