Brand (new) Me.

Over the last week I have been working really hard on finding and implementing new marketing strategies and working on my business plan.

I’ve re-worded a lot of the titles of my products on Etsy so that they’re easier to search for, signed up to new websites to help with promotions and SEO stats as well as reading hundreds of articles on small business advice.

Whilst doing all of this admittedly rather dull work, I came across a great website called Copyblogger and he has a series about branding your business. As an experiment I thought I would go through all of the steps he suggests (that apply to my business…I’m not going to start singing no matter what) and I’m putting the step-by-step online. It’s a very useful site. Have a look if you’re interested/involved in small business marketing.

In doing this I am hoping to show by example you one might go about branding/rebranding a small business I would really like this to be helpful. If not to me then to someone...

1. What drives you?
The need to not be doing an office job.

I have always said that I am only afraid of two things in life: mediocrity and organised religion (sometimes in that order).

I want to work as creatively as possible for as long as possible. I really don’t want to climb a ladder, no matter what the financial gain of this may be.

2. What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about literature, poetry, art and politics. Few things make me happier than travelling. I love nature. And these are mostly the things which inspire me all of the time.  I love debating things that matter to myself or other people but I also really like it when someone changes my mind on an issue.

3. What are your strengths?
I am very stubborn. I mean, I am very persistent. Either way, once I have decided to do something I will throw everything I have at it. I work hard and will happily put in long hours to get a better result. I have a good eye for art, which I have to credit to my Dad taking me to as many gallery exhibitions as possible when I was a little girl. I knew my way around the National Gallery before my village.

4. What are your weaknesses?

I’m not very good at asking for help. I know my marketing could be better if I was willing to reach out to people and ask them to help promote me but it makes me very uncomfortable to do so. I am not good at drawing/painting. My artistic-eye does not stretch to free-hand creation. I’ve no training in any formal business things. I am learning everything as I go, accounting is still mostly a mystery to me. And coffee, I have a real weakness for coffee.

5. What is your personality type?

I’m definitely introverted. I am really shy and so tend to act quite outgoing when I meet people while really wanting to curl up under a blanket and pretend I’m not there.

I love my friends (and usually my family) very much but I enjoy living on my own so I can work at my own pace and I am happiest pottering around the house on my own. I do however like the company of good books, art and music while I work and write. 

6. What is your story?

I have been trying to figure this out because I am writing an Artist CV at the moment. Here’s the short version. I started making jewellery for Young Enterprise. Kept making it for friends. Started making art collages to decorate my walls while at Uni. Found Etsy. Had several miserable office jobs. Decided to try to make a creative career work. You’re up to date.

7. What is your background?

Someone once asked me to write the first line of my biography and this is what I came up with: “She was born in Ascot without a hat and spent the rest of her life looking for the perfect one.”

I grew up in the East Midlands, lived in London but loved the country. I never meant to be an artist, or a jewellery designer. It just sort of happened but I am very glad it did. Even if I can’t do this forever or even for very long it’s good here and now. I think the accidental way I fell into arts and crafts gives me a different outlook and set of ideas. And I don’t think that is a bad thing at all.

8. What are you most talented at?

What a horrid question. I can multi-task better than most. I read very quickly. I’m good with my hands and can pick up manual skills when I’ve been shown. I make the best cottage pie you can imagine and my rock cakes and jam tarts have been known to get me offers of marriage.

I guess that sort of applies to my business. Maybe not the cooking part so much.

9. What do you have the most experience doing?

I guess I have the most workplace experience in politics. I worked with various politicians and political groups since the age of fifteen until about a year ago. Life experience I think books and art are pretty much equal for the top spot. Crafting wise I have made more jewellery than anything else but my artwork is slowly catching up.

10. Why did you choose your career / niche / topic / market?

I chose my career, such as it is, because I don’t know how to cope with normal life. I chose my niche because it’s what I love, it’s personal and means I can live in my imagination for most of the time. I choose my topics depending on my mood, this can be very dangerous but also exciting. I chose my market based on my friends, family and people I know so I could make the best products possible for the people I hoped to sell to. 

Okay, that's part one done. Depending on the level of complaints (or even complements) I get I might keep doing the rest of the branding questions. Once again - the original idea came from Copyblogger, so a big thank you to them!

Vick.

vclinde@gmail.com
www.vclinde.co.uk

http://www.etsy.com/shop/vclinde
@vclinde