Jul 22, 2020

Boss Up - How To Invest In Your Own Personal Brand

This is a monthly conference call featuring girl boss talk with Taniesha Westbrook, owner of Cool Girls Create. Cool Girls Create is the HQ for ambitious women who are leveling up.

We are a community & lifestyle destination for creatives, go-getters & womenpreneurs. Join us to ask questions, get advice, encourage each other, & connect.

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On this call we discussed:

How to invest in your own business without breaking the bank
DIY branding techniques that you can use with $0 dollars for budget
My hacks for creating content by yourself
How taking the leap of faith into full-entrepreneurship can change your life

How to invest in your own business without breaking the bank 7:32

Time 7:40

Put time into building your business
Polish your digital footprint
Strategize your Brand
Create Content

Currency 12:38

( Money isn’t the only currency- one thing you have going for you is that you are you. Nobody else can do what you do like you)

Learn to Bootstrap your business
Get a small personal loan
Barter your services or skillset
Get friends & family to donate or invest

Effort 22:29

Dedicate at least 10 hours a week to research your industry
Create a 1 page marketing plan
Learn how to market your business
Apply yourself
Use what you have learned and apply it to your business or brand on a consistent basis
Be Resourceful
Figure out what can be done for free for your business
Invest in your own abilities

DIY branding techniques that you can use with $0 dollars for budget 27:58

Define how you want to be perceived. When your customers have finished using your product or service, how do you want them to describe their experience?
Organize your business based on a specific promise (For example, great customer service, unique products, amazing experience provided, etc)
Communicate your promise using social media, having an online presence & networking in person
Be consistent

How to Build Your Personal Brand:

Social Media

Post regularly
Know what's happening in the world (For example the #dontrushchallenge or tiktok)
Interact with people in your industry
Get a Linktr.ee or Tap Bio for your Instagram

Networking Events

Add facebook events to your calendar and plan to visit at least 1 free event a month in your niche

Have an online presence

Invest in your website, free options are available like Wix
Become more searchable on google by contributing to other blogs or submitting articles to bigger platforms

Personal vs Business Branding

You are a walking billboard
Capitalize on what people recognize you for
Pick 3 words to describe your brand and don’t post anything that is off brand

My hacks for creating content by yourself 41:11

Use Canva but make it unique
Self portraits
Use apps on your phone, dslr cameras, & timers to create headshots or “blogger style” photos
Schedule your content
Investing in your own camera equipment or a consistent photographer)/videography, backdrops,ring lights, backdrop stands, led lights etc
Use your network for models or commercials

How taking the leap of faith into full time entrepreneurship can change your life 51:30

Fear:

Fear is necessary
Look fear in the eye & say fuck you
Don’t be afraid of something not working - use everything as a lesson to build on what you have that does work.

Faith:

Believe in yourself, your purpose, your value and abilities
There is power in what you say/ always speak life into what you want to do

Forward:

Don’t give up
It takes 10 years to become overnight success
You don’t have to always have a visible plan that makes sense to you down to every detail, you just have to keep moving forward

Summary