Kc Rossi 0:01
I love being a podcast host for so many reasons. Not only do I get to connect and share with you, but I also have this amazing opportunity to meet inspiring women entrepreneurs, who are blazing a trail, who are supporting their clients, and who are spreading a positive ripple effect of courage and vulnerability and just showing that it can be done because they are out there spearheading it. Today is no different with my guests, Michelle Clayton, she is a brand strategist and designer. And we know that our brand is a reflection of ourself. It's also something that we want our clients to feel - there's an emotional aspect to our brands. It is the number one way to instantly be recognized and to have that opportunity to pull and magnetize right-fit clients to us. A lot of power in branding. It's one of my favorite subjects.
Kc Rossi 1:09
Today we're going to be talking about when the DIY route is the best choice for branding. So stick around for that it's really interesting. We're also going to go into if you've been in business for a couple of years, and you're starting to pivot or shift how your brand can also shift with you. And one of my favorite parts is when we dive in midway talking about ways that Michelle weaves in faith and give back into her business, because I love to hear stories of other people because it sparks that inspiration in ourselves. So if you have had this niggling feeling that you want to weave in more of your spirituality, or you really want to give back even if it is to the smallest extent, but at least you are contributing in some way. And it could be physical, it could be financial, lots of different ways to serve. So we talk about that. And then also, and I know that there are many, many personality assessments out there, and, and because you're a listener, I know you're a forever learner, in that you probably have a really good understanding of your personal drivers. Michelle, and I talk about how we can bring our personal drivers into our business so we can amplify results. And then lastly, and certainly not least, because we cover a lot of things, but we talk about the vital importance of mental health support and prioritizing our own wins and self care. I know you are going to enjoy this episode. So brew your favorite beverage, sit back and just get ready to have an enjoyable experience.
Kc Rossi 2:59
Are you ready to scale your business in a way that's aligned with your soul, and profitable? I'm KC Rossi, a business and leadership coach. I've been a full time entrepreneur for 30 years and love business. I help conscious leaders increase their impact and optimize their lives. Join me each week for tips and deep conversations on cultivating confidence, increasing your visibility, elevating your vibration, and leading with purpose without burning out. Let's go. Hi, Michelle, welcome to the show.
Michelle Clayton 3:35
Hi, Kc, it's so great to be with you today.
Kc Rossi 3:38
It's always great to spend time with you. I'm excited for our conversation. I know we're going to be talking about all things branding, which is fun, and so needed in our space, I think just to stand out from all the noise. And so I'm really curious, from your perspective, how does branding help to attract our ideal clients?
Michelle Clayton 4:03
Yeah, that's a great question to start with. The branding piece I have found in my now 30 years of being on this in this industry, is once we tap into who we actually are and how we're wanting to show up in our business, and knowing who those people are, we bring those in alignment. So like you and I have have chatted that brand strategy piece really is key. And once we get those two pieces in place, that is what attracts the right people because, you know, we all know you can't be all things to all people and nor should we try to be that. But being able to hone in on that in the strategy of the creation and not just create a new logo or picking a new color and you find that's what really allows the right people to find us and then our business just comes in alignment with them and they're they're eager to work with us is what I have found. Yeah.
Kc Rossi 4:54
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we've all heard that our vibe attracts our tribe and yeah, there's nothing more, that's that outer expression of who we are then the entity that we create and all the branding assets. You mentioned change the font or update the logo and it just brought to mind because I know there's a lot of DIYers out there that, you know, who use Canva and tried to like, you know, use the pre made templates. And I would love your thoughts on that when it comes to branding continuity.
Michelle Clayton 5:24
Yeah, my thought on that, at first, I want to be really clear that if for anyone who started with Canva, or the Fiverr, you know, the Upwork thing, I actually tell people who are just coming to me and just starting their business, that actually is a great place to start. Because you need to collect information, you need to have some history in your business, I think before the brand really evolves. And so once we get that all in place, and wait, and we can move forward from that, from Canva, from DIY, that's where the magic really starts to happen.
Kc Rossi 6:03
Yeah, yeah, it's so interesting, too, because I know a lot of the multi creatives on, which tend to be our listeners, at least sometimes hard to stay in the lane of like keeping to your brand palette and staying with your fonts. Because, you know, we're excited by all the visuals, it's eye candy. So what are the drawbacks about following or chasing the trends or going outside of your branding?
Michelle Clayton 6:34
The biggest drawback I see is it takes so much time, right, like we know how much time it takes to run our business. And when you're always chasing trends. And, you know, I usually tell people to stop scrolling Pinterest, because that seems to be where they tend to get lost, right Stop, just stop with the Pinterest scroll, it takes away our energy from where we need to be investing it. So it is easy to get distracted. And we find the new colors and we see the new seasonal stuff that comes around. But that often is just a distraction. And a lot of a lot of the women that I work with that's, that's the fun part, it is that eye candy part where but I want to get a new color, I want to get a new font, because it's kind of I enjoy that we're more, I think women are a little more visual probably than men. And so it's more of a distraction for us. But if it's pulling you away from actually running your business and working with your people, then enjoy it for the other people like follow the trends and scroll Pinterest, but not in a way where you feel like you have to do something about your own brand. Once we have that, you know the colors set and we know what the psychology is doing. And we know how it's reinforcing our own business, then just enjoy that and then keep the other stuff separate. It would be my advice there.
Kc Rossi 7:53
That's a great perspective. And I know that you and I met in a mastermind for high performing women. And so that really brings to mind the CEO tasks. Are you falling prey to those creative avoidance low dollar per hour distractions or are you staying in the lane of what's going to move the needle in my business? Where is my worth or my skill sets? Where can they be amplified? And that really is more in that CEO lane. Once you've got that branding dialed in. And I think the other drawback too, when I think of all of the noise and all of the clutter and all of the millions of websites that are out there every single day, why would you want to popcorn your identity? Because you will get lost in that sea, then people will just you'll just be one of the crowd. And I think that that's one of the things to keep in mind. Even though sometimes we may feel like Oh, I'm starting to get a little bored of my look or Oh, I really love that cool calligraphy handwriting, even though it has nothing to do with my brand font. But I do think that it is an opportunity to lose our audience or to confuse them because you really want to imprint that that's Michelle, that's let her fly. And then I feel comfortable because I feel like I'm in your home. Like when I come onto your website, I'm stepping into your home. I understand these are your drapes and your carpet and your artwork, and it feels comfortable for me and and to some extent predictable. So I think that's something really interesting to look at. Timing is so crucial. I know you mentioned that if someone's brand new, maybe a different avenue is good for them. When is the right time to brand and when is the right time to rebrand?
Michelle Clayton 9:41
Mm hmm. That's a great question. And it's the answer. It's kind of is it depends. In general, if you want a general guideline, I tell people two to three years. I have found with a lot of businesses that kind of is the sweet spot where you have, you know enough time under your belt of where working one on one with clients, if that is your business or you know being in whatever industry you're in, and you've got the client knowledge, you've got better knowledge of yourself, because a lot of us kind of, we might shift in that first couple of years of, I thought I wanted to do this, I find that a lot with coaches, right, they can coach in a specific Avenue, and then they kind of pivot that a little, and they get more specific or more niche. And two to three years seems to be the sweet spot for kind of going, Okay, now I know where I really want to dial in and who I really want to work with. And they can get really specific, sometimes with people it is sooner. So especially if they're coming out of corporate, and they're kind of doing the same thing, but they want to do it on their own as an entrepreneur instead of in a corporate space, they might have sort of that information without having to spend a couple years on it. And some people wait longer, you know, they're just, they take off and their business is running, and they're fine. And then all of a sudden, they hit a point. And they kind of look back and go, like, I know what I do. And I know I'm great at what I do, and my clients know that I'm great at what I do. But the indicators kind of fall in line with I don't want to send someone to my website, or I don't want to send someone to my social handle, or I don't know what to post on social because I have to make graphics in Canva. And I don't know what to make them look like anymore. Those are often the indicators of, you know, it doesn't feel like me, it doesn't fit me the questions to kind of tune into when you're starting to feel that that's a really good indicator that okay, maybe I need to get really focused on this and get some support around this.
Kc Rossi 11:35
Absolutely. And I'm chuckling to myself when you mentioned two to three years because I've been an entrepreneur for three decades, like yourself. And I would say aside from my 17 years in my chocolate manufacturing business, I have pivoted every two to three years because I get a little bored. So I'm constantly reinventing. And as I change and shift as my personal and spiritual development grows and changes, I want my business to be in alignment and reflect who I am. And so for listeners that maybe you're like, Yeah, I'm right there with you. I'm nodding my head, how do we keep our brand relevant when we are like revising and tweaking and shifting and not like a massive pivot, but little tweaks.
Michelle Clayton 12:20
Little tweaks, I would say, as long as there's enough of the existing content to sort of carry them forward, you know, like you gave a great analogy with coming into my house or my living room and knowing what it looks like, it doesn't mean that I can't get different candles or you know, or change the drapes. But there's enough comfort in what was there before. I think that goes a long way for helping you kind of take people along the journey of okay, Kc's shifting her brand, it's not a total redo. But we're just going to update some things or we're going to bring in a new fonts or we're going to bring in a new color into our color palette. Those things are easy kind of adjustments that don't require an entire rebrand or a lot of businesses are renaming there's a debate of do I use my own name? Or do I use a business name? Right? And that's a big shift. And how do we kind of we want to bring people along and keep that comfort level.
Kc Rossi 13:14
That is a big shift. That is a question that I get. So what are your thoughts on that between using your name and going more for an organizational name?
Michelle Clayton 13:23
Am I allowed to be controversial in answering that question?
Kc Rossi 13:26
Yes! do it.
Michelle Clayton 13:29
I know people have lots of different opinions on it. So I can only give my opinion on it. Which you would guess from my business name, probably I prefer that the business name, not be a person's name. For the reason of your name actually is the first point of your brand. So whereas let her fly, it doesn't say you know, I'm a designer, or I'm a brand specialist or anything like that. But it gives someone a taste of how they're going to feel after they work with me. Right? So when you when you can pull that into your business name, that can actually kind of give your brand legs before they even hit a website or a business card or your social media handles, it gives people a feeling of, Oh, I really like that or I'm drawn to that. But for people who are like you were saying, if they're multi passionate, and they're changing every two or three years, then sometimes keeping your own name really does help because changing a business name and finding a new URL and all that that would be a nightmare to do every two or three years. It's a hassle just technically it's a hassle to do it. So keeping your own name there certainly is reason for it there. But if you can get away with a business name, that's usually the direction I try to push people in. That if that is I would say I would add to if that's holding you back. If that's keeping you from doing everything because you're like I just can't decide on the business name and everything is taken because that's a problem that people run into now you can't even get a you are All right, without paying $10,000, for someone who has parked it, then you can go with your name, like you need to do something so that you can move forward. And if that's holding you back, that shouldn't be the thing holding you back.
Kc Rossi 15:12
That makes sense. And speaking of holding you back. And then also like, as soon as you said, let her fly, I just immediately felt this emotion evoked of like hope. And so when you're thinking about those two things, what emotional things hold back women entrepreneurs, when it comes to soaring?
Michelle Clayton 15:34
Comparison, I think would be the big one. You see all the other you know, you do scroll Pinterest, we do are on Instagram, and we're on social, you're like, I don't look as professional as they do. Or I know that I'm good at what I do. But that doesn't come across and what I'm doing. Some of it is just lack of time. Like they don't feel like they have the time to rebrand or to do their own branding, or to do it to the level that they want to do it. And some of it is just not really being clear on who they are. And the interesting thing is when I work with them, and I asked them some really specific questions, they give me all kinds of great information like they do actually, no, it's just a matter of pulling that out. And then kind of distilling that, that content into No, this is how you show up for people. This is what you're known for. This is what people love about you. And they're like, oh, yeah, that's right. That is why I love doing this. This is why my people love me. And so being able to pull those things out. Sometimes it takes a third party or an outside party to be able to see that for people. They know it's in here, you know, they've got it inside them. But it takes a third party to sort of pinpoint.
Kc Rossi 16:44
Reflect. Yeah. I think sometimes even having someone like recap or ask a powerful question or reflect back some of the nuggets that you shared, it's it really is illuminating. It's like, Oh, my goodness, I'm a lot further along, or I have more clarity than I even thought that I had.
Michelle Clayton 17:02
Yeah.
Kc Rossi 17:03
One of the things every time we have an interaction, I just feel this essence of faith with you. And I'm wondering, how that resonates? And if it resonates, how you weave that in your life and your business?
Michelle Clayton 17:17
Oh, I love that question. Yes, faith is a big part of my journey, my life. My love for Jesus is what it comes down to for me. And actually that intuition and that inner sense of knowing, I've had people ask me, How do you do this process with people and like, like, there are these decades of experience, and there are certain steps that we follow, but a lot of it really is intuitive. And listening to people. You know, a lot of it comes into just being open to what they say. And and like you said, asking powerful questions. Faith plays into a lot of things, it plays into our extracurricular stuff, if you want to call it that, and our community work and service. But yeah, that is a big part of my journey as well.
Kc Rossi 18:06
I love that. And I know that you have give back baked in. And so I would love to hear a little bit about that mission with the Ethiopian women and how you came about even choosing that because I think there are a lot of listeners that are like, I want to have give back, but I have no clue where I would put my time, energy, financial support towards because there are so many opportunities really to share.
Michelle Clayton 18:36
There's no shortage of places where you can give and it doesn't have to be financial for us. You know, it's both there's a financial contribution, but there's also community involvement. For me with Ellilta - that's the Ethiopian organization that you reference to. We know the founders of that organization. And that is a charitable entity in Ethiopia. They, prostitution is a huge problem over there, because the poverty is such a huge problem there. And so the woman who started the organization, I've lost track, I don't even know how many years it's been I want to say 20 years ago now it's been around for a long time. Because I support women in business, I wanted the organization that I support also to do that. And that is what they do. So they help women get off the street and they give them skills, job skills, employment skills, emotional and social skills and healing. And so that was just an easy way for me to every client I have there's a give back that goes to support them and every now and then I'm like, should I change it because there are so many places to give it but that has just always resonated with me and I know they do good work and I know that they're accountable. I prefer the smaller organizations personally because you have you know, there's a Um, not so much overhead not so much admin cost. And you know that a lot of that financial gift really is going to directly to the people that, that they're trying to help. So that was a big factor to me. But there's, like, you just start looking like find a cause that you're passionate about that aligns with your business or yourself and do some digging, and, you know, go to go to meetings, like I've heard her speak, the owner speak many, many times, and you know, just hearing her talk, it's like, yeah, how can I get involved?
Kc Rossi 20:29
Again, it goes right back to that gut instinct. And that intuition of what's in alignment for me? Who do I resonate with? Who do I want to pair up with my brand, because there's all of those ripple effects. So I think that's absolutely amazing. I'm curious what your key personal drivers are, and how they show up in your business?
Michelle Clayton 20:52
My two key personal drivers would be connection, and generosity, or sometimes I call it abundance, depending on how I'm feeling that day. But connection is just huge for me, not just in business, but in everything. And that's, I mean, that's part of how we got together here as well. How we support each other, and how we speak into each other's lives. And, and with even just networking, and I love being able to send warm intro emails to other businesses, like you hear, Oh, Kc needs this, or Kc needs that. And I'm like, Oh, hey, I know someone that does that. Hey, Kc, here's so and so you know, you send out and it's not a, it doesn't take much time, and it doesn't take much energy, it just takes being thoughtful enough to to have those connection points. And the generosity really is. For me, I saw a recent conversation in LinkedIn about having free pick your brain sessions, right? Like, is that a legitimate thing in business? Or should we do it or not? Do we value our expertise and our worth? And I'm like, No, I still do that. And, you know, everyone has their own choice to make in that. But every time almost every time, okay, every now and then you get some strange, you know, connection. But usually, those, that offering of time and expertise to people I find always comes back. Whether it's someone else they know, or just that they're always like, No, you need to, you need to meet Michelle, like you need to talk to her because she's really great at this. It's always worth it. And that's not why I do it. But it does come back to you and some like why wouldn't we bake that into our businesses and our lives?
Kc Rossi 22:28
Absolutely. I mean, it's really the law of reciprocity. And it's really interesting, I feel this is such a good point to underscore, because in the business world we're taught when you're first starting out, that's when you should give away your best stuff and do those connection calls on those coffee chats. And this is networking 101, if you will, but then I feel as people start to progress in their business, as they start to get more revenue in their business, now, all the sudden, what comes to mind is Marie Forleo, when she's like, You need to jump on the no train and you need to have more boundaries. You need to close those gates of those brain picking sessions. But honestly, I really agree and align with your methodology because you can never replace this human connection. And even three decades in and you're saying this is not only a joy for you, but you always also get a return on your time investment. So I think it's a really interesting thing. And I also feel again, it goes back to what works for you, what lights you up, and like you mentioned, you're a connector. So in that having those zoom sessions, even post pandemic, or through that time, when we weren't able to meet face to face, we could still do these virtual connect meetings. It's great to have that as a part of your business foundation versus trying to follow someone else's framework of the do list and the don't list.
Michelle Clayton 24:04
Yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. And now it's fun, being able to get back in person with some people to people who are local, that's been happening more and more. Now I find myself waiting. It takes a lot more time to go in person and have coffee with someone's like, do I like there are boundaries that should be in place, right? And I can't spend all day every day having coffee chats with people as much as I would love to do that. That's not what I get paid to do. So there is a balance and knowing you know, how much space do you have to give to people but where there is space. I want to be able to give that to people because I had that come to me when I was starting right people invested that time and their expertise. And so now yeah, like you said, 30 years later. You know, people come to us for advice or input or resources and I want to be able to kind of give that back to.
Kc Rossi 24:55
I love that. So I know that you're a wife and a mama and a pet I'm owner and an entrepreneur and someone that gives back to charity. How do you juggle it all?
Michelle Clayton 25:06
Oh, I don't know if I juggle it all very well. There was a recent conversation to about balance and this work life balance. Marcus Buckingham has a great perspective on that. If you're curious. I don't I don't know. And to be honest, I don't juggle it all. Well, some days, I certainly do the best I can. And I think it's more of a, you know, at this point, it's more of, you know, more family at this point. It's more work at this point. It's more like, you know, we're helping an Afghan family resettle here in Calgary right now. And that's been a huge investment of time and energy. And I love it, and it's exhausting. And so there there is give and take there. And part of it is trying to take care of myself. taking time off when I need to stepping back, getting sleep, drinking water, eating lunch. As simple as that sounds, it's really easy to sit at my desk and work all the way through the day. And it's three o'clock and I'm like, why am I cranky? Oh, I didn't eat, you know, since breakfast. And so I do want to take care of myself take care of my my spirit and my own emotion and mental health. I see therapists on a regular basis, like we have to, we have to build that support around us. And then giving where I can and trying to balance you know, taking the pieces where we can.
Kc Rossi 26:27
Absolutely, it is a lot. I love that you talked about some days, this has more attention, this bucket has more attention- Some days, that bucket has more attention. That gives us permission to drop the super women persona, because just as when we're branding, we can't be all things to all clients. Because like it's been sad, if we're speaking to everyone, we're speaking to no one. So really, very similarly, when we have all these facets in our life and all these roles and titles and responsibilities, it's kind of that ebb and flow. Where this is calling for more demand, so I'm going to spend more focus time and energy there. But I'm not going to neglect this.To highlight the self care piece is important, because especially as high performing successful women entrepreneurs specifically, that often gets put on the very bottom of the to do list. I think one of the struggles that I often see my own clients with is just, how are you celebrating? How are you winning since our last session? You can't believe how many times that stumps them. They're just like, Wait! that's not a part of my to do list.
Michelle Clayton 27:39
Yeah, yeah, we forget to do that.
Kc Rossi 27:42
Yes, absolutely. So I'm wondering, What's one of your top self care tips?
Michelle Clayton 27:48
Top self care tip, I would have to say is sleep for me, I have to get enough sleep or I am not I don't function well. I'm cranky. And unfortunately that like I can keep it together for clients and for talking to you, right? But it's it's the people closest to me, it's my family, the ones that I least want to affect in a negative way. They're the ones that get the fallout mostly for that. So sleep is is massive for me. And getting support so whether that's a therapist or a counselor or seeing your family doctor or whatever that may be I think that's that is a new thing for me. I've only been at that for about a year now. I was late to the game and that for sure. And about this time where are we at? Yeah, about this time last year so it's been about a year I hit that point of I was completely overwhelmed the anger the anxiety, the stress, I think you know, two years post pandemic and trying to juggle all the things really kind of came crashing down on like, I need I need help I need support around this and and I've been pretty open about it because I think the more open we are the more other people will say okay, this is okay and and it's amazing the conversations that come out of that too right of people thinking no I can do this you know, I'm a high achieving woman I don't need this and we do need this and we need each other. Right like the there's the paid professionals but then there's also community like you and I talked the group that were in those groups are huge for know like we can celebrate and we can also you know rally around you when you when you're struggling or when you've got a sticky situation or whatever that might be.
Kc Rossi 29:24
Yes, camaraderie and connection - they're so so crucial. And I love the transparency because we do need support. We can't do it alone. I don't think we're meant to do it alone. And however that looks in your life, whether it's reaching out for a coach, a consultant, a brand strategist or somebody that's more on the personal development side, the spiritual counseling side, the therapy side, all of the things if you really just get honest and still within yourself, the answer will bubble up on what support is right for you right now, in this moment. Just giving yourself permission to let go of this false paradigm that you're weak if you reach out, and that you're meant to do it alone, because you're not, I truly believe that we are stronger together, it is much more than a trendy hashtag. There's so much truth to it. So I adore you, I just appreciate all of who you are and what you bring to your work. And just the the freedom and the hope and the expression that you open up for your clients, I really do deeply mean that.
Michelle Clayton 30:34
Thank you, Kc, the feeling is mutual. I so enjoy all of our connections together and the time that we get to spend together and the way that you are encouraging and speaking into women's lives too -- it's huge, we need people like you. So thank you!
Kc Rossi 30:47
I really appreciate it. How can people step more into your world and learn about working with you?
Michelle Clayton 30:53
The best place to step into my world would be on my website. So there is a page, if they go to www.weletherfly.com/podcast they can sort of choose their own adventure there. So there's a couple of free downloads, my social media handles are there as well. And a way to contact me directly, that would be the easiest, one point stop for everyone to find me. So www.weletherfly.com/podcast. They can find me in multiple ways there.
Kc Rossi 31:20
Perfect, I will make sure to drop that link in the show notes so it's super easy one click access. And if you wanted to leave our listeners with one final bright light piece of wisdom, what do you really want them to know?
Michelle Clayton 31:34
What I want them to know is that the world needs more of what they have. And so whatever it takes for them to share more of what that is for them. Take the time to do it.
Kc Rossi 31:47
Beautiful. Thank you so much. Until we meet again, my friend breathe joy.
Michelle Clayton 31:52
Thank you, you as well.
Kc Rossi 31:54
I hope you enjoy today's episode with Michelle. Also, I wrote an article for her blog called Three Powerful Ways to Optimize Your Visibility. If you want to get even deeper into how you get your message out there, you can just click that link in the show notes and enjoy that article.
Kc Rossi 32:15
My friend as we are in Thanksgiving week. I just want to give you so much gratitude for being a listener for showing up and tuning in. I know there's tons of choices out there that can take your attention. I love that you're here and I want to send you warm and wonderful wishes for abundance and peace and joy and all of the things that are going to bring a smile to your face. Until next week, my friend ... breathe joy!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
