Resilience is My Brand!
“5 Ways to Strengthen Your Brand.”
Have you decided what your word or phrase of the year was going to be?
It was the end of 2018, when I was searching my heart and asking God questions about the New Year. What is the word or phrase that would follow me through 2019? Wait…. Don’t hold your breath for the anticipation!!
Queen, it was simply “Expect The Unexpected.” Expecting could be positive and then it could be negative in various circumstances. When I tell you, it was comprised of loss, celebrations, victories, disappointments, new opportunities, and heartbreaks. Throughout the journey of 2019, I knew it was the test of resilience. You’re think your strong until grief hits you. Loosing my Mom has allowed me to open up my eyes and feel all of the emotions and expressed them freely. I felt like I was David with his three friends that was in the fire but was untouched. I am still healing and allowing myself to feel, but most importantly my goal is to live out my Mother’s legacy.
When I think of legacy, I think of who we are at our core. In these days, there are so many things that could pull us away from being our true authentic self. If you are not grounded, you could be pulled in several directions. Social Media Branding has taken over our lives, but as we post we need to discover our passions and God-given gifts. We focus on a graphic that is full of ambience and beauty, but sometimes we refused to grow. While you’re building your brand know that you are becoming more and more like you. Never try to build a brand that is displaying something you are not or unsure of.
So, I have picked my phrase for 2020 and it’s, “Shifting into New Spaces”. When you are shifting, you have to reevaluate and allow yourself to discover your true authentic self.
1.) Connections = Blessings
In 2011, when I was running for Miss Harris-Stowe State University I created a quote that said, “Make your circle small and your network big.” In order to get to the next level, learning to network effectively is essential. I love to communicate with people. When I started Queen of Resilience, I took engaging to another level. Literally, I have learned to speak about the organization everywhere I go. For instance, it could be shopping at my favorite store (TORRID), church, networking events, etc. Wherever I go, my goal is to encourage someone and inform them about my brand. You never know who you are speaking to. Always have your elevator pitch prepared, but make it personable. All connections are lessons, but there are some that are blessings. In 2018, I was interested in doing more events. I had just added Kristy Jackson on Facebook because she was the owner and founder of DK Solutions. In my mind, I was like she seems amazing and a great business leader that I should know. About a week later, I ended up seeing her at Lamar Harris’ Superheroes of Blackness. My brother was playing keys at this play and I went to support him. After the event, I saw Kristy Jackson and God told me to go up to speak with her. I explained to her my interest in event planning and my organization. She asked me, “What are you doing on Saturday?” She invited me the Be Brazen brunch and the rest is history. One connection can open up several opportunities.
2.) Your Brand is strengthened through your experiences
When someone sees your brand, what is one WORD they think of that describes it? Every experience that you have incorporate that situation is building your authenticity in your brand identity and voice. As you grow as a person, your company will be strengthened and become even more creditable. Use all of your experiences to enhance your brand and build an even stronger community. There are occasions that we have struggled on what to do next, but it is through our experiences that we find the answer. Every seminar, disappointment, victory, and panful experience you need to use it. Use it to be empowered to impact someone else. It’s a part of your make up! What experience have you used to strengthen your brand?
3.) Humanized your brand
A good friend informed me that I need to humanize my brand. I have learned to be transparent in my business. Starting this organization allowed me to become more relatable with individuals that I am not acquainted with on a regular basis. The elevator pitch that you may have learned the techniques in high school or college, I put that to the test in a different way. More of my personality and story was added to the pitch. I learned that that there is power in transparency and being genuine. People need to connect with who you are. I am not a fan of telling all of your business but it’s ok to release certain thing. Be unashamed with sharing who you are to the world. Someone can see or hear your story and you can make an impact. If you love to laugh and share your faith. Then sis, this is what you need to do. In all that you strive to do, be yourself. Come to the realization that you are not perfect and things will not be grand all the time.
4.) Consistency
In everything you do, remain consistent. Be visible and when you take a break make sure people will miss your online presence. In order to take care of ourselves, social media breaks are important. Starting off as an entrepreneur you may not have the finances to hire a Social Media Manager. You should not feel inadequate because you ‘ve decided to take some time for you. Consistency teaches us the essence of growth, practice, and mistakes empower us to never give up. Unfortunately, no one remembers the person that quit or all they do remember is the negative component of stopping a task. Individuals, remember the person that never gave up and had the will power to focus intensively through all of the hardships. When you start a project, no one is ever great at first.
5.) Become OK with rejection
Unfortunately, we experience rejection personally, socially, and definitely in business. With rejection having resilience is necessary because it reduces anxiety and produces perseverance. People will reject you because of your potential. There are people who see the greatness inside of you and they do not want it to manifest. Sometimes you may not even see your own potential. You know you have a passion to do a project but your insecurities are holding you back. On the other hand, rejection could be God keeping you from danger. If someone says the word, “NO” view it in a different light. It could be it’s not time yet and you should try again. Starting over and going to the drawing board doesn’t make you weak. But it strengthens you for your next. I have learned to say, “The answer may be no but my YES is coming.” Your YES is coming, just wait on it.
Choose your word for this year or phrase and make sure it’s preparing you for your next level. Branding and Marketing is great but if you loose focus on your why and your motive on the outer layer of your business, then it’s a waste. I challenge you to concentrate on all of your experiences and insert them into your business. You will not be at a loss but definitely a gain for your life, impact, and business.
What is your BRAND?????
