Don't Make These Design Mistakes: How to Build Your Brand Identity with Nate Kadlac

02/14/24 • 41 min

First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo

E71: How do you design a personal brand that truly reflects you, stands out, and captivates your audience?
Do you find yourself lost in the sea of design choices? Not sure how to align your website elements with your personal brand values?
Today, host Yong-Soo (@YongSooChung) is joined by talented designer, Nate Kadlac (@kadlac). Nate will guide us through the crucial elements of your personal brand identity: Logo, Font, Color, Elements & Motifs, and Visual Layout. Nate will also tell us how to make key design decisions that align with our brand values for each of these elements.

On today’s episode, you’ll learn:
- The Four Key Elements
- The G.E.O.S. Framework
- How to Make Key Design Decisions
- How to Design a Great Personal Brand Website
Let's get down to business!
***
SPONSORS:
Riverside - If you have a podcast, do yourself a favor and check out Riverside. It's 100% free to start. Get 20% off using code FIRSTCLASS.

Spotted by Humphrey - If you have a dog, sniff out the DEAL$ and wag-worthy finds at Spotted by Humphrey. Use code FIRSTCLASS15 to get 15% off your next order.
***
EXCERPTS:
Choosing Fonts for Personal Branding: "They don't have to be the same. I think it's it's really about what appeals to you, what speaks to you. It's just one thing to kind of know about these things that people will feel a certain way. Not that you need to make a choice based on what people feel." — Nate Kadlac (19:04)
Design Tips from Experts: "A designer's secret is that most of us never use pure black or pure white. Our eyes read better like text that's just slightly off that black end is is a little bit more readable because it's not high contrast. High contrast tires our eyes out and we want to use it for design to kind of like grab attention." — Nate Kadlac (28:31)
***
LINKS:
Don't Make The Same Mistakes I Did — What I Wish I Knew About Content Creation and Personal Branding
ApproachableDesign.

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First Class Founders is a show for indie hackers, bootstrapped founders, CEOs, solopreneurs, content creators, startup entrepreneurs, and SaaS startups covering topics like build in public, audience growth, product marketing, scaling up, side hustles, holding company, etc.
Past guests include Arvid Kahl, Tyler Denk, Noah Kagan, Clint Murphy, Jay Abraham, Andrew Gazdecki, Matt McGarry, Nick Huber, Khe Hy, and more.
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Future of Newsletters with Tyler Denk, Founder & CEO at Beehiiv
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...

Previous Episode

How to Get A Free PR for Your Business with Christina Nicholson

E70: Who doesn't like free or cheap stuff? Imagine getting more customers without spending money.
Today, host Yong-Soo (@YongSooChung) is joined by an expert in PR and earned media, Christina Nicholson (@ChristinaAllDay), an award-winning journalist. Christina will discuss why small businesses should start with local media and why earned media's credibility is its most powerful asset. She also discusses how to obtain free (or affordable) PR and how to pitch the media to get coverage.

On today’s episode, you’ll learn:
- How To Do Effective PR for Free
- The Power of PR for Businesses
- How to Spot Scammy PR Pitches
- How to Pitch the Media to Get Coverage
Don't miss out on this game-changing episode that could redefine your approach to marketing!
***
SPONSORS:
Spotted by Humphrey - If you have a dog, sniff out the DEAL$ and wag-worthy finds at Spotted by Humphrey. Use code FIRSTCLASS15 to get 15% off your next order.
***
EXCERPTS:
Strategic Business Approach: "You need to be patient, and you need to trust the process, and you need to be very focused on who your audience is and what you're putting out there, and then be ready to turn that publicity into profit because a lot of people think it just ends with the publicity." — Christina Nicholson (18:01)
Monetizing Influence: "If you are somebody who is of influence and you wanna start charging to make money, there's nothing wrong with that. You just have to tell people why you're charging what you're charging when you do offer that to them." — Christina Nicholson (27:33)
***
LINKS:
The Art of Storytelling: How Parker Worth Went from Broke to a $22,000 Course Launch
Become a Media Maven Podcast

Next Episode

How to Build and Sell a Startup with Andrew Gazdecki, Founder and CEO of Acquire.com

E72: When is the right time to exit a business? Sounds like a simple question, but the answer... isn't as simple.
Today, host Yong-Soo (@YongSooChung) sits down with accomplished entrepreneur Andrew Gazdecki (@agazdecki), the Founder and CEO of Acquire.com. Andrew discusses the strategies behind successful exits and how to position your company to be sold for the highest valuation. He also discussed how startups can be bought in as few as 30 days.

On today’s episode, you’ll learn:
- How to Structure Your Deals
- Strategic Buyer vs. Financial Buyer
- How to Get Ready to Sell Your Business
- How to Find the Right Buyer for Your Business
Let's get down to business!
***
SPONSORS:
Riverside - If you have a podcast, do yourself a favor and check out Riverside. It's 100% free to start. Get 20% off using code FIRSTCLASS.

Spotted by Humphrey - If you have a dog, sniff out the DEAL$ and wag-worthy finds at Spotted by Humphrey. Use code FIRSTCLASS15 to get 15% off your next order.
***
EXCERPTS:
Startup Valuations: "You can sell it for whatever you want. You can sell it whenever you want. You can sell for $10,000,000, all cash to a private equity firm with 90-day transition period, you're out, and then you just get to do whatever you want with your life. " — Andrew Gazdecki (05:51)
Understanding Business Acquisitions: "So if you can structure, you know, an acquisition with favorable terms like that, that's the way to go. And that I'd say that's probably the most common is cash in close with some component of, maybe a little bit of seller financing at the end, 80% cash in close, 20% seller financing with 3 to 6 month transition depending on the size of the business." — Andrew Gazdecki (19:14)
***
LINKS:
From Bankruptcy to Millionaire in 2 Years: How Tibo Louis-Lucas Built and Sold TweetHunter & Taplio for Multi-Millions
Acquire.com

First Class Founders: Creators | Solopreneurs | Personal HoldCo - Don't Make These Design Mistakes: How to Build Your Brand Identity with Nate Kadlac

Transcript

Yong-Soo Chung [00:00:00]
Nate Kadlac is a designer.
Nate Kadlac [00:00:04]
I love to look at the world through a design lens. So I, even this morning, I went to get coffee out of my, uh, little coffee ground holder and just the suction lid. You know, that I pulled off this morning, just kind of like makes me love the, the little details in design, you know, everything around us has been designed.
Yong-Soo Chung [00:00:23]
But labeling him as just a designer doesn't do justice t