52: How Life Events Can Influence Your Brand with Jennifer Walter

SaCola (00:00:00) - And from my experience when working with clients, they were just more excited to put out their their offers or their services into the world because they're like, yes, this, this is me. This is this is me. And I don't care if the algorithm likes me or whatever. And that is magnetic. That is what what people attracts, right? When they're like, when you meet someone and you're like this person, she just she just mean. She just got something. Welcome to work at live at honored, a show that explores how.

Jennifer (00:00:36) - To upgrade your lifestyle through life lessons, real estate, and entrepreneurship. Here's your hostess soccer player. Hey, guys, I want you to get ready for another empowering episode of Work it, Live It, Own It, where we take a deep dive into the world of entrepreneurship and personal growth. Today, I am thrilled to introduce our special guest today, Jennifer Walter. As a sociologist and rebranding expert, Jennifer brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.

Jennifer (00:01:10) - In this episode, Jennifer will share her insights on building trust in your brand, navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, which is what this podcast is all about, and finding success on your own terms. Now, her journey, marked by resilience in the face of challenges like pregnancy, the pandemic, health struggles is both inspiring and enlightening. So grab your favorite beverage and settle in and prepare to be inspired as we explore the keys of owning your journey and creating a life and business you love. So let's dive in! Welcome to the Wlo community, Jennifer.

SaCola (00:01:55) - Thank you so much, SaCola. I'm excited to be here and be a part of the community.

Jennifer (00:01:59) - Thank you. And I do have to apologize in advance to my listeners. If you hear this low rumble in the background, it's springtime and homeowners are taking care of their homes right now. So as much as you want to edit an audio in a podcast, it's life. It's real life, right?

SaCola (00:02:19) - I mean, you cannot control most things in life.

SaCola (00:02:23) - You just gotta roll with the punches. You gotta roll with.

Jennifer (00:02:26) - The punches, guys. So forgiveness is what I'm asking for here today. And imperfection, we are all imperfect. So guess what? Life is life. And I rather have neighbors that take good care of their yards and homes. So Jennifer, to dive in and let's focus on you. I want to talk to you about sharing a little bit more of the specific journey and how you got started in your business.

SaCola (00:02:58) - I. I sort of went, I kind of like had the classic start into entrepreneurship eight years ago, or I was like, I'm sick of corporate. Like, I cannot take this any longer. This is like, this is not fulfilling me. I had the corner office and I had the good job, but I was traveling all around the world for for it. And I'm like, this is all nice. But at some point I'm like, what? What now? Like. And yeah, and I started my own business and it was ups and downs rolling with the punches.

SaCola (00:03:36) - And dear Lord, if someone would have told me at the beginning with how much of my own personal crap I would need to deal with in terms of boundaries, money, mindset, like all these things, I was not prepared. And yeah, it's it has provided I built a business that provided for me and my family a true pregnancy through the pandemic with a newborn, which was fun through an onset of health issues. That all started with the pregnancy. Because who knew that if you have a genetic precondition for autoimmune diseases, pregnancy can actually be one of the triggers. So that was very interesting. And then and like just yeah, it took me 2 to 3 years till everyone until doctors figured out what what all of this is kind of like playing together and. Yeah. And since then I'm living weird diagnosis of endometriosis. I don't know, meiosis IBS and celiac. So it's fun. It's peachy around here.

Jennifer (00:04:53) - That's a lot. It is a lot to deal with on a regular. It is and an amazing and.

SaCola (00:04:58) - Also teach me valuable lessons along the way.

Jennifer (00:05:01) - Yes, yes. Because some of the things that you mentioned, I think when we had chatted before, you and I have some similar conditions and it's not it's not always a picnic. Some days you have great days. Yes. And some days you just don't. And you got to roll with the punches for sure.

SaCola (00:05:24) - Yeah.

Jennifer (00:05:25) - So thank you for everything that you do. And starting a business is a courageous thing. And dealing with health and making sure that you are okay. Yeah. The best place to help others is phenomenal and what you do. So I applaud you for doing that.

SaCola (00:05:44) - Thank you.

Jennifer (00:05:45) - We just have to approach things differently. But Jennifer, to dive in to our topic today about trust and branding in a world where trust should be paramount, I think it should be one of those most paramount things. How can entrepreneurs cultivate authenticity? And sometimes that word gets thrown around a lot. Very loosey goosey. Authenticity must be authentic. But if we're really going to hone on this, how can entrepreneurs actually cultivate trust within their brand?

SaCola (00:06:20) - Yeah, that's such a such a good question, right? Because it really is one of the key elements.

SaCola (00:06:29) - Trust. Right? I mean, I'm a sociologist. So this will be I mean, take a take a take anything I say with that in mind, like trust is really trust is the glue that holds everything together. Right. If we wouldn't trust that the $1 bill is actually worth the $1, like if just everything would collapse like it even worse than it's already collapsing. But it's really. It's the one thing that we we really have that we really have to take care of. And it's such a scarce resource. It's we're just not we're very weary. We're not going around trusting a lot anymore these days, whether that be people or institutions. Like it's just we have seen a lot and we're like, well, we know social media. We know now AI and like deep fakes, like, is this real? Can I trust this is someone catfishing me? Like, there are all these things and it makes it really complicated. Or we overcomplicated what it means to trust. So from a sociological point of view, there is research and knowledge to what actually what kind of like what? What are the three requirements or pillars if you want.

SaCola (00:07:48) - And one of them is authenticity. The others are empathy and leadership or agency if you want. Okay. And authenticity. Yes. It's it's lately become became kind of like a marketing buzz. Bingo word. And it's not necessarily. We have to be authentic or like share your entire life on on social. It's not that yet at the same time. If you're a small business entrepreneur, your one key strength is you. You are your biggest asset, right? People love to know who they buy from. And if you can do something that the big corporations cannot do, use it. And that is sharing parts of you that you feel comfortable sharing and that is individual to every one of us, what you feel comfortable sharing and whatnot. But it's also really about asking yourself, hey, what are my values? What do I want to accomplish with this business I'm doing here? Or what do I believe to be true about this industry? I'm it or what is? What are my skill set or my story and beliefs that I hold that set me apart so it's less about, oh, I like, I don't know, I have to like, I don't know, wash my laundry for everyone to see and more really being like, hey, okay, this is kind of like the purpose.

SaCola (00:09:28) - And I always like when I do brand work, I always like to start with that. So and it involves often a lot of inner work to kind of like get to a point where I'm like, okay, yeah, this is this is who I am, this is what I want. Because the thing is, with branding, yes, I do it. I always say I do it with my clients because I cannot brand brand your business for you. I cannot tell you who you are and who your business is or supposed to be. I can help you figure it out, but you need to know. You need to have a sense of self and what you want in this world. And the other pillar I said are empathy. So you really have to focus. It's really the question of what does help here, what is needed, what do my clients need on every step of the way? So you know, you you can build this like trust. I mean you have we all have this friend, this very loyal friend who we know offers just always the right thing to say or hands us the right beverage.

SaCola (00:10:35) - Right. Just all these things. Yeah. And the last one is leadership or agency. We if we want to, we want to become someone people look up to, not someone who they just value because or she just like, I don't know, she's this amazing, authentic personality. But we go to people because or we go to brands or to businesses because they solve a problem and because we know they will solve this problem for us, whatever it may be. So it's not enough to just be seen as the nice girl, but to actually be seen as like, oh, someone with authority, someone with experience. And that requires to, to whatever degree or how you define it, but to kind of like put on the big pants. Yeah.

Jennifer (00:11:27) - It does require putting on the big girl pants for sure. And I love how you broke it down. As far as building trust, it's not about posting everything on social media. Here's my day in the life. Yes, behind the scenes stuff of what the business is really about, what you're doing that can be beneficial.

SaCola (00:11:49) - Yes, sure.

Jennifer (00:11:51) - But there's also you need to have that right balance or collaboration of, okay, this is who I am as a person. Yes, as an individual. And this is what I bring into my business and the core values, your mindset are integral parts of that. And I talked about that before in season one, episode 13, about how to find what your core values are and and then figuring that out, what it looks like in your life and in your business. Because I think so many people just start with and I think branding is the what they think. The branding is the website, they think it's the logos, it's the fancy cards. No, that's not what it's about.

SaCola (00:12:39) - Yeah.

Jennifer (00:12:40) - It's not what it's about. So thank you for breaking that down. I love how you broke that down. As far as because some people say, okay, great Jennifer that sounds wonderful.

SaCola (00:12:53) - That sounds great. I know I get I rolls all the time like I'm used to it.

SaCola (00:12:57) - Like bring it on my.

Jennifer (00:12:58) - Set core values. I hear people talk about this all the time.

SaCola (00:13:02) - I know I get my roles.

Jennifer (00:13:04) - So are there any practical strategies? For someone that you would want to share to get started on that journey. Because again, as a brand strategist, you can't tell people what to do or what their business should be, what it should look like, you can guide them. Can you share with us practical strategy that you may use to help them get started with the branding piece?

SaCola (00:13:27) - One exercise that can be useful if you're really figuring out your whole purpose is Simon Sinek seven whys. So you basically ask yourself why seven times? This can be useful to really gain clarity on your mission and motivations. It doesn't really help you to brand yourself in a in a traditional sense of how. What color should I choose or what fonts should I use? Like Simon Sinek will not tell you that. So that's kind of like one exercise I often work with my clients through and the other is my framework of the North Star memory.

SaCola (00:14:10) - So basically its branding is in my definition. In my world it's it has less to do with websites, but we look at it from like an experience point of view. How do I feel? How does your brand make me feel? So that's why I also like don't really care about the pain point marketing, because I don't want to feel bad if I'm engaging with a brand, I want to feel good. So it's really about what kind of experience am I creating? And that already shows. Branding is branding can be website, branding can be sense. It can be anything from colors to touch to feelings like all the senses. So what I really like to do, work to walk my clients through is the North Star memory, and it's basically asking yourself what specific memory you have that lights you up with joy and inspires you to take action. And this could be anything. It could be certain people you've been with like a dinner, a night out, like a certain place, or being in the kitchen with your mama making cookies, whatever.

SaCola (00:15:30) - As long it is powerful to you and it gets you, like energized and excited. And so with that memory, you know, it's it's really like what. So we're exploring that then. And this has been really the cornerstone of how I build brands, because it helps you to make it unique. For example, I my corner store, my North Star memory is I'm sitting on top of my favorite place and in County Cork in Ireland on a cliff. And I'm with one of my best friends and we both have like a cold beverage and we're talking and we're just like gazing out over the ocean. And I kind of took this as my, like the core theme of how I'm going to brand myself. So from there, I went to I will feel most comfortable and most at peace and joy with like a color palette that goes more into the adventure type. So it has green, it has brown, it has blue in it. I knew I wanted to have something that feels more intimate and also a bit adventurous.

SaCola (00:16:45) - So I have kind of like an explorer, lingual brand, brand voice, but also, again, very intimate. I'm not doing like big courses. I mostly do one on one work, like it shaped a lot of things, how I see it. And yes, there are gazillion brand strategists out there, but someone will be like, okay, yes, I get what this is all about, and I want to work with her, right?

Jennifer (00:17:12) - Because I know a few brand strategists and what I love and trust. But you are the first one that said, think of a memory. You're the first one that did that, and I want to know.

SaCola (00:17:28) - Why it's a memory and not like a vision board or something.

Jennifer (00:17:31) - Yes. I'm curious. Tell me why.

SaCola (00:17:35) - Because the because the memory you have left. True. You have the the memory of it in your brain. In your somatic body. You know how you felt and you want to try to recreate this. The vision you you will think I will feel happy when I achieved XYZ, but you don't know.

SaCola (00:18:00) - You don't have this embodiment of whatever you want to project into the future. So I rather like to work with memories instead of like vision boards. I mean, I do mood boards with my clients, but that's something different. But it's really like I feel the vision for me anyway. It cannot bring me to a to really a point of I'm excited this much and I'm taking action. It's not sustaining me as long as something I have lived through and want to possibly recreate like that.

Jennifer (00:18:38) - I like that because we all have. We should. We should, I hope, a trust that we have a memory that we like to go back to.

SaCola (00:18:50) - Everyone does.

Jennifer (00:18:52) - I'm hoping. I'm hoping everyone does this somewhat. Have you ever come across anyone who says, I don't have a memory? I don't have a great memory of something that was great before.

SaCola (00:19:01) - What did I did? I can never cross one.

Jennifer (00:19:04) - Yes. Have you ever come across someone that had difficulty trying to think of a memory?

SaCola (00:19:09) - No.

SaCola (00:19:10) - Well, I mean, when I do that with my clients, I kind of like, do a little, visualization meditation beforehand. So we're kind of like getting into the space. But no, it's more of the thing of like, what happens more is people have something and you see it. You see it in their faces that they have something and they're not really ready to share because they think this isn't big enough or powerful enough or it's, oh, it was just this one time when I was strolling through the market, and I don't know, the birds were singing and it was just like, really lovely. And I'm like, yeah, fantastic. But they're like, well, but this isn't like a grand memory.

Jennifer (00:19:53) - Okay.

SaCola (00:19:54) - You know, like we already put this, this ego pressure on ourselves. Like, how can this possibly define my brand? Like, well, there are a couple of options, right? But it's more of that that we feel like this is this is not important enough.

SaCola (00:20:09) - Not grand enough. Right.

Jennifer (00:20:11) - Okay.

SaCola (00:20:12) - But all this doesn't matter. It needs to be powerful to you. When you think of this and it's, it lights you up with joy and inspires you to like to take action, to go, to do something. That's it. And I've never came across someone who really was like I cannot think of one okay.

Jennifer (00:20:38) - But they just don't think it's grand enough.

SaCola (00:20:41) - That's more of the case to.

Jennifer (00:20:43) - Be the brand.

SaCola (00:20:44) - Oh yeah. This is just some silly little stroll or. Oh, I was just like baking cookies with my kid or I don't know or I don't know. I was running late, and then my my old my grocery bag broke, the bottom broke off, and like, everything was like pulling out. And I just started laughing hysterically because life is so, like, so weird. And I loved everyone. Like. Yes. Right. It's it's so I've come across so many beautiful, different memories and it's just interesting, you know, how this thing and that's the feedback I always got like, oh, I didn't know this would shape so much of my business.

SaCola (00:21:26) - I've shared. Like it kind of shaped the way I want to work with people. It shaped I know clients where it's shaped like really shaped. How they did the brand photography, how they were like, oh, actually, I want to work more remote. I don't actually like want to have like this really fixed schedule with client calls. I want to do more like voxer days or courses. Right. It's really kind of like, oh, what what do you want to do? Because if it doesn't, if it doesn't light you up, if it doesn't excite you, it doesn't get you going. I don't think you have the stamina to endure it because it's a marathon. It's more than a marathon. I don't know, as long as marathon on earth entrepreneurship, it's not just a race down the block.

Jennifer (00:22:17) - No it's not. It's never a sprint. It's always a marathon. And I can see why you're saying using a memory can evoke all these different types of senses, which could then develop into the colors that people start to go to as far as, oh, what are my brand colors? But and, but most importantly is showing your clients and our listeners how your brand could affect their business and how they want to work with clients, because there's nothing worse than having a business and you're running yourself ragged all the time because you didn't set this up, you didn't set your business up in a way that was going to work for you.

Jennifer (00:23:06) - So that way you can continue to thrive and be healthy in your business, because there's no one worse to show up in a business and you don't love what you're doing. Yes. So how does that connect to the trust piece? So once we talked about the senses and everything, how does that translate though into prospective clients or even existing clients trusting you as that person they want to work with?

SaCola (00:23:36) - Good question. So for one thing, it's an easy differentiator. Okay. It will make you stand out. I mean, I had like paid Google Ads experts who did the exercise and infused more of their wedding photographers who infused their love of Japanese anime. Like, it's it's. So it will just bring something different to the table. And in terms of bringing in your ideal clients, it will help you to navigate the whole to city part for one thing. But there is also like this thing of when you know, oh, this is a part of me, I feel comfortable sharing this memory. It's not something like maybe uncomfortable, like it's not something uncomfortable.

SaCola (00:24:35) - It's something you like and you love and you. And in my experience, you love to talk about it. It will help you to create content more effortlessly, for example, because you can go back to this and be like, okay, if this is how I want to make people feel, how can I write copy with it? For example, what can I do? How can I structure Instagram posts? So all of this can help you? And if you decide to do social media for your business, for example, you need to put out some content or another in one form, so this can help you. And then again, this again will attract clients if you do it consistently. And if you share, if you use something like the North Star memory as one of the hooks for your branding, it will. It will help you to be more consistent across all these possible touchpoints where possible, where potential clients could meet you. It would just create a more harmonic view. And last but not least, the energetics behind it are different because we're working with a memory that excites you and it's kind of like draws you in.

SaCola (00:25:50) - And from my experience when working with clients, they were just more excited to put out their, their offers or their services into the world because they're like, yes, this, this is me. This is this is me. And I don't care if the algorithm likes me or whatever. And that is magnetic. That is what what people attracts, right? When they're like, when you meet someone and you're like this person, she just she just mean she just got something. You're like, oh, I try, I want to be like her friend. I just want to be in her orbit. Right? That's what we're kind of trying to create in a way. Right? We're just want to make like, oh, okay, this people gets it, this person gets it. And we people, we we we we're good. We have like a very good sensor that goes beep beep beep beep. When we feel something when this person is off, something is not we might not be able to name it, but we sense it.

SaCola (00:26:54) - So if you really can show up where the brand where you feel this is me, it just changes the game. And it's not to say this is me and I'm for everyone. Like, no, great brand is like Teflon, right? It repels like it's repels the ones that you're not like. The not demand. And it's kind of like it's you got to have both. It's got to be clear. These are my people and these are not. And that's okay.

Jennifer (00:27:26) - When you said that, it's kind of like having standards. It is like having standards in your personal life. Because if you have standards in your personal life and yes, tolerate certain things, yes, then you will automatically repel all the people I used to call it in my early 20s, the weak minded individuals. And I rephrase that a little bit now in my, you know, in my current life. But I would wonder why certain people would go to other people and talk to them or approach them and not me. And then when I found out how that person really was, truly was, and I said no, that was saving me, that was protecting me because I had certain standards.

SaCola (00:28:06) - Yes.

Jennifer (00:28:07) - Of the type of people I will allow to get close to me. And I didn't tolerate any chaos or mess in my life. Yes. So your brand structuring your brand is so much more in tune to setting up your business for the long haul. And you mentioned something. It's it's a marathon. It's not a sprint. So touching on that point. As someone who who advocates from moving away from the overnight success narrative, what advice do you have for entrepreneurs who may feel the pressure to hustle constantly in order to succeed?

SaCola (00:28:50) - Oh gosh, so many thoughts first. I think this idea of overnight success is mostly not only misleading, but it can also be really harmful because you sure. Maybe there is one person out of a thousand that this really happened. Sure. Okay. Whatever. But most of the cases it's a combination of privilege in whatever kind of way, right? I mean, if I don't know if I would start a brand for skinny jeans, I don't know, I probably wouldn't be successful or I don't know.

SaCola (00:29:28) - Right. But it's it's that looking at your privilege and also if, if you're let's say if you are a creative and you're, you're you're an art, you're a painter and you start to you take you want to start doing wedding photography, you have a head start just in terms of how your mind works. Then someone who, I don't know worked on a construction site before and decides to do wedding photography. So there is. It's not the same starting light. We start at different places and I feel the transparency in overnight successes is often on social mis. The transparency is not so dare and then looking into it, what does success mean? I mean you have people who I don't know talk about how much money they make each month, each year. And then I'm like, well, but what is actually the amount you take home, right? I mean, I don't care if you have a million revenue, if your ad spend is 900,000, I don't really care. I'm making more money than you do.

SaCola (00:30:37) - Right. Like it's it's just really that we're not being precise with which metrics we're comparing. Some is by design, some is just because people don't know better whatever. But it just really be really careful with overnight success. And it's just really. Yeah it is. And then really look at okay, if want to move away from this to look at okay. What how do we actually define success for ourselves. And that can be very different. And to really be honest of what is my enoughness like, I don't I personally, I don't right now in the season I'm in, I don't want to lead a team. Not saying you cannot do XYZ money without a team, but I know I'm happy with my one on ones. I don't want to do a course. This is my. I'm happy. I have great clients. I, I'm like can walk my kid to school. I whenever I that goes back into you attract the right people whenever I have to cancel a call because I have no, I don't know, endometriosis kicking my butt today like I, I can't focus, I can't work, I'm not feeling up to it.

SaCola (00:32:01) - I'm making an email, being transparent, saying, look, this thing is happening today. Really sorry. Please reschedule. And I never had one person complaining ever. They were all like, sure girl you do you you go treat yourself as something fine, right? So really look back on what is what what is yours? What does success mean to you? And just kind of like be really honest and rethink your values and be like, hey, you know, this is what I need right now. Yeah. And emphasis more on this. Is this sustainable? Bids just keep going and things will accumulate. Things will build.

Jennifer (00:32:48) - Thank you for sharing that, because that's stuff that I've talked about on this platform before, and I can personally attest to what you're saying, because I love the quote or the illustration that we're like, popcorn and I'm a popcorn. I used to be a popcorn connoisseur. I can't eat popcorn anymore for health reasons.

SaCola (00:33:13) - Yeah, but.

Jennifer (00:33:14) - I was a popcorn connoisseur. I will pop the kernels in the pot the old fashioned way, and my own little seasoning blend and everything.

Jennifer (00:33:22) - Don't hand me microwave or no, no, no. Yeah, I did it in a pot. But if you guys think about how are you seeing in the movie theaters for those who have never seen popcorn being popped in a house in a pot, but think about going to a movie theater and you're seeing popcorn being popped. They put the kernels all in at the same time, but the kernels don't pop all at the same time. The kernels pop when they are ready to pop, and then there's some who don't get down to the very bottom and get that heat and the oil that they need to, but they still bud. But if you're a patient, you give them a little time. Sometimes I would take the pot, empty the top kernels that were ready to come out, put it in a bowl, then shake it a little bit more so that those kernels will have time to pop. The moral of that illustration is we are all like popcorn kernels. We pop when we're ready. We get all put in the pot sometimes at the same time, but we pop when we are ready.

Jennifer (00:34:22) - So having that overnight success that we may hear, like she said, it's Jennifer. You said it was like a one and a thousand, and then you hear all these success stories about, oh, I was able to generate this amount of money. Guys, I've talked about this before, but now you got Jennifer over here saying it. Okay, so I'm not just sitting up here, just talking foolishness is real. But then when you go behind closed doors and you pull back the curtain and you actually see that the Wizard of Oz is just an ordinary person, and he's not a wizard, after all, is because maybe he had a lot of ad dollars he wanted to spend and marketing. And then some of those that I have seen that came along when I came in, I don't see them anymore. I search for them on a platform. I don't see them anymore. So stop with the comparison piece of, oh, this person came in after me and look at them now. Sometimes, like Jennifer you mentioned, sometimes it they may have bigger connections than we do right now.

Jennifer (00:35:31) - That doesn't mean we won't have them. I mean just work with it. Maybe they came from a family. In one episode I just released recently, that happened. This person started a brand and but they did more research and found out, oh, this person has huge family connections in the UK and have the money and had all of this to just list.

SaCola (00:35:56) - Generational wealth in the background, like.

Jennifer (00:35:59) - So big. But that didn't stop them from still doing what they wanted to do. Because people will connect, connect with her story, her brand and what it's about. So to shift a little bit, maybe.

SaCola (00:36:16) - Sorry to cut you in there. No. Go ahead. Let's let's, let's it's just such a beautiful example of you. I mean, we all have these bad days where we just doom scroll and be like, oh, this person came in after me and like, look, now what? She's like, wait, wait, we're showing on TikTok or Instagram or whatever you are, and that kind of like that envy or jealousy I always feel when it pops up.

SaCola (00:36:39) - It's telling me something. It's telling me something of which of my needs are currently unmet, whether it's in my business or my personal life. Right. What? Like, for example, if I'm feeling jealous that my new that my best friend already has another boyfriend or the whole thing Gypsy Rose thing. So she's out of prison. She already, like, divorced her husband and has another boyfriend. It might reveal a desire for more intimacy or connection in my own life. I just really be curious. What do you what what unmet need might there be or what insecurities are coming up so we can address them? So I'm always like, oh, this is interesting that I'm feeling Chili's now. Now what does this tell me?

Jennifer (00:37:26) - Oh, okay. Yeah, I like that. I like that it gives you more chance to do some research, to investigate and figure out what is going on. I love that. So are there any in your experience as a rebranding expert? What are some and you touched on some of them already, but.

Jennifer (00:37:47) - Are there more common mistakes entrepreneurs make when attempting to refresh their brand? And if so, how will we do? We make mistakes, but how can we avoid them making those common mistakes when we're trying to refresh our brand?

SaCola (00:38:03) - I'd say that the most common ones I've seen are and there are two, I'd say two big types. One is the youth rebrand without knowing it. Really? Like you're just getting so inspired, inspired and hyped up by the latest Canva template or the lenders. The latest trends for like, I don't know, peach beige nudes with neon color gradients and you're like, ooh, I wanted this too. And it starts slowly. And at one point you're like, wait, what, what what is happening? So and this starts very unconsciously just because you're like, oh, I just want to do I want to like switch it up because, yes, I'd rather do the nice Canva template than actually do like an outreach or sale call or whatever thing I'm trying to avoid. So that's something where you really have to be honest with yourself, like, okay, what are you actually doing? And the other thing is that when there's you as a person has changed so much that what you're looking at, the, the, the reflection that your brand is, is just no longer aligning.

SaCola (00:39:13) - It's just it's just not a match anymore. It's maybe it might be. Yeah. Like if you, I don't know, gain if your body shape has changed and you're looking at the clothes and you're like, this doesn't fit me anymore, or I had so many clothes after pregnancy that weren't the size was still right, but just the pattern or the colors. And I was like, oh, get it out of my sight. So that's it for, in my experience, a good reason to rebrand when. But then what often happens is business owners look at to rebrand for. Yeah, to make it more contemporary again maybe trends or they're like, oh, this client told me that they really like my, I don't know, moody brand photography. So let's do more of that. Like just giving like the power away. Whereas you should double down on what makes you you especially when you rebranding because it feels like it's no longer aligned. So it's just double down on who you are and what makes you stand out and who you are in this season of life.

SaCola (00:40:25) - And then kind of like go from there. So it starts with you. And often people have this like outside in where they're like, oh, this client like that or this XYZ person that I admire is doing this. So let's take a bit of here and a bit of there. And then, I don't know, worst case you end up with something that still doesn't feel aligned. Wow. Yeah.

Jennifer (00:40:48) - We can get distracted from doing the things that actually generate income.

SaCola (00:40:54) - I mean, I am.

Jennifer (00:40:55) - Guilty, I'm guilty.

SaCola (00:40:56) - I mean, I mean, I'm the VP of that club, right? Like, I mean, it's.

Jennifer (00:41:01) - I need a t shirt. Because I'm guilty. I'm guilty of that as well. So and we do make those mistakes. Right. And then or if we rebrand, sometimes it's like, hey, I rebranded and make this announcement to everybody. Look at my new website, check out my new website. That's not necessarily refreshing your brand either. Just telling everybody, well.

SaCola (00:41:24) - This is really a lovely example you're bringing because again, if you're going back to the trust factor, authenticity, empathy, leadership, empathy, what helps the client here, well why should they care. Like well that's the same as like announcing these these Instagram story slides of, oh, I wrote a new blog post. Here's the link. Well, good for you, but why should I invest time in reading it? Give me more. Give me a reason that makes me curious enough to make the next step. Not the sale, the end conversion, whatever it might be in your business. But the next step just got to be curious to do the next step to go after off the app, to your blog and from the blog, sign up to your freebie or whatever it is. Go on the sales call. Just always curious enough to get me moving. And oh, I have a new website. Well, unless like, I don't know your Taylor Swift or someone that probably works. But for me, I don't know most businesses that would be like, sure, cool, great for you.

SaCola (00:42:41) - But why should I care.

Jennifer (00:42:44) - Again for the client is what's in it for them? Yes. And you're right. Why should they care? So now giving your journey through pregnancy, the pandemic and health struggles, how do you prioritize self-care? Maintain a healthy work life situation while pursuing your entrepreneurial dreams?

SaCola (00:43:11) - it's their their dose. And those days it's. I don't really believe in the principle of balance as such, because I feel it often tends to mess with people's minds more because we have this idea of, oh, everything should be balanced all the time, right?

Jennifer (00:43:33) - Oh, we should.

SaCola (00:43:33) - Be 5050. Yeah, yeah, there's somethings.

Jennifer (00:43:36) - Wrong already wrong with us if we don't have work life balance. Correct?

SaCola (00:43:40) - Yes. Thank you. And that's just not the case, right? There might be seasons where you have to pull a bit more than your partner does, for example. And that's okay. Still, things can still feel balanced. So that's one one thing. But I really had to double down on boundaries.

SaCola (00:44:05) - And I'm sure this is not the first time you hear this on this podcast. And another big thing for me to ask for help because you need a village and our times really have eroded this village for most of us. And we need it. We just need it. We're social beings. And really looking at self-care in a an a non-negotiable part because I my I am my the biggest asset, the most important asset in my business. If I'm not functioning, my business is ultimate, but to one point it will not be functioning anymore. So I have like I there there if I know this thing is is feeling is making me feel good about myself, whatever it may be on this day, it might be more of a healthy diet. It might be a hot stone massage or like a 30 minute walk. I know I got a need to do this first because everything else I'll do after it, it will just go smoother. It will go just made more ease. And another. Like the other thing of that, the whole mindset kind of like approach that is still a tricky bit at times to realize whatever I'm doing, each moment, I'm doing my best, the best I can with the resources I have in each particular moment and not.

SaCola (00:45:38) - And it's so easy, I I'm recovering. I'm much better at this than I was like a year or two ago where I'm like, I don't know, taking a dump on past Jen for the things she did because she didn't know any better. And looking back, it's so easy to do because of course, now you know. But at the time, you were just doing your best. And this is extending this grace and self-compassion to yourself. This is really key because otherwise you will always be afraid that future you will, like, take a dump on you, on past you, and you just you'll be scared and afraid to take action. Because we know I just did my best. That detachment did part to to some extent is I feel very healthy approach to going with business long term.

Jennifer (00:46:33) - Taking care of you ourselves is should be a priority, but we don't always do it. And then when we don't do it, then we beat ourselves up because we didn't do it. So we should have known better.

Jennifer (00:46:48) - We should have known better. So we beat ourselves up. Well, you should have known better to take care of yourself, but you didn't take care of yourself. And then you have that little voice in your brain. It's like I should get up. I should get some vitamin D, I should go out, go for that walk, I should exercise, keep my body moving, I should rest, yes, I should rest. And we don't always do that. So there's only one you. There's only one me. And if our clients don't understand. That. There's rough.

SaCola (00:47:22) - Days.

Jennifer (00:47:24) - There's days where we're not going to be completely on our own, own our game. And we need to take that time to heal, recuperate, recalibrate. Then I may not be the client for us, but setting those standards from the beginning and letting.

SaCola (00:47:42) - People management from day one.

Jennifer (00:47:44) - Yes. Expectation management. I love that phrase. Expectation management from day one is so key because even when I do consultation calls with real estate clients, I will tell them if you call me, email me, text me after a certain time, I will respond the following business day after this time.

Jennifer (00:48:07) - Yeah. And you know, when I had clients tell me, says your cut off time is too late. You need to bump that up a little earlier. That's what I had clients tell me, you know, because I told them I said, I'm married. I like to stay that way. And they said, well, then you need to bump that up a little bit. Okay, who am I? Sure.

SaCola (00:48:30) - Sure. I mean, that's again so funny, right? Because a lot of us left corporate and started entrepreneurship to be your own boss and like. Right. Because we'd rather die by our own sword or something, I don't know, right? Right, right. And then we are so quickly to give agency away. And it's interesting. Yeah. but but yeah, I love that that you said, like, the expectations clear. I just reminded me when I, there was a point when I really was like, oh, I need to have my contracts looked up on by a lawyer just to, like, know it's, like, legit and good and safe.

SaCola (00:49:05) - Like, I just don't like I don't want to mess anything up. Right. Because I'm like, responsible now for, for a kid and my family. and then he's like, well, where's your contract? It's like pages long. What's the point? Like you have all these things about I'm not replying on weekends, I'm not replying after six. I'm not replying by the like. That doesn't need to go into contract and well, no, maybe not from a legal point of view, but it surely does because I'm managing expectations. I'm telling people what I'm here for and what I'm not, and no one can tell me, oh, I didn't know or something else. And it's to a and I'm telling them before they're signing up to work with me so I can. And I always say, look, please read this through. If this if this is not working for you, no shame, no blame will just part our ways until we maybe meet again. Right. But this is the standard.

SaCola (00:50:07) - These are the non-negotiables. These are the boundaries. Take it or leave it.

Jennifer (00:50:12) - All right. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. And thank you for reiterating some things that I've already said. I did not bring Jennifer on to this podcast so she can repeat everything I said just to prove that I was right, but it was more so. So you guys know that I'm not just talking and pulling things out of thin air. But again, guys, setting your standards from the very beginning in your business, knowing in a way envisioning how you want to see your business and yourself thrive in your business for the long term, not for the short duration is key. Does that mean that you can't just go out here and launch your idea to the world straight out the gate? No. There's always work behind the scenes that needs to be done. Taking care of your business is also taking care of yourself. Yeah. Bottom line. And when you've done that, when you have talked about and done that, work on your core values, what it looks like in your business, creating those standards, how your brand not only looks and feels to other people because it's going to come across through you, you're going to be excited about what you're bringing to the table.

Jennifer (00:51:32) - And if people don't like it, okay, then they may not be the one for you. But there are billions of people out there, so don't get discouraged if you don't shine at the same time someone else does, especially if they're in.

SaCola (00:51:49) - Pop at the same time.

Jennifer (00:51:50) - If you don't, you know you got it. Now if you don't pop at the same time, but when it's your turn to pop, you will. And it will feel so.

SaCola (00:52:01) - Good.

Jennifer (00:52:02) - When it does because you did it. In the words of Frank Sinatra, you did it your way, right? You can say, I did it my way, but you did it in a way that feels good.

SaCola (00:52:13) - For you and for.

Jennifer (00:52:13) - Your business. So, Jen, before I let you go, I got two rapid fire questions for you.

SaCola (00:52:19) - You ready? Oh, dear Lord, no.

Jennifer (00:52:21) - Yeah. Fasten your seat belts. Lady is coming.

SaCola (00:52:24) - Buckling up.

Jennifer (00:52:26) - What's one piece of advice you wish you had known when you first started your entrepreneurial journey?

SaCola (00:52:33) - It really is.

SaCola (00:52:34) - You're always doing your best, okay?

Jennifer (00:52:38) - You're always doing your best.

SaCola (00:52:39) - And all the grace and self-compassion that comes with this.

Jennifer (00:52:42) - I like that you sound like my therapist.

SaCola (00:52:45) - Well, great minds think alike. But no, I mean, I'm not saying I have like fully incorporated and embodied this at all times. No, I do not. Okay, but I see the growth in certain areas of my life and I'm like, thank you, Paz Jen, for putting in the work because it was messy. It was painful, it was unpleasant. But now I am here and I have no desire to go back.

Jennifer (00:53:13) - I gotta let that one sit for a little bit, okay? I have no desire to go back. I love it now, guys, we've talked about a lot in this episode. You got another rapid fire question, Jen. So you just hold tight. Oh no.

SaCola (00:53:25) - I was like whoa, oh.

Jennifer (00:53:26) - She's not you're not off the hook. You're not off the hook. You're not off the hook.

Jennifer (00:53:29) - Nice try. But guys, so much Jennifer has shared so much wisdom and insight in this particular episode. Let me know what your biggest takeaway was from this episode. Send me a direct message on Instagram. Let me know what resonated with you about this particular episode? What was the biggest takeaway from you? What you plan on incorporating in your life and in your business? Head on over to work it, live it, own it on Instagram and send me a direct message now. Jen, last question. You ready? Outside of your personal life, what's a hobby or interests that brings you joy and helps you recharge your batteries?

SaCola (00:54:18) - I one way of recharging my batteries is I love to play the Irish fiddle, the Irish violin. Like I like traditional Irish tunes. and I'm so bad at it, like I'm so bad at it. But I love it dearly and it brings me so much joy.

Jennifer (00:54:40) - Okay, it recharges your batteries and it brings you so much joy. Yes. All right.

SaCola (00:54:46) - But I'm not.

SaCola (00:54:47) - Not a joy to listen to.

Jennifer (00:54:48) - Yeah, no.

SaCola (00:54:50) - But that's not the point. I don't care.

Jennifer (00:54:52) - Exactly. It's not, I don't care.

SaCola (00:54:54) - I just literally love playing it.

Jennifer (00:54:57) - She's like, I'm not good at it, but I love it and it brings me joy.

SaCola (00:55:01) - I'm not good at it. And I love it like it's yeah, we have redefined success there again, on my own terms.

Jennifer (00:55:10) - There you go. Okay. See, you just taught your own self what you help your clients with. All right guys, always.

SaCola (00:55:19) - You always want to talk.

Jennifer (00:55:20) - Yes yes, yes. All right, guys, this wraps it up for this particular episode of Working on It. This is truly been a phenomenal conversation with Jennifer Walter and Jen. Is there a way for those who are interested in refreshing their brand or getting their brand off the ground? What is one of the best ways for them to stay in touch with you?

SaCola (00:55:46) - One of the best things to get to know more about me would be my website, Jennifer Walters, me or my socials, Instagram or TikTok.

SaCola (00:55:56) - On both, it's Jennifer Walters on both, and you can only get more an idea of like the questions you might get asked, I would I can encourage you to listen to the Senior Crowd podcast, where we also have these all these types of questions that, you know, you might not necessarily want to hear or answer, but they're good for you long term.

Jennifer (00:56:20) - Alrighty. So this wraps it up for this particular episode of Work at Live at Own It. Don't forget to keep dreaming, keep sewing, but most importantly, keep.

Speaker 3 (00:56:34) - Working it, living it, and.

Jennifer (00:56:36) - Owning.

Speaker 3 (00:56:37) - It in your everyday lives. Guys. Take care.