3 Questions to an Aligned Authentic Brand

I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life and ran a successful Wedding and Portrait Photography studio for over 30 years telling stories with images.

When I segued into brand storytelling a few years ago, it was a not-so-easy transition. This branding world can be very confusing. 

What I’ve realized over the last 10 years of studying branding is that alignment and story must be the foundation in any business if you want to stand out in this noisy marketplace. 

Whether you are attempting to raise money, build a team, speak at a conference, build an online course, or close business deals, storytelling allows you to share your knowledge and experience in a way that is captivating, interesting, and informative. 

In the next few minutes, I’m going to share with you the 3 most important questions to ask when emerging an aligned, authentic brand that stands out to those you want to serve so you: 

1) are in alignment with your purpose and your marketing personality,

2) attract the right clients, connect with them deeply,

3) able to grow your business serving those you love to serve.   

When I first opened my photography studio in 1992, my business launched with referrals. And referrals were the way I grew my business - that’s the golden way. No marketing, only word-of-mouth. It was easy and it flowed for over 30 years. 

But as the times changed, and photography became a "back-pocket" commodity, with smartphones replacing DSLR’s at a record pace, and with my body giving out from the weight of cameras, it was time to reinvent myself.

I had been offering branding photography to tell the story of businesses; brand storytelling was a natural segue for me.

Having never had to "market myself," I struggled with the challenge of articulating what I do clearly.

Those dreaded 30-second marketing commercials required in networking meetings have left me speaking uninspiring blubber - not good for a brand strategist specializing in messaging!  [this is another topic for another time: "we can never see ourselves as others see us”] 

But here’s what I know for sure - storytelling is the foundational element in a business today.  If used strategically, your brand story will captivate your audience, clearly convey a cohesive message, and it builds trust. 

Once I understood this, my 30-second networking spiel became much more clear. People understand what I do, and they are clear how they can benefit - how I am going to make their life better. 

To have a good brand story, it must be told in a clear and powerful way in order to be remembered. This surely requires that we be authentic, that we stand vulnerable and create meaning for our audience to resonate with. 

At Soul Story Creative, our brand story development process begins with answering the 3 most important questions. When you answer these questions, you are on your way to building a captivating and effective brand story.

 1. Who am I? 

The traditional way business owners have approached their marketing in the past is to study their Ideal Client Avatar and retrofit their businesses to meet a need. While this is critical to reaching the right audience, you first need to determine your Brand Positioning and your unique value you could offer. 

Why twist yourself into a pretzel to accommodate those you may not relate to nor care to understand deeply, much less work with?    

Instead reach for Resonance - that Sweet Spot of Quantum Marketing to create a business built around your personality, lifestyle needs, and revenue goals and live a life of ease and flow. 

  2. What do you stand for?

We live in more of a purpose-driven world than ever before. People aren’t only buying your offer, they’re buying why you do it.

Your “why” in your story can be one of the biggest differentiators between your business and a competitor’s, will instantly build trust, and create a loyal following.

By sharing more about what you stand for rather than what you do, you will attract those who are aligned with your values, your beliefs, and ultimately your offer to solve their problem. 

When given attention and time, this narrative will provide you with enough marketing content for years.  

Try this powerful exercise to create content & emerge your thought leadership.  

List 10 bold statements, your soapbox time.  YOUR philosophies, opinions, convictions about “the way [this] needs to be done”.  This is your soapbox, knowing what you know -- about your industry, life, and your business.  Go at it. Give this some real thought. What are deal breakers in your industry, in society, in life.  The way you do it, what you believe, your opinion about what you do. 

This is a great journal exercise because as you write, more will come.  Bring it! 

3. Why should they care?

Not all of your life story is relevant.

In my brand story development process, we assess your experience, knowledge, and wisdom that is relevant to your audience and holistically integrate this into your business.

This helps people understand your process, builds your authority and establishes trust.

Another key to this is your client testimonials.

These serve more than anything else to give you, on a silver plate, the soundbites of pain and desire you need for compelling messaging. They are literally “what people were struggling with,” and “the results they got working with you.” 

Take time to regularly do Client Insight Interviews. Schedule a quick 14 minute call with a previous client or a desired ideal client and ask them the following story testimonial questions:

1. What problem were you dealing with when you called me?

2. How was this problem making you feel?

3. How did we demonstrate that they understood your problem?

4. Why did you trust me to solve your problem?

5. Did you notice a difference between me and similar consultants?

6. What surprised you about working with me?

7. What does life look like now that I have solved your problem?

The bonus is that testimonials instill confidence in you and your offers and drive your prospects to take action to buy.

Finally, to show up authentic in your aligned brand, invest in discovering your Cosmic Human Design.

Cosmic Human Design offers a map, or a manual, that indicates how you are unique as a person, and guides you in living in a manner that is in sync with who you are. When we live in alignment with our true nature, we begin to experience a level of comfort and acceptance for who we are, instead of chasing who we are not—and we’re able to live out our real purpose in the world.

Cosmic Human Design: An Alignment Tool:

Imagine a system that explains how you were built, and how to best respond to the world—like a combination between astrology and Myers-Briggs. 

It’s called Cosmic Human Design. It’s a logical system that brings together principles of The I Ching, astrology, Kabbalah, Hindu-Brahmin chakra system, and quantum physics and is calculated using your birth date, time, and place, to reveal your genetic design, your Cosmic Human Design body graph.

While it sounds crazy, when you take a look at just these 4 prime gifts in your chart, you may be surprised by how much it sounds like you. 

It is an incredible tool in understanding yourself and matching your business vision with your innate natural strengths. 

What’s fascinating over other systems, is that It’s somatic and can be learned. 

Once you discover how to access your body’s consciousness as a decision-making tool, you will ultimately know how to live an authentic, happy and meaningful life.

Cosmic Human Design (don’t use Jovian Archive or any others) offers an accurate map based in Sidereal Astrology that will reflect how to best create your go-to-market plan and if you are natural in groups or more in flow of your brilliance in private one on one consulting. 

You will actually be running your business in a manner that is in sync with who you are. 

It’s a complex science and art that takes an expert to really dive deep. 

You can easily start with your 4 Prime gifts and still learn boatloads~!

THE 4 PRIME GIFTS

1. Life’s Work (Personality Sun): What you came here to do.   

2. Evolution (Personality Earth) What you came here to learn. 

3. Radiance (Design Sun)  What makes you healthy. 

4. Purpose (Design Earth) What fulfills you internally.  

These are the top two lines of each the Design Gates on the left side, and the Personality Gates on the right sides of the chart.

Look up the numbers next to each of these 4 prime gifts to discover the qualities of that gate.

For example, my Personality Sun is 51, therefore my life’s work, what I am here to do, is to take the initiative and trust my intuition to move forward. It is to Awaken. 

In Summary

To stand out in today's market, we must have a paradigm shift in the way we think of marketing.  Each and every person has a unique story that has purpose for others. 

We all are born with a design that is perfect for each of us.

No one is broken and yet we run around trying to fill up the open places and seek to be what we are not.

We all have our own mythology and purpose that we are designed to live out, our own gifts and magic we are here to bring to the world.

These will unfold naturally when we are aligned with our mechanics. 

This age of authentic branding requires the kind of marketing that honors that depth of real that only you can offer.

Is it time to get aligned and activate your innate gifts to create consciously, and live the life and business you've dreamed of? 

And if you'd like to have your Cosmic Human Design chart interpreted, book a call with me and together we will take a look at your unique innate gifts you can bring into your business for more ease, grace and fun.