When You're The Brand - Avoid These Pitfalls
By Business Desk
Monday, September 4, 2017.
Setting up a business for yourself can often seem like a good idea. For many, however, it can easily lead to ruin when investments fail to flourish. When that business is you, your advice, or your services, it can be even harder to build into success. If it does go wrong, your name is at risk of being attached to that failure for ever. So how can you ensure your brand makes it? Avoid these pitfalls of becoming your own brand with these simple tips:
Stay Professional
You might be a psychiatrist, a fitness trainer, or a beauty therapist. It’s essential you maintain your professionalism at all times to ensure your brand reputation retains credibility. This means making a few sacrifices like curbing your behavior in public and ignoring Twitter trolls. If your name is your business name or brand, that means your face is THE face of that company. Keep the public perception of you as a person as professional as you want your brand to appear.
Stay Covered
If you give advice for a living, you might be at risk of being sued if that advice is deemed damaging to your clients or the public. In fact, if you didn't give advice when it was warranted, this too could lead to attempts of claims against you. If you don’t have insurance for these types of situations, then take some time to gather one or two errors and omissions insurance quotes to make sure you are protected. Even if you are liable, the insurance should cover you.
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Your Home
Don’t use your home address or phone number for your business if it can be avoided. Order a mailbox service for post, and rent a non-geographic telephone number. Unless you have the money to pay for extra security, it’s best to keep your business life and home life separate. After all, your public persona is just a character that represents your brand. It isn’t the real you that has a family, parents, and friends that might feel vulnerable. Keep your private life private.
Truth
It’s essential you are honest in business. This is even more important when you put your face to the brand. It can feel like you become public property. That means people are going to dig deep. Old school friends will speak of your teen years. And if you don’t have all the qualifications that the public would expect of someone in your position, then go and get them. Don’t pretend you’ve been doing this longer than you have. If people find out the truth is something other than what you led them to believe, your business and reputation could be in trouble.
Not All About You
The success of your business isn’t necessarily all about you. There will be people that help you out along the way. Don’t be thankless. If you find enormous success and accolade, it can be tempting to let your ego inflate. Remember, your early customers are the ones that supported you and told their friends to put faith in you too. If you’re seen to change, then you won’t have brand consistency. Stay grounded!