The importance of branding is a discussion that comes up a lot with entrepreneurs and small business owners. And in short, branding not only legitimizes your business but also provides a sense of direction for employees, customers, and potential new audiences that may not know what you’re all about. Building your brand identity that speaks to who you are and what you offer clearly conveyed throughout your social media, your website, as well as in person is the first impression people will have about you and your business.
Whether you’re an esthetician, florist, photographer, or personal trainer, your marketing materials, signage, and advertisements will leave more of an impact when you create a consistent brand. Your customers will recognize your brand instantly, setting you apart from your competitors. And no, it’s not just fancy fonts and pretty colors.It’s more. Developing your brand message in your business doesn’t have to be a painful process but it is a necessity that shouldn’t be overlooked.
How to Brand Your Business
Now, when creating a brand, most people think it is as simple as having a memorable logo and selecting a few key colors to incorporate throughout your business, but it’s more than that. Knowing the difference between branding vs marketing is a must. A brand needs to incorporate your business’ beliefs as well as portray a personality that customers can feel and connect with without a physical person needing to be present. Think about your business mission, your values, what you are looking to offer, how you plan to execute your services and who you are planning to serve.
The key is to build a brand that speaks for itself so if and when you hand off some of the workload like marketing and social media, your brand should already be clearly identified. This allows for cohesive marketing even if done by an outside social media management team, content creator, or marketing specialist. Your branding creates the tools that act almost like templates to build upon for all of your marketing. Be sure to share your business mission with the experts if handed over, again, so this may be carried through in all of your messaging.
The next step is learning how to distinguish your brand from others that may be similar. What is your unique selling proposition and how can you convey it to your customers? In the past, branding was used to lure consumers in and would often result in loud graphics that didn’t truly speak to your business. It was purely about being “eye-catching” and “attention-grabbing”. Now to keep your consumers interested your brand needs to build a connection with them, create a clear message for them to follow, and generate loyalty. Creating your unique selling proposition (USP) means taking time to identify what actually makes you unique in highly competitive markets and is what can make you stand out among all the noise online.
When opening a business you may want to attract anyone and everyone at first but this is a common misconception. For your business to succeed you want to attract the individuals that will help you grow. If you are creating a business that will be of high quality, that will deliver more expensive services backed by years of experience and education, you can’t market yourself in a manner that will attract discount shoppers, bargain chasers, and people only looking for quick deals. These generally won’t convert to loyal customers for you. You want your branding to resonate with the demographic you are targeting to create a loyal bond that will have customers and clients coming back. To attract the right demographic you want to use target branding, which includes everything from typefaces and color selections to custom photography that makes all the difference to who you’re attracting. You can even research color theory psychology if you’d like an informative read on how to choose brand colors and what the best brand colors for small businesses are. Color psychology dives deep into this specific topic of how colors invoke certain emotional responses within us. So choosing colors that work for your brand but also considering how these colors make people feel will put you ahead in the process when considering your business’s brand identity.
The best part is, you don’t have to do this alone
At this point, your brain may be doing somersaults with all of this new information. Trust me I know how you feel. Not long ago, I went through this exact process. Maybe you had no idea what branding entails or you’re starting to see areas where your brand could be stronger. Maybe you haven’t even completed a business mission. You may even be wondering, what in the world is a typeface and how can the typeface used in my logo impact the audience I attract? Side note – each variation of a typeface is a font. For example, if Gotham is a typeface, then Gotham Italic Bold is a font within that typeface. Does that make sense? Again, I know it’s a lot. And when starting a business especially if you’re an entrepreneur, this can be extremely overwhelming. However, if your budget allows for it I would definitely make the suggestion to hire an expert in logo design that can also assist with all things branding. And don’t even get me started on web design. That is something I would always invest in if it’s an option in your budget.
If all of this is leaving you feeling overwhelmed and like you need more guidance, I’m here to help you and your business succeed. The internet is a wealth of knowledge filled with branding tips for entrepreneurs if you have to go it alone. I suggest you look to business mentors and do your research. I can’t stress enough about getting clear with the mission of your business and your intentions. This will aid as a roadmap to guide you down your path of branding whether done by yourself or an expert.
One of my missions when becoming a business coach was to share any and all helpful tips and tricks that can move a business forward but also make the lives of my fellow entrepreneurs so much easier. No gatekeeping here, remember? So, If you are anything like me and you’re either an entrepreneur or a small business owner you are most likely looking for ways to streamline client management, especially if you are in a service-based business like me.
One of the first tools I looked for when I set up my business was a platform for invoicing. I found exactly that. I found many options for invoicing alone with not much else. But on most of these platforms, I had to design the invoice with limited options. Some platforms gave me a blank invoice and you could upload a logo and change some colors but these just weren’t what I was looking for. Other invoicing platforms claimed to be small business friendly and easy to use for new accounts but they just fell short and were not user-friendly for this fifty-year-old. And let’s talk about contracts. I was creating these beautiful contracts in Canva which was draining my time and was not cohesive or streamlined in any way. I knew when I was starting out, everything would be a learning process and this sure was a huge one for me. I think I used 3 different invoicing apps and or platforms before I finally said enough already. I need to automate business workflows for time saving, but also for my own sanity. Managing my time has always been a big focus of mine and I’ve always been all about getting that time freedom whenever possible. So I needed to have invoicing and contracts at my fingertips that could be tailored to specific clients when needed. There had to be a platform that was designed for entrepreneurs in service-based businesses who need flexible contracts and invoicing. Surely, I wasn’t the only one looking for an all-inclusive software that was easy to use for contracts and invoicing.
And I was not. Because a friend suggested HoneyBook for small businesses, user friendly invoicing solutions. And what a game-changer it has been. The best part is that HoneyBook has streamlined the process for me by having tons of existing templates to choose from and it’s not just invoicing! Thank the heavens above! Finally!
So what does it have and why am I so in love with it? Well, I will tell you. It’s perfect for service-based entrepreneurs, not just coaches, I mean all service-based businesses need HoneyBook in their lives. The industry template library is vast and includes everything from baking, blogging, bookkeeping, catering, cleaning, coaching, content creation, digital marketing, event planning, floral design, hair & makeup, health & wellness, photography, social media, and these are just to name a few.
You can choose from all types of pre-designed templates that range from things like contracts, invoices, brochures, proposals, questionnaires, and even testimonial request templates. How cool is this? And one of my favorite things about HoneyBook is you get to add your branding, easily, to your account and create designs using these templates, that you can quickly tailor to you and your specific client needs.
It doesn’t stop there! You can even allow your clients to book time with you via a calendar option that allows you to offer scheduling right from an automated email. I am telling you HoneyBook has been a game changer for me.
I could honestly shout from the rooftops to go get HoneyBook for your small business. And that’s kind of what I am doing. What I have listed out for you is just the beginning. They have so many incredible features to keep you on task, to make sure your invoices get paid, and to help you track your client progress with contracts and proposals and the payment integration was, you guessed it, easy as can be. You even have the option to offer payment plans and tailor them to suit your needs. And the time in which it takes for funds to be transferred into your bank is one to two business days. As a new business owner, the speed for processing was and is so important to me, as I am sure it will be equally to so many of you.
So, if you are an entrepreneur looking for an easy-to-use platform that you can customize with your own branding that gives a complete professional appearance HoneyBook is for you.
I’m happy I tried the other apps in the beginning so that I could honestly appreciate all that it has to offer me. But if I could save a fellow businesswoman from countless hours of wasted time and energy, then I will tell everyone I know.
So, what are you waiting for? Go get HoneyBook now! I have even included a link here to save you a little money in the process. Who doesn’t need or want that, right?
A vulnerable look inside the final events that led me to quitting the 9-5 hustle, building someone else’s dreams, while making myself depressed, sick, and overweight.
And why I want to help you get unstuck too.
In 2021 I took what I thought would be my dream job. I planned on calling it home until I retired. The practice was beautiful and in my field of expertise. This was it, finally.
The dream job was a nightmare.
I worked tirelessly, wore multiple hats if you will. I was a front desk receptionist one minute, and the practice manager the next. I was the compliance officer, a med tech, personal secretary, social media and marketing strategist, human resource manager, training manager, talent recruiter, events planner, accounts payable and receivable manager, vendor relations manager, promo girl, instructor, educator and that’s to name a few. There was nothing I wouldn’t do. I had hard conversations with staff members. I was responsible for the retention of the team. Which, red flag alert, the owner had no long term team members, and a terrible reputation in the community. And when everyone warned me about working for her I decided to make my own conclusions. But she lived up to her reputation, unfortunately. Or actually, fortunately for me, eventually.
She was competitive, not only with others in her industry but with her own employees. She was deceitful, calculated, narcissistic, jealous, you get the picture. And somehow, I still believed in her.I wanted her business to grow and thrive. I believed it could and would. The one positive personality trait she had was her sense of humor. And we all lived for it when it came out to play. Just when you had one foot out the door she would rope you back in with the most hysterical story. You couldn’t possibly laugh like this in any other business, with any other boss.
I was continuously just trying to keep the team happy and intact, and at every turn it was like she was sabotaging my hard work with one ridiculous comment after another. She didn’t seem to possess any shortage of awful behavior. The gaslighting of employees, the badmouthing, the downright disgraceful disregard was never ending. The worst part was, I thought I was privy to private information and comments as the practice manager but eventually I realized that what she was saying about all the employees to me, she was also saying to the employees about me. Who in the world does that?
With a growing list of health ailments, like, insomnia, anxiety, depression, obesity, heart palpitations, still I continued to grow her practice. She was making more money now than she ever had. While the team was threatening to leave I worked against all the odds to secure them higher salaries, great hours, flexibility, whatever it was, I went to bat for them. All while never asking for a thing in return. And at the expense of constantly making her feel like I was the enemy. And after my team was happy, for the meantime, I finally asked for a raise. I had reports, data, and analytics that showed the growth of a lucrative department that I had been tasked with its development and growth. Had I not come with the history, skill set and the determination to find a provider to perform the treatments the way I knew someone could, the department would have died. Instead, It was up over 800% in less than 6 months. It was the new go to spot for the treatment, out hustling our competitors. So when I finally asked for a raise, after everyone was happy, I was met with a low offer, and retaliation.She cut me out of important meetings, phone calls, staff meetings, and started delegating my responsibilities to other members of the team with zero direction. It got more ridiculous each day that passed, which would only last three weeks.
The ending was not amicable, it was not pretty. It was abrupt, messy and it felt like I was burning a bridge at both ends while standing in the middle of it. I had no back up plan. No “exit strategy”. Nothing waiting in the wings..
My passion for leadership development is based around a long history of horrible bosses.This was not the first, but definitely the worst. And her refusal to take leadership classes while dancing around the office singing the lyrics from Taylor’s song “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.” told me one thing. Not only was she an asshole, but she had no business being in charge of anyone. She was a tyrant, and she thought it was somehow funny to knock other women down walk all over them and then discard them as trash when she was through.
If you are anything like I was in this situation, steadfast in the belief that someone can change simply because you will them to. You are wrong. But you can change. You can outgrow them. You can set boundaries. You can discover your worth. And when every single sign points to the answer, no matter how much you don’t like the one you are getting, you must value yourself enough to get out. You deserve better. We all do.
How you can start connecting and serving your clients better outside of social media.
Have you ever worked on a project so intently, so mindfully, pouring endless hours of yourself into it all while learning how to use the platform you are working on to create the project? How about working on a project where the platform you are using is continuously changing? Changing without you even knowing? How about the platform having its own algorithm that seems to operate seemingly on its own? It feels a lot like being in a fun house at a carnival except it’s not fun.
That’s what growing on social media feels like as a new business owner. And it’s mind numbingly unfair to new accounts. Growth is hard. Reach is stagnant. And you really have no idea if you are genuinely connecting with your people or not. Let’s face it, you don’t know if they are real people at all.
When I first launched my coaching business I was panicked at the idea of not having any other source to reach, engage and secure clients other than through social media. And even though I did secure a good number of clients that way, I knew enough from my days of marketing that it was not the best way to secure long term interactions and meaningful relationship building with clients that wanted to engage with me for the life of my business. So what works?
Not newsletters.
Ok, so then what? Just hear me out.
Build a website immediately. By immediately, I mean before you even build your social media account or at least make it equally as important. Have someplace to lead them, to get them to a site you own. Even if it isn’t the best. Because what you will do with it is build your email list by opting people in to what they are interested in hearing about from you.
So, let’s say you are a small home decor store. And your intentions are to grow. Perhaps have multiple stores, an online sales platform and you want a steady stream of both in person clients and a way to sell to people online. Ok, well then, you better be establishing your audience now.
So, how do you get them to opt in to emails? Give them something they want! And I’m not talking about discounts or sales. I am talking about information! Education and entertainment.
Let’s stick with the home decor store idea. Maybe you create 3 outlines, guides, checklists for clients that are filled with information on particular topics. Like “How to decorate an odd space in your home”. What about one that is unique to your store? Maybe you sell a lot of vintage items, “How to find and build relationships with vintage vendors for your diy projects”. Maybe you put together a holiday checklist of “All the must haves for entertaining”. (These are just ideas, I don’t have a home decor store.But hopefully you are getting the idea.)
Once your website is designed you can add these 3, what we call lead generators, to your site and it will start to help you not only collect emails from your clients but as you are collecting them you can segment, categorize them into topics they specifically identified as being interested in. So, that’s how you don’t spam them to death and force them to opt out.
I know your next argument will be, but I don’t want to send emails and have a website. And my answer to that will be, well then how do you expect to grow?
Social media is borrowed space. What will you do if you’re shadowbanned for some odd reason? Or what if the site is just not working for weeks or worse a month, worse yet, two months.
Building your presence on social media is obviously very important. But using it as your only marketing strategy, just isn’t practical in most businesses. Using your analytics on social media helps you to identify what people like most in your particular business and will help you to build on that and allow you to be more creative and also have more fun.
I can show you the how to’s and what to do’s and it’s really not as hard as you think. And once you get started it will run practically on its own.
I house my emails on Flodesk. You can add your branding to it, design style and the best part is they have segmenting options and so many premade templates. It’s surprisingly easy to use, even for the novice 50 year old, who has only just begun.
What are you waiting for? Let’s go!
So what, I am turning 50!
I believe once you hit your forties it’s considered mid-life now, correct? Well, if so, I’ve been mid-life for nine years. And in my mid-forties, the idea of turning fifty was so depressing. I hated the idea. And this was finally the year I was going to figure out exactly why my birthdays made me sad instead of happy.
First, I decided to speak to a few close friends about the topic. And this is what I found.
Most of the women, myself included, weren’t happy about turning 50. However it had less to do with the sagging skin and wrinkles than I had expected, and more to do with time.
For most of us, we had similar answers that could be summed up with one sentence. “I’m just not where I thought I would be at this age”. Ok, so where did we expect to be exactly?
The list was not long, but similar. Women stated they thought they would be further along in their careers, making more money, better titles, and more time off to experience the fun stuff. The next was I thought I would have traveled more, had more experiences by now, and seen more places of the world. Others said things about relationships, their home, and their weight, but a lot was spoken about dreams. About the “someday” dreams. The quiet dreams each of them had that have yet to come to fruition, and the worry that as time is slipping away, they may never.
When I asked how they felt about their age and what they saw in the mirror, it seemed to be the least of their concerns. Sure they hated this line or that wrinkle, and wanted to get this done or that. But those concerns seemed secondary and only aided as a reminder that with the absence of youth, it’s more clear we are running out of time. But time for what exactly? Time with our children, and our loved ones. Time to experience all the things on our “someday” dreams list. None of us want to accept that it’s half-time.
So, I decided that 9 months shy of turning fifty I would not celebrate one more birthday being half happy. I started journaling. I bought a notebook specific for memories of wonderful experiences, a gratitude practice if you will. But this was designed to remind myself of all the things through the years that I have seen, accomplished, achieved, and been joyful to witness. And when I say the list went on for weeks I mean closer to 10 weeks. Over two and a half months I wrote almost every day about something I’d experienced. I would think of memories from childhood, adulthood, my twenties, and all the years leading up to who I am now. And after I filled the notebook almost completely, I felt a little frustrated with myself. Because how dare I feel like I hadn’t lived a full enough life to be grateful for the opportunity of turning fifty? It’s a marvelous list, more like a novel. Even moments that had once been sad had somehow made the list as moments that had changed my life forever, and later made me better because of those hard times. I had already been practicing daily gratitude but this was different. This was a lifetime reflection of all the things I am grateful for, some I hadn’t even been truly aware of.
I started my business in 2023 and of course this was in my top 5 most favorite achievements because this was a “someday” dream. I had wanted to do this for so long that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t. If you are like me, or like me from nine months ago, and want to genuinely be happy each year that your birthday rolls around but don’t understand why you’re not and or how to get comfortable with it. I say this. Figure out what’s eating at you. Sometimes we need a reminder. Sometimes we need to get off our asses and chase down those dreams. Some days we need to simply be grateful for all of the things we have instead of worrying about all the things we don’t. It was never the number, it was the mindset.
So here’s to 50 years on this earth. Here’s to not even being close to done yet. And here’s to all the memories, the good, bad and the ugly, that I am so thankful for. And here’s to you. My readers, the ones who are working to get comfortable too. You got this.
With 20+ years in the beauty industry and even more experience building businesses from dull and struggling, to thriving and shining with continual projected success, I’m here to be your coach and guide you as you build the business, life, and empire that you’ve been dreaming of.
My 3 Tips
to Become
a Better Leader
As business owners, it’s our responsibility to be a good leader from the moment you bring on that very first employee. It’s time we evolve and grow past the old bosses we hated, and become the best leaders, managers, and business owners we can be, and with my freebie, I share my top 3 tips and how to start immediately!
Be a better leader, now. Because let's face it - Bad bosses, poor leadership, and horrible managers are so 2015
My 3 Tips to Become
a Better Leader
In this exclusive success story, see how Lisa Dauge Coaching helped a single mom and entrepreneur double her revenue in less than a year. From tackling mindset challenges and pricing strategy to balancing work and life. This guide offers insights and actionable steps that any service-based business owner can apply. Download to learn the tools and strategies that made this transformation possible.
Discover How a Single Mom Doubled Her Revenue in Under a Year: Learn Proven Strategies to Overcome Imposter Syndrome, Price Confidently, and Avoid Burnout in Your Business.
STOP SELLING YOURSELF SHORT
- new! -
new!
©2024 Lisa Dauge Coaching LLC, All Rights Reserved | Brand and Website Design Credit, By Samantha Grace