inside out e-newsletter: january 2005
Have
you considered what your Personal Brand can contribute to others?
Halfway
though January I'd like to wish you a belated New Year's Greeting.
In
light of recent events, which have shocked the world, I thought
we should start this year's first issue of 'inside out' with a message
about Branding from the inside out.
It
is impossible not to think of the big picture after witnessing the
tragedy of the Tsunami Disaster, it shows us how fragile life is.
It also showed that when the will is strong we can all pull together
for a common cause and make a difference.
Personal
branding ultimately brings you successes in your career and business
but I believe that it has a greater purpose. Strong, leading brands
add value to people within their marketplace. For your Personal
Brand to be successful and fulfilling you need to contribute in
some way to the greater community. We all have unique talents and
gifts that we can share, not just at work, but with people we love
and care for; our community, our network.
My
vision for i-define living is to demonstrate how you can use your
Personal Brand not only to reach your goals, to gain confidence
and communication skills for your career and business, but also
to enrich the lives of people around you.
Each
of us has something to offer the world, however all too often we
deny our true talents; to promote them can seem too egotistic, competitive
or too much like showing off. Just take some time, stop and think
about how you can use what you have for a greater purpose. Ask yourself,
"What can I do with my current skills, talents and gifts that
will contribute to others?" Start making a difference today.
Let's
grow from the inside out... spread the word
personal brand
dilemma 
want
help with your personal brand? having trouble getting started? just
ask i-define living's Personal Brand strategist and coach
Each
month Dawn Winder gives straightforward answers to your Personal
Brand Dilemmas. This month... Caroline asks:
 "I
am starting my business and have a limited budget, I know Personal
Branding is important but why should I invest in it? I need to get
going quickly, shouldn't I just do Marketing?" Caroline - Designer
Thanks
Caroline, I understand your concern. A lot of small businesses and
self-employed professionals spend a lot of time and money at the
beginning on marketing and advertising, unfortunately this is often
unsuccessful. This is because they have not created an identity
that is developed towards their target market, they have not defined
clearly who they are, what they do, how they add value and their
positioning within their marketplace.
When
you build your brand it is an investment for the long term, it saves
you money and time as it helps you to avoid making the mistakes
so many businesses make at the beginning.
How
many times have you had fliers through your door and thrown them
away without a second glance? Or had phone calls from companies
that have no idea what you do? These businesses went forward without
building their brand.
Your
Brand will allow you to carry your message and crucial information
about you and your company including values, attributes, marketplace
etc. You can promote your Brand thorough strategically selected
channels, which will generate new business from your target market,
your style and business.
By
developing your Personal Brand you will create a reputation in your
marketplace; you will be credible and remain visible. You will achieve
more success by sending a clear, consistent and targeted message
over time.
Your
Personal Brand is like the foundation of your business. If you were
to build a building without a solid foundation, after a short while
it would fall down and you would have to start all over again. It
is just not worth skipping this step in the process.
I
have seen many people take out expensive advertising campaigns,
send out press releases with no story, build a website which has
no direction and as a consequence, no users.
Start
with your Personal Brand; a tool that will give you more success
than marketing on its own. When you know yourself and what you offer
and what makes you unique your business will run more effectively.
Contact
me for information on i-define living services.
read
'5 things that you can do today...' for some ideas of
where to start.
Do
you have a Personal Brand dilemma for your career or
business? Email us at dilemma@i-define.co.uk
We
regret that we cannot answer all your questions but we do offer
an initial
consultation. Each reader that we feature will receive
a voucher worth £40.00 towards an i-define brand assessment
.
i-define
living reserves the right to shorten or modify any letters submitted.
5 things
that you can do today on... how to avoid marketing
mistakes
- Start
Branding first!
- Don't
waste money on non targeted advertising campaigns
-
Start with targeted PR - cheap and effective
-
Know your target market before designing anything
- Plan
your objectives before starting a website
brand in person
discovering the brand assets of Victoria Tringham
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|
name: Victoria Tringham
position
or title: Designer/Director
company:
Pomelo/Funkyflipflops.com
location:
Newport, Shropshire
|
what has been your most valued professional achievement?
Moving
to Paris when I was 21 and working as a make up artist for Mary
Quant. After 5 years of studying it was great to be earning a decent
wage! One of the conditions of me getting the job was to be able
to speak French within 2 weeks! I tried, and managed to communicate
fully after 3 months of hard slog!
Making
up the faces of supermodels for London Fashion week and TV celebs
during my time as a make up artist. You meet so many interesting
people, and realise it's not glamorous at all!
Winning
the Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Shropshire
and the West Midlands was a shock achievement. Business Link put
me forward and I never had any hope of winning anything, but £2000
later and lots of press really helped to promote the business.
name the five most distinctive characteristics or
attributes that have helped you to achieve your success
Be determined to do well in all aspects of life
and follow through what you aim to do.
Have self-confidence and self-belief - If things
don't work, don't just give up, changes your ideas until you get
them right. Someone once said "If you're not making any mistakes,
your not making enough decisions". There is no wrong way to
do something.
Creativity and commerciality -To design the kind
of product that is totally unique, and incorporate comfort and quality
in to the mix. But it's no good if no one is going to buy it, so
it has to be sellable.
Remain down to earth. Remember we are all unique,
no one is better than anyone else.
Be prepared to work damn hard, nothing in life
is for free.
what makes your business distinctive?
We are a niche designer flip-flop and sandal label
that sell into shops and online. This is what we specialise in,
no one offers the same quality or style of product. Funkyflipflops.com
is the only website to sell Pomelo's and specialise in beautiful
flip-flops and accessories all year round all around the world.
What key skills have helped your Personal Brand
become distinctive?
The creativity yet simplicity of our designs and
the fabrics and materials we use in the making of our product. Regular
pr really helps too, and getting celebrities behind the label.
where do you look for inspiration?
Worldwide travel plays a big part. Thailand and
Vietnam in particular. Foreign cultures, art magazines the heart
people around us.
when the going gets tough what helps you through?
The endless support of my partner, my father's
success in what he has done from nothing he has built his own little
empire. Remembering that "it's only money" that will be
lost if it all falls apart!
London favourites:
Malmaison in the East end. Memories all over London
of uni days, fruit and veg markets, Selfridges, Hakkasan (For the
best Chinese food in London!) Going for a beer on a lazy afternoon
in a good British pub.
highlights
Having known my grandmother.
most valued brand?
I am not really into branding, if something is
pleasurable to look at or practical to use, then I value that brand
for it's design or purpose. However, Kiehls is one brand I guess
I could not live without because their products are great!
most inspirational famous Personal Brand or Celebrity
Brand?
There's not really any one famous person that
i would say has really influenced my life. Maybe subconsciously
people have, but there's no one person i would say 'I really want
to be like them'. I admire entrepreneurs of all types, whether they
be musicians, celebrities or business people setting goals and working
hard to achieve them.
book
of the month
an
inspiring book for December
|
|
'Change the World for a Fiver: We Are What We Do'
This
book is the best way you could spend £5 this year. Cleverly
presented with cool, fun designs and inspirational ideas,
it shows you how you can make a difference to the world without
it being difficult, boring or costing you anything. It is
packed with simple suggestions for small everyday actions
that through collective action will change the world.
I
bought this first for a friend who had just had her first
baby, as I thought it would be an inspiration... then for
myself! The book not only grabbed her attention, but as her
friends and family came over Christmas, it became the number
one coffee table book; each person who picked it up went home
with at least one thing they wanted to do to make a difference.
Click
here to see their website and take away one thing that
could change the world today! Oh go on - it doesn't take up
any time.
I liked what one review on Amazon said for this book "Forget
new year's resolutions buy this book instead!!"
Review by Dawn - i-define living
Read
more...
|
about Dawn Winder
 Confidence
and communication expert Dawn Winder is a Coach & Personal Brand
Strategist.
Founder
of i-define living, Dawn is the creator of the i-brand process and
writer of the creative-mindset e-newsletter 'inside out'. Dawn works
with individuals and organisations to create a Personal Brand that
enhances their profile by managing how they are perceived so that
they stand out from the crowd.
If
you want to create a successful Brand for yourself and your career
or business this year, why not book an initial
consultation to see where to start?
creative links
this month's links: out and about in London
Design
Museum
Under A Tenner: What is Good Design?
What does it cost to get good design? This exhibition looks at items
for less that £10 and shows some great examples of fairly
inexpensive designs.
now until 27th February 2005
Victoria
and Albert Museum
Beauty
In this exhibition Beauty design consultant Stephen Bayley takes
us on a journey through the V&A Museum’s permanent collections.
He has selected 26 works and he encourages visitors to look at the
Museum's rich and diverse permanent collections in a new way as
he explores the concept of the way beauty is expressed across time
and various cultures.
now until 27th February 2005
Check out 'out
in London' for more places to relax and recharge.
one last thing...
How
did you start? -
I'd love to find out from you how you started Branding yourself.
Do you have any tips that you can give? Any advice that you can
share?
Please
contact Dawn
Winder to let her know your views.
your
turn
Do
you think you have a strong brand?
Would you like to be featured?
We'd love to hear how you define yourself or your business. |