I started fabcocktail.com back in 2013 or 2014. It was just a lil ol fashion and beauty blog with no real direction but over the years I’ve learned so much, developed newfound interests and realized my purpose – to inspire. Now, years later after graduating college, growing in my professional career, surviving a pandemic and meeting like-minded individuals, I am expanding fabcocktail into a small business and full blown brand! Read on for some things I’ve learned along the way – branding tips for small businesses.
What is Branding
Branding is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from other sellers. My brand? fabcocktal. I have turned it into a small business by getting my LLC and registering for a trademark (this process takes a long time so beware if you’re in the market to do so).
How to Brand
Where to start? First you’ll want to identify your passion. What do you love? What makes you happy? After you establish this, then identify your audience. Who follows you on social media? Who do you connect with the most? After you identify these two points, you’ll want to dive into data. Study your audience, use insights and analytics to better understand who’s watching and listening. You can also use the poll feature on your social media pages. Instagram stories is great for this. You can even use polls on LinkedIn now.
Starting a Small Business
Once you’ve established the foundation of your brand you can build your business. Register your LLC and then get creative. This was the most fun part for me! But the best piece of advice I can give is to invest in yourself! Work with professionals to help perfect your business and brand. Find someone who is an expert at their craft who can help you build on yours. I have been blessed enough to have great connections that lead me to a brilliant graphic designer, efficient web designer and a faith-based mentor. Each of these women have helped be in developing fabcocktail into what it is today and what it will be moving forward.
Aside from investing in professional help, get a solid support system. You can’t tell just anyone what your thoughts, ideas and goals are but if you have a few close friends, family or a significant other who you can lean on for support, it makes a world of difference! Special shoutout to my support system. You know who you are! These people will tell you the truth. Root for you when you’re in a rut or even be a test subject.
Do What Makes You Happy
Building a brand and a business is no easy task. It takes passion, determination, money and support but one thing to remember is to stay true to yourself and do what makes YOU happy. I am so nervous to continue to build my brand and business but at the end of the day, I’m having fun with it and I like what I’ve created. Just keep in mind that branding helps you become more recognizable. It’s great to have a logo but it’s more than that – it’s colors, voice, style, engagement and relatability.
Happy branding!
