{"id":19092,"date":"2016-02-01T14:38:52","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T21:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/?p=19092"},"modified":"2018-08-29T10:34:06","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T17:34:06","slug":"build-your-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/2016\/02\/01\/build-your-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"Build Your Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I look back on how I have built my business and where it is today, I have very few\u00a0regrets. There were many roads, back alleys, and pit-stops on the path from where I started (nearly ten years ago) to\u00a0where I am right now. I’ve had support in the form of mentorship and\u00a0partnerships with other photographers and companies, but the one thing that I have taken out of all of my endeavors is this: to build MY brand.<\/p>\n

We all begin\u00a0somewhere, and few\u00a0individuals are\u00a0able to go from “nothing” to “successful”\u00a0100% on their own. Working with (or for) other people or companies is the logical place to start.\u00a0For me, I started out as a contributor through iStock, and then started writing books with Peachpit. I was doing well, and paying the bills, but things didn’t start to speed up for me and become much more financially lucrative until I started to put the\u00a0focus on my own company.\u00a0In 2012 I began self-publishing eBooks and selling presets, all under my own brand, and it was the best decision I could have made.<\/p>\n

Sure, I still work with other companies. It is something I enjoy and also a good way to build lasting relationships. But\u2014and here’s the kicker\u2014my identity does not revolve around other\u00a0brands<\/em>. How we talk about, share online, and represent our own business\u00a0is oftentimes how other people perceive us and our business. If I were always\u00a0building up and connecting myself to a\u00a0company I work for or partnered with, eventually my\u00a0brand becomes mushy\u00a0with the other brand. When\u00a0people hear my name, I don’t want them to think of me as\u00a0“the photographer who works\u00a0for such-and-such<\/em>\u00a0company”. Instead I want their first thought to be something like “Nicole! I love her eBooks”.<\/p>\n

… my identity does not revolve around other brands.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can build your brand while still working with other companies.\u00a0Just be careful that you don’t get sucked into them too deeply. One example of my own is book publishing. In the past six years I have written six\u00a0print books, all published through Peachpit Press<\/a>. Yet the income generated with my seven self-published<\/em> eBooks and tutorials<\/a> (in only three years time) has FAR surpassed the amount of royalties I ever received from Peachpit. I didn’t realize it at the time, but writing those books with Peachpit was good training for my self-published ventures, and it\u00a0gave me credibility and publicity for my own business. But ultimately I jumped out of the nest. If I wanted to keep writing, and\u00a0grow my business, it was necessary to move on.<\/p>\n

Eventually it will come down to having\u00a0to make a choice.\u00a0I have said no to\u00a0many\u00a0opportunities, some that would have paid well or even give me publicity, because the longevity and control of content under my brand is always my top priority. For example, I know that writing an eBook and\u00a0bringing it in front of my audience is more enjoyable, profitable, and fulfilling than doing it with another publisher. And, it is also less time consuming, I control the process, own the rights to the product, and can market it however I like.\u00a0I also know that posting an article on another website can earn me\u00a0a\u00a0few bucks (which I still do, from time to time), while\u00a0posting them\u00a0on my own website pays nothing. But, depending on the article, many times I still choose to post\u00a0here on my own blog “for free” because it is important to me that the words are perceived as coming from my lips, and not from an organization.<\/p>\n

This is not about greed or selfishness, yet\u00a0I would be lying if I said it wasn’t about making more money. If my\u00a0business was not profitable then I would be doing something else. I love what I do and want to continue teaching photography, so generating income with\u00a0this business is of\u00a0obvious importance to me. But it’s not only<\/em> about money. I have some great relationships with other companies which are\u00a0mutually beneficial in many different ways, and that is the most important thing. When you don’t get paid what you are worth, whether it is in dollars, publicity, or growth, then\u00a0it’s not a good fit. Your form of currency does not always need to be money, just so long as\u00a0it is a fair transaction.<\/p>\n

Think long-term, and look for balance in your relationships with other companies.\u00a0Then, choose your path with intention, and, most importantly, make sure that you<\/strong> are the one in the driver’s seat.<\/p>\n

… choose your path with intention, and, most importantly, make sure that you<\/strong> are the one in the driver’s seat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I look back on how I have built my business and where it is today, I have very few\u00a0regrets. There were many roads, back alleys, and pit-stops on the path from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":19094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[274,82,232],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nBuild Your Brand — Nicolesy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/2016\/02\/01\/build-your-brand\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Build Your Brand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I look back on how I have built my business and where it is today, I have very few\u00a0regrets. 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