Beyond the Logo: The Importance of a Strong Brand Strategy and Identity

Your Dream Business

Today’s episode of the podcast is an interview with Katie Caldwell, where we explore how the world of branding, websites and SEO can hugely increase the confidence and visibility of a small business - and most importantly can attract your ideal clients.

Katie founded Geek Boutique in 2015 and has helped over 150 businesses define and perfect their visual and digital presence and helped them to elevate their brand to that all important next level. Her passion is helping smaller businesses who DESERVE agency level design but can't necessarily afford the agency price tag.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

1. Why branding is so much more than a logo
2. How to know when you need to review your brand
3. SEO tips to help you optimise your blogs

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Free Download: How to write blogs to make your SEO zing Check out Katie's website Connect with Katie on Instagram Check out Tiny Shell Media's Website Get a 30 day free trial with Kajabi Connect with Teresa on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter

Transcript

Teresa: Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Your Dream Business Podcast. How lovely to have you join us this week. I hope you're good. So I have another interview. I'm just doing straight up interviews now for a little while, just like to mix things up. Change is as good as a rest. And as I've done 300 and odd episodes, I think mixing up is not a bad thing. So this week I have another amazing, wonderful human on. Now. Most of these amazing interviews I've done happen to be members of my executive club. And now I didn't just bring them on because they're members of the executive club. They all are very good at what they do or otherwise they wouldn't be on. But it also means I know them really well and hopefully it makes fun interviews. So this week I have the amazing Katie Caldwell. She is the founder of Geek Boutique, from 2015. She's helped over 150 businesses define their perfect, visual and digital presence and help them to elevate their brand to the all important next level. Her passion is helping small businesses who deserve agency level design, but can't necessarily afford the agency price tag. And she works with them to develop their strategies, have a crystal clear idea on who they want to attract and how they do it. And she helps them create beautiful brand identities. And when she says beautiful in her bio, I can holy attest to the beautiful of it, they are stunning and I have had Katie do some stuff for me and she is just awesome. So please welcome to the podcast, the very lovely Katie Caldwell. Katie: Hello, I'm very happy to be here. Thank you. Teresa: I am happy to be here. We were just laughing because Katie's in exec club and there was a whole conversation going in. Basically, this is how, this is the level of humor that my exec club have, which is perfect. Someone put in the club, I have a question. And one of the other members replied saying cashew nuts. They're always the answer. And it just. Katie: I agree. I do agree. Teresa: It just went crazy. I mean, you know, we. If people are ever thinking about joining my world, they need to know this is kind of some of the levels you get. But that's how you get through. Exactly. Yeah. If you can't talk about cashew nuts, we're probably not for you. But this is how, like, it needs to be like this sometimes. Cause if we just all just did works up all the time and we're all serious all the time, we would lose our minds. I swear. Yeah. We need to have fun. Katie: That's what I love most about it. It gives you an amazing community to be ridiculous with. And they are funny people. They are funny people. Teresa: We laugh a lot, which is good. Which is good. Katie, I've done your little bio there. I hate, I hate reading them, as you well know. But just tell us a little bit of backstory because you have a fascinating work history. So tell us kind of what you've done and how it got you to what you're doing today. Katie: So, I have had so many different types of jobs over the years. I started as an actor. So, I, after leaving university, I basically ran away to the circus and joined, went to drama school and became an actor for the best part of 10 years. But of course, as a relatively unsuccessful actor, which I was, there was lots of time. Teresa: Some good stuff. Katie: Around the acting jobs. Yeah, yeah, no, no. I, and I loved my time as an actor. It was really, really, really enormous fun. But there's, there's always lots of time around acting jobs where you have to find other work just to be able to pay the rent, pay the mortgage. And you have to be pretty creative about that. So it was during that time that I started to get really into marketing, really into design, which was always a massive passion of mine in a way, and into web design, which actually one of the amazing companies I work for, really supported me as an actor, paid for me to... To learn how to develop websites. And it was when I was pregnant, decided to put acting a bit more on the back burner and start my business doing the thing that over the years had given me the most joy and fun, which was working with, with people to develop their brand identity and, and websites. I haven't really looked back. It's and a lot of the, what I used to love about acting was really getting under the skin of a character. So you, you start to play, you've got a certain number of lines in the script, and around that idea of who this character is, you've got to build up a full life. You've got to find out what their fears are, their loves are, their ambitions are, and you, you build a story for them. And it's a really similar process, believe it or not, working with brands because you, you, you you go under their skin, you find out what they really want to represent, how they really want to present themselves. And there's a lot of kind of psychology involved with putting out a visual identity that really matches those values. So there are, I think there are overlaps. Bit tenuous. Teresa: But I think that makes perfect sense. And I think one of my skills that I've always, accredited myself is that I can do that pretty easily in terms of when someone starts to describe a customer, I can put myself in those shoes and go, how would I feel? What would I think? And that is exactly what you did. obviously we just have to like have a brief moment of where did you act that people might know names or recognize things or people want to know that surely that is the number one question like. Katie: I was mostly a theater actor so unless you saw some you know oh gosh what are my favorite parts I am it's coming up to christmas i played the snow queen once up at the stephen joseph theater in in scarborough which is alan akeman's theater which was a always a big wish of mine to act there. And, I wore this incredible long length white gown, full white make up. That theatre's in the round, so it's got steps leading down to the stage. And on my first performance, I appeared at the top in a spotlight, at the top of the stairs and took a step and fell. Teresa: You did not! Katie: Oh my goodness! It just, it was, it was dreadful. I got up and carried on, but I'd lost all of the fear that the children should have been feeling about me at that point. Teresa: Oh my goodness, that is, that's everyone's nightmare. That's my nightmare of speaking, is that I trip on the stage and fall over. Because I would go down like a sack of potatoes. Like, it would be a very dramatic thud if I fell, I'm absolutely positive of it. But that's awesome. So can you sing as well, Katie? Katie: I think I can sing. Teresa: Have you had to sing for roles? Katie: I have had to sing for roles. Teresa: Well, you must be able to sing, because they wouldn't have you do that. Katie: That's debatable. Teresa: I love it. I love it. Do you miss it? Katie: I miss, I really miss rehearsals. That, that kind of creative process where you're working with a team of people, because the one thing about, and that's, you know, one thing I value really strongly about being in your club is that you have this community of people around you again, because it gets lonely as a freelancer. Teresa: So lonely. Katie: And if you're having to be creative in your own little bubble, At the back of the house. Teresa: And essentially a creative industry. You know, I worked at marketing agencies before I started on my own and, and I remember those lovely moments in the agencies where a new client would come in and we would all sit around a table and just talk about it and just muse about how we might deal with it. And, you know, oh, this is a nice idea and this is a nice idea. Or when the designers had created something and then we'd all gather around again and give our thoughts and which obviously the designers probably hated. But, that. There's something about the collaboration, the creative process that is super, super important, isn't it? So, yeah. Katie: Oh, definitely, definitely. And you can feel, you can feel it when it starts to really abhor. You know, things come harder. And you have to, yeah, collaboration is a must. Teresa: One of the things I love about Katie, not only is her sense of humour, but she will just drop in in the conversation something random about, like, where she's worked or who she's worked with or met so and so and whatever, and it's like, You've had this entire life before we knew you of like, craziness in this world. And also, and do you mind me saying that your husband is also in the same industry as in theatre? Katie: He is. He did in theatre, yes. Not, not, not, not Brandon Webster. Teresa: And he's done some really cool stuff recently, in fact, and you were sharing some stuff with us, if you're happy to share it here. Katie: Yeah, no, he's, I mean, he's, He's an amazing, creative. So he started life as an actor, got a bit bored of acting, and moved into more the visual side of theater making. So he got really interested in mask work and puppet work. And he was one of the original cast of War Horse, which was such a huge kind of explosion onto the theater scene, which is actually where we met as well. 17 years ago, something like that. And from that, War Horse took him all over the world. He ended up directing the puppetry in productions in America and in Australia, and then producing his own work in recent years. So his most recent Show that's had a lot of attention is a theater, a stage production of the life of pi. And him and his co puppet designer, Nick Barnes, created these absolutely amazing animal puppets and the, the play as well. The, the, the play is just this visual feast of movement and puppetry. And actually it's on tour at the moment. So if anybody wants to see it, feel free. Teresa: The life of Pi. So I'm interested because he is so creative. Now if you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you'll know that my husband has a lot to say about marketing and thinks he's an expert and he's not, he's an engineer and he's so very far away from the creative sphere. So when he comes and gives me his opinion, we always kind of laugh a bit at him giving me my, his opinion. But does your husband's then, because he is so creative, is he like over your shoulder looking at your sites or looking at your brand and going, Oh, I'd tweak that if I was you? Katie: Yeah, he would if I let him. Teresa: So I was going to say, yeah, try it. Katie: Because, because as much as he knows about how to make a really convincing tiger puppet. Yeah. He doesn't really understand the world. of branding. Of, of branding. So, he would, he would give a bit of, kind of off the cuff, oh, that color's a bit strange there and . And it wouldn't, he wouldn't, he wouldn't have necessarily kind of understood the process of Yeah. Where that comes from. Teresa: Although obviously I could talk about your past life, Frasier, that isn't the reason you're on here. So let's talk about branding, because one thing that I always find really interesting, and we've had people on before, and I've talked to people before, about branding and how when you're a small business, or when you're starting out, or when you're doing all that, you, people put very little thought into that brand. So why? If someone said to you, why should I pay attention to creating a brand for my business? Why can I not just whip up a logo on Canva or get someone to do it on Fiverr and just shove that logo on everything and doesn't matter about the fonts or the colors or the anything else? What, what would you say to convince them otherwise? Bearing in mind, we've only got, like 40 minutes. Katie: It's, I mean, it's a constant bugbear of mine, I suppose, that people underestimate the value of investing in branding. It's the foundation of your business. You know, it dictates who you are, who you speak to, what you offer, what you want to achieve. I, I personally think it really deserves investment. And I do also think you see the return on that investment. It's, I often say it's a bit like, building a house without any foundations. a few years down the line, or a few months down the line, you're going to see cracks. And that, you know, it, it, it, well, it, it's integrity will be compromised and nobody ultimately is going to want to move in or live there, or maybe even come and visit. Yeah. But if you, if you, if you build the house on really firm foundations. If you develop a really strong brand strategy, either by yourself, you can try to do it yourself or, you know, or with a professional house is going to grow with you and, it will be a constant ambassador for your business and everybody needs that. There's not one business I can think of that doesn't need a clear, strong brand identity. And it, it is odd how it is pushed down the list of priorities when it comes to people investing in starting businesses. Well, you know, that said. If you don't have the budget to invest in a professional, you can have a go at doing it yourself. You know, you, if I came to your house, you could probably cook me a really nice dinner, but it might not be as good. Yeah. But it might not be as good as if a, you know, Michelin star chef came. Teresa: No, I'm not that good. Katie: But it's, it's the same thing really. You know, you can. If, if you've got a degree of a visual eye, if you, if you have the ability to step away from your business enough to see what it's like from the outside, then you could try, but is it worth the time? And is it, would you get a better return on your time and your money by hiring a professional. Teresa: So I've got a couple of questions that I've just, thought about. The first one being, how do you, and I've had this quite a few times, and I do not know how to answer this question. How do you tell someone they haven't got an eye when they think they've got an eye? Or how do you, like, because some people, and we have this amazing tool, we have Canva, we have Adobe Express, we have these... Which when I started in marketing and when you started doing what you did, they did not exist. There was no, you had a designer or you just didn't do it, right? Because you didn't have the facility to even attempt to make something yourself. So now we have these amazing tools, but the problem with these amazing tools is that people give it a go and it's awesome because they don't have to pay, but it's God awful. Or they don't think about, so there's an example I give, which I'm not going to. Okay. Yeah, I can't. Otherwise it's like, not that I think this person listens and they're actually a member of my family, but they created a brand that was, aimed at a very male industry and their logo was a butterfly and it was. A very feminine color and it's like, so yes, they love that and that was awesome, but they weren't necessarily thinking about who they were targeting and what they would resonate with. And, and I'm not saying this person's got terrible design. It was just not the right one for this thing. But also what if they have got terrible design? What if actually what they put on is just God awful. Like how do we have that conversation and how do you try or how can people audit themselves to go, actually, am I really bad at this? Katie: It's hard to audit yourself, isn't it? Especially if, you know, it's like the, can I sing thing? Maybe I think I'm an amazing singer, but nobody else will enjoy the sound of my voice. I mean, I do often come across this, often people will approach me and they'll, they'll want me to create their website. And they'll say, well, I've already, I've done my brand already. Here it is. And my heart falls because I've got, you know, it's, it's much harder to create a consistent look across all digital media when the brand isn't there in the first place. So I'm gentle. I'll point out the reasons or I'll ask questions, you know, why is it do you feel that you feel this, these colors? You know, attract you. So we'll, we'll, we'll enter the conversation of strategy and strategic use of their brand by, by, by asking questions around it. And often it becomes clear that it does need adjustment, that it does need defining more. It's, I mean, it's one of the biggest mistakes, I see, with branding in terms of the, you know, the logo mark is that people, well, first of all, people think that's what branding is. Teresa: Yes, just the logo. Katie: As opposed to everything that surrounds it, that you present yourself visually with. But also, it's not about what you like. Yeah. It's, I've seen so many busy logos with kind of watercolor splotches here, there, and everywhere. And, and, and, you...