Like most people in a creative industry, I'm sure that at some point during your journey as a small business owner and creative entrepreneur you have wondered how can you brand yourself.

This is a topic that I see over and over on Facebook groups. Most small business owners want to establish themselves but don't know how to go about it. I know the thought of it might be OVERWHELMING and while it does require some deep thinking, it can be totally doable!

My goal today is help you get a bit of clarity on what and how you can define your brand. I'm also throwing in a bonus at the end which will help you understand yourself and your business!!

WHY IS A BRAND IMPORTANT?

A brand is your voice, your online presence. This voice will definitely have an impact on the way customers view your business and you as a business owner. Without establishing a clear vision of your brand, you are technically driving a car with a muddy windshield.

The goal of your brand is to help you establish a guideline for the following:

• The purpose of your business
• Have a clear understanding of who your clients are
• Stand out from the rest

Of course, we can go into details for each of the points above, but my goal is to make your creative juices flowing and hopefully help you achieve a clearer vision of what you want your brand to look like, what you want to achieve and what your future goals are.

YOUR PURPOSE

It's easy to say "well I just want to make more money", or "I want to be my own boss", but really, think about it. What is the purpose of your business? What makes you jump of joy each time you book a new client? 

Is it the fact that you get to work with excited moms that are about to have their first baby? Is it the bride that is looking forward to a fairy-tale wedding? 

For example: Your purpose is to capture those first moments of a first time mom seeing her newborn.

Think about it. What is your business about? What do you want your clients to know about your business and about you? 

WHO IS YOUR CLIENT

This one is VERY IMPORTANT. Let me tell you why.

Sometimes business owners think their brands need to reflect THEM. Here's the issue, you run a business so you have to take into consideration YOUR client. 

Of course, you will want to have part of your personality reflected within your brand. Your style is always taken into consideration when it comes to designing a brand but we also want to take into consideration who your client is or what type of client you want to attract.

Another example: You already have your business running, but you want to look like an established photographer and you want to attract higher end brides.

At the same time, you love punk rock and you want to showcase your personality within your brand and website.

This is totally understandable, and if you are working with a designer, the goal is to collaborate to reach a final design that will help you showcase your personality, your work, and still attract the right client!

STAND OUT

Like I said in the beginning, a brand is more than a pretty logo. Your work is already amazing, so you need to stand out from the rest. You need to clear the path from all the clutter and set you apart!

Think about your style. Go to Pinterest! I always tell my clients to get a board just for thir branding. Not to copy it, but just so that they can see colors, typography, just any style that stands out to them in a way that can be useful once they decide to go through the actual branding process.

I do hope these simple points will help you have a better understanding of what things you should take into consideration while thinking about your own brand.

There's much more that I can say about branding and what goes into it, but this is just a taste to get those creative juices flowing!

WAIT! That's not all of it! I did work on a fun little workbook with additional steps and questions on these very same topics. These questions will help you go in deep into your business, your clients and what you can do to stand apart from the rest!

Much love,

Sofia