You are your Brand- every day.

Yo, yo, yo, yo, I can taste. Hello and good evening. I'm Katie McManus, business strategist and money mindset coach. I work with service based business owners who want to start a business that doesn't just make money for them, it actually supports their ideal life. And we do this by designing a niche that actually has a market, creating an offer that people want to buy. Hi, the real Jeff McCoy. Welcome. And I train on how to market and sell your services without wanting to vomit because it's a very scary experience, selling your own time and your own expertise. Tonight I want to talk about a really fun topic. It's one of my favorites, branding. And whenever I talk to people about building a brand, they always have questions for me about like, what their logo should be. Hi, Jeff. Or what their brand colors should be, what font they should use, what their website should look like, all these different things. And don't get me wrong, those are important things. Like, those are absolutely essential to having a successful business, but they are not your brand. Your brand is how you make people feel. That's it. And it doesn't just exist when you're in your work hours. It doesn't just exist when you're talking with clients and working with vendors. When you're like. It doesn't just exist in the copy on your website. It exists in every single interaction you have. Okay? Your, your brand is you. Okay? There's no way to parse that out. Okay? So if you're kind of a dick, guess what? That's going to be your brand. So one of the best ways you can build a solid brand that people, you know, don't say anything bad about it. Just simply don't be a dick. Like business, business lesson 101. You guys can, you know, you get an A plus if you just learn that one thing. Don't be a dick, okay? That's how you build like a business brand, that is fine. But if you want to build a business brand that attracts people in, that draws them in, that makes them feel safe and welcome, and makes them feel. Feel like they can get closer to you, then you have to be a welcoming human being, right? And I was just at an event this evening. I went to a political event with my dad. We're both really involved in the Democratic Party. I'm very open about my politics because, you know, I think that, I think it's okay for business owners to do that. Anyway, we were at this event and it was kind of an awkwardly set up room. Like there were weird tables and Weird places. And then the chairs were just very large and cumbersome. So we kept having to like shuffle everything around. Because there's one thing that I've learned in my whole life is that when you're at an event, it doesn't matter if it's a political event, a work event, a birthday party, a yard sale, any, any situation where there are people congregating, you get to be remembered as the person who made space for that new person. Right? Glennon Doyle, who's one of the, one of the authors that I really appreciate, she has this saying, it's horseshoes, not circles, right? So anytime you're in a social situation and you notice that like your group has become like a closed off circle, you open it up, you make it possible for people to come in even if they don't know anyone in that group, right? Because what's worse than going to an event and looking around and just seeing like huddles of people that you don't know, you have no reason to go and join them. And there's really no way for you to like squeeze in and just kind of be there like, hi, on the outskirts until someone notices you and introduces themselves to you. But you can when there's a horseshoe, you can when people are inclusive. And so something that is so, so simple for you to, to make people feel welcome around you, for people to feel like they are always included when they are in your presence is to make sure whenever you're in a social situation, you want to introduce them around. You know, if they don't know anyone, even if you only know two people, introduce them to those two people, tell them stuff that they have in common, right? If you're in a group and it's kind of an awkward setting like I described, you know, make sure your back is never to someone. Make sure that whoever is around you, if they're wanting to be a part of, of the conversation, that you're speaking loud enough that they can hear what you're saying, right? All evening I was like scooting my chair back because like there was a table here and a table here and a table here, and there are always people trying to like talk together. And I kept scooting back, scooting back, scooting back because I wanted everyone to be able to make eye contact, right? This is such a simple thing that people don't think about anymore. It's not something that kids are taught. It's not something that people pick up unless they are taught this. I'm teaching you this now, okay, this is one of the ways that you can give a really positive impression to people and make people really understand that they are safe in your presence, that they are included in your presence, that they are welcome in your space. Okay? And it's just good manners. It's just good manners. And of course, I want to acknowledge that sometimes it's not possible. Sometimes, like, the space just does not allow for it. You know, you want to like, go the extra mile in those situations to touch base with people who may have been left out in certain situations. This, I mean, when you think of your brand, you know, I want you to, I want you to think about when someone has a light conversation with you. Say you're in line at the supermarket and someone maybe has a little kid who's adorable and you guys start talking, what is the impression they get from you? Like, are you funny? Are you sweet? Are you like a little strange? You know, that is your brand. And, and there's nothing wrong with that. Like, you can be a little strange and still be really cool to be around, right? Whatever your natural brand is, like, don't stress so much about changing it, right? You can be eccentric, you can be a little edgy, you can be funny, you can be kind of besides the point. And that's what people will get to know and trust, right? You know, there are so many brands where, you know, like clothing brands. There are clothing brands that are absolutely hysterical. They're ridiculous. They're clothing brands that are like edgy and, you know, dark and twisted and like, they do the same things. They sell clothes that cover bodies. That's it. They, they make clothes that cover bodies. There are brands that are really sophisticated and elegant. You know, their brand is not the clothes that they sell. Like, that's the product that they sell. Their brand is how people feel when they're interacting with that brand. Now if you run a service based business, like, you are the product, right? The thing that you do is the product. And that doesn't matter. That's not your brand at all. The colors you use, logo you have, not your brand, they reflect your brand. Your brand is how everyone feels when they're around you. Okay? And yeah, I mean, just don't be a dick. Not. And I'm saying this, I'm not. I don't mean anyone was a dick at this event. Everyone was absolutely lovely. But it's just, it's something that you'll notice now that you're aware of it. When you're in social settings, you'll notice when the group is closed off when it's a circle and it's not a horseshoe. And you'll notice, like the people who are in the outskirts who feel awkward, they will actually join your group and make more friends when you consciously make it a horseshoe. There's a final thing I want to say, you know, when you're the person who's consciously opening up the group, who's consciously inviting people in. I noticed this a lot in my Brave Biz Lab call. It's a Friday call that I do once a month. I do it every Friday for my paying clients, but once a month, I open it up to my whole community. If you want to join, there's a link in my bio you can come to this month. It's on the 22nd, but it's interesting. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone talk about that call and they quote me saying something smart, but I didn't say it. I didn't say it. Someone else in the call said it. Someone else offered this, these words of wisdom. But it was on my call, it was in my space, right? And so it got connected to me in some way. Right? The same thing happens when you're having interactions with people, all right? Whatever positive thing happens out of that interaction, it stays connected to you. Right? So if someone makes a friend because you introduce them, it's always the friend that they made through you. You know, if someone, you know, here's a really funny joke and you know, you're the person that, like, brought them into the group so they could hear that joke, they're going to attribute that funny thing to you. Right? You really don't know the impact that you have when you make these conscious efforts to include people and to be that welcoming human being. And it takes so little effort, and all it takes is a little awareness. So with that, that is. That is your branding lesson for this evening. I hope that was useful. Let me know how it goes. I know it's party season, it's the holidays. We're all going to a bunch of different things, and I'd love to hear how it works for you. Anyway, I'm tired. It's been a long day. So this is a quick live this evening. Thank you to the real Jeff McCoy. Appreciate having you here and anyone else who joined in whose comments I'm just not seeing because maybe the technology is not working or your privacy settings are off. I've noticed I've gotten a couple notifications come through. Thank you for being here. Anyway, I'm Katie McManus, business strategist and money mindset coach. Hope you have a wonderful evening, everyone, and I will talk to you all soon. Bye.