“How do I establish a powerful brand?” 

“What is my brand?”

“Where do I start?”

It doesn’t matter if you’re developing a personal brand or a business brand - as a small business owner, it’s kind of all the same in the beginning, especially if you’re a service-based business. 

Have you ever heard the phrase, “It’s not personal, it’s just business”? I don’t believe in that. Businesses thrive off talented people and many businesses unfortunately exploit that. Businesses are built on relationships. I’ve worked for many years in the nonprofit sector, watching our organization lose funding because the person we had the relationship with left their company due to retirement or other opportunities. Business is personal. Developing a strong brand personally and professionally for a business is important.

For the one year anniversary of launching my business, I thought it’d be great to highlight my first long-term client: Dr. Julie Pham, CEO of CuriosityBased and Founder and Author of 7 Forms of Respect™. Most importantly to me, Julie is my close friend and mentor.

CuriosityBased is a little over a year old, and Julie and her team have accomplished SO much. They launched a successful Indiegogo campaign, Julie wrote a book (7 Forms of Respect™ coming soon!), and recently launched an online course. So, what do I think contributed to CuriosityBased’s success? Julie and her brand.

These three keys will help you unlock and establish a powerful brand for you and your business. I’m highlighting Julie and her business CuriosityBased as a case study on this.

Care about people

I want to lay the groundwork. Julie is by far one of THE most connected people that I know. We met back in 2010 or 2011, when I had first moved to the Seattle area. She would invite me along to events and introduce me to people left and right. I always admired how well connected she is and had total #goals to be just as well connected. She was not only connected, but had genuine relationships with these people and could start conversations off by introducing two people and giving a little background information on each person to help people find similarities and interests to start a conversation on their own.

Over the years she would invite me over for dinner at her place and we’d catch up. She would host group dinners and invite people from different community groups that could help each other out down the road. She was and is a people connector. I think that Julie’s business is so successful because of her ability to cultivate relationships and continue to nurture them over the years. Not once did she do these things selfishly, but from a true place of connecting with people and helping them by connecting them with others. Many people see “networking” as a dirty or selfish word, it isn’t. Change the narrative you’re telling yourself.

Network to meet people.

Network to care about people.

Network to help them.

You just never know when you can help someone out and they in turn can help you out too. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. You just never know what opportunities there are. So build your brand by genuinely caring about people.

Side note: Julie has a great blog post she wrote for her Tips on Deepening Relationship Remotely.

Discipline is key

My second opinion on the success of Julie’s business and her powerful brand is because she’s highly organized and highly disciplined. When she sets her mind on a goal, she will not only achieve it, but she’ll surpass it. I’ve noticed her ability to be super focused and highly disciplined lays the groundwork for her success.

It’s something I know I’ve always struggled with. I'm definitely one of those entrepreneurs that always has a million great ideas, but can’t decide which one to focus on and dedicate my time to. (I also get really excited about helping other people’s businesses succeed because I love seeing their passions fulfilled. I often put the development of my own business on the backburner - but that’s another story for another time).

Her discipline to consistently show up makes her brand so powerful.

Uplift those around you

Julie is great at encouraging others to be curious and explore the world around them. If they’re interested in something, she nudges you to explore that curiosity. I’m so grateful to Julie because since the launch of my business I haven’t had to do any of my own business development, she’s constantly promoting my business and the skills that I can offer to people. And she does this for everyone in her circle. I notice her providing opportunities to her own team at CuriosityBased and encouraging them to explore what interests them too! It’s a great mindset to have, together we rise. Help uplift those around you. 

You already have a brand, whether you know it or not. Now take ownership of your brand. Think about how you want to show up to the world. Focus on areas that you want to strengthen and overall, just care. Care about people, care about their successes. Be disciplined enough to prioritize establishing your brand.

Let’s rise together!

Make it yours, 

- Brittany Danyelle

P.S. All of the above is the “hard” part, never underestimate the power of people, the power of your community, and the power of cultivating your “soft” skills. Soft skills are essential. AND, you can also make sure that your business’ brand is consistent and on point. Claim your Ultimate Branding Checklist.