Stephanie Powell On How To Build A Brand That Has Impact

08/18/21 • 55 min

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Our guest today stresses that now more than ever it is time for you to stop hiding and unleash your badass self. She stresses that just keep learning attitude in her own life. In this episode, we have some great conversations about priorities, authenticity and what really matters in life. She is an entrepreneur that wears her heart on her sleeve. Her priority is lending a hand to those in need. And she is an inspiring example of pursuing your full passions, while making some great money in the process.

Our guest in this episode, Stephanie Powell, truly understands what it means to pivot and reposition herself in life. She started out really not knowing what to do, got into education for thirteen years and still wasn’t sure. After trying a couple things based on her interests and following her omens she took a leap of faith to become a leader in business.

She has an incredible resume when it comes to helping people get clarity over what they want to do in life. And she has a specific skillset for helping people build personal, or company brands that have impact. She is a designer and coach who uses an all encompassing approach to outline and implement brand strategy for her clients. From the logo to the colours and messaging she knows how to help people show up for their audience in a bold, yet authentic way.

She is also a lifelong learner with big goals to become a speaker, continue to build her company and give back to those in need. Like all of our guests, she is an inspiring example of pursuing your passions, doing what you love first, while worrying about money second, and most importantly, being a good person along the way.

In episode 8 of The Just Keep Learning Podcast, we talked about growing up with struggles, resilience and building a badass business. Hope you enjoy it!

How To Figure Out What To Charge In Your Business
When you start a business, the key is to focus on breaking even as you build your brand. Here are some steps to figure out what that looks like:

With service based businesses in particular you have some flexibility when it comes to deciding on and evolving prices.
Sit down and write down all of your overall expenses (personal cash flow needs + business expenses)
Once you have this total you know your break even point and the minimum monthly money you must make in the business.
Multiply this number by 12 to get your annual revenue minimum
Working backwards, decide on your minimum amount per service hour to account for break even plus any profit and reinvestment amount you would like (how many hours do you need to work per week to achieve this annual goal?)
Take that hourly, or service based rate to the market and test it.
Get feedback and adjust accordingly.
This method seems simple, it’s just math, but take the time to apply it to the products and services you roll out to make sure it is sustainable.

How To Build A Personal Brand As A Speaker And Thought Leader
Ultimately it takes time, patience, networking and consistent brand development, but these steps will help you book more speaking gigs if that is your goal:

Recognize what stories you could tell. And realize that everyone has a valuable story. Our stories are not more, or less valuable than each other, they’re just different.
Appreciate that you likely will need some revenue, or savings to pursue this passion in the early stages as the brand grows.
Start putting your stories out there. Connect with audiences on social media, enter speaking contests, speak as much as possible for free, and be a guest on podcasts, or lives where you can share the story.
The key is to practice your storytelling, refine the stories and improve your comfort speaking. Get feedback and continue to adjust the way you tell stories, as it is a lifelong development process.
Once you feel ready to charge, fix up your website to include a speaker’s reel, some testimonials and a contact me page. Share this information with as many people as possible.
Continue to gain experience speaking, while taking the content from those speaking engagements and sharing it on social media. Be patient and repeat this process with links back to your website and the brand will scale.

Memorable Quotes
“I do believe everybody needs a website, because even if you don't ever sell anything, just think about how we operate. What's one of the first things we do? If we want to think about doing business with someone, we Google them and websites are the most important piece of Google content”

“To find your passion, you have to try things. If you’re stuck, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and can focus. Grab a good old fashioned pen or pencil and a piece of paper, or journal and start li...

In episode 8 of The Just Keep Learning Podcast, we talked about growing up with struggles, resilience and building a badass business. Hope you enjoy it!

How To Figure Out What To Charge In Your Business
When you start a business, the key is to focus on breaking even as you build your brand. Here are some steps to figure out what that looks like:

With service based businesses in particular you have some flexibility when it comes to deciding on and evolving prices.
Sit down and write down all of your overall expenses (personal cash flow needs + business expenses)
Once you have this total you know your break even point and the minimum monthly money you must make in the business.
Multiply this number by 12 to get your annual revenue minimum
Working backwards, decide on your minimum amount per service hour to account for break even plus any profit and reinvestment amount you would like (how many hours do you need to work per week to achieve this annual goal?)
Take that hourly, or service based rate to the market and test it.
Get feedback and adjust accordingly.
This method seems simple, it’s just math, but take the time to apply it to the products and services you roll out to make sure it is sustainable.

Recognize what stories you could tell. And realize that everyone has a valuable story. Our stories are not more, or less valuable than each other, they’re just different.
Appreciate that you likely will need some revenue, or savings to pursue this passion in the early stages as the brand grows.
Start putting your stories out there. Connect with audiences on social media, enter speaking contests, speak as much as possible for free, and be a guest on podcasts, or lives where you can share the story.
The key is to practice your storytelling, refine the stories and improve your comfort speaking. Get feedback and continue to adjust the way you tell stories, as it is a lifelong development process.
Once you feel ready to charge, fix up your website to include a speaker’s reel, some testimonials and a contact me page. Share this information with as many people as possible.
Continue to gain experience speaking, while taking the content from those speaking engagements and sharing it on social media. Be patient and repeat this process with links back to your website and the brand will scale.

Previous Episode

Irina Buse On How To Follow Your Dreams While Building Business The Right Way

1 Recommendations

This episode will help anyone trying to find their way in life. Especially if you want to start a business online. Irina coaches people to get clarity over their business goals and get started. She prides herself on helping people find full alignment and the pragmatic steps to getting those goals.
Irina has a unique backstory that involves moving to a new country. She had to overcome a lot to learn the culture, build social networks and learn the language. Yet, in spite of the challenges, she was able to get an MBA and build a successful business.

If anyone truly believes the idea that we are all unique and have gifts that we should share it’s Irina Buse.

Our episode 7 guest, Irina Buse truly understands what it means to overcome adversity en route to achieving your goals. She is a great example for people who want to pursue their own passions but don’t know where to start.

She has an incredible resume when it comes to helping people get clarity over what they want to do in life. She has specific skills in supporting people who want to be their own boss. One of her greatest strengths is making business simple and practical for people.

While she has a lot of corporate experience and an MBA, she prefers her work as an entrepreneur. Irina is a speaker, coach and consultant that supports people in finally taking that leap to pursue their dream work.

She has quite the backstory of living in Romania during difficult political times, emigrating to Canada and having to start over, but really making a pretty special comeback.

You don’t have to look any further than the testimonials on her website to know how many people she has helped. Like all of our guests, she is an inspiring example of pursuing your passions, doing what you love first, while worrying about money second, and most importantly, being a good person along the way.

In episode 7 of The Just Keep Learning Podcast, we talked about growing up with struggles, resilience and building a coaching business. Hope you enjoy!

Keys To Keep In Mind As A New Business Owner

When you start a business, the key is to start really simple. Here are some steps

Know your why and what that accomplishment would mean to you
Realize that “failing” is going to happen a lot and it’s actually learning
Get crystal clear on the community and audience you want to serve
Understand all of the possible ways you could serve them
Serve that community as much as possible for free
Pick one of those ways and sit with the idea a bit so you know it’s for sure
Share that with your community, and build testimonials, and referrals around that offer
Get feedback and revise that offer, price, marketing strategy etc.
Share the offer renewed, revised and continue to build the business by serving
Once that idea is established and automated you can move on to the next one

Memorable Quotes

“When a baby learns to walk, you don’t get mad at failure. You celebrate the first step. But this is not how we function in regular life because we think that only success should be celebrated. It’s way more important to fail and learn than to get it right, because it helps us learn.”

“Everybody should try to start a business. You don’t know if you are made to be an employee, or you are made to be an entrepreneur. Everyone should try. Because, it’s like your first relationship trying to find love. You need to give things a try to know.”

“The way we conventionally measure time has nothing to do with our growth path. I think there is value in everything, because there is a lot of value that people can offer at any age. There is a huge difference between someone who is 14 and someone in their eighties.”
“It will work when people need it. It doesn’t even matter what it is, but if people want it, it will work. It’s that simple.”

“If you serve first and do it right, you won’t have to worry about money, you will have lots of money.”

Guest Bio

Irina is a mindset coach specializing in supporting people to become their own boss by the power of their mind and emotions. Initially trained for the business world, she completed her formal education in business management, got her MBA and worked in different corporations for 20 years.
Her passion is being close to people, feeling their story and helping them build the conditions for long lasting transformation.

She changed careers in her late 30’s becoming a certified health coach empowering women from all walks of life.

The programs she runs are around the concepts of spirituality, diet, mind management, habit change, communication and holistic, green living.

This is the foundation for realizing your dreams. Be and stay in shape, without stressful effort and make peace with the worries, ...

Next Episode

Daniel Peretz How To Be A Serial Entrepreneur and Lifelong Learner

Our guest today stresses that life is simply better when we are working in areas connected to our passion. He destroys the idea that sales, or marketing are bad and helps us realize why it’s such an important part of seeing out our visions to help people.
Daniel Peretz, truly understands what it means to run multiple businesses. The idea of being an entrepreneur in a small way scares a lot of people off, but Daniel is an entrepreneur with many businesses.

Daniel opens up about how he got into entrepreneurship, the things he learned along the way and how anyone can do it with the right mindset. While it may not be for everyone, entrepreneurship could be for anyone. You just have to realize that you will fail and learn. You have to realize that there is no such thing as balance, rather compartmentalization that will really help you thrive.

He has an incredible resume when it comes to helping other businesses, or individuals in the creator economy achieve success. One of the most interesting things about Daniel is his ability to be open to the next idea as well. A true entrepreneur and lifelong learner.

With this attitude, you can be sure that Daniel’s brand will continue to grow and being a part of the journey is pretty awesome. Like all of our guests, he is an inspiring example of putting family first, continuing to pursue your passions, and making a lot of money in the process, but most importantly, being a good person along the way.

In episode 9 of The LEARNED Podcast, we talked about learning styles, online education, being in the military, balancing family life, and building businesses. Hope you enjoy it!

How To Be An Entrepreneur And Build Passive Income:

When you start a business, the key is to focus on the lifestyle you want and continually build toward that vision. Here are some steps to get started:

Goal one is to appreciate that you have to sacrifice a lot in the beginning.
The best way to start is to ask what lifestyle do you want in the end?
Then reverse engineer that process into small goals. What small goals would lead to eventually and actually generating passive income for you?
Avoid all the things that are distracting, shiny ideas and stay focused by building habits and systems that keep you healthy and on task.
Remember it takes time, but keep learning and keep going
Don’t worry about what you think will work. Focus on the people you serve, they will show you what will be successful. They are the key to success.
Make sure you stay positive in terms of cashflow, but decide with any given project whether the goal is to build revenue, or brand, or both.
There is no juggling. You have to compartmentalize so you can focus on fitness when you’re working out, focus on family when it’s family time and business when it’s business time.
Again, really focus on who your audience is and what solution they would like you to provide them. Do this with one product, or service at a time and then add more.
Sell first in a way that allows you to really test if something will be successful so you don’t waste time, or energy as you fail and learn quickly
When it’s time to grow your business, there are multiple ways, but I am a big fan of hiring micro influencers. To be honest many marketing strategies can work, you just need to test them out.

Memorable Quotes
“Say you’re selling a tie-dye shirt. Depending on your budget, I would look at nano, or micro-influencers, you know, anywhere between 5000 to 100,000 followers. In my opinion, it's cost-effective, and if you find the right one who has the right audience, then right away you're focused on your niche.”

“Look, you're not going to start this three, four months from now and start putting up one hundred videos in one day. You might as well start it now. Give yourself a platform and build over time.”

“There is no juggling. You have to compartmentalize. One for your sanity. And two, it's important that you give attention to your kids. Just like if I asked, would it be important for you to give attention to your business, you would say, hell, yeah, of course, it's important to me. Well, the same thing goes for kids. Same thing goes for your family. Give attention to them and put it in your calendar.”

Guest Bio

Daniel Peretz is the CEO at Click Connect Media, supporting businesses in growing media, brand, marketing and advertising. He has delivered millions of leads to local businesses through a business called Grow My GMB and built Tokfluence an influencer search database.
He is a speaker, business strategist, sales and marketing expert. As a family man, his goal is to build awesome businesses if his foundation of family, friends, and health is there first.

There’s always a ne...