I truly believe change is a constant in life, and I am delighted with the change I have made to my website and brand over the past few months.
Are First Impressions still important?
Why Change?
One of my favourite quotes is ‘Change is Inevitable, Growth is Optional’. The view that ‘if you are doing the same thing in business today as you did five years ago, (in the current climate you might say ‘last year’? then you are going out of business’ was never more obvious. Notwithstanding the Pandemic, I think it is really important to constantly evaluate where you are, what is working and where you want to be in the future. You must also ensure that your brand, both online and offline, are in alignment with you and your business.
It is said that it takes three seconds to get a first impression and even before the advent of Covid, the first-time many people meet is online. It might be an email, or a social media post, or it might be directly through your website. These days the only way people see me is online when I am delivering training or mentoring, and of course via my content that I create.
A brand is more than just a logo.
A brand is more than just a logo.
Your brand is the essence of who you are expressed in terms of the content you create, and the visual image that you put out on your materials. For solopreneurs and small business owners your personal brand is the business, you are what makes the difference or the USP of the business and therefore you need to be mindful of your personal brand.
What is the first thing you do when you want to ‘meet’ someone?
You google them!
Generally, people will look at the first page in the search results and more than likely visit your LinkedIn profile. Your job is to make sure that when they do, they see what you want them to see. This is your personal brand, and it is essential that you get it completely aligned and on brand, and on message.
Before embarking on a brand change I looked at the growth in the business and how it has evolved. I analysed my ideal customer avatar and products and services I was delivering. There was definitely a change needed but, how radical was the question.
My previous website focussed strongly on sales training, which is something I still offer, but it is only a small part of the overall range of training and consulting I deliver.
Rebranding is a process and I am delighted with the result. It is far more than simply changing colours or logos. I took a deep dive into my personal and business brand and then looking at my values and intentions, worked to get my visual logo aligned.
My logo, based on the tree of life, and symbolising growth and stability has essentially stayed the same just with a change of colours. The red and black colour scheme represents stability and strength, while the tree confirms the values of growth and renewal.
As part of the rebranding project we have also looked at the content on the website and created a new lead magnet – Correcting your Five Biggest Career Mistakes – which is ideal for the current market. So many of us have to pivot and change direction, but let us make sure it is the right direction.
Why is it time to revaluate ?
The Pandemic is prompting everyone to revaluate their life. Be it business, career, or personal life, we are all considering making big changes.
Much of the change in business activity we are seeing is out of necessity. Shops are closed. Face to face business is not an option. We have been forced to find other ways of doing business. However, on another level the unintended consequence of being stuck in this current ‘holding pattern’ of free time and helplessness has organically starting those change conversations, perhaps with far reaching consequences.
As a business you need to recognise change is required on all levels including supporting the team. According to the American Psychologist Carol Dweck show that there are two types of mindset: a ‘fixed mindset’ and a ‘growth mindset’. Children who are praised for their intelligence and ability will develop a ‘fixed mindset’ and believe they have limited ability and see challenge as risky while those that receive praise for their effort are thought to develop a ‘growth mindset’ as this is a quality that can be developed when they view challenge as an opportunity to learn. Thus, an individual with a ‘fixed mindset’ does not have the ability to recover from failure while an individual with a ‘growth mindset’ sees failure as a spur to learning and growth. As a consequence young people can grow up with skewed models of the world that keep them locked in a ‘fixed mindset’ and a comfort zone of safety for their adult life.
Having a negative experience can be viewed as an opportunity to learn if the individual has developed a ‘growth mindset’ or a life stopper if the individual had developed a ‘fixed mindset’. As a result many people have become fearful of challenge, resistant to critical feedback and dependent on praise and this had led to new challenges for employers to ensure that young people are on boarded in a way that is sensitive and builds self-esteem.
I was recently working with a start-up tech company owned by three young entrepreneurs in the west of Ireland. It was refreshing to hear them share their progress on identifying and developing the company values and even more impressive to discover they had involved the full team of 13 employees contribute to the process and set the foundations for success. To me this encompasses great leadership and is the type of change that is needed in business going forward to create a workplace where employees are engaged and happy in their career. I’m pretty sure this company will grow from strength to strength.
If you are thinking of change I would love to talk to you about it. Working in conjunction with a colleague, I offer a package which includes consulting and mentoring on change (change of business direction, adapting to the ever-changing environment, pivoting for profit), and updating your brand as a package.
