Welcome to Forum 360.

I am your host, Leia’ Love, and we have a global outlook from a local view.

Today I am so excited.

We are going to be speaking to small business owners and those who are looking to start their business about branding, big brand magic.

And we have Jennah Lear with us today, she is the owner of Blue Loui Studios.

So thank you for joining us today.

- Thank you for having me.

I'm so excited to be here and just jam on this with you.

- Perfect.

Let's jam.

So how did you get into branding?

- Yeah, I think like most people, it just comes from, like, a string of events through your career and you're like... And you tend to be drawn towards one thing in particular, so I started out my career in corporate.

And I was working with these actually small businesses that were local, mid to large sized companies.

And I was always working with their brand.

And I really, really loved it.

I'm a graphic designer by trade, so I was in the back corner dealing with like graphics all day long and those pieces.

But through that, what I love to share is I learned what a brand actually is and started to, you know, dive deeper into how companies use it and just the magic behind what a brand can really do for a business.

And so that's really kind of where it started, my corporate years.

Like all the dots connect when you look back, whether you like your beginning career, and where you started out or not.

It all connects.

So that was kind of where it was born.

- Well, perfect.

So let's get into defining what is branding, because I think that can be such a broad definition for people.

- Absolutely.

It can.

And I feel like when you talk to different people, even other brand experts, you get different definitions too.

So, like, I imagine it can be confusing for the small business owner, but really, your brand is your identity.

It is the identity that you market with.

So regardless of how you choose to market, you're going to use your brand to be able to do that.

- Okay, is there a difference between branding and marketing?

- Yes.

So your brand is what you market with.

So when you, for instance, you know, take the stage and you've got a microphone in your hand, or you're at a networking event or you are doing ads or you are, you know, doing a webinar, those are all different forms of marketing, and you're going to use your brand on every single form of marketing so that you can maintain consistency.

You can get your message out there.

And regardless of how you choose to market, everyone's gonna know that it is you and your brand in your business at the end of the day.

So, yeah.

- So what are the foundational elements that you need to have when you're starting your brand?

- I get this a lot.

I get this a lot.

And and I think this is kind of like where you know, my signature kind of process was born as well, because I know we tend to think like, let's start with the website, right?

Let's get the website out there.

But a gap that I kept seeing and often see is that regardless of getting a website up and running, you're still gonna need the what I like to call the core three of your brand.

And it's, why you?

It's, who are you talking to?

Which really speaks into niching and finding your target audience, not trying to talk to everyone.

And, what do you believe?

So it's deeper than, you know, pitching your services.

It's actually what do you believe to be true and creating a brand from those three points?

That's a foundation that's going to make all of your marketing seamlessly connect and really speak to the right customer.

So that's really what that's about.

- So when you're answering those questions, because I want to give people like a realistic time frame, I think some people think that may take you 20 minutes to sit down and answer, like, how long realistically does it take you to kind of cultivate those authentic answers?

- Yeah.

You know, there's no like structured timeline.

But for my own journey, when I decided like, okay, I am not just going to like, produce logos all day long, I want to create brands for women entrepreneurs.

The task was to really take a step back and realize that I get to reposition myself.

So, you know, I'm giving you the long answer to this, because that process took me about 4 to 5 months.

You know, to really learn, or have the awareness of, like, I'm not just a logo designer, I'm more, right?

I'm on a mission for more, more impact.

And how can anyone know that unless I'm presenting that?

And so then I dove into my messaging, and how am I actually speaking about who I am and what I'm doing.

And then I dove deeper into, okay, crap, like, what are my services?

Because they can't be, you know, just anything, anywhere.

It gets to be really streamlined so that I can become known as the go to expert for what I'm really trying to create.

This is brand building.

So, I would say it takes more time than you think.

And I think there's an element too of not only doing the actual work and like, what are the steps, you know, what's the process.

But believing it for yourself too.

Right?

There's an element of, you know, walking yourself through these pieces, getting the clarity, putting in the work, coming out the other side of like, okay, here's who I am, here's what the brand is, here's what the messages.

And also do I believe it?

Because if I don't believe it, I can't show up and share it boldly.

And sometimes you got to borrow belief from someone else and that's, you know, a whole other can of worms, which I love talking about.

But there's this piece where it really is a process.

And if we allow ourselves to go through that process, we're truly going to transform and what we're creating and growing.

- I really want you to talk about that, because I think sometimes, we think it's just super quick or we get hard on ourselves if it's taking us a little bit longer.

But to create that authentic messaging, it just takes time.

- It does.

- Whether you're working with somebody or on your own doing that.

So I really appreciate you being real, that this is real life.

It took me a little bit of time, but I got there and now I'm very confident in it.

And with that journey, you're able to develop that confidence along the way, so.

- Absolutely.

Confidence by taking action.

- That's it.

- Yeah.

- Alright, so how does brand strategy differ from brand design?

- Okay.

So this is a great question because you actually kind of need multiple pieces.

And you're kind of brand pie if you will, right?

There's many slices.

And you know, your brand design, maybe your logo and your colors and your font and these are the elements you're going to use when you're creating your marketing materials, when you're out in the world marketing, however you choose to market your brand.

And you do need them.

And so, it's a piece of the process.

But brand strategy is really around laying the foundation.

And I've developed a particular process in where I take people through five steps, and they're not anything that hasn't been invented or explored before.

I just happened to say, hey, instead of trying to cherry pick all of these different things, come in and do these five steps and you'll create a brand strategy from there.

And I think to like the last piece to kind of close the loop between these two is if we're creating a brand and we are, you know, trying to put our message out in the world and really grow a movement I like to say, then we get to understand that whatever marketing strategy we choose, our brand is going to be behind it.

Our brand voice, why we're the go to person for that.

Remember the core three, right?

Why we're the go to person for that?

Who are we talking to and what do we believe to be true?

AKA your message.

And so all of that is baked into your marketing strategy.

And your marketing strategy from a visual perspective, is going to need your brand design and brand elements for the strategy to work, right?

To get out there to call for the people.

And I like to kind of all house it under, you know, at the end of the day, your brand gets to do the work for you and it gets to attract your dreamy clients and customers to you.

And that's really the core of setting up all of these pieces, because I know it can feel overwhelming and takes time.

It takes time.

And when it clicks, that's really what it gets to do for you.

- I love dreamy clients whenever you say that, I just think that's such a perfect way to describe your clients.

- Yeah.

- Okay, so let's talk to the new entrepreneur.

They're just now getting ready to build their brand from scratch.

What, 2 or 3 things do you tell them to do?

- Okay.

Growing your brand- That's such a loaded question.

It's like, okay, if you're in the beginning, honestly, I would say start following or connect with someone who's done what you want to do.

- Okay.

- And that's gonna give you the clarity of like what steps you possibly could take because you're learning from them and their journey, right?

That's the first thing.

The second thing is I would trial and error, right?

Like, I think that I always talk about throwing spaghetti at the wall and stop throwing spaghetti at the wall, lean into like, a deeper strategy.

But there is a spaghetti at the wall, period.

And that's in the beginning.

- There is.

- There is.

And there's experimenting every step of the way, right?

But you're running through most of your spaghetti in the beginning.

So, you know, trial and error things, test things out and really see what sells, right?

Like what you like selling, you know, what seems to be, you know, needed.

And through that process, you're going to start to answer those previous questions about how do you build a brand, right?

You have to be willing to fail, and you have to be willing to get curious.

That's the second step.

The third step is, I like to bake this end dream a little, right?

Like I always say to clients, like the vision comes from you and your heart.

And then once you have that, then come to me and we'll do the strategy.

I can't give you the vision, but I can give you the strategy for your vision.

So really give yourself the space to dream and dream big.

It's not about just getting the next client.

Think about what you can actually create and how you can impact, because building a really successful brand at the end of the day comes back to the fact that it's actually not about you, right?

It's about who you're helping.

And so you got a dream about where this could go before you can actually create it.

- I love that, I love that.

Okay, now let's move on to the seasoned entrepreneur.

- Yeah.

- So they have already created their brand, failed threw all the spaghetti at the wall.

So what do you tell them now that they're like, I want to make a change.

I want to rebrand, reposition myself.

Well, what do they need to think about before they get ready to do that step?

- You know what's interesting is that your question for the season entrepreneur is the same as the beginning.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Because at the end of the day I talk about the core three because that's the foundation.

And so you're going to create that foundation in the beginning.

You're going to get five, seven years in and you're going to say, you know what?

I don't want to sell this anymore.

I don't want to do this anymore.

I have this great idea.

We're going to, like, start a whole different leg of this business.

We're going to, you know, change our ideal you know, target audience all of these things that come with evolution, right?

And what I love is it always comes back to the basics.

Why you?

Because you're not the only one doing what you're doing.

Who are you talking to?

You know, niche if you want to move faster, right?

And, what do you believe to be true?

And at the end of the day, regardless of what you choose to do to scale, right?

That seasoned entrepreneur is in a scaling phase now.

You're going to need to answer those three questions.

And it's really, really crucial that you do.

You know?

Every step of the way.

- So do not skip that step.

- Don’t skip it.

And come back to it often.

- Yeah, that's a good thing too.

Because I think sometimes we get our business plan and we don't look back at it, right?

- Oh, ever.

You're just going.

- Right?

- Right.

It's like I put this in motion and we got the plans laid.

- Yeah.

- So come back to that messaging every so often and making sure that you're doing that.

If you are just joining us, I'm talking to Jennah here, and we are talking about big brand magic and how to make your brand successful.

All right, so... there's so many platforms.

How can you help entrepreneurs ensure that their communication, and branding is consistent?

Because sometimes I think that's hard when this type of content, that type of content.

And it just gets a little bit jumbled for people.

- Yeah, yeah, I think there's a few things you could do, but the thing that is really popping up the most is your messaging is core, right?

So it's like the nucleus to everything.

So really making sure your messaging is dialed in that way on the different platforms, regardless of the different types of content or how you have to present the different kinds of content, that's the consistency piece.

Because people are ultimately through your message, gonna know that this is who this person is, right?

Like we get to be associated with that.

The other piece, I believe, is, I was called a through line piece and, think about, like, you know, a piece of thread going through a needle, right?

And all the places that needle is going to go when in the act of selling, right?

Right.

And there's this piece to where, you know...

I'll just share from my own story to kind of give context where I'm a brand strategist, I teach others how to create and grow their brand.

But if you don't know what branding is, then it's going to leave you questioning what I actually do and what my superpower is.

And so I've actually taken a step back and said, hey, yes, I'm championing, you know, brands.

But at the end of the day, what I believe to be true is when you put your brand out there and you do it in a strategic and aligned way, you will attract those dreamy clients.

And so the through line for me, regardless of content and where and how I'm sharing it, I'm always going to bring it back to attracting your dreamy clients.

And when you come to Blue Loui or when you work with me, that's what we're about.

It's not just your brand and all these things.

It's about we're in this to help you attract the right people to your business.

- Okay, so you mentioned super power.

Let's talk about that a little bit more.

- Yeah, it's kind of cool when you think about it, right?

As a business owner we all have super powers.

And the cool thing is when you've chosen to be a leader and a business owner, you've chosen to lean in to use that super power.

And I like to play.

Why not?

Right?

Like get curious and play.

And so really think about what you bring to the table as a super power.

For example, I've realized after looking back at the last 4 or 5 years hosting events as one of my core strategies, I really have kind of been humbled and also grateful to discover one of my superpowers is hosting really beautiful containers for people.

- You are amazing at that, by the way.

- Thank you, thank you.

I receive it, and it's so funny, it didn't dawn on me until maybe last year sometime, but I've been doing it for so long.

And then I look back and I realized, actually, this is something I'm really great at and I enjoy it, and I love it, and that's the beautiful recipe you need to kind of pull forward a super power.

So it's not just what you do in your business, it's all the things that you can take a step back and say, I'm actually really great at that.

I'm great at designing logos, great at brand strategy, but I'm also really great at creating containers for people to feel heard and seen and learn.

And all of the things that can come with that type of experience.

And so we all have that as business owners, I believe it.

So really start thinking about what your superpower gets to be and have fun with it.

- I love that, and I think it kind of segways into mindset.

And how do you develop that mindset and that confidence to say, I am great at this?

You know, sometimes it's hard for people to be able to say about themselves.

So how do you tell people and help them transition in their mindset with that?

- Oh, years of work.

It's true.

I think that if you're really on a big mission to impact and you're on a big mission to grow a bigger business, the mindset and the leadership work goes hand in hand, right?

So there's no quick answer for that.

But I think it really comes down to reflection, which I know seems like a boring answer, but, really getting good at doing a thing and then taking a step back and saying, okay, what worked?

What didn't work?

What did I love through this experience?

What did I learn and what do I see, you know, or envision for the next time or something different?

And that type of reflection is going to give you the confidence.

You're going to be like, oh, I kind of did the dang thing there, right?

Like, you're probably going to have some insight that you didn't even think before.

And I think just being in action of having a vision, going after it, failing and, you know, like we said before, getting curious, you're going to develop a mindset that's like, no, you know, I've earned my stripes and stars here, you know?

- You know, I... We were just talking about this because I said, oh, I didn't realize how much I had done before until I sat there and looked at my resume and I'm looking at all of this and I'm like, oh, gosh, I, I had done a lot.

- Yeah.

- And I think that's so important that, you know, because I think it's the humility piece where people think that they're being arrogant or bragging.

- Oh, sure.

- But it's like some things are just facts, right?

They just get to be a fact that you did this and you were good at it.

And you can let that be that and rest in it.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah.

And learn to take up that space.

That was a big thing for me.

It's like because I'll be like, oh no, it's okay, like you go, you take the accolade, you know, whatever.

And it's like, actually, here's what it looks like to take up the space and own it and know that by doing that, I actually have bigger opportunities, especially bigger opportunities to impact.

And so there's that element of it too.

Yeah.

- Love it.

All right.

So let's talk about big vision.

How do you stay connected to your long term goals, especially when, results take time to unfold all these new opportunities.

How do you manage that?

You get support.

Because you cannot do it alone.

And like I said before, vision comes from you and that's such a beautiful thing, and I think it's like we can only see so far.

Let alone how do we do this?

Are we, you know, leaving out opportunities and possibilities to take our vision and amplify it in a way.

So I think the most important thing you can do is put mentorship in your corner.

You can put accountability in your corner.

My own journey has been, you know, putting myself around others who are taking a stand for me and saying like, okay, this is what I want to create.

And then them coming back to the table and saying, okay, you said you're going to do it, did you do it?

And when I honestly say no, they get to say why and hold me to it, right?

And I think the coolest part about doing that is you have people around you that won't let you give up on yourself.

And a lot of times those people who take that stand for you are not related to you.

They're not your spouse.

They're not your, you know, immediate friends.

Strangers have held my vision with me along the journey and helped me create more than I thought that I was ever capable of.

And that's been the game changer.

And so allowing myself to be vulnerable and open up and also be held accountable and also, you know, there are some bumps along the way and know that these strangers might get to know me a little bit deeper or better than those who've been around me for years.

And that's okay.

Because then I can give that back to them, too.

So that's that's what I would say.

- What do you say to the person who has not had the best support around, right?

Maybe they're normally used to people kind of stealing their ideas or, you know, in they're trying to find that balance and finding those people.

How do you tell them how to kind of meander through that process?

- Yeah.

I mean, it's a real, very, very real thing, right?

And it's so unfortunate too, because it kind of adds like a layer of jadedness when you do maybe encounter a great like, group or mentor or whatever, and you're like, wait a minute, what are you after?

Right?

So, I think that... Geez there's so much that's coming up.

I think really at the end of the day, it's continuing to stay open and curious.

And then also check the people that you're around now and start to look at who fills what role, right?

Who is a supporter role, who is an encourager role, who is the person that won't let me, you know, give up on myself role.

There's a saying that it is something to the effect of like, you are the sum of the five people you surround yourself with.

You've heard that, right?

And so start doing edits and audits about the circles that you're putting yourself in.

And if you're saying, okay, for example, I know that I want to create a $1 million company, are you putting yourself in circles where you're having conversations about million dollar companies?

Are you putting yourself in circles where people have created million dollar companies.

And start to really lean in to and being really intentional with who you're putting yourself around.

- If somebody wanted to establish themselves as a authority or an expert, what does that process look like for them to really position themselves?

- Yeah.

So this is the key process.

And I'm going to share it openly.

And you could Google it, go for it.

And I share that like from anything that I teach or create like Google, right?

And then when you're ready to go deeper, you hire someone or you join a program or get a mentor, right?

But I really think moving yourself through five steps will set you up to become an authority in a brand.

And the first step is you got to connect into your why.

You have to have that anchor so that when you are doing all the things going after creating this big vision, it always comes back to actually, this is why I started.

So let's not get distracted or freak out.

I'm still connected to why I started and that's going to keep me going.

The second thing is really leaning into niching.

I get resistance around that a lot and I get different industries don't always mesh well with me, right?

But at the end of the day, we can't help everyone.

We can't, not everyone needs our services or products, right?

And so that's a very true piece to this.

And so who does and go after and talk to them.

That's really going to get you moving faster and you're going to become known as an authority for that niche if you choose to do that.

The third step is really building out your brand experience.

And I think this step gets missed a lot.

As someone who could be operating online or as a service provider, or maybe you're a solopreneur.

But start, you know, approaching your brand as if you are that big thing already, right?

That big vision you have, you're already there.

It already happened.

So what are the steps you can do to create an experience as if you were already running that type of company?

And then the fourth piece is building out your message because it's going to be the nucleus to all your marketing.

We're going to drop elevator pitching, and we're going to drop pitching from here on out.

We're going to move into leading with messages because that's what's going to attract.

And you have to have the clarity in order to create a message that's effective.

And then once you have all of those pieces together, then you can start to assess what strategies are going to work for me.

So, you know, if you're going to do events, if you're going to do speaking, if you're going to do ads, if you're going to lean into social media or email marketing, at the end of the day, you get to assess, are those where my ideal clients and customers are?

Because if my ideal customers are in rooms where I'm speaking on stages, then that's not an effective strategy for me.

I can't help them because they're not in that room.

So if you know who they are, you know where they are, right?

And you know what they need, then you can speak to that.

And it’s all beautifully tied together and how one helps the other through that process.

But that's the five steps.

Go do that.

You will move forward so much smoother and set yourself up to become known in rooms you're not even in.

And that's really the the power of a brand.

- Known in rooms you are not in.

Thank you so much for all of your nuggets that you gave us today.

- Sure.

- If you guys would like to contact Jennah, you can contact her at... - Blue Loui Studio.

That's my website that's connected to all my socials.

That's email, so, blue like the color, L-O-U-I studio.com.

- Thank you.

I hope you all have a great week.

My name is Leia’ Love, I'm your host.

This is Forum 360, where we have a global outlook from a local view.

Buh-bye.

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