PRIVIandCO Lifestyle Blog was able to catch up with the lovely Shana Robinson, CEO and Creative Director of The Branding Boutique (TBB)! Shana helps her clients become an inspiration to themselves every day. Shana is on a mission to help women live vibrantly and lead successful businesses by embracing who they truly are, becoming their own best sales assets, and highlighting their spectacular qualities to create a lasting first impression. It was a pleasure working with Shana and understanding her business and hope that you enjoy reading her journey!
Shana, its great to finally meet you. Tell us a little bit about The Branding Boutique:
Here at The Branding Boutique, we believe every woman deserves to feel proud, exude confidence, and serve as an inspiration to herself.
Struggle may be the prerequisite to success, but finding your unique voice and emerging into your next season of life shouldn’t be hard… it should be a blast!
I built The Branding Boutique after stammering through the pitfalls of business building for years. Now, I’m fiercely passionate about ensuring no woman ever has to stumble through another networking event, website redesign, or sales call ever again.
Where is your business based?
The Branding Boutique is based out of Miami Beach, Florida. I am Canadian and in 2019 I registered TBB as a foreign business owner to better serve my client base.
What motivated or inspired you to start your own business?
Seven years ago as a Life Coach I worked with women who were struggling to find their confidence and take next steps. Through our work together they would begin to see a different version of themselves and recognize that life had impacted their self-perception. As I continued my entrepreneurial journey of coaching coaches, becoming a speaker and eventually finding Image Consulting as the perfect umbrella for my skill set, The Branding Boutique began to take form.
I watched other business owners piecemeal their businesses and I had also had the same experience. I had a writer in one corner, a designer in the other, a business coach on the other end and none of the pieces were coming together effectively. I sought out talented women to help me create a cohesive brand and realized that we had something powerful through offering all-inclusive Branding Services.
Throughout the past 3 years I have continued to work with highly talented women to not only birth The Branding Boutique as a high-end Branding Agency for the woman who is ready to go all in, but have produced and launched a select number of Brands for other powerful women. We are just getting started and I couldn’t be more happy and excited!
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
The first thing that I did to get my business started was create my offers. I love coaching, Image consulting and serving as a Creative Director. My team and I worked on crafting the perfect offers to serve female business owners that are just starting, all the way up to someone who is a bit more established and needs their brand to match.
Next, I worked on pricing and finding the correct set of talented women to help me bring our client’s vision to life. Finding the right people to work with can often be scary and take time. I was very blessed to find not only talented but caring and thoughtful women to work alongside.
The next crucial step in the process was selling, pitching is one of my favorite parts of business. I often have a lot of people ask how I get my clients since I don’t heavily market on social media, the magic has always been in knowing that I am my own best sales asset. Relationship building, positioning myself as an expert and producing the social proof to back it up was all I needed to start attracting the right clients.
Are you currently running any promos/contests/giveaways that you would like our readers to know about?
We are not currently running any promos/contests/giveaways in our business.
Any awards/certifications/accomplishments?
I was the first woman and the first Canadian to be certified in the Eric Thomas & Associates Speaker Training called Game Changers.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
When I initially began I posted in Facebook groups and established myself as an authority in the branding space. As I continued to work with women who were on a mission to not only find themselves but establish a brand that was a true reflection of themselves it was the art of pitching that helped to close my clients.
I know my clients journey so well that when we connect I can speak to them exactly where they are and align with where they want to go. Most times the vision I have for the clients is bigger than they can see for themselves. I am the vision holder who shows them that everything they desire, they can make a reality.
As I work with one client and make an impact, they share with others who then connect for the same experience. Now that I have established my own brand and we have the social proof to back up our process, the next step is creating more awareness through social media marketing. This is a new type of marketing for me but I am excited to share the knowledge I have gained with more and more women.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
The biggest challenges that I have experienced in business…where do I start! No, being honest, every season of business has brought a different challenge. When I first started my coaching business the main issue was time management. I was working full time and coaching during the evenings and weekends. This impacted my home life and wasn’t sustainable.
When I shifted and first began The Branding Boutique the challenge was leading a team and managing our finances. I can look back now and admit that I didn’t know how to be a leader, manage projects or price them to ensure that everyone got paid and that the business still made money. This was a really, really tough season for me and the women who helped me start The Branding Boutique. The core lesson that came out of it was that your reputation really matters.
The most recent challenge has been managing capacity, and communication. Something you will learn about me is that I am very open and transparent. It is one of the things that my clients most appreciate about me and our work together. I am not perfect, but we are always open to learning and making things better for everyone involved.
How did you overcome these challenges?
As I have continued to grow The Branding Boutique, I have made it a priority to close the gaps in our client and team experience. I am still learning daily, but the biggest lesson has been to truly step into being the CEO that you are. There was a point and time not too long ago where I didn’t trust myself to make the hard decisions. I was afraid to stand up for myself and set boundaries in fears that people would leave and not have a good experience.
I had to come to terms with the fact that I really can’t satisfy everyone, this was a hard but necessary lesson. All you can do is your best, be open to feedback and change the things you can change. If I can be honest, I have days where I want to throw it all in, I feel unappreciated and like I want to give up. Then I refocus and remember why I am doing what I am doing. This is so much bigger than me and branding. Helping a woman realize her vision is the most rewarding thing I have ever had the privilege of doing in my life. When you are committed to your vision, nothing else matters, you push through and get better and better!
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
During difficult times I lean on my team and my inner circle. Earlier in my entrepreneurial career, I would let things paralyze me when they happened or when something went wrong. I took a lot personally and felt like a victim in my business. I couldn’t understand why I was working so hard and still had so many challenges. Over the years I have worked closely with entrepreneurs that I admire to grow as a leader and business owner. I had to honestly start seeing myself differently!
I had to see myself as the boss, the authority figure, the decision maker! I had to start trusting myself to make the right decisions, the hard decisions and pull up my bootstraps when things weren’t going the right way.
To stay motivated I do a few things, I speak life into someone else. This reminds me that I have a gift and that even in the midst of my situation I can still add value. I focus on the bigger picture and how this moment is all part of the process to getting there. Lastly, I refuse to give up even when I might feel like I want to. Quitting and closing my virtual doors is not an option, growth and evolution is the solution.
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
We believe in building a brand and supporting a business that truly represents the woman our clients are at their deepest core. Before we can do that, we need to get to know the woman behind the digital façade.
We believe in taking the time to work on the woman within, chip away the layers of insecurity and doubt, and polish her many facets before we create the brand that is an extension of their truest identity.
If you’re not willing to go within, to be vulnerable, to be real, and to own your shame, gaps, and goals, then we’re not the branding agency for you. However, if you’re ready to stop fooling yourself – let alone your audience and your clients! – and own up to being the woman you need to be to become the CEO you’re meant to be, then you’re in the right place.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
When a tough situation hits, hit them with the facts. As a female business owner sometimes we operate emotionally which can add to an already delicate situation. This year, and years previous have taught me to document, document, document! Back things up with facts vs emotions and use logic when you encounter a disagreement. Don’t be afraid, even though it can be scary at times, to have the hard conversations. If the relationship is important to both people, a solution is the goal.
The other piece of great advice that I have received recently is to keep selling and don’t disrupt your momentum. Expansion can be scary and has so many unknowns, but you can’t ever stop your cash flow. You might not get the same momentum again, sell and build as you go. Be mindful to not over commit yourself and/or your team but don’t be afraid to grow your vision.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Do it scared!!! You just have to start somewhere. If you are in the beginning stages, do your research on finding the best coach to fill a specific goal you have in your business. Don’t try to listen to too many people. Find someone you respect, trust and who has the results that you are looking to achieve for yourself. Listen, learn and implement.
If something doesn’t work the first time, keep going! Everything great requires refinement. Your business will be your greatest life teacher both personally and professionally, enjoy the ride!!!
P.S. I believe in you, I am proud of you and I can’t wait to see how you betting on yourself impacts the world positively! You are needed, don’t forget that.
What is your favorite business tool or resource?
Without a doubt it is the 4 Animals Assessment created by the late Chris Daniel. The basis of the 4 Animals assessment is the DISC Assessment, Chris added the Gorilla, Flamingo, Chameleon and Turtle to help us better understand and relate to our personality types.
I have used this assessment for sales for the past 3 years and it always amazes potential clients how I can pick up on their preferences and communication styles just by the things they say to me or their action’s. This is also a tool that I use when working with my clients. The whole premise is to make them stronger in their natural animal and to help them understand the gaps in their business by understanding themselves.
It is always an aha moment when we take the assessment! I can’t say enough about this amazing tool. It’s a part of our company culture for sure.
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
Hustle Harder by 50 Cent
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
I am currently working on our marketing. We have a new and exciting offer called Positioned to Pitch which is designed to help you make a great first impression – both online and in person. I found a need for our clients who were just starting to want to feel credible while making initial connections with prospective clients. They wanted to feel confident in talking about their offers, handling objections and sharing their value.
Part of our marketing strategy is to position me as an authority online. I have been successful in referrals and relationship building, now it’s time for more people to know we exist and are here to help. I am so excited for this next chapter and to learn a new skill.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
Our goals for the next half of the year are simple. Continue to refine our processes, build and strengthen our team and attract more clients who are ready to do the work. I am proud of all our success to date and am taking my own advice to keep going!
How can our readers get connected with you?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrandingboutique.us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shanarobinson.ca/
Website: https://thebrandingboutique.us/
Email: hello@thebrandingboutique.us
