A Uncommon Growth Strategy

Before we jump into todays newsletter - we just want to remind you to check out our latest episode of Chew On This with Alex Beller from Postscript.io 

If you want to learn about how you can use SMS to drive more sales and increase your retention rate - then you should definitely give it a listen

Click here to listen to it

Hey there and welcome back for another bite to chew on…

We hope you had a blessed weekend with your loved ones and are ready to crush your to-do list.

This week - we’re talking about something which may not grow your brand directly today or tomorrow - but it’ll certainly grow your brand (indirectly) over a longer period of time.

It’s also something that few DTC brands are talking about (and doing), which is why there is a BIIIG opportunity for the ones who take action after reading this email.

We’re talking about personal branding.

… and look

Right now, some of you are thinking: “Oh, that Personal Branding BS is not for me. I’m a builder. I’m a business owner. And that sh!ts only for agencies and SaaS.”

…and if you’re among that group - then just listen to us for the next 3 minutes and 55 seconds as we try to tell you how building a personal brand will help you build and grow your actual brand.

Deal?

We’re on the clock, so let’s go.

First things first: Employees

We don’t need to tell you that without great employees - you probably won’t get very far. But the hard part is: how do we attract great employees?

It’s not like they’re just hanging on the trees…

So either you need to spend a fortune on hiring headhunters/recruiters who may help you get some of the best talents on the market.

Or… you can let the best talent on the market come to you.

And the way you do that is through your personal brand and by sharing your vision, values, and mission. Here’s an example; Imagine you have a Harvard grad looking for a job at a startup

He can choose between startups A and B. Both have the same pay and benefits - but the difference is that the founders of one of the startups (let’s call it Startup A) have built a personal brand by

… by sharing their expertise

… sharing their vision and what type of employees they look for

… sharing the possibilities if one comes and works for them

Whereas the other one has done nothing other than post a job requirement.

Which job do you think the Harvard grad would apply to?

Clearly, the person would apply to startup A)

Everybody would - because they can make a fit-check for themselves prior to applying, and they know what they’re getting into too-

Likewise, if the Harvard grad is smart, they’ll also recognize that working for someone with a personal brand is better than working for a no-name - because once they go out and apply for a new job… then they will be like, “oh, you worked for this guy - wow!”

Next up: PR and Publicity

It’s hard, time-consuming, and expensive to get mentioned in publications.

But…

If you’re consistent in building your personal brand and sharing the journey of your company and what you’re building - then publications will pick up on it over time.

It’s inevitable…

In the end, they are also just businesses - and if your brand is a hot name on the internet - they’ll feature your brand, yourself, or both in their publication to make money off of it.

Think about it: The reason why brands like Teremana Tequila, Kylie Cosmetics, and Feastables can get so much free press and organic reach is because of the founders’ personal brands.

Quick break to say a big thank you to our sponsors who keep this newsletter free to the reader

If you haven’t been asleep the last year or so, you’ve probably heard that your brand needs a Mobile App

But what’s all the hype about?!

It’s simple. A Mobile App helps you create a stronger relationship with your customers, give them a better shopping experience - and ultimately lead to a higher LTV (A lot higher. In fact 2x higher for Obvi)

Which is what we all want, right?

Stop beating around the bush. The first step of a good retention strategy starts with a Mobile App.

Our preferred provider is TapCart, who’s offering you up to 2 months free if you mention that we sent you

PS: All sponsors that we recommend are companies we use ourselves at Obvi, and companies who we’ve seen great results with. We will never, and have never recommended a company we haven’t used ourselves

Now back to the newsletter

Investor Attraction

Once again - similar to employees, it’s also way easier to find possible investors if they already “know” your brand from having seen you online and built a perception of who you are.

Not only does it make it a lot easier to find investors (because they’ll reach out to you), but it also makes the whole pitching process a lot easier.

So if you’re building a business that needs outside money and you’re not actively building a personal brand - you’re making life a lot harder for yourself.

Ok, cool, but how?!

It’s not Chew On This if we don’t leave you with actionable things you can execute on today!

So if you’re lost on where you start this whole personal brand journey and how you go about finding “your voice”, here is a mini guide for you:

1) Find your “voice” by figuring out what you’re uniquely good at or passionate about. Everybody has something they are either A) more passionate about than 99% of other people or B) A skill or a mix of skillsets that make them better than 99% of other people.

Figure out what that is for you, and talk about that.

For example, for Ash, it’s marketing and DTC, and for Ron, it’s Finance, Ops, and DTC.

2) Figure out the most natural way for you to create content.

Some people are better at writing than they are at talking. For others, it’s vice versa. Whatever you prefer, just choose one (or both) and create content using that “medium”.

3) Carve out just 30 min a day to build your personal brand. You don’t need to be fancy or push a ton of volume in the beginning. Just schedule 30 min each day where you tell the world about what you’re up to and what you’ve learned along the way. That’s it.

4) Find a way to distribute your content on relevant channels

Write a simple thread on Twitter. Or a simple LinkedIn Post.

Or create an Instagram story. Or post in a relevant Facebook group. Or post on Reddit.

Whatever you choose, just find a place (or multiple) where people who have similar interests to you are and then distribute your content there.

If you haven’t started building your personal brand, then you don’t need to make it more complicated than this.

You just need to get started.

… and hopefully - in a couple of months or years, you’ll start reaping the rewards of it. We’ve seen it on ourselves and many others - so we know that you WILL reap the rewards if you consistently put in the work.

Thanks for reading along

We appreciate you, and hope to see you again on Wednesday for another bite to chew on.

Take care and happy sunday

All the best,
Ron & Ash