0:00
[MUSIC PLAYING] So how do you turn a popular local business into a national brand? In this lesson, I'm going to teach you three ways to level up your brand to help you get your business to the next level. There comes a time when you need to level up. For me, when I started to get denied access to retail locations and being declined for bigger sponsorship deals, I knew I had to level up the way my brand looked in order to get to the next level. My first tip to help you level up your brand is to hire a professional.
0:29
Now you know me. I want to do it myself and save money where I can. Though it's important to work with experts, as they can save you time, and, ideally, truly blow you away with the quality of their work. So where do you find a professional you can trust? Word of mouth is big for me. My friend Robert, who was a seasoned entrepreneur, was pretty well-connected and was able to help me find a designer fast. Look at your network right now.
0:52
Are there entrepreneur friends who have great branding who may be able to refer you to someone? Another option is to check out Shopify's Experts Marketplace. There, you can find vetted experts at a range of prices to help you with your brand. Another option is to post in entrepreneur Facebook groups that you trust to get a recommendation. Remember, that before you spend a ton of money on a branding agency, ensure you've seen the results of their work and, ideally, testimonials to ensure they're legit.
1:19
My second tip for leveling up your brand is to learn from the big brands. Branding has been a self-taught trial-and-error roller coaster for me. One of the key ways I learned is by looking at companies like NASCAR. I love NASCAR. By watching, I got a lot of inspiration about what logos and designs worked in large venues that I wanted to be in. I paid attention to how major corporations use their brand and invested in order to be in front of their ideal customers.
1:45
I encourage you to do the same thing in your industry. Are there big brands in your industry that you can look to for guidance and inspiration? My third tip is to stay true to your focus and values. As you grow, you may get experts or well-meaning friends telling you that you need to change to be successful. I don't buy that. I know what's worked for me at the core. And I won't change that. For example, I've had people tell me I should pivot and teach barbecue lessons, and I could grow my business doing that.
2:12
Nope. Right now, my focus is selling barbecue sauces and rubs. People have told me I need to be a restaurant or a caterer, which is great and something I want to eventually do. But that's not the focus right now. Those are future goals for the business but not the current focus. OK, so to recap this lesson, the top three ways I recommend to evolve and love up your brand include hire a professional, learn from the big brands, stay true to your focus and values.
2:40
In the next module, I'm going to teach you the fundamentals of marketing a winning product. And you're going to start working on your marketing plan.