Nina Lockwood and I had a lively conversation about the nature of creativity when I was a guest on her new series, Creativity Conversations.
Beautiful conversation focused on branding and it’s purpose in businesses of any size.
In this short video Christian McNeill and I discuss the alchemy between innovation, branding and the Three Principles.
At the heart of any successful business is a clear and powerful vision about what that business is up to, and more importantly why. When entrepreneurs consider their branding, they often look towards what what they know, what everyone else is doing, what is expected of them by their peers. But what if the most powerful place to communicate (or brand) from has a direct relationship to innovation? And what if the heart of innovation is the quiet voice of wisdom, the new thought that can drive the direction for your business?
In this clinic we discussed why it’s important to let your unique personality shine through on your website and marketing materials, and how the look and feel of your visuals can support this.
This month my guest was WavenDean Fernandes, who has worked with major brands for 25+ years, both at prominent branding firms and at interactive agencies. Besides having tremendous business savvy, Waven brings a strong spiritual perspective to the branding conversation.
In this month’s clinic we discussed authenticity in branding, why it’s important, and what that actually means.
My April guest was Molly Gordon, who is known for her marketing expertise. Molly is a Master Certified Coach who built a thriving coaching practice online beginning in 1996, before e-commerce and Internet marketing were things. During this clinic we had a lively discussion about marketing, and the difference between marketing and branding.
During the call Molly generously offered to share a fun marketing exercise she has created called “It’s Your Party.” You can download a pdf of it here.
You can learn more about Molly, or contact her, at shaboominc.com.
In March I had a wonderful guest, Susan Motheral – a brilliant coach, mentor and writer. She’s been through the entire brand coaching and design process, and has created something quite beautiful to reflect the essence of who she is and the work she offers. We discussed her experience of going through the branding process and what it is like to have an authentic presence in the world.
I was delighted to be a guest on Molly Gordon’s Wholeness Hangout. During this hangout we explored what becomes possible when we approach branding as an exploration and expression of our essence, including our essential wholeness.
You can find out all about Molly and her beautiful work, and register for upcoming hangouts here.
We had a lively question and answer session with several women entrepreneurs.
This month we discussed how to choose a name and web address (url) for your business.
If you find networking challenging, you will enjoy this article by Sue Shellenbarger published in the Wall Street Journal.
Illustration by Jason Schneider, Wall Street Journal.
This month we discussed the power of imagery in supporting your brand vision, and your message. The Danish photographers Doris Beltoft and Chris Nunan were guests and made a beautiful presentation of their photography.
You can see more of their stunning photography on Flikr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/beltoft/
www.flickr.com/photos/chrisnunan/
On the second Monday of each month I host a free hour-long branding clinic for people to ask questions about everything related to branding. In September’s call we went back to the basics, talking about what is branding and why every entrepreneur should care about it.
We had a lively discussion that included many great questions including:
- What are the biggest or most common mistakes people make with their branding?
- Is branding mostly about design (logo, website, visual materials/space) or is it something more (how you show up, what head space you’re in, culture, behavior)?
As part of the branding work I do with entrepreneurs, at some point we often discuss the best way to talk about their business, what some would call an elevator pitch. These tips below are useful if this is on your mind. They’re taken from an article by Deborah Riegel on Fast Company’s website:
Don’t speak the way you write. “I help individuals, couples, and families make sound financial plans so that they don’t outlive their money” may read well on a website, but doesn’t sound the way people really talk. When speaking, you might start with, “I’m a financial planner, and I make sure my clients don’t outlive their money.” Much more compelling, genuine and even fun.
An inspiring TedX talk from Simon Sinek where he explains “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
Anita Moorjani’s TedX talk is both riveting and inspiring. It’s worth the 18 minutes of your time!
I’ve been reading Moorjani’s book, “Dying to Be Me,” and this passage speaks to what we are up to in the brand coaching:
“Seeing this, I understood that I owed it to myself, to everyone I met, and to life itself to always be an expression of my own unique essence. Trying to be anything or anyone else didn’t make me better – it just deprived me of my true self! It kept others from experiencing me for who I am, and it deprived me of interacting authentically with them. Being inauthentic also deprived the universe of who I came here to be and what I came here to express.”
I’ve recently ran a branding group for some of the fabulous coaches from last year’s Supercoach Academy. Clare Tanner wrote a lovely poem describing the group!
Branding for Supercoaches……….what a group
We laughed, we cried, we had a hoot!
With Sandra as our rock and guide
The world of branding came to life!
A couple of months ago it seemed everyone was talking about Marie Kondo, the immensely popular clutter-clearer featured in the NY Times.
From Marie’s perspective, the main question when deciding whether or not to keep something is “does this spark joy?”
This got me thinking about the branding work I do with people, and how useful it can be to ponder: what sparks joy for you in your business? Is there a way to do more of THAT?
Check out this article by Michael Ellsberg on how to sort out the right pricing for your services:
Your ‘Happy Price’ vs. Your ‘Sad Price’: How To Charge An Amount That Motivates You