Brand Building for Solopreneurs

 

                                                        Brand Building for Solopreneurs

Entrepreneurs operate in a tough scenario where they must bring their best game to survive and thrive. This is doubly true of solopreneurs who cannot rely on anyone but themselves to keep their business afloat and successful. Given that solopreneurs do not as a rule possess the clout that a bigger business does, it is imperative that it build a powerful personal brand that distinguishes them from the competition. Besides it is the best way to build one’s credibility enabling one to catch the attention of prospects and clients.

Elevating and exalting one’s brand is something that a solopreneur just has to strive to master, if they are to have any chance of making a long-term business success. If you are a solopreneur seeking to take your brand to the next level, here’s what you can do.

1.      Personify the brand in your person.  

Share your story with your target audience in all honesty. Tell them what your goals and aspirations are and what you bring to the table. Try and make them a part of your journey as you build your brand step by step. It may take time to win their trust and forge a relationship, but once you do that they will back you long term.

2.      Let your target audience see the value

You have got to show your target audience that you are an authority on matters concerning your industry. Let them see you as a thought leader who enlightens them about the products or services that interest them. You might do so by providing them with content that helps inform and educate them. The way to do that is by way of blog posts, videos, infographics, podcasts as well as social media outreach on a consistent basis. Let your target audience see value and they will root for you.

3.      Know your niche

As a solopreneur struggling to find your footing, you may be tempted to cast your net wide and not restrict yourself to a narrow band of prospects. But marketing to everyone hardly ever works out well for anyone. You need to zero in on the market that would help you redefine the future of your brand.

You can zero in on your niche by having a very good idea about who your ideal clients or customers would be with regard to your ability to help them solve their problems. This will help you to become a specialist at that enabling you to enhance your brand reputation with your customers. It will make your products or services the default choice in your chosen niche.

 

4.      Work on your brand message.

You need to work on building and embellishing your brand message. Your business USP needs to be explicitly clear and conveyed to your target audience on a consistent basis. You have to do this in a manner that you are able to evoke the right kind of feelings for your brand on the part of your prospects and customers. A good way of doing that is to create a visual brand identity, even if it is your name presented in a certain manner. The idea is to create a memorable brand experience.

 

5.      Network and network

It's great to have clarity about what your personal brand stands for and who your target audience is. The next important thing for you as a solopreneur to do is to enhance your online presence. This will help you network with the right kind of people who would help your business grow. Networking leads to collaboration which can help a solopreneurship scale up like nothing else. Doing so makes your solopreneurship brand distinct and special. The more you network the more will be the chances of your obtaining ever new opportunities to grow and prosper.

Networking also needs to be done the traditional way including participating in industry events, becoming part of professional bodies, and attending exhibitions, seminars and events. Doing all of this in tandem with your online efforts can help you take full advantage of networking as a tool to not just enhance brand visibility, but to obtain leads, referrals and clients.

 

6.      Build social proof

Once you start achieving significant successes as a solopreneur, make it a point to showcase them. Client testimonials are your badges of honour, which you should proudly display on your website and post on social media.  By doing so, you build your social proof which goes a long way in firmly establishing the credentials of your brand amongst your target audience. Make case studies of your client success stories and make them part of your brand legend by incorporating them into your marketing materials. Your brand reputation should become your calling card.

7.      Leverage technology

Technology has levelled the playing field in business and enabled small-scale entrepreneurs including solopreneurs to take on big businesses on their home turf. This is a veritable revolution that is redefining the way business is carried out these days. The booming startup culture is a direct result of this phenomenon. Solopreneurs should take heart from the fact that many unicorns of today started off as solopreneurships.

Deploying technology for everything ranging from content generation and engagement to automating their operations and processes can help solopreneurs take the competition to the big businesses' doorstep and grow and scale up at the latter's expense.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The unicorns and Fortune 500 companies of today all had humble beginnings. There has never been a time in history, when it has been easier for small businesses to grow at scale thought unimaginable just a few decades ago.  When the high tide comes, you take the boat to success or lose the moment forever.