branding | Kaira Rouda

12 06, 2008

Jump-start your personal brand today

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T13:30:46+00:00June 12, 2008|branding, flickr, personal branding, Real Living, Real You Incorporated|Comments Off on Jump-start your personal brand today

Whether you like gardening, ballroom dancing, pushing the envelope or flying under the radar, your innermost traits should be exhibited in your own personal brand. This being said, I challenge those of you who haven’t used a glue stick in awhile to create a brand board that displays your personality and passions. What’s a brand board? It’s a poster board that you transform into a montage of pictures and images that accurately represent your personality. Are you calm and green; fresh and blue; or vibrant and red? My board is predominantly red and full of things that make me happy, like daisies (hence the cover of my book). I also took parts of my personal brand to my business brand. At Real Living, we’re red, round and real. You can read more about that on page 84 of Real You Incorporated. Grab some magazines and [...]

6 05, 2008

Do what you love.

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T13:33:17+00:00May 6, 2008|branding, entrepreneurs, Kim Ades, love, Opening doors, smile, women|Comments Off on Do what you love.

Find out what makes you wake up in the morning and smile. Start by listing the activities that you are most passionate about during a typical day at work or home. These are probably the daily tasks that you look forward to—the items on your to-do list that get checked off first. Once you’ve uncovered your passions, it’s easier to make them come to life in your real brand. I think that Kim Ades, president of Opening Doors and Frame of Mind Coaching , chose this as one of her favorite tips for women entrepreneurs because it has made such a difference in her life. As a business owner, she specializes in thought management, and her goal is to help people attain the opportunities they are seeking in life. She “opens doors” to people, to thoughts, to greatness—and to self-actualization. And she “opens the doors” [...]

29 04, 2008

You are your brand ambassador, its personification and its biggest recruiting draw.

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T13:33:48+00:00April 29, 2008|Bernice Ross, branding, real estate coach, Real You Incorporated|Comments Off on You are your brand ambassador, its personification and its biggest recruiting draw.

If you’re working through the Real You Incorporated chart, you chose three words that describe your brand essence. Those three words can then be used to write your positioning statement, which is the fourth layer of the circle. What words summarize the product or service you are bringing to the world? Write them down. This is your chance to relay emotion through words. Go for it! Bernice Ross is CEO and founder of RealEstateCoach.com, a virtual company that provides real estate training, coaching and consulting for Realtors. She recently updated her tag line to reflect a new series of products and her new book, Real Estate Dough. The tag line is “RealEstateCoach.com—the Place You Go to Make Real Estate Dough.” What does that look like personified? It could be several things—a “For Sale Sign” with a headset on it for training—maybe even her book with [...]

21 04, 2008

Your office is where your brand lives.

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T13:34:01+00:00April 21, 2008|branding, environmental branding, five senses, office, School-Age NOTES, Tracey Ballas|Comments Off on Your office is where your brand lives.

When determining the creative attributes of your real brand, think color and shape. What speaks to you and your company? Move on to sounds, feel, taste and smell. Imagine these elements and how they bring your brand to life. To accomplish this task, gather magazines and fabrics, and then clip the ones that you find most appealing. And dream. Tracey Ballas, CEO and president of School-Age NOTES in New Albany, Ohio, started her career as an elementary-school teacher, so she understands this process. When she created the work space for her company, she installed four times the number of recommended lights, using traditional lighting to give the office a more home-like feel. The walls are painted a sunny yellow and filled with original artwork created by professional artists and children. Tracey frequently makes lunch for staff meetings and birthdays, and her two dogs come to [...]

8 04, 2008

To create a real brand, people inside and outside your company need to believe in you

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T13:34:42+00:00April 8, 2008|branding, career, Oprah|Comments Off on To create a real brand, people inside and outside your company need to believe in you

Not just your product or service. At the end of the day, it’s all about you. That means your personal brand and your business brand are one in the same. I encourage you to begin by choosing one word that defines you. Here’s a hint to get you started: Think about what you do well. Let’s use Oprah Winfrey as example. Everybody knows Oprah’s brand. Much of her success is due to the fact that people feel like they know her. She defined her career in a real way—as an extension of her personality. By sharing her story, she got people to believe in her. It’s the reason why she’s been successful at building a phenomenal career. How about you? What’s your story? Get started now at RealYouIncorporated.com.

31 03, 2008

Savvy Marketers Share Their Secrets

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T13:34:50+00:00March 31, 2008|branding, eharmony, marketing, women|Comments Off on Savvy Marketers Share Their Secrets

I just joined a great group of columnists-turned-bloggers that discuss strategies for reaching your target market. The blog-pub, published by Glam Media, is called eBrandMarketing, and it launched late last year. The articles focus on a variety of marketing topics, and I will be adding to the marketing-to-women voice. Check out my first post: You gotta love eHarmony – even if you’re not in the market for love.