Do You Even Brand? with Octavia Harris | Ep. 37

• Storytelling is how people naturally learn and connect—from childhood lessons about right and wrong to Instagram and Snapchat stories today.

When we take storytelling and we add marketing to it, the only thing that we're trying to do is create an organic brand story for your business.

• By combining everyday storytelling with marketing, entrepreneurs can market organically without spending years learning complex marketing strategies.

• Octavia's journey began 10 years ago after a health scare at age 28 (297 lbs, couldn't breathe climbing stairs). She decided to stop blaming others and take control of her life and finances.

• She started Crãv Life Consulting as a fitness instructor, spent $10,000 over three years but only made $1,500. After returning to college for business and marketing degrees, she joined the Les Brown Institute, spent another $10,000, and restarted with a comprehensive plan.

I didn't start getting out of the red until December of 2019, which was only 90 days ago.

• The key to finally seeing six figures: doing the same thing consistently for three years without stopping or constantly changing offerings.

• Both Tiffany and Octavia emphasize the importance of narrowing focus. Tiffany initially tried to do everything (bookkeeping, taxes, bill paying) and bought multiple software tools, leading to overspending.

If you don't know what your brand is, then people don't know what your brand is. And you'll end up being in a situation where people don't know what you do, so they don't trust you.

• Solution: Define 3 services/products to sell, require appointments instead of Messenger conversations, and refer clients outside your core offerings to your network.

• Tiffany initially thought her audience was 'everybody' needing financial literacy. Octavia challenged her to narrow it down to Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z—primarily women and business owners.

Think about branding as five mason jars in front of you that you're going to put a penny in each mason jar for every aspect of each customer.

• A good Facebook ad targets around 120,000 people with very specific attributes. You cannot put every customer type into one ad or you'll waste thousands of dollars.

• Octavia knows her audience (women entrepreneurs 27-47) so well she knows their eating habits, cars, and challenges. She triggers conversations about their problems rather than talking about branding.

I never talk about branding on my social media because no one gives a blank about branding because they don't know how to do it. So I got to meet my customers where they are.

• Recommended social media structure: greeting, client problem/solution video, resource link, engagement question. This creates natural conversations rather than sales pitches.

• Octavia's core values: self-love, authenticity, consistency, knowledge. These guide all her social media content and help entrepreneurs be good to themselves during the journey.

Every business should have them. I'm going to ask you what yours are, Tiffany, so get ready.

• Tiffany's core values: passion, integrity, community, simplicity, being bold. These values help create content that attracts the right audience without giving away paid services for free.

• Women have historically believed that working hard alone leads to financial reward, but the gender financial gap shows this isn't sufficient. Women need to confidently state their accomplishments and worth.

We don't deserve to feel ashamed. We're so worried about keeping the dishes cleaned... that we can't get around the fact that we need to be more focused on our accomplishments.

• It's possible for women to make six figures and be self-employed—believe in yourself, be bold, and give people who you are.

• Visit OctaviaHarris.com for the Gold Digging Goddess Academy. The 90-day branded business startup and other courses are available through a membership program at $37/month.

• Special offer for Money Talk with Tiff listeners: 14-day free trial of the 90-day business course (link in show notes).

• Social media: @OctaviaInspires on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat.