She was so anxious because she was waiting for me to make her choose too

You shouldn’t have to choose between parts of you when building a brand. You don’t get put in a box, we build the box around you.

Last week I kicked off a new brand with a 3-hour deep dive strategy session. And from the moment the client jumped on the call, I could see she was on edge. 

It didn’t take her long to share what she was worrying her…
“I’ve done this before. I’ve worked with strategists and consultants, and they keep telling me I need to simplify. That I have to strip things back – that I can’t bring all of me into it.”

I could visibly see how anxious she was, waiting for the moment when I too would tell her to start picking and choosing the parts we would use to build her brand.

The thing is, she wasn’t confused about what she wanted to do – she was stuck because she kept being asked to choose. To exclude pieces of herself off to help it make sense to someone else.

“I get excited at the start… but then I lose passion because I can’t bring all of me. I have to cut things off. And I’ve done that before.”

I told her not to worry – I’m not like that. I’m not going to make her choose. I build brands around people and that means all of them. Not just the easy-to-package parts.

The session was tough though, I’m not going to lie. She gave me a stream of descriptive words, but none of them actually said anything. Because she also couldn’t see how to bring it all together, she had the parts but couldn’t sum it all together to make it work.

It took a while to get there. I kept digging and digging asking all the questions:

• “How do you do that?”
• “What does that look like?”
• “But what are you really doing when you’re doing that?”
• “What’s the part of that you love the most?
• “So,when they leave… how do they feel?”
• “Why does that matter to you?”
• “If I took away every offer and every title — what’s left?”

She kept trying to answer, but it was still struggling to explain what she does.

Then I explained that your brand is not what you do:
“We’re not building a brand around your offer. That can change. I need to find the essence. The thing that stays true, even when everything else evolves.”

She paused and said,
“I’ve never had anyone say that to me before.”

Once she started sharing the stories and experiences, that is when I found it, the thread that weaved throughout everything, the heart of the brand and I could finally see how to tie it all together. I found what I needed to build her brand. 

I uncovered the message that embodied every piece of her, no culling, no restriction. I built a box to fit around her and will now create a brand that will be able to expand with and grow with her.

By the end of the session, she was calm. She trusted the process and she trusted me.

She realised there was no fight between us to bring her full self – we were on the same page and for the first time, she knew it was all going to work.

This is what strategy is. Not picking and choosing what you can work with. It’s finding the throughline – and building from there.

If you’re ready for me to help you find the heart of your brand, join me on my next Build your Brand in a Day Retreat, in Perth or Gold Coast – this is what we do.

Speak soon

Cassandra xox