Building your brand : Owning your expertise with Jordan Brantley of The Business Bar

Do you want to solidify your brand or grow your personal brand? Jordan Brantley is the owner and founder of The Business Bar. She’s a branding expert and this episode is full of insights about building the brand of your creative business. We talk about why laying strong foundations for your brand is absolutely critical for everything else you do in your business – and that that includes much more than just a logo. We also discuss how we’re both differentiating our personal and professional brands online. This episode is a long one but it’s packed full of useful advice and interesting peeks into Jordan’s business journey and why building your brand is so important.

Topics we cover:

— How Jordan fell into her creative life accidentally and then began building a creative career for herself
— Her early lesson about looking into trademarks even when you’re just starting something as a hobby or personal project
— How Jordan’s vision for The Business Bar evolved over time
— Why she ended up abandoning her idea of offering customizable templates in favour of custom design
— Keeping your personal and professional brands separate on social media while still infusing your own personality into your business’s online presence
— Identifying your ideal clients and why it’s essential to narrow down rather than trying to serve everyone
— Why being specific about your ideal clients doesn’t alienate everyone else
— The difficult business situation that led her to reassess her business model, setting new boundaries in her business, and relaunching The Business Bar
— How Jordan created a more solid pricing structure in her business
— The in-depth ways that a brand goes way beyond a logo and how getting really clear on your business’s values will make everything you do more clear
— How becoming a mother has helped Jordan be more conscientious of how she wants to spend her time
— Why Jordan prefers Asana for project management over Basecamp or Trello

Show Links:

— My personal Instagram
— Your People worksheet
— Shipt: Groceries Delivered
— The Skimm
— Jen Gotch
— Asana
— Basecamp
— Trello
— Shop Smac
— Episode 5, Working Through Creative Blocks with Janelle Hardy

Tweet it!

Tweet: “I want what I do to mean something and not just something that pays the bills.” – @thebusinessbar http://ctt.ec/6zaXx+

Tweet: You can’t serve everyone. Identifying your ideal clients will make you a better business owner. http://ctt.ec/f3L4f+

Tweet: Figure out the universal things that will be loved by your target audience. http://ctt.ec/d2Q0O+

Tweet: “A logo is not a brand.” – @thebusinessbar http://ctt.ec/3lT2P+

Tweet: “Branding gives people that confidence.” – @thebusinessbar http://ctt.ec/tMb7C+

Tweet: “I’m pulling out the weirdness in someone and showing why it’s amazing.” – @thebusinessbar http://ctt.ec/2985y+

Connect with Jordan:

— Website
— Facebook
— Twitter
— Instagram

Connect with Pinegate Road:

— Instagram: I’ve been LOVING sharing some daily happenings with the new stories feature — hope you’ll follow along there!
— Pinterest
— Facebook
— Twitter
— Are you interested in becoming a client? Get in touch about working with Pinegate Road to build your brand foundation!