Brand Colours Won’t Save Your Business

We talk about why personal brand and authenticity are becoming non-negotiable for business growth, especially when your offers look similar to everyone else’s. I share how I built a recognisable brand before and why I’m bringing my performance background into my new strategy business to stand out in a crowded space. 

• personal brand as a key differentiator for strategists and service providers 
• recognition as proof of a strong brand voice across posts and emails 
• the real meaning of authenticity and why copying makes you disappear 
• the cost of standing out and how past experiences can shape confidence 
• using a performance background as a unique business asset 
• why branding colours are only a tiny fraction of brand building 
• practical prompts to identify what makes you different and memorable 

So today, look at your business and ask yourself, what's my personal brand? What is it? How does it work? What does it look like?

Transcript

Bonus Update From The Sofa

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Hey everyone, it's Victoria here. Welcome back to a little bonus ep of a business built with strategy. So I'm still sitting on the sofa recovering from my cataract top. So I've kind of been stopped in my tracks. I'm sitting here looking out the window, just doing absolutely nothing. And I thought, right, let's talk about a topic that is huge right now and it's going to just continue to get bigger. And that's personal brand and authenticity. Now I've had many conversations over the last few weeks about personal brand, being authentic, and being you. And I've heard so many people say, Yeah, but you know, I'm a strategist, for example. You know, how do I make myself different from the other strategist? Or, you know, my offers are, you know, they're kind of the same. And how do I stand out? And this is this is all part of your personal brand. Of course, personal brand is massive, but this is part of it. It's it's being different, it's standing out. What does your business stand for? And that's just a that's just a slight tiny little bit of it. And so I thought I would come on and I would talk about how I am making myself different from other strategists out there, just to kind of give you that idea. Now, I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm only just touching on how I'm gonna make myself different because, like a lot of you, I'm actually coming back with a brand new business and a brand new brand. I'm really excited, actually. Really, really excited. Now I've built a brand before, and that was my events company, and it was a really, really successful business and brand and extremely authentic. And I loved when you know someone would see something written, or maybe someone would see a post, or they'd get an email through, and they would know that that was my business. They didn't even need to read it, they might read the first few words and they would know that that was my business because I built a really strong brand. And of course, that you know, that's only a small part of it, but this is where I made myself and my business very, very different. Because I didn't want to be like anyone else, to be honest with you. You know, when I remember being, you know, when I was younger and I was a kid, I didn't want to be the same as anyone else. I wasn't really one to well, I wasn't, I wasn't one to follow the crowd. I wasn't one to follow what everyone else was wearing. I would see what someone someone else was wearing, and maybe that might be the latest fashion. I would then go the other way because I liked to be different. And you know, unfortunately, sometimes that really well, actually a lot of the time it really did play against me because you know, people don't well back then, so certainly people didn't like other people that were different. They liked you if you kind of meshed in with the crowd, but if you stood out, yeah, that was a massive no-no. And as a lot of you know, my background is in performance. Um, as much as you know, I had my business for around 12 years and I've worked in um you know big big businesses on huge projects, I've done a lot, but my background is also in performance as a soul singer. And I remember, you know, being at school and being able to sing when I was younger. This is before I hit my well, 14-15. And before, but before I hit that age, it was it just it just went against me because I was different. And I, you know, I was bullied for it, which was it was yeah, it was it was awful. I just didn't fit in with the crowd. I certainly wasn't the popular one. And then when I got to about 14-15, I remember going to the saudition for the school band, and I got in and we toured different countries, it was amazing. I'd already done studio work as well, and yeah, it was it was it was amazing, you know, and I think that was then that I was accepted for having this voice, you know, for being different. It was it was embraced more. I mean, I still had the you know, the odd person, but it definitely was embraced, and then you know, I went on to have, you know, a lovely career in that industry. I didn't ever get signed, and that was a massive deal for me. But you know, I still I still had a you know a nice career as a singer. Now, when I went into business, I thought that that was all left behind. I thought that's that's done with, you know. Little did I know that now that I'm building my new business and building my new brand, that actually my stage background isn't where I thought it was, it isn't in the background. I'm bringing it into my new business, and that is one of the ways that I'm gonna make myself different from other strategists out there. Now, I will elaborate on this very, very soon on my socials, on email, on the podcast, and I will tell you how I'm gonna do this. But what I urge you to do, okay, because personal brand, it isn't just important, it's paramount to your business. If you have not got a personal brand, or if you are not building one at the moment into your business, then you are going to struggle. With the world that we are in now, you are going to struggle. And what I would urge you to do is look at your business if you are either building one or at the beginning, you're in the middle of your business. Because you know, don't be mistaken. You could be in the third or fourth year of your business and not have a personal brand. That's possible. That's very, very, very possible. And I would say, look at it, and what differentiates you from other people? What is your secret selling source? What makes you different? It's so incredibly important. You know, if someone saw something that you posted out, would they know that it's you? An email, would they read the first few words and know, oh, I know that's whoever you are? That's a very small part of personal brand. But it is something that I am going to be building into my office because it is so, so important. So today, look at your business and ask yourself, what's my personal brand? What is it? How does it work? What does it look like? Because if you don't do that, you're going to be left behind. And did you put all that work in to think, oh, hang on a minute. No, I I've just put loads and loads and loads of probably years of work in. But actually, my branding is not strong. My brand is not strong. Don't be mistaken. Also, I know that most of you know this, but I cannot tell you how many people I've spoken to in the last few months who have said, Oh, well, I've got my branding colours. No, no, that's like half a percent of what your brand is. That's only very minimal. Your brand is made up of so many different elements. I'm really excited to be able to come back and talk to you about this. And I'm even more excited to um get my, I think probably my first offer that's going to cover this in the next probably three to four months. Could be sooner. Depends how how fast I recover and I can get my strategy done and put these offers together for you. But I'm really excited about it. And I'll talk to you all very soon. Have a great week.