Episode #185: Marianne Hartley | The Best Way to Get Started with Branding

    When is a good time to start creating a brand for your business? In this episode of Enlightened Entrepreneur Podcast, Anglo-Swiss brand designer, Marianne Hartley, shares key points to developing your brand, how to know who to work with and where to find the right people to help you with one of the most exciting and in-depth processes in building your business.   Key Questions Asked: How has Marianne’s previous experience propelled you into creating your branding company? Why is branding so important and why should business owners make that a priority when starting a business? What criteria should business owners look for in a brand assistant? How can they find good branding partners? If you are to start all over again with setting up a branding business today with all the modern tools, what would you do differently? Where should business owners focus on if they want to get started with developing their brand? What type of roadblocks did Marianne face when she first launched her business? How does she stay motivated? What makes her branding approach so unique?   Highlights of Lessons Learned: Why Make Branding a Priority? Your brand stands for your business when you’re not there. Your logo is a key element of your brand, and the more it represents you, the more it encapsulates your values, the more you’re going to attract the customers, clients and the employees that are right for you. Marianne sees ‘brand’ as the life force of your business because it carries the energy that you put into your business and the need to communicate this into the world.   Criteria for a Brand Designer Creating a brand should be an in-depth process in order for it to last and to truly represent you. The key criteria are: Find someone you feel aligned with. Find someone you actually get on very well with since you will be working with them for a long time. Choose someone that has the same values as you.   Process for Finding a Good Brand Designer Choosing the right designer depends on how much you want to invest. If you’re happy to invest more and if you see it as a core part of your business, then the designer and the branding expert will be much more of a support and will be there with you along the way. One great way to find a branding designer is by recommendation or word of mouth.   Starting Over Again One of the key thing is to surround ourselves with people who are great at what they do, to have a really strong team of collaborators or people you can call on that become a part of your support team in your business. If she were to start over again, Marianne would spend 70% of her time in the business working on projects and the other 30% making new connections and working on the business.   Where to Focus Business owners who wants to get ahead with developing their brand should focus on foundation, their values, and what type of audience they want to attract. Before any design is created, focus on the foundation of your business, what you stand for and who you want to attract.   Overcoming Roadblocks One of the biggest challenges for Marianne, which she had to overcome early on in her journey, was the difficulty of managing the cash flow. This is why, according to her, it’s important to allot 30% of your time on making new contacts and putting the word out there, to keep customers coming in and keep the cash flowing.   On Staying Motivated Staying motivated is about creating a balance between work and things that inspire her. According to Marianne, she needs to be nourished in order to have a great output. Whenever she feels stuck, she stops whatever she’s doing and goes out to do other things that will renew her energy. Another good way, according to Marianne is hearing other people’s success stories. Marianne keeps herself motivated by staying connected with the vision.