I was talking to a client last week and heard myself say the very words I needed to hear and apply. It’s amazing how the people you’re meant to help often provide you ways to see and help yourself, too.
She’s been trying so hard to control what her brand is that she’s been struggling to write. “What if I write something that’s off-topic or off-brand?”
Given who she is, she couldn’t write anything off-topic and off-brand to save her life. She is who she is, and it’s going to show up no matter what she does.
Branding and positioning is a Stage 3 and 4 concern to be sure. At that point, you’re looking at the long-term vision and can clearly see what you do and don’t do.
The irony, though, is that because you’re so firm about what you’re about, you don’t have to worry about all the half existential, half entrepreneurial issues that you did in earlier stages. You remember those familiar friends, don’t you?: “Who am I? Why would anybody hire me or buy from me? Such-and-such is already doing what I want to do!” And so on.
Yet you still worry. It takes a while to let go of those operating assumptions.
You can’t position in a vacuum. If no one knows what you truly do, it doesn’t matter how much thought and planning you’ve put into being clear about who you are and what you do. They have to see you doing it.
At a certain point, everything you do becomes marketing, and, at the same time, you don’t have to worry about marketing. It’s an odd paradox – but it’s the way things are nonetheless.
And, lastly, the more visibility you get, the more you’ll notice that you really don’t have control of your brand anyway. People will take pieces of your brand and cling to it and forget about the other parts that aren’t relevant to their own story. People will reflect back better descriptions of your brand than you came up with – believe it or not, their stories are more important than yours.
Rocking the later stages of business is all about consistent performance. And, like any other performance, if you’ve done the research, preparation, and practice, you just need to let go and do your thing.
Let go. Do your thing. It’s the best way to reinforce your brand.
Charlie, thanks for this very rich post. Nice job of pulling apart the complex dynamic between the practitioner as a whole person and building their brand. I especially liked your observation in the 2nd to last paragraph on visibility, and the irony of the whole brand endeavor.
Thank you for the reminder, Charlie. Sometimes we’re so close to our own “stuff,” that we can’t see the forest for the trees. And you’re so right. When you’re really clear about who you are and why you do what you do, it’s awfully hard to be off-brand. What an incredibly freeing concept (and post!)
Charlie,
Thanks for your contribution. This article resonated with me.
I know of a professional athlete. He was not a good student in school. Early on, he found out he could not make the grades. School bored him; he was not academically inclined.
So, he dropped out of school early in his life. Instead, he decided to focus all his time and energy on the only thing he knew he was good at–sports. By his own admission, he fell short in almost all other areas of his life.
But fortune favors the bold. Today, he is a professional success story. His contribution to sports is phenomenal and he has been playing now for at least two decades. He just keeps on playing and does not bother about anything else.
Because of his professional success, he did not have to invest a whole lot in PR. Companies now flock to him because he has become a household name. He earns so much money from endorsing products and services that sky is the limit. He had become a brand name and an ambassador of this and a champion of that cause.
Seems to me like there are some learning lessons here. No? Have a good one. Cheerio.
“the half existential, half entrepreneurial issues that you did in earlier stages. ” This is a brilliant way to describe those issues. I also think that you only really see what you were struggling with as it becomes less of a struggle.
I’ve discovered that all the thinking I could do in the beginning about what I wanted to do and how to present that doesn’t help me get comfortable with it near as much as actually doing it. So yes, I needed an idea so I could put it out there and drum up some clients. But it was having clients that helped me clarify my brand.
Listening to what clients (and other people) seem to think my brand is, is also helping me clarify my marketing message and choose the stuff I write about more carefully. For example, a new client said something about how he perceived himself as different from my main market. I realized I wanted more people like him and am working on making sure it is clear to that group that they are not marginal to my interests.
Terrific post! So true, and insightful! Thank you ~ E.
Awesome.
Hi Charlie,
Thank you for this post. It is really amazing that striving to be an entrepreneur is a tougher lesson than any MBA classes could teach. I have a BA in International Business, yet with a few exeptions it was ultimately boring and useless. I switched to Political Philosophy myself. Good luck on your desertation and thank you for your great leads and insights.
Ginger
This is a great post. I often concern myself about what I should and shouldn’t be blogging. This helps me realise that it doesn’t really matter as long as you are true to your voice.