Creating a Personal Brand w/ Jodie Brown

Let me guess. You are a hustling, bustling hairstylist behind the chair, working so hard to build a beautiful career for yourself, one that gives you time, freedom, and energy to spend with yourself, your family, and your friends. But you feel like you're always working in your business even when you're not behind the chair. My name's Hunter Donia, and I help you automate your systems and implement really beautiful strategies so you can grow your business without the overwhelm, and this is the Modern Hairstylist podcast.

Hey, friend. Welcome back to the Modern Hairstylist podcast. This gal who's gonna be coming onto this gig up in this episode, I love her. I get along with this person so freaking much.

We have really similar core values, really similar beliefs, and we can just talk and talk and talk. I've been on Jodi Brown's podcast, um, twice now and we just get into, like... We just get into it, and it's so much fun and it's so good. And, uh, Jodi is doing some really great things for the industry right now, cutting through a lot of the BS that you hear about branding and marketing and growing your clientele using social media.

That's why I'm so excited to have her on the podcast today, because I feel like there is a whole lot of BS out there right now. I feel like it can be really confusing. I feel like we've stepped into a new era of how we market ourselves and our understanding, as an industry, of what marketing actually is. And specifically today, we're gonna be talking about creating a personal brand and, and what branding actually means, what it is, some misconceptions, and all of those things.

We're really gonna be breaking it down with Jodi today. Jodi's gonna be breaking it down for us, so I am really, really excited to introduce to you Jodi. What's going on, friend? Welcome to the Modern Hairstylist podcast.

Ah, that introduction. Thank you so much for having me. I just love you, and I'm so excited to be here and to be talking about one of my absolute favorite topics with one of my favorite people, so thank you for having me. Dude, it's gonna be good.

We're so freaking happy to have you, and I know that the people... I know that you, friend, listening to this, uh, is really gonna enjoy this. Even if the listener, you know, thinks that they have marketing down, even if they think they have branding down, I think that this will give us a really good, strong fo- foundational, uh, understanding of what branding is, right? Uh, you and I have talked recently about how we understand we have to have maybe possibly a brand.

We understand that we have to market. We understand that we have to show up on social, and that we ha- we have to have marketing in one way or another, and I find that a lot of the education nowadays, it just gets straight to the meat without giving you the foundational system that you really need and the understandings that you really need to be successful in carrying out those strategies. And so, would you agree with me that, like, like, branding is one of those strong fundamentals that you need to be successful in marketing? And let me ask you this, too, right?

Let me just ask you this, just right off the bat. What is branding, and what's the difference between branding and marketing? So, I just gave you three prompts, so that's how my ADHD works. So, tell me if you need me to come back to one of those.

I'm here for it. Let's go. Um, okay. So, the first...

The answer to your first question is, uh, yes, it's absolutely fundamental, and I think that if you are trying to market your business without getting intentional about your, your personal brand, what you're communicating... And, like, let's, let's just kinda define it as a brand is essentially... It's like a reputation for a person. That's what Jeff Bezos describes it as, and I think it's really, really accurate.

So, it's, it's your, the public's perception, your audience, potential clients' perception of you and what you stand for. So, whether you're intentional about branding, whether you put the time into creating a brand or not, you have one. It's just, what is it saying about you, right? So, that's something to clear up.

And as far as the difference between branding and marketing, so branding is really what, uh, it's, it's your foundation. It's your, like... Essentially, I guess, it's like your true north. And then marketing is how you communicate that brand and attract the right people for your business.

So, your brand is... I- if you try to put a lot of effort into marketing or, you know, what passes as marketing in today's hack happy world, we'll get into that, too, but I think if you're, if you're putting all this time in and you're someone who's like, "I'm making all the Reels, I'm showing up on Instagram, I'm doing all the things and I'm still not pulling in the perfect people," it's likely not a marketing issue. It's likely a branding issue, and that's why you're, you're not getting the results that you're looking for. One of my favorite quotes is from Ren Jones, and he says that, "Marketing is like asking someone on a date and branding is the reason that they say yes."

So, that's a really great way to picture it. It's like marketing is more of, like, your active and your outreach, and branding is more of your, um, your foundation and, like, the core of your business. And I know you asked me three things. What was the third one?

You hit all three. You hit all three. Perfect. So that was, that was beautiful.

I love it. And...I just learned a lot already. So I know this is gonna be good.

I, like, I always self-proclaim that I'm, like, really smart when it comes to marketing. I just have this... My mom has been a marketing manager for a massive company for, like, 30 years. I love that.

And I feel like I've, I've just inherently absorbed a lot of that energy from her. And it's so exciting to me, it's really fun for me with marketing and, like, human psychology and how that all works together. But for some reason, I feel like I've always misunderstood the branding side of things. And I think that, like, you tell me, I'm sure that you hear this misconception about branding all the time too, that when people think of a brand, they immediately think colors, logo, fonts, aesthetic, right?

Yeah, for sure. Well, and I think that the reason for that is because typically a lot of, like, branding agencies are design agencies and web design, right? So they're, that's, like, your end result, maybe, when it comes to... And it, i-i-it's a piece of it, absolutely, but, like, even if you are, you know, working with a branding agency or a firm, like a design agency, something like that, they're gonna go back a little bit, right?

Because it's visual communication. But if you don't know the basics, like I, I kind of break it up in the mo- in the most simple way, it's your values, your voice, and your visuals. So you have the three prongs to your personal brand, essentially. So visuals is definitely part of it, but as you can see, it's only a third of it.

Let me just kinda give you an example. If you, say you are someone who is designing your personal brand, right? Or you're designing your visual brand, and you kinda have, like, you like Canva, you like to play around in Canva, it's fun, but you haven't necessarily done the foundational work as a business owner to know what it is that you're communicating, you can end up, like, really out of alignment. Like, say your favorite color is, like, bright pink and neon green, right?

And so you're like, "Well, that just makes sense for my brand," but what you actually realize once you dig into the other side of it once you start marketing is that you're creating, like, a spa-like, serene, like, atmosphere, and you're all about, like, you know, communicating that you're a sustainable, like, luxury eco-friendly business. Then are those visuals communicating what it is that you actually want to portray to your ideal clients to bring them into your business? So, I think that's kinda where people get lost sometimes is if they're just starting with what's trendy, which is a big thing, like, how many times did we see just everyone wanted to be boho or everyone wanted to be desert vibes or whatever, right? Like, those trends that aren't necessarily communicating what it is that your business is about can be a little bit misleading, and then it makes it a bit jarring for your, for your potential client when they start to come into your business.

Does that make sense? Totally makes sense, 100%. And I wanna ask you, I'm not, I hope I'm not going off the rails, but I wanna ask you because you brought it up, you said, like, people will be like, "Well, this is my brand, this makes sense for me," right? And where I kind of come from the philosophy of is, like...

I guess where I get confused and where I see a lot of people get confused is how do I speak to a target market, ideal client profile, whatever you want, whatever you're, whatever you wanna call it, right? Mm-hmm. How do I speak to that person? How do I build a business that speaks to that person, but is also extremely authentic to me at the same time?

And is it like, do I have to do one or the other? Can I do both? Because your target market or ideal client may be somebody that is completely different than you, right? Like, if that is just, like, what is called to you, if that's, like, what you, if you feel like the person that you really wanna serve is, like, 20 years older than you and into different things than you, what's the, what's your opinion on that?

I feel like I get confused with that a lot of the time. Okay. This is such a good question, so thank you for asking that. So, I think...

We're kind of lucky in our industry, right? Because chances are, w- the reason that we have gone into business for ourselves and the reason that we are, you know, putting time into branding, marketing, and, and building something to call in dream clients, is 'cause we want a really fulfilling business. So chances are that the people that you are wanting to call in, even if they're not the same as you, you're likely gonna have parallels because at the end of the day, these are people that you wanna spend all your time with. So, I think that there's gonna be some parallels and I've worked with a lot of stylists, and when we really dig into it, there often are parallels, right?

But at the end of the day, to answer your question, i-if, say, for instance, in an alternate universe, you literally have nothing in common with your ideal clients and you wanna spend, you know, all of your time with these people and, and there's nothing there, then absolutely you need to have something that's gonna speak to and communicate with the people that you're trying to call in. 'Cause that is what marketing is all about, right? I would argue that the values is really what it comes down to with that. Absolutely.

And not just the values, but also the solution. Like, the services, like, let's not forget about the services, right? Mm-hmm. Like 'cause that's, that's, like, what we're selling at the end of the day.

The solutions that you're offering and what that person's pain points are, right? Yeah. Because you could be somebody... I mean, I'm a dude.

I, I'm literally a... Well, okay, I shouldn't be saying, I shouldn't be gendering this, but I'm a cis man who traditionally h- gets, like, haircuts that are dudes' haircuts, right? Right. Traditionally, right?

And therefore, I've never needed a woman's cut , right? So I'm marketing services to people who I wouldn't need that service on myself, you know? And, and, and, and I'm bridging my knowledge, my expertise, what I specialize in, to any type of person who is wanting those solutions, right? So I, I feel like it comes down to your values and your services is what really differentiates you and the client as far a- or connects you and the client, actually.

That's what I meant to say.Yes, that's absolutely true, and then also, like, your brand voice is going to really we, like... That's gonna be something... 'Cause even though you're not, like, the same as your clients, like, you can have different, you know, like different demographics, like different...

Uh, you can be very different people. But does your voice resonate with the people that you're calling in? Obviously, the answer is yes because they're in your chair, right? So that's another way to stay really authentic to you, is to have that really, really intentional and authentic brand voice because that is going to call in the people that are going to resonate with you and want to be a part of your world and your business.

So, um, you know, when it comes to branding and marketing, like, for your brand, since we kinda got into, like, services and what we're talking about there, when I teach branding and then I teach, like, marketing, those are kind of like... Branding is always first, right? So that's your values, your voice, and your visuals. And then when we get into marketing, I teach a content method, um, called Align & Attract.

So essentially, it's all about getting your... Getting in alignment with that ideal client. Part of what we talk about is your values and, and your niche. So the services that you're providing, whether you are someone who is hyper, hyper niche or whether you have a couple different things going on, like, there is a way to talk about those services in a way that's gonna add value to your ideal clients.

So, it, it's a little bit of both. Okay, that makes sense. Thank you for differentiat-... Because I always just kind of, like, lumped branding into marketing, but that makes sense.

It's like branding really is, like, a foundational fundamental that then you take that and then you apply it to your marketing strategy. Absolutely. I think that totally makes sense. I love that.

And if we talk about brand voice and, and, uh, values, you know, it's... In today's day and age, I've been, like, looking a lot at, like, consumer behavior and stuff- Mm-hmm. and, like, seeing how people are shopping, and we are increasingly, every single day, seeing that people are shopping with their values. They care about understanding if you are in alignment with them as far as that voice and those values go.

And so, I feel like a lot of the times, we totally miss out on that. What does it look like to show up as yourself in your, in your brand, right? Like, what does it sh- look like to be, like, quote-unquote, "be vulnerable" or "be yourself," like, in your business, r-right? Like, people, a lot, I feel like a lot of the time get really scared of that.

Like, they don't wanna post, like, their pictures of themselves or their family or their kids, or they don't, they don't think that anybody's gonna care about their lives, right? Mm-hmm. Like, w- how does that play into this conversation? Okay, I love this question.

It, it, it... So there's really two ways to look at this. One, I think that when people hear, like, "Be authentic in your marketing," they think that means that you have to, like, bare your soul, or, like, you know, like, tell every detail of your personal life on, on Instagram. So, that is not necessary to build an authentic personal brand.

I think what it comes down to is, like, sh- leading with... 'Cause your values as a person are likely gonna align with your values as a business. Like, they might not be totally the same, but you are... Like, as stylists, as independent stylists, as salon owners, typically, we are building businesses based on, you know, being fulfilled and contributing something positive to the world, especially, like, the people in your community.

Like, I, from knowing you, we're gonna be talking to people right now who are wanting to really build something that is meaningful and successful and supports the life that they want, right? So, I think that when it comes to that point, you are showing up in your business to connect with potential clients and to call in the people that are going to fulfill you, who you wanna be spending all your time with, again, right? So, for me, the idea of going into a business now, especially, like, if you're a suite owner, consider, like, take this extra to heart, and not knowing, like, you know, what they look like, what they sound like, like, anything about them, to me, that feels very awkward, and it's not something I would do. I would need to have a prior connection, and I mean, there is an old marketing adage, "When all things are equal, people would rather do business with those that they know, like, and trust."

Showing your face, building that personal connection, talking about some of the things that you may have in common with your ideal clients, that is going to build trust. And I think now more than ever, consumers are looking to do business with people that they trust and people that they feel connected to. And that's gonna be very, very difficult if you aren't showing your face at all. Like, that's, it's just something that's very important to do.

There's a million different ways you can do this, like the face-to-camera reel, um, getting brand photos done. Like, there is a lot of different ways that you could show up. But I think that, you know... And, and so that's, like, the, the visual aspect of it, like, showing your face is...

It sounds really obvious, but it really is that important to do that. We don't need to go into, like, corporate mode the second you're writing a caption or creating some video content for your Instagram. You, you want it to feel very consistent and very fluid, because we talk about building trust through branding and marketing, right? If you have curated an identity on social media that is opposing to what they get in real life, it is going to be very jarring.

And I see this a lot because there are people who, like, maybe you'll be following an account and you're like, "Well, they're sarcastic and they're funny and they're very successful." So then internally, you start to associate, like, "Do I need to be funny and sarcastic to be successful?" But really, that's not your personality and that's not what you're like in real life. So then all of a sudden, it's like you're kinda behind this screen and you're doing something very different and it's inauthentic.

And that is gonna eradicate any of that trust that you have built. So, that is kind of an, an extreme illustration of why it's so important to be authentic and to showcase your voice and show up as who you are. It doesn't mean spilling your life story or spilling your guts, or whatever that looks like. It just means, like, being a person.

Being social on social media. I always say, it's like, first appointment you. 'Cause sometimes if you're with clients, and I know this is something you talk about, like, the consistency of experience. I'm not talking about the experience part of it, 'cause I agree that should be consistent, but, like, you know how if you've been doing someone's hair for a really, really long time, like, sometimes their relationship's a little bit less censored, I'll say.

I would say, like, be on social media first appointment you. And that's- ... that's kind of like a good gut check if you're not sure where the line is on what you should share or not. And I would never say anything on social that you wouldn't say to your client's face.

That's another good gut check to go past when it comes to authenticity online. Mm. So good. I love all that you said .

I'm learning so much. You said, uh, at the beginning of this, 'cause we've talked about this before, you s- you, you said, like, "Hack happy marketing," right? Like, hack, hack happy, like, tips and tricks and shit. You know, we live in this digital education world now.

Mm-hmm. Right? We live in this world where there are all these influencers, and there are all these people trying to help you with your business and help you with your life, like, all these gurus, right? Mm-hmm.

And it's really difficult because you're hearing one thing from this person, hearing one thing from this person, feeling like there's a lot of urgency, you get really stressed out. Like, there's a lot of different voices in people's heads right now, right? Mm-hmm. So, what do you mean by "hack happy marketing?"

Okay. I'll give the easiest example, 'cause I think that's the most relevant right now. But it's like, what I see a lot of is people, like, talking about Instagram Reels as if they themselves, like, learning how to make an Instagram Reel is all you need to do in order to, like, get a million followers overnight, or, you know, get 100K in your bank account by tomorrow at noon. Like, that's the, the kind of marketing that I'm referring to, because it's very misleading, and I think that what happens is it leads to a lot of confusion and ignores that you need to do the foundational work first when it comes to marketing.

So, think about it from a hair perspective. Like, now, you or I could watch and, and your listeners, like, whoever's listening right now, you could watch a quick Reel on Instagram that showed you, like, maybe a different way to angle your scissors to have, like, a fringe fall a different way. And that would make sense in your head, right? 'Cause you know the foundations, you know exactly what you're doing.

Or, maybe it's, like, how to, like, feather a balayage, like, for the front area, or something like that. So, those, those little tips in and of themselves, once you are an experienced stylist and you know what you're doing, those kinda tips are so helpful, right? Because it's just a quick shift. Now, think about that before you did your first day of hair school.

That same exact piece of information would do basically nothing for you. 'Cause yeah, sure, you could hold your scissors that way, or you could, you know, h- like, do balayage in that manner, but you would have no idea how to troubleshoot it. You would have no idea how to measure whether or not it was working, and you wouldn't really know where to begin because of the fact that you don't have those foundations. That is exactly what I think happens when we see these, like, little hacks that are like, "Just do Reels.

Just go live. Just do this." And then, you do this thing you're just supposed to do, and it doesn't work, and then all of a sudden you're frustrated and you're feeling like you did something wrong because they made it sound so easy and you're not getting results. And that is why I think that, like, it, it really bothers me to see things under-communicated sometimes, because it isn't just about picking a color palette and then just making a bunch of Reels and, you know.

It's digging into the stuff that you maybe don't wanna do and getting clear on your target market. If anyone's taken an online course and says that they haven't skipped the ideal client module the first time they go through it, they are lying. 'Cause we all do it. I've done it.

We've all done it. It's not the funnest part. Like, you don't have to learn how to cut hair again every year. You're not gonna learn, you're not gonna have to learn how to brand yourself and market from scratch every year.

It's these foundational skills that will allow you to pivot with ease and, like, maybe make it so that every time Instagram announces a new change, you're not freaking out and worried that your business is gonna tank because you have those foundational skills, and you can weather the storm a little bit, you know? Ugh. That's my soapbox. If I could, like, put a loudspeaker up to your voice right now- ...

and, like, make it go across the entire world, I would. Because yeah. The majority of, um, businesses and people that I see who have a really hard time marketing, a really hard time figuring it all out and get really overwhelmed, are the people who have not done the real foundational work- Mm-hmm. Or, they think that they've done it- Mm-hmm.

but it's not actually dialed in and they don't have all of the really actually important juicy parts of those fundamentals- Mm-hmm. that will actually make them successful. Like, what I find a lot of the time is people will try to come up with, like, their target market, ideal client profile, whatever it may be, and they focus on really surface-level, very not helpful things that will actually help you really speak to that person inside and out and make sure that you- Yeah. are aligned with them to make them wanna come and see you.

Like, I see two things very often that do not help anybody, okay? That-If it only stops there- Mm-hmm. then nothing's gonna work. And please tell me if you agree with me, okay?

Yeah. Two things. Number one, we focus way too much on attributes. We focus way too much on surface level of things- Mm-hmm.

such as colors, fonts, um, we focus on, um, like, who they are as a surface level person, like, such as, like, a mom and they have kids in this age, which is super important, but if you don't dive deep into why that stuff is important, then you're not going to have a successful, efficient, and easy way of marketing and speaking to that specific person. So, that's my number one thing that I see. Go ahead and speak on it. So good.

And yes. Oh, my god. Ca- can I just add one thing? So, that is the perfect example, like, a mom, it's like, okay, so with them having kids, like, are you just deciding that?

And I think this is the problem of a lot of education of years gone past 'cause it's, like, very arbitrary questions that don't actually dig deep and so people get kind of, like, they get kinda, like, um, immune to, like, thinking about it, right? 'Cause they just see it so often. But it's like, okay, is this important because you are also a mom and so you understand the struggles and so you have certain things that are going to make it easier for them, or they're a mom, so they're stressed out taking care of other people, so your value is to take care of them and you create an extra nurturing experience. Like, those are the whys behind that.

So, when you are doing... and that's, like, what I really dive into with my... like, when we do ideal client, I say, "I'm not asking you these questions for my entertainment or to fill out a workbook and to make it look like there's a lotta stuff going on here. This is why you wanna know this and this is how we're gonna use that information."

So, thank you for saying that. I love that. Okay. I'll stop cutting you off.

What's number two? No, I'm the one cutting you off, but, like, it's... it drives me up, like, 'cause I'll, I, I have a membership in which I go beyond systems and automation and what I normally do in my course, and in the membership, we go into marketing, sales- I love that. everything.

All the things. Yeah. And w- and I'll ask for people's ideal client profile descriptions and I get this surface level shit and I'm like, "Okay, so, like, wha- like, okay, but, like, w- how is this relevant? Like, what-" Totally.

"... is the, what is the why?" And we both said it. What's the why behind it?

Yeah. That's what people miss a lot of the time. And that's why you're overwhelmed and that's why your efforts aren't working, because you don't know how to connect the mom of two to your services and who you are and what your brand is and what your solutions are. Period.

Yes! Yes. Um, the second thing that I see, which I think steers people the wrong way, extremely hardcore, is when they are coming up with their ideal client profile or they're coming up with a target market, I think that this can be a part of it and it can be helpful, but I do- I think that it's focused way too much upon... is people chase the money.

And people add these things into their description that, like, are so irrelevant to, like, what they need to know- Mm-hmm. to really connect to these people. So, people will say, like, "Okay, who's my ideal client? My ideal client's somebody with a lotta money.

Okay, who has a lot of money?" And then they make their decision based upon that versus- Right. who can they actually connect with? Who does that...

who really brings them joy? Who is the person who they really want to have in their business and be in their business? Because the money will come after that. Like, the money comes after you figure that shit out, in my opinion.

So, the amount of money someone makes is not as important as whether or not they value what you ha- what you bring to the table, because there can be someone who's making 500K a year and thinks that a $500 extension appointment is a total rip-off and they do not see the value of it, right? So, that's something I... that's such a good point and it, like, I don't incl- it's funny 'cause as you were saying these things, I was like, "Yeah, I don't include that. I don't include that."

Like, I feel like there's, like, maybe , maybe there's things in, like, the corporate world that people have kinda, like, copy and pasted that just don't apply to our industry. 'Cause it is very emotional and it is very connection-based, um, and so yes. I, I totally agree. Love that.

And in these ideal client profile descriptions, on top of that, what they'll end up doing is, "Somebody who likes to take care of themself." It's like- Mm-hmm. okay, but why? Like, why?

Like- Mm-hmm. there has to be oomph behind all this or you don't have the foundations and everything seems overwhelming. So- Ugh, so true. anyways.

So true. This is why I love Jodi because Jodi and I can fucking, like... I, I'm mute. Okay, so listen, y'all.

I mute my microphone while Jodi's talking and you guys don't hear me screaming, "Yes!" And like- ... on video together I'm, like, shaking my hands and, like, praising because- Total head nod. you and I just, like, we're just totally on the same page and it makes me so happy, and I really hope that you, my friend, listening to this got some great value because I know that I did.

I learned so much. So, Jodi, thank you so much for coming on and sharing this knowledge with us. Tell us how people can get started with you, like, if they feel like they want to revisit the fundamentals of their brand and their marketing and they're struggling with the, maybe the overwhelm or the, their efforts aren't working, like, where can people find you and get started with you, and what resources do you offer? Oh.

Well, thank you again for having me. This was so much fun. I, I feel like it's good that we, like, are conscious of time. Otherwise, our podcast episodes together would be, like, three hours long, so...

I love it. Um, so you can find me on Instagram @itsjodibrown. I also have a podcast called Hairstylists Rising. One of my favorite episodes that we have, just 'cause you mentioned the fundamentals, it's literally called Branding Fundamentals and it is so good.

If you want a direct link to it, DM me on Instagram. I wanna chat with you and connect with you. And so, that is really an overview of everything and I, I call it, like, the antidote to overwhelm 'cause I think what's overwhelming is trying to fit all these tiny pieces of information into, you know, a strategy, and it, it's just not gonna work. It's not effective.

I also have a totally free resource called Content That Connects and it essentially takes you through three areas that you can look at to start adjusting your content to speak to your ideal client, like, immediately. So, we dive into ideal client, it's, like, three questions for each of them, so it's very concise. You can find that at jodibrown.ca/ctc, and that will give you a really good kickstart.

But please message me on Instagram. I love to connect with people and just, I'll help point you in the right direction depending on what you're struggling with. Dude, I love it. Make sure to go check Jodi out.

I'll, we'll also make sure to leave some links in the podcast show notes, wherever you're listening to this, to go check that stuff out easily. Jodi, thank you so much. Thanks for being a friend. Thanks for all that you're doing for the industry.

Thank you for spending your time with me and us on the Modern Hair Stylist podcast. And friend, thank you for tuning in. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to that wherever you are listening to this, that you leave us a five-star little review on either Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, wherever you're at, and if you are on a platform where you can leave a little bit of a testimonial, we would really, really appreciate you doing that to help us reach more hairstylists to help this industry grow together because that's what it takes. We are trying to create a revolution and we're trying to help all of each other grow because there's plenty of pie, right?

We have, we can all get a piece of the pie. So, if you enjoyed this episode as much as I did, please go ahead and leave a review, if you wouldn't mind. And thank you f- so much for tuning in. We will catch you the next episode.

Peace out, girl scout. Bye bye.

End of transcript. © 2022 Hunter Donia LLC.