Beginning Steps for a Successful Brand

It’s a gift to know your gifts. It’s also the starting point of understanding your direction and focus for your creative business. A few years after I started my blog, I stepped away from my site to focus fully on my family, but I continued to learn as much as I could during that hiatus.

One of the most helpful exercises in finding my focus (I was shifting from party blogging to lifestyle blogging and had so many ideas in my mind) seemed too trite when I first heard it. As it turns out, it has been one of the most helpful exercises I have done. This advice sounds over-simplified, but I can’t emphasize it enough when finding the right way to promote yourself and/or your brand…

Brainstorm all of your strengths and write them down so that you can reference them as you need. Dig deeper into what you excel at doing than what you initially feel comfortable stating. This task is for you and does not have to be shared with others… so be completely honest with yourself. What do you know that you are good at doing-— even if others don’t know that about you (yet)?

I was thrilled to find that this exercise was one of the many thought-provoking exercises that TSC Alum, Sallie Holder, had us complete in a recent class. My daughter also took a class that asked her write (for 9 minutes straight!) all that she was good at doing. The point of these activities is to give you a clearer focus on how to find and use your strengths to lead to success. It truly is a gift to understand your gifts.

Knowing where you excel helps you prioritize your actions so that you can use the strongest points to build a business foundation. In turn, realizing your weaknesses helps you know where to fill the gaps with people who complement and help you grow. This clears the path to building a business and a team that pushes forward with a combination of strengths— each picking up where the other one leaves off.

Know what you are great at doing and use that knowledge to your advantage as you follow the suggestions I offer below.

1. Brainstorm your strengths in detail and write them down so that you can return to them often.
2. Realize that you have a concept, idea, or talent that generates interest.
3. Research and know what problem your business solves. I suggest looking at the Pyramid of Values to help you decide on what problem your business solves and the value that it gives.
4. Define, develop and clearly know the framework of your needs to run your business— the foundational needs such as costs of operating, finances, budget, etc. Keep a close watch over this part of growing your business now that you have established your focus in the first 3 steps.

I hope these beginning steps are helpful to you as you start your business journey. I can’t emphasize the importance of digging deep to know your strengths, rather than just scratching the surface. The gifts you have been given reflect the reasons that you are here, and they give value to your passions.

I was recently asked if I could sum up in 3 quick tips what I recommend to new business owners. I chose these 3 P’s for helping you stay focused on your gifts as you find yourself building your business:

PERSPECTIVE– Keep your perspective on what is worthy of your time, energy, and effort.

PRIORITIES– Prioritize what is needed each day/week/month to maintain your perspective and stick to those.

PATIENCE– Offer patience to yourself as you establish yourself and grow, understanding that extending grace to yourself allows space to grow effectively rather than only rapidly.

Cheers to being a creative entrepreneur and to tackling your business with focus!