EXPLAIN-MY-BRAND
The 8-week incubator to answer the question, “What do you do?,” cure your Brand Fog, and raise brand confidence by establishing your strongest brand foundation ever.
What’s Brand Fog?
Exactly what it sounds like.
It’s a blur! It’s a pain! It’s a super shitty state of being!
Unless you have a Brand Strategist in your back pocket helping you SEE through Brand Fog, make decisions, and stay the course, you likely question most of what you put out in the market. Or worse…you put nothing out there at all.
Brand*Fog /brand-fōg/ n. When your brand is hazy, disorienting, a little depressing, and/or constantly shapeshifting because, no matter how hard you think about it, you still can’t pin it down.
Brand Fog does 3 things really well:
#1. It kills your confidence at a time when you need ALIVE: As a business owner selling services in the wild, you have to be self-assured and excited by what you’re saying to create and sustain your own energy and traction.
#2. It spreads: If you’re questioning and uncertain of your offer, your prospects will be too - this is obviously not the vibe you want to create.
#3. It keeps you searching: And as long as you’re searching for the right words and the right voice and the right distinction, you’re busy busy busy thinking in circles about your brand while never FINISHING and committing to it.
Brand Fog sucks.
SO, DO YOU NEED THIS PROGRAM?
Have been in serious business for 2+ years and have at least one offer you actively sell but want to sell more of by getting attention on your work…
Have taken many courses on sales tactics but zero courses on brand trajectory and how to be known as someone different than every other person in your field …
Don’t have a brilliant way to talk about what you do, and yet you’re very good at what you do, and you’re watching people who’re perhaps less good at what you do get traction…
IF YOU…
4. Have no idea what your “brand voice” is, but you have a feeling it’s pretty tame, stiff, (insert unflattering description), and you wish it “fit” your personality better, so you sounded more like yourself instead of Chat GPT…
5. Are overwhelmed by where to invest your time, money energy because everything needs to happen NOW (if not yesterday), so everything carries too much weight and importance…
6. Are a creative soul by nature, but sometimes as a result, you’re constantly reinventing, overthinking, and overworking to the degree that you are spinning in place instead of progressing forward…
IF YOU…
7. Feel like you should be able to do this by yourself because who knows you better than you? - and you’ve helped other people with their branding, but when it comes to seeing the label from inside the bottle, it’s way too hard, and your resistance to getting help holds you back…
8. Have never articulated how you wish to be known in the market, but you’re out there showing up every day and fighting to be known for…something?
9. Crave more eyes on your work but you know the way you talk about your offer doesn’t pull people in, let alone sell it.
IF YOU…
10. Are sick of making every decision alone because you’re always alone and sense that a highly structured, kick-in-the-pants creative partnership would dust the cobwebs off your mojo…
11. Would really love a clear articulation of what you do, what your mission is, why you do this work, and what kind of brand you even have…
IF YOU…
Then YES. You need to join EXPLAIN-MY-BRAND
Do I seem like some high-pressure sales blowhard? Exactly. So just schedule a call to get more information, you’ll love me. …or at least find me tolerable.
Here’s the Breakdown of our 8 weeks together:
Week 1 - Begin Your Writing Journey & Discover What You Really Want:
The Explain-My-Brand Workbook is our main tool, and you’ll receive it Day 1. This is where the foundation gets laid.
Week 2 & 3- Figure Out What You Really REALLY Do:
These weeks go straight into the lives of your customer and your solutions for them. We won’t just uncover what horrible problem(s) you solve for people, but we’ll have an answer to “What do you do?” AND…you’re gonna feel like a badass when you realize how much more you offer. It’s more than you think you do.
Week 4 - Tackle Reality. A.k.a., What’s Worth Keeping and What’s Worth Ignoring?
You have things on your website that’re likely working or they COULD work with more love. And you also have shit on there that isn’t doing you any favors. This week, we audit what you have, what you need, and what you can delete forever, good ridence.
Week 5 & 6- Identify Your Niche, Values, and Voice Because THIS is Where You Lead From:
We’ll discuss the FIVE ways to niche, define your values (I used to HATE values exercises because weighing the importance of them seemed like such a coin-toss, but I’ve got a trick that makes it super-duper easy), and learn how BOTH of those things are major influencers of your brand voice and they’re how you influence others.
Week 7 - Voice Continued - Articulate Your Mission and WHY:
We’re not doing this to have a mission or WHY statements, per say (although, they don’t hurt); we’re seeing HOW your mission and your why inform your brand and your voice AND…may even contribute to your Niche. Can you see how we’re starting to distinguish your brand from everyone else??
Week 8- Protect Your Brand & KILL YOUR ENEMIES:
Fine, we won’t murder your enemies. But, before we wrap up, we are gonna talk about them. And I’m not talking about your competitors, I’m talking about your inner demons, your doom loops, your unhelpful personality traits, AND yes, that well-meaning person in your life who sometimes derails you.
A Quick List of Specs if You’re Nerdy Like That:
8 weeks of structure and learning, so it’s all laid out and you’re moving fast - MOMENTUM for the win.
The Explain-My-Brand workbook, a capture-tool for your learning, thinking, and future-brand once the course is complete. You will need this to keep going.
Frameworks to develop your offer, so you can start testing it in real time. Why wait until the course is over?!! Let’s go!
A brand vision, so you know what you’re building and why and how.
Clarity on your niche, mission, WHY, and voice, because these pieces are foundational NOT just for your “brand,” but for your leadership style.
Workshop time to read and test your creations for feedback, and so you’re never left wondering if you’re doing it right.
Resources to help grow and protect your brand - you’re gonna need this, so you don’t fall into your same old mental traps once the course ends.
Coaching and support, because I hope it’s clear - this is not a video, module-led course where you leave comments in the chat and maybe get 15 minutes of air time with the guru. This is an open discussion, workshop-heavy format. We want to get shit done and done right in here.
WhatsApp community for the in-between times when you need to ask questions, arrange for support with your piers, and not be a weird mole-person who’s always working alone.
Access to the Build-My-Brand Body-Double Sessions on certain weeks, so you have scheduled writing time.
Every day you spend in Brand Fog is another day you aren’t building the identity you want in the market or creating the career you desire.
A Word from Your Coach, Caroline Mays:
“Come do this with me! I’ve been in the branding game forever (10 years) working with every kind of founder from academics to corporate refugees to SaaS CEOs, to artists, writers, and hustlers from the street. ACROSS THE BOARD, these people are fantastic at what they do, creative in their own right, and often business savvy, but there’s something about “branding” that’s a foggy, debilitating head trip, and it will mess you up and make momentum impossible for way longer than is necessary.
So your struggle is normal, okay? But that fog won’t clear until you make a strategic effort to be rid of it.
If you show up and do the work in my incubator, you’ll leave knowing how to explain what you do, PLUS, you’ll walk knowing your next priorities, AND you will deeply understand more (and have some pride regarding) your brand voice and influence/leadership style.
So get excited about this! In a world that seems hellbent on joy destruction, it’ll do you good to stay jazzed about what you’re creating and providing for your clients, so you can make more money. Small business runs on jazz. Let’s keep you well tapped into yours.
No one wants to keep asking:
Why is no one responding to me?
Does what I’m saying about my offer resonate?
Is this post stupid?
Why do I sound so boring?
Do I sound like AI?
Is this a turn off?
Will I offend?
Meanwhile, EVERYONE wants to be a confident, consistent, listened-to voice in the market who understands their brand…Otherwise, it never works for them.
If you can cure your Brand Fog and explain your brand - you can show up with confidence anywhere.
FAQs
How much does it cost?
Investment Costs for Explain-My-Brand ranges from $3,500 - $5,000 depending on contract and payment plan.
1
What’s the refund policy?
If you’re a good fit for the cohort, there’s no refund once the program begins. 8 whole weeks have been reserved for your participation.
IF there’s some god-awful emergency with either one of us, we’ll make a refund happen. I’m not a monster, yeesh.
2
What happens after I book a call?
We’re going to meet, yay! I’ll have a bunch of questions for you, and we’ll discuss whether or not this program is right for you at the moment.
3
Is this a group thing or a 1:1 thing?
It’s designed as a group thing, but it could be 1:1 at the moment while we catch our breath after launching several new things at once, and as we build new workflows.
4
How big is the group when it’s a group?
5
Purposefully small! 8 members MAX, somehow that’s the magic number to keep it intimate but mighty. I don’t like the idea of big rooms where no one gets air time and the attention they need.
What day is it on?
It varies. But it’ll be the same day and time every week once decided.
6
What happens if I miss a session?
Tarred and feathered. If it’s a group, you’ll let us know you can’t come in the group chat and arrange to get notes from your mates (there’s no recording). If it’s a 1:1, you’ll need to reschedule THAT WEEK, as we only have an 8 week block. If we can’t make it work, I’ll send you a crash course and you’ll just have more to catch up on.
7
Is 1:1 available outside of class?
8
No, BUT I’m available via WhatsApp.
What if I can’t decide between this course and Build-My-Brand; they both seem necessary.
9
I’ll help you make that call. But just know, if you invest in Explain-My-Brand and decide you then want Build-My-Brand, whatever you paid for EMB will be deducted from the BMB cost.
How far into business ownership do I need to be to benefit from this course?
10
At least two years with some exceptions. Some people may be new to owning their business/consultancy, but they have business acumen and know their offer. Others may be pivoting out of one business, having developed a new offer.
Ideally, you will have sold your offer and know that it’s viable. This program is not for those who’re trying to figure out what to do with their life.
I have a different question about this program, can I email you?
11
Sure! Shoot me a line at caroline@switchbladelemonade.com