I recently saw a commercial for Emergen-C, a dietary supplement for occasional sleeplessness. There motto is “Emerge and see… Emerge Restored, Emerge Replenished, Emerge Fortified”. I couldn’t help but think of how applicable their motto is to an entrepreneurs Personal Branding process. Keep reading to see how REBRANDING also plays a role in this post.
First, let me share a story about how intimately acquainted I am with the rebranding processes. I’ve been criticized for “having too many businesses” or “changing my business to often”, but the reality is… The primary reason I started a business in the first place has not changed. Keep reading to see what I mean…
As I’ve mentioned many times, I received my degree in Marketing but what you may not know is this… due to circumstances out of my control, I wasn’t able to realize that dream (the way I originally intended). Instead, I was blessed with twin girls and I wouldn’t change THAT for the world. Since I couldn’t do what I planned, I did the next best thing. I started my first business, I was a hair stylist (beauty) – making men and women look fabulous. I had my own suite and built a clientele that I serviced for many years (or at least until the news of my 3rd daughter, Hannah came). Almost immediately after my daughter was born, I was whisked off to Kentucky (my husband got another job). It was a place where I knew no one (except someone I was introduced to via phone by a friend but had never met).
This is where the Rebranding begins:
I thought it would be a good time to reinvent myself so I started my first “fashion” business. I sold Premier Designs Jewelry. I knew I didn’t want to do hair in a new city, hence the need to rebrand, reinvent myself. Premier Designs started out as something to do in a new city to meet people and get out of the house but quickly became something I could build on and achieve another level of success. It was during this reinvention of me I further fell in love with seeing people achieve a more COMPLETE expression of their best self. It was wonderful, even after our return to Texas a year and a half later.
Fast forward to Rebranding #2:
After doing Premier Designs for six years, and reaching the second level of leadership, my desire to help people look and feel their best was further sparked but this time it brought me back to my first love, marketing. It was during one of those evening solicitation visits at my door, I met Monica. She and her children were raising money for a new non-profit that delivered mugs filled with goodies to rest homes in the area. We talked for a while and I was so impressed with their mission, I wanted to help. It was from this encounter, Butterfly Marketing Group was born. I started this business to work with small businesses and non-profits to help them reach their target audiences. I worked hard and helped my clients create marketing strategies that did just that. After a couple of years of “selling” the idea of marketing, I realized the demographic I WANTED to help either didn’t have the budget for my services or just didn’t understand the value of marketing. I had some wonderful clients, but after a while I felt something was missing. I needed to work on how to fit all of my skills into a neatly packaged business…
Curtains up, que the music… Rebranding #3 is starting:
I went back to the beauty and fashion industries… You see, I realized there was much more I could do with the knowledge I gained from Premier Designs Jewelry and started a business doing women’s consignment out of my home, Fashion Forward Consignment Boutique. I helped women create a polished look for a fraction of retail prices. As customers caught on to my ability to pull from my consignment and get them exactly what they were looking for without them having to spend the time doing it themselves grew, I was quickly able to transitioned my consignment business to a full-fledged styling business (Keep N It Haute).
It was shortly after starting Keep N It Haute I began to understand how important the internet was to my business. Before this time, I thought if I built a website, people would just come. I thought my friends would help me get my businesses off the ground and spread the word because they knew me and my abilities…..NOT! Yes, I got referrals, but this was the first time being good at something didn’t work to get the client, at least the volume I wanted. Until this point in my businesses, I thought I was okay because I always had a client and I knew I could make the sale if I could get in front of someone.
I went back to the drawing board and took some time to think things through. I REALLY thought about what I wanted, what I had to offer, and with whom I wanted to share it. I learned the importance of having the right brand message, a consistent brand identity, and an overall authentic brand.
I realized I’ve always wanted the SAME THING! Even when others thought I was flip flopping from one business to the next, I wasn’t. I was doing the same thing in different industries; I was TEACHING, BUILDING CONFIDENCE, AND BEAUTIFYING. My “Branding” changed (i.e. Fashion forward Consignment Boutique, Premier Designs Jewelry, Butterfly Marketing Group, and Keep N It Haute), but my “Personal Brand” never changed. In each of my businesses, I left the impression of someone who taught people how to build confidence with consistency and beautify either themselves or their businesses with authenticity.
That brings me back to my thought from the first paragraph of this blog post….The Emergen-C commercial.
Once you discover your TRUE REASON for being an entrepreneur and understand your replication of preferences that create an external expression of you, my definition for my term STYLE THREAD, you will emerge RESTORED, REPLENISHED, AND FORTIFIED.
Your faith in your ability to achieve your entrepreneurial goals will be RESTORED, the stagnant supply of marketing/promotional ideas will be REPLENISHED and your desire to share your talents with new customers will be FORTIFIED.
I know this post was a little lengthy, but that was on purpose. I want to reach the people who relate to my story. I’ve been there, done that and have a t-shirt and a button. If you’re a member of my haleluiah choir, obviously I can help. Click the link if you find yourself in an EMERGEN- C.
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