What people will pay is decided by how you frame your business
In the last blog, I shared a reflection I had from Law #26 in Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO – “Your skills are worthless, but your context is valuable” – and how it relates to the target market. This blog explores the second reflection I had from this same law, which is about how you frame your business and present your brand.
A little story Picture this: there’s a piece of paper lying on the street. Most people walk past it without a second glance because they think it’s just rubbish.
But then someone picks it up and realises – this is a journal entry from World War II, written by a young girl who had to leave her father and walk across a country to save her own life.
Suddenly, that same piece of paper gets placed in a frame. It goes into a beautiful white gallery space. It sits on a pedestal with a light shining on it. It gets roped off with red velvet because it’s a prize – an artifact of history. People pay to see it. There’s a limit on how many can view it each day.
The same piece of paper that was perceived as rubbish on the street becomes something people will pay to experience.
The paper didn’t change. The context around it did.
This is what a brand does for your business. It’s not about changing what you offer or becoming someone you’re not. It’s about how you present, position and frame your business, what you do so people understand its true worth.
Most founders are walking around with World War II journals but presenting them like street litter. You’re incredibly valuable, your expertise is deep, your offer transforms lives – but if you’re not curating the context around it, so no one will ever know.
This is the transformation I create with every founder I brand or rebrand. They have exceptional skills, charging too little, attracting tire-kickers, feeling undervalued – not because their work isn’t good enough, but because they haven’t built the frame around it that signals its worth.
Your brand is that frame. It’s the pedestal, the lighting, the red velvet rope. It’s what tells people this isn’t something you stumble across on the street – this is something worth paying attention to, worth investing in, worth protecting.
Now it’s your turn So here’s what I want you to think about: are you framing your work like the prized asset it is? Or are you leaving it on the sidewalk hoping someone recognises its value? Because the world won’t value what you don’t frame as valuable.
This is the second part of how building your brand makes business feel easier – we don’t just put you in the right venue, we also ensure you show up in that venue in a way that commands the attention and investment you deserve.
Next time you post, write content, or present your offer – ask yourself: am I creating the gallery, or am I leaving my work on the street?
P.S. My Build Your Brand in a Day Retreat on February 19th in Perth is where we make your brand look, sound, and feel as valuable as you actually are – so you easily attract your worth instead of chasing it. Only 4 spots. Payment plan available. Reply if you want one.
Speak soon
