What exactly do you stand for?

What’s your point of difference?

Some of the fundamental questions I’ve been asking myself now for some time.

To step back, I set up 66reasons, a strategic brand consultancy, in 2020 (yes, I know great timing), with 20+ year’s of brand and marketing experience behind me, so shouldn’t it have been the most natural thing in the world for me to create my own brand? It’s been quite hard.

“Perhaps that’s because you’re rubbish?” I hear you sigh. Well, no, at least I hope not. Managing expectations, my own as well as other’s, is a lesson in patience that I’ve had to learn.

We live in an ‘instant, need it now’ society. There’s so much pressure for us to be out there ‘doing’. To be present and successful; to be witty Tweeters, insightful Linkedin professionals, or show that we’re having such fun in social media posts. How do you cut through all that with your own voice? 

Everyone’s a marketing expert these days, adept at working on their personal brand..the world’s so full of ‘go on then, impress me’ people.

It’s been slower than I’d anticipated. I’m being hard on myself here, there’s been a lot going on that I’ve been dealing with, pretty well, all things considered. However, at various points this year, curious friends and family, expecting rapid progress, were repeatedly asking; “So… how’s the new business going?” Hmmm..During a rare, social moment in my garden, (post-lockdown before the next lock down), it wasn’t just the April weather that made me shudder. As a good friend, (partner in a law firm), popped out with, “What’s your USP then?” It seems lawyers are not immune from our lovely marketing-speak. I sort of waffled something about sincerity and value-based work, secretly thinking, “Oh shit what is my USP? If I can’t even express my own business idea clearly then I’m up the creek as a brand consultant.”

The thought that I should be, ‘out there by now’, set me off on a downward spiral until I took a moment to reflect. After all, the reason that I set up 66reasons was to step away from what’s expected – to help people in business find their way forward, at the right time, for the right reasons – it applied to me first.

My USP is me; my values, my experience, my knowledge, my creative collaborators, my sense of humour and my strength. It will take time for me to build my portfolio and that really is how it should be.

It’s easy to feel pressurised into acting swiftly – to be seen, to be out there, to be participating. It takes courage to be quiet, to be thoughtful to create ‘business from a place of honesty’. I am grateful for having the opportunity to do so.

Business that is thoughtful for good reason, is at the heart of this idea, time will tell if it works.