Be the Golden Arches in Your Industry – Steps to Personal Branding

When I saw Nicole’s Facebook post yesterday, I yelped out a ‘yes’ and did a happy dance in the middle of cooking breakfast (and my poor toddler was wondering what’s going on). It was the perfect setup for what I am writing about – Personal branding… What is personal branding? Like McDonald’s golden arches or Nike’s swoosh, personal branding is all about how you will be recognized. What distinguishes you from others in the world of information overload? This is especially important if you are a small business owner, a one-person business or in direct-sales. Your customers will most likely associate your product or services with you as an individual. Even if you work in a corporation, personal branding is still extremely valuable as it humanizes the business relationship and a strong personal brand makes you more unforgettable. Given the significance of personal branding, let’s figure out how to build your personal brand.

Know yourself, know where you want to be. Personal branding is all about trust and authenticity. Faking it may work in the short run, but it is a matter of time before it becomes draining or causes issues. What do you stand for? What makes you strong? What makes you weak? Don’t be afraid and take the time to peel back those layers. This very first step provides you the foundation on how you will build your personal brand. Need a starting point? I recommend PwC’s personal branding workbook
 
Understand your target audience. Now that you defined who you are and where you want to be, let’s take a look at your target audience. Your target audience extends beyond your customer or employer. For long-term success, you need to look into building a community of peers, influencers, supporters, etc. who you can offer value or lean on. Identifying your target audience will not only allow you to see how your brand aligns your current state of affairs, it will help you map out a game plan to achieving your vision.
 
Audit your assets (not the kind that your momma gave you). What do you currently have to broadcast your brand? Think beyond the online medium (such as website, blog, or social media). Consider traditional mediums (such as business cards, brochures) and word-of-mouth. Be sure your assets are consistent with your brand message – If your brand is about providing premium services, your business cards (for example), better be of superior quality: For instance, ultra-thick, linen, with embossing. And don’t panic if you find yourself lacking the assets. Rome is not built in a day, and neither is personal branding. Develop a plan where you can accumulate and develop robust assets.
 
Establishing your brand. The rubber officially hits the road after understanding what your mediums and assets are. You will need to demonstrate your credibility and value, may it be developing your own materials, sharing what is relevant, or even speaking at an event. When it comes to sharing content, be purposeful about it. You have worked hard to identify your personal brand – Make sure what you are sharing is in line with how you want your brand is perceived! Also, consider strength in numbers: Partner with other people or organizations that can elevate your brand. You may just uncover opportunities that you have never thought to tap into before…
 
Monitor and reinvent. Maintaining a personal brand is an ever evolving process. Your story may change a year or a couple down the road and your brand should evolve with it. Even if your story remains the same, new information is available each and every day. Stay updated to demonstrate your competitive edge and distinguish yourself from your peers.
 

As true to my style of leaving you with a good infographic, here is one providing more detailed steps to a personal branding strategy from Jeff Bullas. Until next time.

Yours truly,

Christina

About Christina: Christina is a business consultant who has worked alongside with companies, ranging from international for-profit corporations and non-profit grass root organizations. Armed with over a decade of experiences and a MBA degree, she will be able to provide strategies and guidance for your startup or growing company. Having a mind for the big picture, she can also look at your business to help you seize new opportunities as well as determine changes that may be needed. As her personal motto to be a woman for others, Christina offers a host of services to empower business owners as well as individuals. Connect with her to get your journey started!

Slay Social Media - Managing Social Media as a Business Owner/Entrepreneur

Have you experienced the social media time warp? I know I have – There have been occasions where I logged onto Facebook, knowing that I need to create a post for my business. And before I know it, two hours have passed and all I have done was checked out videos of cute animals, amazing recipes, or the latest political memes… Sound familiar? As small business owners and entrepreneurs (with the possibility of having a family), your time is limited. So how can you effectively use social media as a marketing tool by just spending an hour in your daily routine?

Impossible, you may say. An hour or two every day (if you plan to take the weekend off) to brainstorm ideas, develop content, and publicize my content… That sounds unlikely. I will tell you, “Yes, it can be done!” The key is to map out a system. One that works for you where you have chunks of time blocked out. For me, it is an hour before my family rouses or an hour after my family is asleep. I will grab whatever beverage I need (admittedly sometimes it will be a glass of wine for inspiration), set a timer for 50 minutes and get to work at my desk by scribbling in my notebook or going to my trusty laptop. When, in your day, will you be able to focus? When is a good time where you will get at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted time? Where will you be able to work best? What do you need to focus? Which medium to you work best on? Once you have a system, there are five activities that need to be done for effective social medial management.

Developing a road map. The most common question I get when assisting business owners with their social media strategy is, “Which social media channel is the best one to use?” I always then respond by asking which one your customer, both existing and potential, is using. It is also important to consider which one you will enjoy most. Once you answer those questions, take some time to develop a content plan. This will help you focus when you are collecting or creating content. I recommend doing this for a month in advance (for daily postings) or a quarter in advance (for weekly postings) See my examples below. However, remember that this is a living plan – Always evaluate this road map every so often to ensure your content will be fresh or relevant.

Sample of road map for weekly postings

Sample of road map for monthly postings

Collecting or creating content. Now that with an idea of what you need or want to post and which social media medium you will be using, you can set forth to gather and create content. While I love developing my original content, there are times I will find existing content that speaks to me or states the same thing as I am trying to say. When you have that scenario, use the existing content to save yourself time. BUT always credit your source (you wouldn’t like someone ripping off your content, would you?) and say something meaningful about why you are sharing or retweeting the specific content. Also, it is important to find a balance between using other people’s content and creating your own content – After all, you want to showcase your personal branding and uniqueness.

Scheduling posts. Technology can be a nightmare or a bliss. If your full time job is not a social media manager, then you may find it very helpful to subscribe to a posting service where you can schedule your postings in advance. Often not, these services also include analytics that provide you a better understanding of how your content is received. Here are some of my favorites: CinchShare (for Facebook), HootSuite (for Instagram), and Rignite (best if you are using multiple platforms).

Promoting content. How often do we see a product that truly markets itself? Not too frequently. If you want your audience to notice your content (or even take action), you have to market it! Consider tagging people you know who will be interested, mentioning it in groups you may be involved in, sending an email out, etc. The key here is to get the word out! Even though you may be focused on one social media platform, you can use other social media platforms to promote what you have to say. Case in point, you may be reading this post now because you are on the Fierce & Fabulous (F&F) email list, in the (F&F) Facebook group, found this link through Twitter or Instagram, and/or tagged by yours truly.

Interacting with the audience. Last but not least, engagement! Social medial is a two-way street and all about building a community. You can’t just post amazing content and call it a day. Respond to every person who took the time to comment, share, or like. You never know how your response and interaction may open new doors or windows.

My dear business owners and entrepreneurs, I hope you find these tips useful. I shall leave you with this sample schedule from Rignite. Until next time.

Yours truly,

Christina
Christina Guerrier

About Christina: Christina is a business consultant who has worked alongside with companies, ranging from international for-profit corporations and non-profit grass root organizations. Armed with over a decade of experiences and a MBA degree, she will be able to provide strategies and guidance for your startup or growing company. Having a mind for the big picture, she can also look at you business to help you seize new opportunites as well as determine changes that may be needed. As her personal motto to be a woman for others, Christina offers a host of services to empower business owners as well as individuals - Some of her services include business consulting, business plan development, business writing, logo design, website design, resume and cover letter building. Connect with her at christina.guerrier@gmail.com to get your journey started!

Wedding Tips for The Budget Friendly Dreamer

Tips from Fashionably Late

Congratulations! You finally found the one! On top of all of the worldly chaos, he actually decided to commit for a life long journey of emotional turmoil with you (thanks mother nature). 

At this point, you’ve accepted his offer, called every relative on earth and confirmed with your squad that your Pintrest board can finally come true. Now what? Well, it’s time to start planning girl!

Most women have had their weddings planned out since they were in middle school, and even though that looser you crushed on then has since found someone else, your ideas of what you want have not changed. So how do you get that without maxing out every line of credit that you have? Well it’s simple, listen to me!

First thing first, set yourself a budget, a realistic one…and stick to it! Next, determine what means the most to you. Whether it be your wedding dress, the venue location, your menu, to have an open bar, or whatever! Pick one, find out how much that will cost, and work the rest of your budget around it. Again, if you are pretty well off then this is not for you, you need to splurge on everything girl!

Once you determine which is most important, you then have to staff some lucky individual to help you stay sane through this process. Hire an event coordinator/decorator. Pay close attention to the last sentence, it’s in BOLD for a reason. Some event planners/coordinators DO NOT decorate or make items. They outsource it to others which in the long run, cost you more money. So make sure they are capable of doing both. Stick with someone local. Go with someone known, but maybe isn’t “storefront” yet. These type of business’ usually provide excellent customer service as they are in a market where they have to fight for your business. They will do a lot more to keep you happy and to have you refer them customers. Feel free to show them your Pintrest board. I mean, it did take you practically 6 months to get that perfect online wedding together. They will also be more hands-on with customizing items for you, which ultimately, SAVES YOU MONEY!

Always remember to be flexible! You have to be flexible when it comes to the ideas of the wedding and the budget. Maybe swap your flower type. Substituting artificial flowers for real ones really saves a lot. Remember, cutting corners in A gives you more play room in B (that thing you decided you want the most).

Once you convince yourself that your dream wedding really is coming true, leave the ends and the outs to your event planner. It is their job to make sure the day is perfect. It is your job to show up, look beautiful, and take in every moment. You deserve that! It is your day princess!

For more helpful tips, be sure to check back EVERY  third Thursday. 

Want to suggest a topic or have a question? 

Feel free to email me at nadia.epg@gmail.com or be daring and click here www.facebook.com/never2latejax .

Until next time... Be Fierce, Be Fashionable and Be Kind!

We MOTIVATE, INSPIRE, AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER!

So it is Sunday evening and you are winding down from the weekend preparing your mind for your week. (I know Ms. Walker will not be winding down until next Sunday, have you heard the MERCIAL....YAAASSSS Ms. Walker from Simply Ke'Say Boutique has teamed up with others to bring the fabulous Cynthia Bailey on June 18th)

Okay back to my message, some of you are dreading going to your office tomorrow, because you are not living out your dream, you want more! Some are excited about tomorrow because they are doing what they love.

How can you get to the place?

Do you really know what you want as a career? 

Are you ready to be a business owner?

Do you know what comes with being a business owner? 

Are you ready to change careers? 

Do you want to go back to school? 

Everybody deserves to be happy, everyone deserves to do what they love. Just know even when doing something you love, you are going to have those hard times, everything is not going to be smooth sailing. It is your responsibility to prepare for those rare occasions. 

How can you take your life to the next level?

Remember we are here to #Motivate #Inspire and #Support each other!

Fierce Night of Networking

Purchase your Tickets!

https://fiercenightofnetworking.eventbrite.com