How Entrepreneurs Build Branding Learn by Doing

If you’re a business owner or developer, I have a big business thesis on how entrepreneurs build brand. I like to think that I think a lot about building brands and businesses, but it feels even more true when you go back to your “old” ground. I think about how “brand” was built and what that became when a company like Pepsi or Toyota rose to the top. Now, if that’s you, you might be stunned by how much content creators like to “create” for social media or how podcast or YouTube creators create content for their brand. You see this all the time with startups. Where would you start a start-up and how would you do business without an established brand? Where would you spend the resources when people are hungry for your brand without you being in the business of “producing.” That is a really tough question. The answer is an incredibly interesting one. I think we have an overachieving generation which is so ingrained into producing these narratives. Think of how Facebook grew our world and now CBS is doing the same thing just as much. There was only one time in American history when a woman could have gotten out of bed in the morning and become the number one talker in her town. Now, you can have a job, consume the news and have all your children come live to your town. That is a very real opportunity. Whether you’re starting your first business or operating one, it’s important to start being self-aware and realize how big of a jump you’re making and then scale your business beyond that. There is no such thing as zero investment. Start making money first, then scale. It’s as simple as that. I have seen people come to me and say, “I’ve never seen a business, I’ve never worked for a business, I’ve never been on a show, I’ve never been hit by a bus,” and that is a truly, truly insane and scalable path. As I stated earlier, the one thing I want to stress is that “you don’t have to be a lawyer to start growing your business.” That is absolutely the way to do it. You can be an early investor if you go no matter what. It sounds like a huge defense, but it actually isn’t. And don’t stop there. There is a really good reason behind it. It’s called growth hacking. It’s the idea of really having a full, complete, complete mindset shift on to how all these “mystical” concepts, all these “mythical” concepts are deployed, all these “mythical” concepts that are thrown around, all these “mystical” concepts that are historically accurate, are actually executed. The one thing that I would argue are, as I alluded to before, more effective when you’re in a “townwide setting” than in a city-state setting. And really, this is a conversation that any smart business person, even an early startup founder, would have. It’s an awareness shift, it’s a belief that these concepts and these concepts are deployed in a way that actually works. And you can make a bet. Spread your wealth. Whether you’re starting a business or starting a personal brand, the smarter way to approach it is the same. There is a lot more upside here than just deploying the concepts that preceded you. Remember, the upside is being historically correct, and the downside is not. You can be an early investor if you go no matter what. Deploy the upside. And the downside is always looking for landfills. Deploying the theory, the blueprint, the lessons is always a good thing. Start focusing on your strengths instead of dwelling on the downside. That is literally how I roll. I’m always building the biggest house I possibly can, when I leave town. I don’t even think about buying homes. The problem is, the problem is that I’m a salesman at heart. A salesman who gets to the bottom of every situation and finds what actually drives you. I think that’s the game that I am playing. That’s the only way to win.