Sometimes to move forward, bold change needs to occur. You may not even be aware of it.
Since the time I first started my coaching career, this space was Life by My Design.com. Now it's KatLessin.com. For 2 years I loved my site, company name, and logo. It was serving me and my brand very well.
Then one day I was listening to a mentor and internet marketer, Clay Collins (co-founder & CEO of LeadPages. He was talking on a conference call, answering questions about branding and domain names. He was explaining to a coach that she should really set up a personal brand (hername.com) and then have separate product brands (serviceforyou.com). His reason is this.
Your personal brand rarely if ever changes. My name is my name. Period. End of story.
Products and offers change all the time. General concepts like Life Design Coaching works for a company brand, but what happens when I evolve and I no longer just represent that one concept or service anymore. There is very little space to expand and grow.
I realized at the time that I started my company, I was scared and a bit timid to own my new role as a coach. Hiding behind and representing a company brand felt easier at that time in my career. My company name and domain worked well for the core concept and mission that I stood for. This was great, but there was another critical piece. I network a lot. I meet people all the time and I noticed that when people were searching for me online, most of the time they were searching for me by typing my name.
Their natural instinct was to search for me personally.
Even more importantly, when clients and friends would refer my services, they always introduced me as Kat Lessin, not by my company name. It was time for me to take ownership of my offers and stand boldly in my name, professionally and personally. It was not an easy decision to make. It took me some time to decide, but once I did, changing absolutely made sense.
I have a goal and dream to start speaking publicly in the future. Personal branding allows for that growth and expansion. It is always a wise idea to plan and make decisions based on the business that you see in your future, not the business you have now in the present. That way, you will always have room to evolve.
Clay further explained:
- The human brain relates to a personal brand more easily.
- The brain has a hard time relating to general concepts.
Kat Lessin is much more approachable than Life by My Design. Brand dilution, as Clay put it, was creating crazy anxiety and questions of doubt for me. I couldn't move forward, create and evolve at all (analysis paralysis).
This anxiety was giving me excuses to not act on the future vision I have for my business. My new site allowed me to be authentic and allows me to represent myself and what I offer to clients, in the present and future.
The unexpected result and benefit of my decision to re-brand was that I became hyper-creative. I had tapped into a source of energy and excitement. I love the process and strategy of building something from the ground up. Since I had decided to fully represent myself in business, it was clear that my website needed a facelift too.
The creative/artist in me awoke and fearlessly stood up to the challenge.
Yes, this project took way longer than I was expecting, but I am thrilled with the results. What re-branding has done for my business is incredible. I'm lit up with ideas for new services, I have thousands of blog topics to write about and I generally want to create again. I'm on fire, in a good way. I hadn't realized how stuck I was, spinning my wheels and draining the vision that is at my core.
I know when I am on the right track. I can feel it, sense it. From this knowing, I must move to act. After being stuck, stale and lost, my purpose, goals, and vision became crystal clear. An added bonus was that when I shared the changes with my closest girlfriends, they all confirmed it. With comments like, "Whoa the new site is so much better! It looks totally like you!"
Sometimes, your next step is right in front of you, staring you in the face, daring you to act. When you allow for space, you finally can see it and take the necessary next step. Magic does happen.
Where are you hiding? Where can you be bolder?
Please share with us in the comments your thoughts on branding, being bold and leaving space to evolve.
I absolutely LOVE this article, Kat. It speaks of a genuine need to be me, to be true to myself by expressing who I am rather than hiding behind who I think I'm supposed to be. I think I do a pretty good job most of the time, but it's nice to be reminded of how much better it feels to BE exactly who I AM. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it, Gabe. I think that if more people understood how important it is to feel grounded in who they are, we would all be happier for it. PS: I thoroughly enjoy who you are, too.