You know who you are, don’t you?
You’re the one with the brand that makes you cringe. The brand you spent WAY too much money and time on, only to realize that it doesn’t really fit anymore (or maybe it never did!).
Sure, you have the pretty logo and the well-designed site – but the truth is, it doesn’t reflect you at all and your right people aren’t resonating with it (meaning – no money in the bank).
I hate to break it to you, but you’ve got a bad case of brand shame.
First, let me tell you that this is normal. Most entrepreneurs get a case of brand shame at some point in their journey. It may be right at the beginning or three years in – doesn’t really matter.
Here’s what brand shame looks like:
– you feel like the brand you created does not reflect the essence of YOU – your strengths, your passions, what you stand for and who you most want to serve
– your right people aren’t resonating with your brand, leaving you frustrated, rejected and maybe a little broke
– you aren’t actively promoting your brand (even though you know you should be)
– you still aren’t clear on what you do, who you serve (your right people) and what makes you unique
– you created a me-too brand, basically copying what your competitors (or mentors) have and now you’ve got a case of the me-too icks
– you created a brand that fit you at one time, but you’ve grown and evolved and now it feels like a pair of shoes that are too tight – you’ve outgrown your brand but you don’t know what to do next
This my friends, is what brand shame looks like. And it ain’t pretty.
The truth is, as a solo-based entrepreneur, you ARE your brand. And your brand is THE most important thing you have going for you. You can have the best services in the world, the most strategic marketing tactics or the biggest list – but if your brand sucks, then it’s all a moot point.
Your brand is a way to clearly convey exactly who you are, what you do, who you serve and what you want to be known for. And it’s the way your right people FEEL when they experience your brand.
When these are in alignment – you’ll be turning away the work. When they are incongruent, your right person doesn’t think you’re so ‘right’ anymore (well, she’s highly confused) and goes running to someone else.
The good news? Brand shame can be fixed (yay!). Sometimes it’s just a tweak, sometimes it’s a re-jig and sometimes it is a complete do-over.
Regardless, getting clarity on YOUR perfect brand is your most important job. Because your brand is your single most valuable business asset. It’s what separates you from the competition, makes you stand out and acts as a calling card to your right people.
And when you have a brand that truly reflects the VERY best of who you are – when you literally brand your brilliance – you’ll be unstoppable.
So, if you’ve got brand shame – here’s your next step. I want you to get to the root of the problem. Be honest with yourself. WHY do you have brand shame? Is it that you created a me-too brand (in which case, it’ll be time to get uber clear on who YOU are and what YOU want your brand to stand for)? If it’s that you’ve outgrown your brand, you’ll need to come to terms with whether you need a brand tweak, shake-up or do-over. Or is it that you never created a brand that reflected you – and you’re starting to feel like it’s a bit of a facade.
The most important step here is just to identify what the problem REALLY is. You don’t want to go about a brand do-over if you don’t have clarity on what didn’t work about your last brand, right?
So spend 15 minutes with yourself and get clear on where your brand shame is bubbling up from. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.
I’ll be sharing other steps in the coming weeks, but start here. Your brand will thank you for it!
*Important note: Watch this blog next Tuesday, July 2nd morning for a very special announcement. I’m opening the doors to a very private, high-impact, high-touch program for just 6 members of my community (well, actually – just 4 as two spots got snapped up before I even announced this puppy).*
