10 Brand Building Mistakes
you can learn from my fails
I don’t know about you but I’ve got a PhD in ‘learning the hard way’. In fact, if you ask my folks they’ll tell you it’s my mug next ‘stubborn’ in the dictionary. Look, you can read books, watch tutorials, take courses and study how other successful brands are doing things, but there’s nothing like the boom juice of learning from the mistakes of those that are where you want to be {ok, at least in the general direction}.
Boy have I made a L-O-T of mistakes over the last 4 years I’ve been building online brands.
A lot people think I came out of the gate successful with The Branded Solopreneur {pppfffttt, NOT!}, but the truth is I’ve had several brands before this and each of them tanked because of specific mistakes I made. {face palm}
While there’s NO one size fits all formula for brand success, there ARE several common mistakes that most solopreneurs make during their brand building journey. Mistakes that can delay your success months, even years {I’m living proof!}. No thanks, right?!
That, my badass, is why I want to pull back the wine stained curtains and share with you the 10 biggest mistakes I’ve made and how I’ve overcome them.
Here are the top ten brand building mistakes that held me back from my solopreneur success for far longer than I’d like to admit:
mistake no. 1
NOT INVESTING IN BRANDING
Let’s get something clear right out of the gate. I’m addicted to branding boom juice because I learned the hard way how important it is.
The first online brand I started was for my web and graphic design freelance business, Teakwood Design, and sadly it lacked any element of recognizability or consistency. I know, pretty ironic given what I’m all about these days! But that’s exactly my point.
While I knew digital design I had absolutely no understanding of branding, nor did I get its purpose. I haphazardly used any fonts, colors and styles that struck my fancy at the moment, which made brand recognition a pipe dream.
It wasn’t until I hit my breaking point and started dissecting how badass brands were doing things that I had my AH HA moment. It wasn’t long after that deep dive that I realized everything these brands did looked, sounded and felt the same. I quickly realized that ONE element dictated everything they produced.
That element was their branding!
I noticed that they clearly defined and consistently used several guidelines that made their brand stand out from the crowd. Guidelines that together created a completely unique signature style that was immediately recognizable no matter where I saw or heard them online.
THESE BRANDING GUIDELINES INCLUDE THEIR:
It was only after I took a step back from my brand and defined my branding guidelines that I began to reap the rewards of brand recognition! And if that wasn’t enough rewards to justify the investment I also noticed how scary easy it was to create new content and how much more clarity I had in understanding exactly who my brand was for and exactly how I could help those people.
The reason most solopreneurs {including me} mistakenly dismiss the importance of branding is because they don’t understand what it will do for their business. See, branding doesn’t start with a logo, it starts with clarity!
Clarity in understanding your purpose, your mission, your style, even your target audience. It’s a process of identifying the unique aspects of both you as an individual, and your business, and weaving these attributes together in a way that is consistently expressed in everything you do, say, and create.
THE SOLUTION:
Invest your time and money into building a signature brand identity that represents the essence of your purpose, products, message and mission. Developing and defining the elements of your brand identity is truly the first step on your path to standing out online and reaching ‘badass’ status.
mistake no. 2
NOT USING MY OWN VOICE
Tapping into your voice is a LOT harder said than done!
In fact, it took 3 years of mimicking others and seeking the shelter of a ‘marketing robot‘ mentality until I accepted this approach was…well, not doing a damn thing for me.
Unfortunately, I did what most solopreneurs do. I found, followed and devoured the voices of those that were successful and figured parroting them would position me on the same tier of success. WRONG!
When it came time to launch my next brand, Chic Geek Academy, this misconception stuck with me in the most stifling ways. I was sure that infusing my straight shooting approach, my love of all things booze and my fluency of sass and sarcasm was a recipe for failure! And fail I did.
I didn’t fail because I was too sassy or straight forward. I failed because I believed the tragic and common misconception that being different is a bad thing.
When I hear remarks like, ‘You can’t be conversational or informal, or you’re going to come off unprofessional.’ my lip involuntarily curls and my blood starts to boil. True story!
THE SOLUTION:
Look, I know a lot of us came from corporate backgrounds where we were held to faceless, personality deficient beings in the name of professionalism, but you have to lose that aversion. It’s a lie you’re telling yourself out of fear.
The truth is, there are people out there right now looking for your approach and uniqueness. You just can’t find them because you’ve become disassociated with your voice, or because you’ve created separation between you and your brand.
Stop letting your belief that your true self will turn people off. Stop believing that informal = unprofessional!
THERE ARE 5 BENEFITS RIPE FOR THE TAKING WHEN YOU USE YOUR AUTHENTIC VOICE:
The bottom line is, you need to celebrate your weirdness, your quirks, and your uniqueness. You need to let your freak flag fly high. You need to stay true to yourself even in the face of naysayers.
It’s not that you’re not good enough for them, it’s that they are not right for you! See the difference in mentality?
I want you to cut the crap and promise yourself that you will keep it real, no matter who likes you or who gives you permission to be real.
I’m telling you this from personal experience. Do NOT worry about those that are going to view you as unprofessional, cocky, shy, blunt, or whatever other personality trait you’ve become insecure about. Push back is going to happen, BUT it’s inconsequential to your success, and it’s something you have to let go of!
Be true to you and let your transparency attract the right people who will love you for being YOU. They not only exist but you will only find them when you find peace in using your authentic and real voice in everything you do.
Don’t believe me? Try and prove me wrong, I dare you! ; )
mistake no. 3
NOT DEFINING MY PERFECT READER/CUSTOMER
When I started Chic Geek Academy I thought narrowing my focus to solopreneurs was genius. In reality, it was only a start.
I quickly realized that solopreneurs, like any broad audience, come in all shapes, sizes and types. While in theory I could help all solopreneurs in terms of my skills, I was missing the fact that not every solopreneur will relate to me and my style, nor will they all be in a place to learn the skills I have to teach.
Let me ask you this:
What do you think would be harder? Crafting an email that’s going to be sent to every brand who blogs and uses social media, OR crafting an email that’s for stay at home moms that want to learn how to use Pinterest to make money with their blog?
Do you see how specific you need to get?
Part of the magic that is reaching the right readers and experiencing rapid brand growth stems from how specific you’ve defined your perfect reader.
The secret is creating a ‘perfect customer profile’ that looks, sounds and feels like ONE real person.
NARROWING DOWN YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE TO ONE REAL PERSON WILL HELP YOU:
THE SOLUTION:
I know it feels counter intuitive and like you’re intentionally alienating people you can really help by narrowing your niche and defining your ONE perfect customer, but I promise you that’s not the case.
The narrowed focus is going to help you reach the right people…and a hell of a lot faster, which equals quick brand growth. Can I get a ‘yes, please!’?
So, while I know it’s scary do yourself a favor and dig deep and not wide when it comes to pinpointing who you can best serve. If you do this I promise you that your brands growth trajectory will high five you over and over again!
mistake no. 4
waiting for perfection
Will the real perfectionist please stand up! {she says standing on the top landing}
I’m a perfectionist to my core and its served me decently a time or two, but for the most part it’s been a real buzz kill.
Anything less than perfection and I get all wilty and doubty. It’s NOT a cute look on me! Because of my propensity towards perfection I have this sick habit of holding myself back by convincing myself things aren’t good enough.
Good enough for what? Oh I don’t know, for the New York Times to publish it, for my biggest hater to critique it, for the Pope to bless it. Ridonkulous, right?
After a shit ton of self reflection and a whole lot of soul searching I realized there was one common denominator that was present every time my perfectionism crept in. I cared…too much.
I know, I know, hear me out!
When I first entered the corporate world I was a go-getter, determined, and ready to conquer the world. I would spend days, sometimes weeks, fretting over presentations and preparing for staff meetings. I put an intense amount of pressure on myself to maintain perfection in everything I did. It was beyond exhausting to say the least.
Fast forward 15 years to the tail end of my corporate career, I was unfulfilled, bored and genuinely didn’t give a shit.
But you know what? That freedom from caring made getting things done a snap because I wasn’t bogged down with illusions of perfectionism or insecurities of not being good enough. Remember, I didn’t give a shit.
I could get a presentation {a good one at that} done in the hour before a meeting. I could compile reports and procedures in mere hours that used to take days and sometimes weeks. And when someone got upset at me for something instead of spiraling into a pit of self doubt I chuckled and reveled in not giving a damn. It afforded me a solace I needed just to show up every day.
When I retired from corporate America and began running my own business all that hunger and ambition came flooding back, but so did all the perfectionism and insecurities. They postponed me from launching my brand for months and they prevented me from taking any chances. All in all they held me back for far longer than I should have allowed.
Something you can probably relate to!
THE SOLUTION
First thing I had to realize was that my solopreneur success was NOT a direct correlation to my value and ability. That if something wasn’t good, it didn’t mean I wasn’t good enough. That if something went wrong in my business it wasn’t because I was a failure or not cut out for self employment.
I had to get real before I could get moving!
Waiting for something to be in a state of perfection is simply an outlet for our insecurities. The truth is, perfection in most cases is not only subjective, but borders on unattainable.
Do NOT wait for things to be perfect! Do not wait when it comes to launching, when it comes to creating, or when it comes to showing up.
Instead, bask in a place of ‘done is better than perfect’! Realize that you will make mistakes and that you will get better at things, and that neither of these are reasons to hold yourself back or put on the brakes.
It was only when I merged my two extremes, not giving a shit and caring myself into a perfection frenzy, that I was able to find a productive balance.
Now I’m NOT saying I produce crap proudly or diminish the pride I take in my work, or that you should either! That’s far from my point.
What I AM saying is stop giving a shit about attaining perfection. Lose your attachment to needing to be “ready”. Stop investing in things that don’t ultimately matter.
Perfectionism is where brands go to die, so if you don’t want any real estate in that cemetery you better make sure you swap out perfection for productivity.
Take it from me, the latter will gift you a lot more brand success than the first!
mistake no. 5
being too scattered on social media
Like many solopreneurs and bloggers I made the mistake of thinking I should and could be active on every social media platform out there. Talk about maddening overwhelm!
LIKE MOST AREAS OF LIFE AND BUSINESS THERE ARE TWO WAYS YOU CAN APPROACH THINGS:
1. You can give a little bit of your attention to several things.
OR
2. You can devote all of your attention to one thing.
It really boils down to a dig deeper vs. dig wider mentality!
The downside of trying to be everywhere when it comes to social media is that you never actually show up anywhere. How so?
Well, think about it this way…
How likely would you be to invite someone over to dinner simply because they lobbed wine and cheese coupons across all of your social feeds each week?
Not very, huh?
How likely would you be to invite someone over for dinner that shared laughs and favorites with you on your wine and cheese loving pictures every day on Instagram for months?
How likely do you think you would be try this 2nd person’s wine recommendations?
Can you see the difference?
Showing up on social is NOT enough. You have to be SOCIAL! You have to build a name for yourself and that takes time. Don’t believe me?
Look at any successful blogger or solopreneur. Most of them have made a name for themselves via one specific social platform. It’s not to say that they didn’t branch out later or that they didn’t have an active profile on multiple social platforms. My point is they dug deep {not wide} and invested their efforts into one platform at a time.
THE SOLUTION
The hard truth is social mastery doesn’t come down to your ability to shamelessly promote yourself across multiple platforms. Social mastery comes from understanding the intricacies of a platform, using it consistently and connecting with those that hang out there.
When I launched The Branded Solopreneur I knew I had to overhaul my scattered social media approach. I knew I had to focus on one social platform and become a consistent force to be reckoned with. I chose Google+ to be my home away from home and damn was that one of the best choices I made!
For the first 6 months after I launched TBS I spent ALL of my time and effort learning and making a name for myself on Google+. I consistently engaged with peeps, I shamelessly shared THEIR work and I learned every facet of the platform. And what do you know, my brand grew…quickly!
Before I knew it I was a fixture on the platform and getting the attention of some of my favorite bloggers and solos. Business started to trickle in and invaluable friendships started blossoming. But something even sweeter happened.
All the badasses I met on Google+ started hunting me down on other platforms, and they started introducing me to other people on those social media platforms. Why was this? Because I dug deep and laid an indestructible foundation.
In order to build something that will stand the test of time you need a foundation that will support it. Don’t spread yourself thin and dilute your efforts. Instead, choose a platform based on where your peeps hangout and where you love spending your time and dedicate your energy into mastering that platform and connecting with the movers and shakers that are there.
Once you do that you’ll see how organically that leads to expanding your social empire.
mistake no. 6
worrying about what others were doing
Comparison is a natural part of a solos brand building journey. I’ve gone through it and so has every other solopreneur I’ve talked to. I mean, come on, it’s easy to do with the rampant over share and boasting that takes place on social media, right?
We hear someone else talk about a success they’ve achieved and we immediately feel less than for not having achieved the same. We see others that have done what we haven’t yet and we wonder why we are such failures.
It’s tragic but totally normal. We’re human after all.
I fell into this snare for a long time. I’d see my peers making progress I could only dream of and I’d convinced myself that it was because I wasn’t as worthy. It truly incapacitated my growth and held me back for YEARS. Hell, I still battle it here and there.
I even went so far back in the day as to replicate exactly what they were doing, mimicking their voice, creating a business model like theirs, buying the exact tools they were using. Not shockingly none of it made a damn bit of difference.
THE SOLUTION:
You’re unique, your brand is unique; therefore, you and your brand need a unique plan and unique solutions. You need to build a brand around YOUR skill set, style, approach, time line and purpose. Looking to others to set the standard for your brand growth is nothing but an exercise in setting yourself up for failure.
Don’t compare your progress with someone else. I can almost guarantee you there are factors you don’t know about. Factors that would make your assumption that you should be in the same spot dead wrong. They may have a team behind them, they may have family money they’ve invested, they may have a coach that you don’t. You get my drift?
Instead of worrying about what others are doing turn your focus to what will get YOU where you want to be when you want to be there. In other words, make a scale that is calibrated based on YOUR brand factors!
The only person you’re competing with is your inner skeptic, and the only way to squelch that biotch is with fierce clarity and a steadfast patience with yourself. The sooner you embrace that the sooner you will stop holding yourself back in the name of comparison. Then and only then will you see continuous brand growth!
mistake no. 7
not building relationships with my peers
When I first started blogging I was selfish, afraid and massively flawed in my mentality. Like I haven’t driven that home already, right?!
I saw my peers as competitors, not allies. Sound familiar? Don’t feel bad, a lot of us do this at the beginning because we don’t know any better.
I thought sharing my fellow badasses work would take away from my own. I thought collaborating with others in my niche was a conflict of interest. I saw connecting in general as something that was a waste of my time. Hey, I said I was selfish and flawed!
Do you know what that backwards thinking got me? A pocket full of lint and colony of crickets. In other words, nada!
Just like it takes a village to raise a child it takes a village to build a brand, and it all starts with the right mindset.
THE SOLUTION
It wasn’t until I became active on Google+ and saw pros like Ande Lyons and Mia Voss in action that I changed my ways. I watched these bosses form and grow relationships with others right before my eyes. I could feel the magic, I could sense the camaraderie, I could see the bonds.
I dare anyone to see that and NOT want it!
TO RECTIFY MY MISGUIDED STANCE ON RELATIONSHIP BUILDING I:
Eventually they started to notice me and get to know me and soon the lines of communication opened. Almost a year later I call most of those 20 people my good friends now…and that’s NOT a title I throw around lightly!
Look, you’re not going to dazzle and win over your peers by kissing their ass or forcing it. You need to get used to genuinely giving more than you take and you need to let things grow organically. The method you use to build relationships is up to you and how you roll, but make no mistake, relationship building is THE BEST brand growing tool you have in your arsenal.
Can you really beat something that’s free yet pays out so handsomely? Uh, that’d be a HELL NO!
mistake no. 8
partnering with the wrong people
newbie + naive = misguided eager beaver
Once upon a time there was a new blogger who was supa powered hot to trot over affiliate marketing {yep, that was me}, because she naively believed that it was the secret to becoming an overnight millionaire.
One day a big name marketer came to her and proposed a collaboration. He suggested she hold a free webinar for her list where he would provide an hour of kickass training and then he’d do a quick pitch for his course at the end. He generously offered to provide a unlimited replay for her audience AND gift her with 50% of all earnings. Wha wha whaaaaat?
She was over the moon and in full happy dance mode! {Why am I speaking in the 3rd person…because that’s how I roll, deal with it!}
The thing is, she knew little to nothing about him…but she knew he was a ‘big name’. Oy vey, right?!
Things felt disconnected from the start but she chalked it up to her lack of experience with the whole webinar/affiliate process.
Webinar day came, and things quickly went from happy dance status to shock and awe.
WHAT HAPPENED?
What’s the moral of this story?
Do NOT partner with people that you don’t know, trust and adore!
THE SOLUTION
The people you partner with are extension of your brand. If they throw shade, treat your audience badly, or drop the ball on promises they make that won’t necessarily fall on them, but it WILL fall on you.
You have to protect your brand and your peeps from all detrimental factors and that includes the wrong people. You need to have a very good sense of someone’s ethics, approach, vernacular, and processes before you give them access to your audience and/or web real estate.
Your readers, audience, and list are your most prized possession {for lack of a better term} and must be treated as such. When you give your stamp of approval to someone you better know that they are worthy of your endorsement. It only takes one sour endorsement to ruin a brand, so take great care in who you partner with and how the partnership is going to work.
Resist the urge to bury your intuition and instincts in the ‘newbie’ cloud. That voice is there for a reason, and there’s no better reason to honor it than in the name of protecting your peeps and your integrity.
Your brand is yours and therefore it’s YOUR responsibility to grow and protect it. Don’t deny your right to voice concerns, outline guidelines and make sure a partnership is the right match before you agree to anything. If you do you’ll have no one to blame but yourself!
mistake no. 9
HAVING MONOLOGUES INSTEAD OF DIALOGUES
Back in my ‘marketing robot’ days I was a major offender of the monologue movement. You know, talk about yourself and people are suppose to care. Basically I setup shop in a ‘me’ place.
Wow, that makes me cringe in embarrassment just typing it!
I didn’t mean to be so self involved or one sided, I just didn’t know what I was doing. I thought I had to pretend to be everything and have everything together to be taken seriously. I was too dense to see that basking in a ‘me’ space was exactly what was stunting my success.
I didn’t realize that the secret to brand growth was building relationships and trust with your audience and peers. I didn’t realize that to build that trust and those relationships I needed to create conversation. Not talking at them, but with them. I know, it sounds basic but a lot of us lose touch with reality as soon as we get in front of a screen.
I was so wrapped up in vanity metrics {social numbers, email list size, etc} that I couldn’t see the solution staring me in the face!
THE SOLUTION
Let me save you a LOT of struggle and spun wheels. The metric to measure these days is engagement.
It’s the rampant misunderstanding of true social engagement that has made ‘marketing’ a dirty word for a lot of us.
Make no mistake, the current landscape of social interaction has shifted from from monologues to dialogues, from a ‘me’ space to a ‘we’ space. If you don’t get on that train you’re never going to leave the station.
It wasn’t until being introduced to ‘digital intimacy’ by Lisa Engles and Yifat Cohen that this shift fell into place for me.
In fact, Lisa Engles put together a 4 part video series on the gravity of measuring ROE {Return on Engagement} opposed to the tradition ROI (Return on Investment}. It’s a must watch for any solopreneur looking to leverage social media to establish meaningful dialogue in the digital stratosphere.
The truth is, the ability to measure the magnitude of your brand reach and the ROE from your efforts will only begin bearing the fruits of your labor when you stop talking at your audience and you start making them a part of the conversation. It’s in this ‘we’ space where your conversions and brand adoration will deepen.
Go ‘we’ or go home!
mistake no. 10
NOT BELIEVING IN MYSELF
One of the badasses in the Solopreneur Society emailed me and asked me:
‘You have a very strong personality, and a laid-back vibe with us in your private group, and your emails, but I’m wondering if you maintain that approach within your own business when working with customers? Or are you a little more professional since people are paying you?’
I get variations of this question a LOT…and I get it! No really, I do.
HERE’S THE SITCH:
I struggled with MASSIVE depression and raging self-hate for a loooooooong time. Much of that surfaced during the decade and a half I was trapped in corporate America. The environment I was in brought out the worse in me and made me hate life. When I finally decided enough was a enough I quit my corporate job and threw myself into the online world. It was then that I launched my 3rd online brand, Chic Geek Academy.
I thought I had all this online business stuff down, but I was sorely mistaken! In fact, I struggled with a TON more issues that stemmed from all those years of turmoil while I was in the corporate world. At the center of those issues was my paralyzing fear of being labeled a bitch, or laughed out of business for being my sassy self. I flat out didn’t believe in myself the way a successful entrepreneur needs to.
Fast forward through two years of that struggle and I got to a place of full meltdown. I came face to face with my life’s dream {self employment} forever being a failure. I spiraled. I finally got to such a desperate place I reached out to some of my best friends {in business and personal life} and I got real. I confessed my struggles and where I was mentally, financially and emotionally and I asked them for help.
I’ve been extremely blessed in the way that I had people that picked my sorry ass up {figuratively and literally speaking} and spent WEEKS and WEEKS counseling me, building me up, loving me, and giving me a loan. I had one coaching bestie that literally spent days at a time working me through my hangups and self hate and rationalizing things for me. These people believed in me when I wasn’t able to believe in myself!
I channeled their bravery and decided I was going to give this solopreneur shit one last try, BUT this time I was doing it on my terms! I was going to be me and nothing but me, and I was going to believe, even though I had no damn reason to have faith in myself. No bullshit, I put my belief in THEIR belief in me, I put on my big girl panties and I set off. That was last October when I launched The Branded Solopreneur.
I tell you allllll that because that’s why I WILL NOT dilute and change myself for the sake of anyone. If someone doesn’t like me that’s ok, I’ve gotten to a place where I’m really comfortable in my skin and I truly believe in myself and my talents. I know I’m not for everyone and I don’t try to be. I spend my time trying to reach the RIGHT people that I can help.
Hell, I come out of the gate with sass and a foul mouth very intentionally to qualify my peeps. That’s why I use ‘high fives’, I openly admit I love the f word, and I’m constantly making references to loving booze. If that stuff turns you off or makes you feel I’m immature or unprofessional then you’re not going to learn from me or hire me, so in short you don’t matter.
I don’t think these peeps are bad people, they’re just not MY people. It’s been a major mentality shift…and it has taken time to get here. Here’s the thing, I think peeps can see authenticity and heart through attitude and other facets of loudmouthes like myself. Look at the people in the The Solopreneur Society. They’re comfortable with the informal nature of how I set the vibe, most feel free to curse and be themselves, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. So I dare anyone to tell me that being me will not work!
The same goes for you!
THE SOLUTION:
All this solopreneur shit REALLY boils down to being comfortable in your skin and not letting the constant stream of aholes or fails get you down. My journey has been rough but I would do it all again a million times to get to where I am today….I’m happier and more fulfilled than I’ve EVER been!
That’s why I’m sooooooooo fiercely committed to helping lift those up that need it, to support those that feel they’re alone, to be open about my trials, struggles and fails. If I need to be the first one out there to be real about the less stellar shit to help others find themselves then I’m flattered and up for the challenge.
I feel beyond blessed to have the people I have in my life that believed in me when I couldn’t, so it’s important to me that I pay that forward and do that for you when you need it.
With all that said: Why in the fucking world would I risk losing and hating myself again so others won’t be offended? NOT A CHANCE! I treat my community and clients with respect and admiration. I will go over and above in ways that others will not, but I will NOT be someone I’m not for the sake of a buck. That’s where I come from these days, and with how long it took me to get here I will NOT turn back for anyone.
YOU need to get to that unapologetic place and you need to bask in it!
So there you have it. 10 admittedly embarrassing brand building mistakes that I hope I can save you from. If I can save even one badass from the pitfalls I’ve encountered in my time building brands I’m more than happy to pull back the protection sheath and reveal my misguided beliefs and practices. This IS the real shit!
This brand building stuff is truly a journey. A journey that’s going to have a lot of bumps in the road no matter how hard you try to do things right.
taking the
NEXT steps
The difference between a badass brand and a busted brand usually comes down to four things:
1. How many times they get back up after being knocked down
2. How clear they are about their mission, message and purpose
3. How big of a support system they have
4. How well they treat their readers/customers
If you do nothing else after reading this post, PLEASE, make sure that you never let failure define you, you get crystal clear about your brand’s ultimate goals, you create a unwavering support system, and you put your readers and customers on the pedestal they deserve.
If you can do all of that, everything else will work itself out!
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