Last week, I took part in a 5 day photography for business challenge run by Lauren McWilliams at the fantastic For You Photography and it's been one of the best and most rewarding experiences.
As a business, we've developed a lot since beginning our journey almost 4 years ago but the one constant has been that we are a family run company that believes in and cares about our local community.
When I first began reading about branding, in 2018, the idea of a logo and using colour to become identifiable in the world of small business seemed enough to develop a 'brand' that people would come to recognise - well, let me share a secret - I know now, it isn't!
A logo and our hues of green are, of course, important but - this week, along with many other businesses, I've learned it is so much more. Lauren shared her wealth of knowledge about 'personal branding' and how us, as people, make all the difference to our business and its client facing activities.
While it's so important to be good at what you do, give client's the best experiences and, ultimately, provide fantastic customer service, it's also so important to develop a relationship with people. How can you do that successfully if not through personal branding?
I've talked before about trust and the feeling you get when asking prospective contractors to come and discuss plans for your outside space and how this is key to fostering a good working relationship but
how can a client do that if all they know, or see, is your logo and a rainbow made entirely of green - in our case at least.
This past week, I've learned to cultivate the MBS Gardens brand and share more of who we are, what we do and why we do it. We hope that adding greater depth to this dimension of our branding will allow our followers and prospective clients to join us as we evolve and tell our story - hopefully working with us along the way.
I have spent some time with some wonderful entrepreneurs and like minded people this week and what stood out for me the most was their passion for what they do. Those of us running businesses are all investing so very much in what we do and by that, I don't mean money - more that a part of us IS our business and our businesses are a part of US. Genuine, authentic stories that capture snap shots of us as people, in real life, is where trust develops and grows.
After some deliberate and mindful thoughts and, admittedly, lots of scribbles in a note book only I can understand, I think I now know that our brand identity is evolving. Our position, our unique selling point, and what makes us different has become clearer as part of taking part in the challenge and some other exciting developments.
What's changed? Well, we think it may be time to share that with the world...so join us and see over the coming weeks!
If you're thinking that your business could benefit from personal branding then please do visit https://www.foryounewcastle.co.uk and get in touch with Lauren - you'll only ever be pleased you did!