Tebowing Your Brand – What Your Small Business Can Learn About Branding From Tim Tebow

by Frederika Angus

Hate him or love him, Tim Tebow, NFL quarterback for the Denver Broncos, has become the sports media’s favorite topic. The more I observe his style of play and how he handles himself on and off the field, there are a few lessons for entrepreneurs that will help you with your own small business branding.

Faith in the face of adversity. Being a business owner can be tough. While I believe that anyone can be an entrepreneur, it takes a very dedicated, strong person that is willing to face challenges head on to actually be and entrepreneur. There will always be naysayers, competitors and obstacles to overcome.

Because Tebow hasn’t played like most quarterbacks in the league, he has been discounted by the analysts, football fans, and even the management of his team. Nevertheless, Tebow has stood steadfast in his belief in himself. He is unwavering in his stance that he has the skills and ability to be a quarterback, not a running back or tight end, in the NFL.

In order for your business and brand to last, you must have faith that you are not only designed to be a business owner, but also that your skills and abilities are ready for the challenges. As I expressed in Start Your Small Business Brand Strategy By Bringing You to the Table, you have to be the brand as an entrepreneur. Your business success in branding will go as far as your faith will allow you to believe.

Clear conviction of who you are and what you are here to do. One quality that sets entrepreneurs apart from the rest, is their ability to get clear and obtain laser like focus and run with their business vision. In the beginning stages of business planning and mapping out products and services you can offer, the clarity you have in knowing exactly what your value and uniqueness is in the marketplace is critical. Your brand has to stand out from the crowd. Clearly communicating those factors that are different, valuable and relevant to your customers with consistency is important to branding.

Tim Tebow is a good example of knowing who he is purposed to be and what he must do. He very clearly and consistently communicates who he is in every interview so that there is no mistake about his value and why he does what he does. He stands out so strongly that those who wouldn’t normally follow sports have heard of him.

Be consistent on and off the field. Your clients as well as your competition are always watching you. This is especially true if you are on social media. Do not project yourself to be one way in front of your clients and then present yourself differently on Twitter or Facebook. Doing so is a sure fire way to ruin your brand credibility.

Tebow is known for consistently expressing his faith whether he is on the field after making a game winning play or at a hospital visiting with children.

The Tim Tebow brand is one of the most talked about in all of sports. Even those who don’t like his style of play can’t help but to continue to talk about him. This is a powerful place to be as a brand. Utilize these tips and build a brand for your business that is the topic of discussion of your customers.

Talk to you soon!

Start Your Small Business Brand Strategy By Bringing You to the Table

by Frederika Angus

I bet you can recognize all of the above businesses without seeing the company name. Talk about brand recognition!

But what is branding anyway?

Depending on who you talk to, branding is often thought of as a name or logo. The visual identifier that everyone will see, remember and relate to. Maybe you’ve already been through the logo design process. You researched different colors and the emotion that they invoke. You spent hours determining what the perfect tag line or even company name should be.

While that is all good, people do not do business with logos and tag lines. Yes, those items can help attract clients to look at your company. Having eyes on your business is great! The goal is to also make a profit while you have people looking.

Have you ever been at the grocery store and selected a shiny red, apple that looked flawless? No blemishes. No bruises. Leonardo da Vinci could not have painted a better work of art. But when you get home and take bite, it is not at all what you thought it would be. The skin is tough and the flesh lacks flavor. The outer appearance was deceiving and as you got below the surface you were disappointed.

Does your business brand leave your customers and clients that way? The image and logo look great, but just under the surface, what they identified with on the outside isn’t there?

Small business branding IS the owner. It is about what the owner says, does and how you as the owner and your personality meets your client in every aspect of the business. Branding is how you build and maintain relationships, the manner by which you do business and serve other people. It is how at an individual level, rapport is established because your clients trust your character, not from theme music, logos or slogans.

People are attracted to you! The best way to begin your business brand strategy is with you. Every business has a personality and as a solopreneur, you must make sure that it is your personality (not the person you pretend to be in the shower when no one is looking) that is showing up everywhere.

Faking it until you make it no longer works in the marketplace.

Consumers are craving authenticity and real connection with the people they do business with. Your ideal client has to believe that you are credible and will deliver exactly what you say that you are able to do.

Bringing all of who you are to the table means that your brand is instantly as unique as you are. The one thing your competition cannot copy is YOU. They can make a similiar logo, or advertising campaign. They will never be able to replicate you. Save the money you would have spent on all the shiny objects and flash and utilize it for more effective and strategic advertising.

Perhaps you’ve heard the quote, “Be the change you want to see.”

When it comes to branding, be the brand your customer wants to see.

Talk to you soon!