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YOU ARE THE BRAND.
Back in January of 2021, my Instagram got deactivated. For months, I was battling online scam artists taking my photos, creating fake accounts, and messaging my followers telling them they were “drawn to them” and scamming them out of their hard earned money. If you are interested in learning more about this shit show, head on over to this blog post.
Now, let me get back to my story.. After my account deactivated, and after weeks of trying to reach out to Instagram in hopes they will be able to reinstate my account, I decided to give up and just start a brand new account from scratch.
During the past 11 months of having this new account, I changed my Instagram handle a handful of times. Trying on new names or branding to see if anything would fit. Nothing ever did. Nothing was ever a ‘HELL YES!’ for me. The whole idea and figuring out my brand, my online identity, was never an enjoyable experience to me. I tried so hard to make it work but it always felt like I was swimming upstream.
For awhile there, I landed on Intuitive Lifestyle Company. I thought that since that was my big mission, to help people live with intuition and intention I might as well just use it. Then, went ahead and did a search on both TikTok and Instagram to find that there were MANY people using similar names.
“Well shit.” I thought to myself.
I don’t want to have the same or similar brand name.
I don’t want to be another account that shows up when people search the work intuitive.
I want my brand to be as special and unique as me.
I want it to embody who I am as a person and as a soul.
Frustrated, I got off my phone and made the decision that when the right name shows up, I’ll know it. This morning I went out to grab my mail and the first piece of mail I saw was a Bath & Body Works coupon sent to me… Erica Russo.
I saw myself staring down at the piece of mail that felt like forever, and that’s when it hit me.
I am Erica Russo.
Erica Russo in my brand.
When I got back inside I went to Instagram and after 11 months of not being able to use my first username since it was deactivated, I was able to change it back to what it originally was. Which is MY NAME. I finally got the ‘HELL YES!’ I’ve been searching for since I started my business.
My brand is Erica Russo.
And that is what it will always be.
When it comes to business branding, I look at it like this:
There are:
- Service Based Brands: those companies that offer solutions, products, and services such a social media marketing, public relations, e-commerce, ect...
- Personal Brands: brands that are created under a person and the products and services they offer (think Marie Forleo, Gabby Bernstein, Tony Robbins..)
When it comes to personal brands, people tend to invest in the person and their brand identity, rather than the solution it brings.
When people decide to invest in your courses, your programs, your mentorship, they are not investing in your brand, or your cute logo, or your website, or your carefully curated Instagram feed, they are investing into your energy.
For myself, when I sign up or invest into a mentor or a coach, it's not their services, or their solutions, it's there energy and their expertise that is making me decide to invest in their product or service.
When you are a Mentor
Your clients want to raise their vibration with you.
They want to level up with you.
They want to hear what you have to say.
There will be times during your journey where you will be experiencing different things. Some seasons will be for healing, others will be in alignment and in flow with the universe, others will be shit shows. As you grow & develop as a person, your business will grow & evolve as well. You will not be the same person at the start of your business to the person you will be at the 1 year mark 3 years mark, 10 year mark… But you will always be you and your soul will stay the same.
A perfect example of this is Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift is always going to be Taylor Swift.
But her seasons [also known as eras] are vastly different.
WE HAVE:
Fearless Era Taylor
Red Taylor
1989 Taylor
Reputation Taylor
Lover Taylor
Evermore/Folklore Taylor
All Taylors are pretty different right? But every single era brought us so many incredible songs and lyrics that have touched our souls time and time again. Let your lessons and your seasons be part of your identity and part of your brand.
BE THE TAYLOR SWIFT OF YOUR BRAND.
Let the chapters and eras unfold naturally.
Let them be showcased in your brand identity.
Let your audience grow along with you.
Nobody gives a shit about your brand name.
They give a shit about you.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
Remember,
You are badass.
You are intuitive.
And you are really pretty.
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