I love, love, love webinars.
Who doesn’t want the chance to stand on one’s own virtual soapbox and preach the gospel of fill-in-the-blank? For me, it’s branding, of course. Forty-five whole minutes to come to the ringing defense of something almost universally suspect, much maligned, and endlessly misunderstood.
Jeez, you’d think branding was kryptonite.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? What the hell is it, anyway?
That’s the question I’m asked all the time. And if it doesn’t come up in the first five minutes of chit-chat, I’m ready to course-correct and jump right in.
Speaking of which, I had a great time yesterday hosting a 90-minute live webinar for SCORE of Eastern CT. I’m a huge SCORE fan. It’s an incredible free resource for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits of all kinds, offering advice and counsel to successfully launch, grow, and manage their fledgling enterprises.
You can click here to view/download the presentation slides (PDF). You can also view the presentation video on demand here. The passcode is M&3V%=FZ.
So, what did I talk about?
I set the record straight.
- Branding isn’t a logo.
- It’s not marketing (marketing is how you sell your brand).
- It’s not reserved only for the big guys.
- It’s your identity, your reputation, your value proposition, and your benefit promise.
- It’s not optional.
Branding is about human connection. It’s about people talking to people, gaining their trust, and keeping it.
Be Loud, My Heart
Whether you’re selling soap, financial services, or wellness coaching, brands don’t succeed because they follow a pro forma branding checklist — they succeed because they make people feel something.
Branding is about standing for something, making people care, and — most importantly — rising above the sea of sameness.
It’s about consistency. Because if your website, social media, emails, and pitch don’t tell the same story, no one will believe any of them.
Take this to the bank:
- Branding builds trust.
- It makes people recognize you, remember you, and choose you.
- It’s strategic, not accidental.
- If you don’t define it, someone else will.
Developing a solid, recognizable, and memorable brand is a bottom-line essential for small businesses, consultants, and scrappy, mission-driven nonprofits.
It’s for the ones who think it’s out of reach, not for them, or simply too much work.
It’s not. And it’s absolutely worth it.
Because at the end of the day, branding isn’t about looking good. It’s about being understood, believed in, and backed by the people who matter most.
And that? That’s how you build a brand that will fly your plane.
