Build Better Brands

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by James Martin to talk about his life from someone who was off the rails to a success in logo design and soon to be an author as well as starting to get into mentoring.

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Sarah Bayliss, a business owner who also works in nutrition. She has been helping Danielle with her diet and nutrition regime and has changed her life. The pair talk about the link between running your own business and looking after yourself.

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Tom Ross, CEO of Design Cuts, he’s known as a community branding guy and community builder. He also hosts the podcasts The Honest Designer's Show and Biz Buds which explore his passion for community building and mentoring others. The pair talk about his journey from designing websites from the age of 12 to building his own company and personal brand and now helps others do the same. KEY TAKEAWAYS There’s a lot of confusion about what ‘community’ means. People talk about social media following, newsletters, podcast listenership. There’s no finite line for me, but typically a community platform is a space where members can chat to each other – many-to-many rather than one-to-many (e.g. Discord server, Slack group, Facebook group, Circle forum). Being able to see someone else having the same interests in certain brands as you gives a sense of identity and belonging. This is massively proliferating in the digital world right now with things like NFTs. People have become bored, apathetic and to some extent blind towards their social media news feed. There’s only so many years that we can sit there like zombies scrolling through for hours on end looking at peoples highlight reels. Particularly with the pandemic and pandemic of loneliness, people are craving human connection and depth and social media doesn’t necessarily offer that. There are a few key principles to community building: 1) Much like any business you need to have a strong foundation: have a clear value proposition, have a clear structure, understand the expectation of your members or it will die out. 2) It takes more work than anything else online so you’ve got to love it and invest serious time and effort in it. 3) Don’t focus on the quantity of members, it’s better to have a smaller community who properly engage and are aligned around your purpose and understand why they’re there and what they’re getting out of it.   BEST MOMENTS ‘We’re seeing a shift where, historically, community building has been seen as ‘fluffy’, unmeasurable and doesn’t elicit ROI for businesses. There’s starting to be investment in brand and community.’ ‘The barrier to entry has lowers, there’s greater awareness and more data available where you can measure ROI.’ ‘NFTs aren’t new, it’s just starting to hit scale. People were selling digital items for real money in video games 20 years ago. Now we’re seeing that concept at a major scale.’ ‘If you haven’t thoroughly educated yourself on something and really lived it, you shouldn’t speak too strongly about it.’ ABOUT THE GUEST When he was 12 years old, Tom Ross and his best friend right clicked on 'view source' a web-page they were looking at. The screen of code that appeared blew his mind. They taught themselves HTML and went on to start countless web projects over the next few years, many of which never saw the light of day, some made them a few hundred bucks, but mostly, they were just an incredible learning ground. Alongside these web projects, Tom embraced his inner creative, learning Paintshop Pro, and later Photoshop. He began creating endless graphics and websites, eventually leading him to enter design contests. These contests taught him early lessons in working with clients. A successful run of contest wins developed into a more steady freelance career, alongside school, building online communities, simply for the fun of it. After several more successful ventures, Tom discovered his 'hustle'. After binge listening to a bunch of hustle pornstars and internalising their workaholic mantras, he became a working machine. Starting Design Cuts, Tom worked 18 hour days, 7 days per week for the first 18 months, culminating in a hospital visit, major stomach surgery, and years of chronic health issues to follow. Despite the tumultuous journey, Design Cuts flourished into a thriving community of 750,000 creatives. In his spare time, Tom explores his passion for community building and mentoring others. His podcasts, The Honest Designer's Show and Biz Buds have now attracted millions of downloads, and he gets immense joy in providing value to his community. Websites: https://tomross.co/ and https://tomross.co/newsletter/ Social media: @tomrossmedia Circle forum: learn.community ABOUT THE HOST Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and business owner. Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including G-Tech, M&S, NEXT, SKODA and UK Mail. Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people’s lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers. Insta - @danielleclarkecreative LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/ Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke Email - www.danielleclarkecreative.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Sid Saraiya founder of Effinlazy, a brand and business consultant. The pair talk about business and brand insights and share his story from designer in an advertising agency to owning his own brand strategy and consulting business. KEY TAKEAWAYS Towards the end of my time in the advertising industry diversity and representation wasn’t great, compliance was a big thing and ideas were coming from the top rather than from the creatives in the business. I was feeling unfulfilled and cynical after realising that careers weren’t working like I was promised in university and there was some shady business being done. My coach career coach a few months ago and she asked whether I thought I’d changed, not the company and it all clicked. Now I run a business design and brand strategy business delivering meaningful marketing for customers. We look to differentiate and how that can help the customer. For example Gillette and Harry’s Razors, Gillette had the monopoly on the market and Harry’s came in and disrupted the market with a much lower budget, being funny and they got a decent market share. You have to be able to capture the idea and sit down and turn it into something tangible very quickly because your earning potential relies on that, that’s the professional skill part – not just the idea generation, the development and execution part is the professional part. The real companies that are going to stand out post-pandemic are the ones that will put the employee first. Recognise that some people need to schedule time for day care. Leadership needs to move away from the 9-5 mentality. People take pride in getting shit done and if leadership needs to instil fixed hours that’s a massive flaw in trust and the working relationship.   BEST MOMENTS ‘The way you treat people is tantamount, not just your customers but the culture you build in-house.’ ‘Big companies aren’t ready to compete with disruptive independent companies.’ ‘Creativity doesn’t always work between 9am and 6pm, my best ideas come to me in the shower or as I’m going to sleep.’ ‘I can only do focussed work for 3-4 hours a day and I’m done. 8-3 and 9-5 comes from the industrial revolution and it doesn’t work anymore, we’re seeing burnout and mass resignations. Things can be done differently.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Sid Saraiya Sid is a Brand Strategist and Consultant who helps business owners gain clarity and confidence to stand out and connect with their ideal customers. After 10 years in advertising, leading multi-national campaigns for some of the world's biggest agencies, publishers and brands he started Effinlazy.com in 2019 to bring that knowledge and insight to small business owners. Feeling fulfilled in his work and life is the most important thing to him and he prides himself on bringing that feeling of fulfillment to other business owners. CONTACT INFO: instagram @sidsaraiya // effinlazy.com/contact / [email protected] Sid and his team don't have any downloadables, they just give everything they know away on their blog page, effinlazy.com/blog.  ABOUT THE HOST Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and business owner. Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including ŠKODA, Gtech, UK Biocentre, Healthful Mind Clinic and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people’s lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers. Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/  Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke |  https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke Email - www.danielleclarkecreative.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by James Bacon a.k.a The Body Fix Coach, who is much more than just a personal trainer, he helps people to ultimately get out of pain (he’s helped Danielle get out of the pain she sustained from an old injury). The pair discuss health and wellbeing and how that affects you as a business owner. KEY TAKEAWAYS Sometimes I think people want to get fit and they think about hiring a personal trainer and they don’t know the difference between a personal trainer and the other types of coaches available and might just go for the cheapest option or who they like the look of. Being a coach means I help people, not just beating them and telling them what to do like some personal trainers. The pandemic was a tough time, going from a busy physical location with about 75 clients down to about six in the space of 3-4 weeks. But that’s the adapt, pivot, change point and you either do that or quit, and I’m not a quitter. I’m not a natural salesman, but it’s something you learn as you go along. I’m a big believer in that if you’ve got a good set of testimonials behind you that breaks down those barriers anyway. When you shop on Amazon you always look at the reviews first. At the end of the day it’s all about how I can help you. If you’re in pain it could start to drip down into other areas of your life affecting your business, you family, your income. If someone’s in better physical health, that goes hand-in-hand with better mental health.    BEST MOMENTS ‘I love doing what I do, both in the training and in business.’ ‘If I can change someone’s life by getting rid of their pain, that’s massive.’ ‘I gained about 15kg during Covid because I wasn’t moving as much and I started thinking about getting another job, but then things started picking back up again.’ ‘Movement is medicine.’ ABOUT THE GUEST James Bacon a.k.a The Body Fix Coach is a personal trainer who uses his own weight loss journey to help him motivate his clients. He weighed about 19 stone at the age of 19, but then started going to the gym every day and lost about eight stone in two years which made him feel more energised and he noticed he was enjoying life more. This inspired him to help other people do the same thing. He studied to be a personal trainer then on strength and conditioning coaching and human movement science which helps him to get people out of pain and back to health and fitness. Website: https://www.thebodyfixcoach.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejamesbacon/ Instagram: @the_body_fix_coach Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thebodyfixcoach   ABOUT THE HOST Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and business owner. Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including ŠKODA, Gtech, UK Biocentre, Healthful Mind Clinic and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people’s lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers. Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/  Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke |  https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke Email - www.danielleclarkecreative.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Wes Henstock, a.k.a. Mr.Confid3ntial, Founder of Confid3ntial.com, knows as “ Shoes” to some. New York trained, strategic disrupter and creative rebel. Level C Certified Branding Specialist & Strategist. Skilled in brand-building across the disciplines of brand design, strategy, management, education, leadership and culture.a level 3 certified brand consultant. Wes joined the show to talk about brand and running a business. KEY TAKEAWAYS I fell into brands in 2001-2 by launching Puma Kids in North America, a job I should never have started in. But, it showed my how branding should work, not just colours and logo, they were building the brand back into society through consumer engagement, pre-social media. Nine years later I became creative director at America’s largest sports brand where the boss, Ed O’Hara, talked to me about brand in a way that spoke to me and I worked with giant brands like David Beckham and the Miami Marlins. I’ve never had a client that has never known me indirectly before. My morals live proud, they’re all about over-delivery, over-expectation, growing a relationship and collaborating with your client/the person you are branding. That relationship will act as your marketing. Covid has made us realise that the world is open, it’s no longer about giving you the best paycheque or working in the best city. Brands and companies now have to give you more than that, they have to offer you more. People coming out of school now can choose to work from home, and brands have to learn from this, they have to sell themselves in a different way and offer something more. What you have to understand first about the business you’re going into is about understanding people, I got a real understanding people when I learned about emotional intelligence. As soon as you work out the emotional intelligence of a person you then know how to deliver the best/worst news to them, you understand what makes them tick, how to start a conversation. It’s like having a superpower.   BEST MOMENTS ‘I surround myself and talk to people I want to be because I think that’s how you learn and grow.’ ‘I want people to buy into me, not the colourful things I’ve created or the brands I’ve worked with. I don’t show my work.’ ‘Transparency is key for client relationships, if you set boundaries and expectations at the start means there are no surprises down the line.’ ‘Understand the value of you, what are you worth?’ VALUABLE RESOURCES Wes talks about his mentor and boss, Founder of FUBU, Daymond John playing a big part in his early career. You can find one of his books Rise and Grind, here: https://amzn.to/3DnrExD ABOUT THE GUEST Wes Henstock secretly creates brands that are strategically grounded, culturally relevant, and a little bit unexpected. He collaborates with and guides businesses on their journey to revealing their greatness through a blend creative passion, strategic insight and off the record ideas, delivering brands to a more meaningful, effective and impactful destination. Website - https://www.confid3ntial.com/  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/weshenstock/?originalSubdomain=uk Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mr.confid3ntial Links to Inspirational people Wes mentioned - Nick Brooks ( business coach and mentorship ) linkedin.com/in/nik-brooks-coachnottingham Daymond John ( mentorship, Brand, goal setting, inspiration and drive) https://www.instagram.com/thesharkdaymond Ed O'hara ( Sports branding ) linkedin.com/in/edohara Stern Rockwell ( mentorship, art, personal branding and graffiti) https://www.instagram.com/stern_rockwell linkedin.com/in/stern-rockwell-6658151 https://www.sternrockwell.com Matt Davies ( Branding, mentorship and inspiration) https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgdavies/ https://www.mrmattdavies.me Lucy Warner ( the boss, a great photographer, Wes' wife, a super mum, personal support, inspiration and his daily motivational speaker) https://www.instagram.com/lucyewarnerphotography https://www.lucyewarner.com ABOUT THE HOST Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and business owner. Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including ŠKODA, Gtech, UK Biocentre, Healthful Mind Clinic and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people’s lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers. Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/  Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke |  https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke Email - www.danielleclarkecreative.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Lorna Philip, or as she’s better know, the Birmingham Doula who has recently started Black Mamas Birth Village – a group for black pregnant women. Lorna talks about her business background and explains what it is a Doula does as well as the challenges she’s faced as a black entrepreneur. KEY TAKEAWAYS I’d worked in health for a long time and had two children myself, but I didn’t realise before working in a children’s centre how important people’s birth experiences were to them. They either didn’t feel supported or felt let down by the system, I heard about doulas and decided to train to become one. Doula’s support people during pregnancy, during those first few tricky weeks of having a new-born, I teach hypno-birthing to relax people very deeply for the birth, I run anti-natal courses and am a massage therapist. It’s hard work, we make it look glamorous on Instagram, but there’s some things about it that aren’t very glamorous. If you’re not into “birth goop” – bits running out of women – if you’re not into late nights and overnights, being awake for over 24 hours on the job – we don’t work in shifts, if that labour runs into 14 hours you can’t go home, though sometimes we work in couples – sleeping in the back of your car. People do drop out of doula-ing very quickly with burnout because they struggle to make it work for them. You have to have a certain amount of heart but also hustle – business sense. A lot of people come into it wanting to help and not charge. How are you going to sustain yourself if you don’t charge and don’t charge your worth so you can live too. Black Mamas Birth Village came off the back of Covid as black women are almost five times more likely to die in the perinatal period (just before childbirth), during childbirth and right after childbirth. It’s an informal place black pregnant women and women with small babies can sit and breathe, we do first aid courses, talk about what’s happening in their lives. We’re already at 103 women.   BEST MOMENTS ‘I want to help people have better birth experiences.’ ‘Being self-employed is hard, there’s no monthly salary coming in, it’s down to you and you only. But, if it doesn’t feel like work, and it’s your passion, it’s not a job.’ ‘How much [money] do you need to make your life work? I factor in my own self-care into my fee so I can look after myself so I can look after more people.’ ‘It takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to raise a mother.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Lorna is mom to two grown-ups, born in 1989 and 1993 and grandma to two gorgeous bundles born in 2016 and 2018. She had two very different births and single-handedly raised two amazingly wonderful young people More Black women than ever are seeking out doula support for their births. To ensure that as many Black women as possible feel supported, Lorna has created a new online community called Black Mamas Birth Village where she offers information and support for pregnant Black women and mums of new born babies. The Village is a safe space for Black women to sit a while and breathe whilst sharing information and tips for pregnancy, birth and beyond. On the launch of Black Mamas Birth Village this year, Lorna’s 1st goal was to welcome 100 Black Women into the Village; we are now at 111 and growing! Lorna has also included a fillable birth plan that can be downloaded for all Mamas to be. Lorna is also a doula mentor and co-facilitator for Abuela Doulas for whom she helps train new doulas and guide them on their doula journey as they gain experience. After spending 30+ years supporting parents and their children – first as a nursery nurse in the 1980’s and more recently as a deputy manager of a SureStart Children’s Centre – coordinating family health services, promoting and supporting breastfeeding, teaching infant massage etc; Lorna found her life’s purpose and became a doula. As a birth and postnatal doula Lorna has supported many, very different births and although she’s passionate about all births, VBACs (vaginal birth after caesarean) and positive birth experiences after previous traumatic births are the ones that make her heart really sing. Observing a woman coming into her own power, overcoming fears whilst still allowing herself to be vulnerable is one of the most powerful and emotionally charged experiences that anybody could have. She says: “I don’t profess to be a ‘birth geek’, I’m told it’s my experience and reassuringly calm and confident nature that moms are drawn to.” CONTACT INFO: Email [email protected]  IG https://www.instagram.com/black_mamas_birth_village/  FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackmamasbirthvillage Website - https://birmingham-doula.co.uk/  Instagram - @birminghamdoula or @black_mamas_birth_village / https://www.instagram.com/birminghamdoula/ https://www.instagram.com/black_mamas_birth_village/ ABOUT THE HOST Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and business owner. Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including ŠKODA, Gtech, UK Biocentre, Healthful Mind Clinic and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people’s lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers. Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/  Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke |  https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke Email - www.danielleclarkecreative.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by business and relationship coach, Peter Gregory who has experience in business and building personal brands. The pair talk about the importance of putting yourself at the forefront of what you do and understanding your values. KEY TAKEAWAYS It took me a while to understand who I was in order to communicate better. Know thyself. If we don’t understand who we are and what values are important to us and what we want out of life, when it comes to branding, it’s going to be false and the true meaning is lost and customers can’t get a handle on who you are and what we do. We need to align with the right people who are easy to work with and share the same values as us. Life’s too short for drama and bad relationships. We see people putting on personas and wanting to become influencers, these aren’t their true selves, and it will come through and people will pick up that it’s false. Don’t be your full self all the time – sometimes I’m grumpy – look at the genuinely positive aspects of your personality forward because at the core of it is you. It’s not inauthentic, it’s your brand personality. Avoid talking about religion on social media, steer clear of politics and don’t ask if it’s right to have pineapple as a pizza topic, because that’s incredibly divisive! But, a small business making controversial social media posts could cause half the potential client-base to walk away, which is disastrous for small businesses and tarnishes the brand.   BEST MOMENTS ‘It’s lonely being a business owner and people don’t like to ask for help, but if you get the right people around you it becomes so much easier.’ ‘Sometimes our drivers happen to us in our early years, and they define us. Being helped drives everything I do, I build communities.’ ‘Mr T was a bouncer before he became a TV and film star. He’s still his authentic self, but he built a brand around himself.’ ‘The rebranding of Facebook to Meta is changing their look and distracting people, their core values haven’t changed. But I don’t think it’s going to distract anyone now.’ VALUABLE RESOURCES Check out one of both Danielle's and Peter's favourite books: Start With Why - Book by Simon Sinek https://amzn.to/3EljKWF ABOUT THE GUEST Peter Gregory is a proponent of working smarter, not harder, and how effective referral marketing can help achieve this. He has worked for over 20 years for some of the world’s major IT outsourcing companies, leading technical teams in the deliver of worldwide IT systems. Without personal relationships, built with other individuals around the world, Gregory would never have achieved the success he has. “It’s not what you know, or who you know – it’s how well you know them”. You can be very knowledgeable, or have the most outstanding product, but without people to help you then success is hard to achieve. By understanding a client’s wants and needs, conscious and unconscious, we are able to agree on suitable solutions that they can commit to achieving through proven processes. He believes we all have strengths and weaknesses and by understanding them we can use them to gain the success we deserve. Website - https://iampeterg.co.uk/  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peteradriangregory/  Instagram - @i_am_peterg https://www.instagram.com/i_am_peterg/ ABOUT THE HOST Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and business owner. Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including ŠKODA, Gtech, UK Biocentre, Healthful Mind Clinic and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people’s lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers. Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/  Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke |  https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke Email - www.danielleclarkecreative.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Natalia, founder of Chai Soul to explain a little about who she is, what she does and the harrowing story of how she got there. Chai Soul is a health and wellbeing company that specialises in pop up yoga events, community yoga classes (online and in person) and retreats. Natalia is passionate about empowering people to become the healthiest, happiest versions of themselves.  KEY TAKEAWAYS When we’re younger we have routines and habits instilled in us that are both good and bad, but there’s rarely ever any mention of “strive to be happy”. We know we should do certain things, but what if they don’t fulfil us or are damaging? These can manifest in different ways as we get older. Through all my experiences in life I realised that when you start doing good things for yourself people get offended and drift away leaving you to do things by yourself, so my events are for anyone who’s suffering or is at the turning point in their lives so they have somewhere to go, they can turn up by themselves and know they are welcome with no judgement. At least every class there’s always someone who says “I never take time out to do something like this”. Before people can be the best version of themselves, they first need to choose and show up for themselves. The next step is to get people to connect with their intuition Have one non-negotiable for yourself every day, like going for a walk for 10 minutes or an hour, reading a chapter of a book for leisure, etc. Doing this then adding to it so you have many things for yourself during the week and you’ll start to see the benefits quite quickly.   BEST MOMENTS ‘We’re surrounded by people who wear burnout as a badge of honour.’ ‘We can all start again at any point in our lives.’ ‘I’m used to being a unicorn as a black person in financial services, but I know some aren’t comfortable. You’re welcome at my yoga events if you’re black, overweight, a man, etc.’ ‘Think about what you want people to say about your business? Are you doing any of those things now?’ VALUABLE RESOURCES The book Natalia read that really changed her mindset:  What I Know For Sure - Book by Oprah Winfrey -  https://amzn.to/3xP5O55 ABOUT THE GUEST Natalia grew up in the city of Birmingham in a single-parent home. As she started to get older she learned that she loved travelling, she went to university and responded well to that environment. After university she got a job in financial services and living her “best Sex In The City lifestyle” while still living with her family.  However, this lifestyle led to weight gain which led her to do try fad diets. In her late 20s she started having difficulty eating and, while on the waiting list to be seen by the doctors, she started reading about what could be affecting her diet, but nothing seemed to help. In the end she took herself to A&E complaining of chest pains and it transpired she had a blood clot on her lung and achalasia, meaning her oesophagus wasn’t working properly to move food – or even saliva – down her throat. Having hit rock bottom, she began her path into healing and mindset, eventually returning to work where she was given a promotion. However, the illness gave her a new view on life, and she realised she wasn’t fulfilled, so she looked around and took up yoga training. Website - www.chai-soul.com  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Chaisouluk/  Instagram - @chaisoul | https://www.instagram.com/chaisoul/ ABOUT THE HOST Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and business owner. Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including ŠKODA, Gtech, UK Biocentre, Healthful Mind Clinic and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people’s lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers. Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/  Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke |  https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke Email - www.danielleclarkecreative.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by agency veteran Michael Janda to discuss and share his experience of running a business, creating a brand, mentoring and training his employees to what he does now: Helping creatives figure out how to maximise their careers, to make the money they should be making and helping them reduce their stress. KEY TAKEAWAYS The top things you should have in place if you’re going to be successful are: Relationships and relationship skills – to be able to connect with other people in a way that makes them want to buy from you and that they can trust you. Understanding business fundamentals – the numbers, how to make decisions based off the analysing the data, how to price your work. Have a network of support – people who fulfil some of your tangential skills and that overlap some of your skills. One of the big objectives of branding is to differentiate your business from other businesses, to make you stand out and resonate with a target customer and make you unique in the marketplace. Every human is unique, no one is the same as you, we’re all individually branded, let that become manifest in your business and it will become unique like you. I used to think “that person’s killing it, their agency’s so good, how did they get there?” and then I got big enough that I could go to lunch with these people and it wasn’t all roses, they were having the same problems I was and my eyes opened to the fact that their outward representation said. Most entrepreneurs are the same. The reality is not the same as what they portray. What is the fusion between your personal brand and your business brand? Are you intentionally making your business brand a manifestation of your personal brand? Are you making yourself the face of your business brand? Someone needs to be the face of your business brand, you should be your own influencer of your businesses, don’t pay someone else to sell your brand for you.   BEST MOMENTS ‘So many creatives are uber-creative, but not uber-analytical. If you’re an entrepreneur, you have to tap into both sides of that. If you can’t, hire someone who is to do that for you.’ ‘It’s detrimental to the success of your business to emulate a brand like Nike or Apple.’ ‘In the end my agency was a success, but there were plenty of dark days on the road. I’m glad that phase in my life is over, but grateful to have had the experience.’ ‘Say what you want about Donald Trump, but that dude was branded, he was a walking brand.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Michael Janda is an executive level creative leader with more than 20 years of experience in both in-house creative departments and agencies working with some of the greatest brands in the world. He founded the creative agency, Riser, in 2002. Over 13 years he led Riser to a 31% average annual profit margin. Riser was a nationally recognized agency creating high-profile work for clients including Disney, Google, ABC, Fox, Warner Bros., NBC, TV Guide and numerous other notable companies. The company’s work quality and successful business practices yielded some of the most coveted awards in the industry including Webbys, FWA, Awwwards, AIGA and Addys.  In 2015, Michael sold Riser to a competing Utah marketing agency named Eli Kirk where he became one of four partners at the agency and its Chief Creative Officer. Following the acquisition he orchestrated a rebrand of the agency as EKR, which has acquired new notable clients including Google, National Geographic, ABC, Intel and Netflix. In addition to his experience managing creative and marketing teams, Michael is the author of the 2013 book, Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff They Don’t Teach You In Design School, But Should. The book’s success has resulted in opportunities for Michael to be a keynote speaker at AIGA, Advertising Federation and University events across the nation, as well as at HOW Design Live in Atlanta in 2016 and Boston in 2018, the headline speaker at the 2018 Behance Portfolio Review in Moscow and a keynote speaker at a national event for Mercedes-Benz. Website - https://michaeljanda.com/  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/morejanda/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/morejanda Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morejanda YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMtMijHO1MVzw_Mjkh7_amw  ABOUT THE HOST Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and business owner. Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including ŠKODA, Gtech, UK Biocentre, Healthful Mind Clinic and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people’s lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers. Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/  Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke |  https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke Email - www.danielleclarkecreative.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.