49: Do you need to rebrand your animal based business?

Kimberly Beer 0:00 The Business Animal podcast is proudly sponsored by WP Engine, your resource for managed WordPress hosting, and keap the premier CRM software for small business, head over to the business animal.com for the best deals on these two amazing products. Jaz 0:19 Welcome to The Business Animal podcast. settle up for a gallop to the top of the animal industry, where you’ll learn how to tame your wild business beast with tips, techniques, and tools that will take overwhelm to obedience school, and have you wagging your tail with joy. And now your hosts, Kim Beer, and Cara Taylor Swift. Kimberly Beer 0:40 Hey there business animals, it’s Kim with Be More Business Cara Taylor Swift 0:44 and Cara with Fast Horse photography. Kimberly Beer 0:46 On today’s episode, we have an exciting guest Maredith Davis with Maredith Davis designs, and we’re going to be talking about rebranding your business. Now, this came up as a topic because I often get questions from my clients and classes. And when they come on board with me to work on their marketing around should I rebrand my business? Should I go back to scratch? Should I go and redo my logo? Should I go back and totally rewrite my website? You know, I get this question frequently. And so I brought it up to Cara, to say I think this is something that we should talk about, because it’s coming up to the first of the year at the time that we’re recording this. And a lot of people are wanting to turn that new page and tear off the old and start the new. And so this conversation is probably going to be coming up in more than one office. So Maredith has some fantastic information about branding itself, and then also should you rebrand your animal based business. So without further ado, I’m going to let Cara introduce Maredith and we’re going to get into this topic and learn a whole lot today. Cara Taylor Swift 1:57 You guys I have to tell you, I get the honors of introducing Maredith and I’m gonna read you her bio in a second. But I want to first start by saying that I’ve known Maredith online for a couple years. Maredith actually worked with me originally when I needed to clean up the Fast Horse photography brand in general. And we went through a bunch of exercises together and it was a lot of fun. And I really enjoyed working with her. So when this topic came up, and Kim and I were kind of chatting about how a lot of business owners this time of year have that new year new me new business mentality and they really want to kind of clean things up and move things forward and get a fresh start. Maredith was the first person that came to mind. So Maredith, first of all, thank you so much for joining us today on the show. We’re so happy to have you here. Maredith Davis 2:37 Thank you guys. I am absolutely thrilled to be joining you this morning. Awesome. Cara Taylor Swift 2:41 Well, I want to read your bio, just to let folks know a little bit about you before we dig in deep so you guys Meredith Davis Woods is the owner of Maredith Davis design a branding and Website Design Studio dedicated to working side by side with equestrian businesses to craft purposeful and profitable brands. As an equestrian with a diversified resume of experiences. Maredith works with business owners across all disciplines and niches including professional writers and trainers, apparel and tech boutiques feed nutrition companies, health and bodywork practitioners, equestrian events and associations and organizations. Together they develop brands with strategic messaging and visuals that represent their unique stories and their individual customers values. There are times when she finds herself away from her laptop so you can find Meredith in the barn alongside her husband Colton and her Warmblood Mayer Ella together Maredith and Colton run Colton Woods horsemanship they serve their clients through their professional horsemen’s school professional horse trainer mentorship program, online video library, the heart of horsemanship podcast and other podcasts are here and teaching horse and human development clinics across the country. So officially welcome, Meredith. And can you just start by telling us a little bit how in the world did you get started in the branding and website design community and also specifically what made you decide to really niche down to the equine industry? Because I know a lot of people when they start a business, they think I need to try to drag in as many clients as I can. And niching down you know, is one of those things that often comes later. So can you tell us a little bit about how you got started? Maredith Davis 4:18 Absolutely. So I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. My dad is an entrepreneur, both sets of my grandparents were entrepreneurs, my aunts, my uncles. So the thought of running my own business really was never a foreign concept to me, I grew up showing hunters and jumpers as a junior rider in high school. And as I started looking towards college and you know, kind of what’s my next step going to be I have always been very creative. I’ve always been very artistic, very into, you know, digital graphic design and things like that as well. And so I knew early on that I wanted to continue riding, you know, I really wanted to be able to prioritize my barn time, my show schedule all of that. And as I started looking at, you know, careers that would allow me to do that I was like, oh my goodness, there’s no way that I could go into it as typical organization or marketing agency, and still be able to horse show at the schedule that I do, or you know, compete or train or travel in a way that was logistically going to work out, you know, to where I could also be in the office, Cara Taylor Swift 5:20 I think that’s so relatable to a lot of equestrians out there that are trying to figure out how to juggle that. So sorry to interrupt you, I just feel like I feel that’s my core. So Maredith Davis 5:27 Absolutely. And so, you know, honestly, being creative graphically, was something that I picked up in college, as far as graphic design, web design, brand, strategy, all of that I really started to dive into, you know, what makes what makes a business work, you know, what are the what are the foundational pieces that a business owner needs. And as I started learning more about design and marketing, and then thinking about the equestrian industry, specifically, I was like, Oh, my goodness, I have so many horse trainers, you know, I’ve been surrounded by by professionals my entire life who are so talented, they have so much to bring to the table, but no one knows they exist. Unless you’re at the horse show and you see them go in the rink, you don’t know how special they really are, you don’t know, you know, their depth of knowledge. And it really kind of became my personal mission at that point, to give these professionals tools to get their talents out there past word of mouth marketing, which is so traditional to the equine industry specifically. And really, it’s really just taken off from there. I started out offering you know, basic web design, social media management, things like that. But then since then, I’ve really evolved to actually just offering specifically brand strategy services, and then helping other professionals learn how to integrate that brand strategy into all the different elements of their business. So whether that’s their website, that’s their marketing on social media, that’s you know, how their client experiences are in the barn, or at the horse show or in their storefront. And really just taking those core pieces of their brand across their across the entire business, to actually create experiences that resonate with their ideal clients and keep them you know, really working with the type of people that they want to be working with not just saying yes to everyone who comes through because they need the money. Kimberly Beer 7:14 That’s beautiful. I love that. And I know that you have created a successful program where you have some sustained ways of supporting people, when we talked in our pre interview interview, you gave us five pillars of your program around branding, can you go over those really quickly? Because I think that’s really important to the people that are listening, even when we’re talking about rebranding, understanding, going back and understanding what branding is, and what it means to a business is super important. Maredith Davis 7:49 Absolutely. So I think it’s important to start by by making sure that everyone’s on the same page that when we’re talking about branding, we’re not talking about your logo, we’re not talking about just the visual side of your business, right, we are talking about how does your business make other people feel? And and when you are not around directing the conversation? What do people say about your business, that’s what your brand is. And so whenever I start to work with a new client, or even an existing client, the first place we start is what I call my brand strategy guide. And that is really where these five pillars come into play that help us then create a guide, really, for the rest of the content that we’re going to produce together. And so I’ll run through these the five elements that I would consider that every successful brand needs. And then we can we can kind of dive into you know, each of those from there. So the first one most importantly, I would say is your mission, which is what do you want to do? Right? What is the purpose behind your business? What’s the passion behind your business? Why are you doing what you’re doing? You know, and what’s the difference that you’re really trying to make? The second piece is your niche, you know, who do you do it for? But then past that, it’s really important to understand what motivates those people? And what type of problems do they have, that your business solves directly? The third piece is your differentiators. So that’s how do you do what you do that’s different than other people in your industry. This is a huge piece to really hammer home because I know a lot of times it can be easy to say well, there’s a ton of other trainers that you know offer a service like I do or there’s a ton of other products you know, that are similar to mine but really what makes you different is how you actually represent those you know the things that you stand for in your business, the stories behind why you do what you do. That’s really what’s going to draw people to working specifically with you versus someone else, which leads us into the next pillar. What is your story? You know, why do you do the things the way that you do them? You know, what are those stories? What are those little tokens? What are the what are the things that really shaped you as a business owner that you can you can expand upon you can explain to people to really hook them into working with your business. specifically, and then once we have those initial four pieces, then we move into the aesthetics. So that’s how are we visually representing what you’re doing to the outside. So whether that is through your logo that’s through your website that’s through marketing material that’s through physical tangible products, such as your business cards, or brochures, all of that stuff. So really what I liked, I always like to kind of follow along with the classic, you know, form follows function, you know, we have to have the strategic pieces behind us before we just start saying, Oh, I really like the color blue. And I like this font. So everything’s going to be in these, this blue, you know, this blue font. It’s like, if it doesn’t resonate with your audience, if it doesn’t actually tie back into why you’re doing what you’re doing, we can’t just go haphazardly choosing graphic elements, because it looks pretty, right pretty is not always profitable, right? We want something that is strategic, we want something that’s speaking directly to your customers. And when we go through those five brand pillars, that really kind of helps us encapsulate and ensure that what we’re putting out is going to not only be aesthetically pleasing, but it’s also going to be profitable. Kimberly Beer 11:09 Very smart, very smart. And very comprehensive, when you’re working with someone, especially a small business owner, who probably hasn’t thought all of the way through all of those things, they’ve sort of felt their way into starting their business. And now they’re, they’re in it, and they don’t even know how to express who they really are. So I think that brings out beautifully and being able to get them to get in touch with who they are and how they do things so that they can make that known to their customer base. Now, when it comes to rebranding, you gave us three, obviously, we asked for three because of the big three, three reasons or three things to think about before you even consider moving into rebranding your business. And so let’s run over those as topics. And then let’s break them down one at a time. So the three are, do you want to shift the conversation? Are you shifting your business? And is what you’re putting out into the world right now a proper reflection of the quality of work that you’re doing? So can we start with those three reasons of why somebody might want to consider rebranding? And let’s start with the first one about do you want to shift the conversation? Why is that important? And how do people know if that’s really what they want to do? Maredith Davis 12:31 Absolutely. So let’s dive right in. For as far as shifting the conversation, I think it’s important to go back to what I had mentioned earlier, as far as your brand is what people say about you, when you’re not around, write when you have no control over the dialogue that they have going on about you and your business. And oftentimes I see, I see my clients and my students come to me and they’re like, Well, you know, I started my business x x years ago, and I was offering these services. And as I’ve grown and as I’ve learned more about business, I really decided that that’s really not for me, you know, I want to move into a different area of emphasis I want you know, to focus on a different part of business, and I don’t want people associating my old services or my old products with who I’m moving into, you know, I want to I want to continue to grow. And so that’s really where I would encourage people to ask themselves, you know, do you want to shift the conversation so for example, I’m working with a trainer right now she’s it wonderfully dear friend, and she started out training primarily a lot of a lot of problem horses, you know, horses that came in that had some quirks that had some maybe behavioral issues, as well as some young horses getting them started under saddle. And now she’s she’s really focusing on transitioning her business into more performance horses. And so we’re really working together right now to shift the conversation away from her being, you know, this person that can can work with horses in a way that helps them you know, resolve whether it’s their their mental, emotional, physical issues and problems that they’re seeing under saddle to working with more performance horse clients, and you know, horses that are going to go on and be competitive. And so that just That’s a basic example of someone who’s wanting to shift the conversation to someone who’s wanting to change the association that people have with their business into something that’s different, that’s going to serve them more long term. Cara Taylor Swift 14:21 Do you think there’s any consideration on this part about shifting the conversation to be made? Is there any consideration around you know, changing that conversation too much, and raising alarm bells to your existing customers? Like, is there is there any consideration that should be made to that? Maredith Davis 14:37 Yeah, absolutely. You know, it definitely could be alarming and a red flag and send your current students you know, almost into a panic because they hear oh, you know, I’m not doing this anymore. But I really think that’s where honest conversation and just being very transparent in your journey can you know really go a long way most of your students anyway, as far from my personal experience, You know, they want the best for you. And they want to see you continuing to grow and succeed. And so whether that’s a conversation of this is this is how we’re going to shift the services. And this is how you know, you now fit into the program, or, you know, this is how we’re going to continue to be able to work together, I think that’s really what clients and students want to hear is, I am a no, I’m transitioning, I’m growing. But this is how I’m going to make sure that you’re still taking care of that, to me is huge, as long as as long as people don’t feel like you’re abandoning them, right, you’re shifting and you’re leaving them behind. So we’ve had a lot of success, whether that is you know, helping our students grow with us and saying, Hey, we’re moving into this, this new phase, you know, we’d love to bring you along. Or, you know, we would love to, you know, pair you up with it with another professional who stays in this focus, who stays in this niche that you can continue to work with, and, you know, continue along your journey in that way. I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with you know, coming at it with a community over competition mindset when you are wanting to shift but you know that you have students or you have clients who just aren’t ready to make that move with you? Cara Taylor Swift 16:06 Are you looking to bring awareness to your equine based product or service or create a unique way for your audience to feel connected to your brand quality horse photos, tell your story and breathed life into your marketing, they draw your customers in and create an emotional connection powerful images, communicate your core values and highlight the benefits your product offers. Ultimately, proving your business is a voice your customers can trust, it’s time to use dynamic images that define your small business and separate you from the rest of the herd Fast Horse photography, his professional photo library features 1000s of searchable images available for businesses just like yours. And guess what 100% of those images are horse related. Now finding the right horse images for your website, social media and marketing needs is easier than ever help your audience see that your brand offers the answers they are looking for search for the perfect images for your equine business right now spur your customers into action with Fast Horse photography.com. That’s fasthorsephotography.com. Awesome, thank you for that. Because I always think about things like you still need your existing clients. And you’re not necessarily changing your entire business, perhaps maybe you’re just trying to redefine in some way. And then there’s this fear of leaving a bad taste in someone’s mouth or you know, like messing with your current online reviews and that sort of thing if you’re not transparent, and you’re not kind of communicating through that process. So yeah, I was just thinking about that in terms of shifting the conversation. Kimberly Beer 17:35 So now the second one is, are you shifting your business? So one reason to rebrand is if you want to change that conversation that’s out there in the world. But another is internally and I see this a lot in the businesses that I work with, because I work with a lot of startups. And you’re exactly right, what they started their business as is not necessarily what they finally figure out that they want to do. There’s this process that you have to go through. And unfortunately, there’s no textbooks or manuals, or no amount of studying, that is going to prepare you for that shift in your business. And in one day you wake up and you realize I love doing this. And this may not even have been an option when you started your business. And now you’re in the position of I have this existing business. And it’s working really, really well. And now I want to move to something else. This personally has happened to me, I started out as a graphic designer, I started out building websites. And over time I found I loved consulting and teaching a lot more than I loved graphic design. Not that I didn’t like it or not that I wasn’t good at it. But that I loved this other piece so much. And I wanted to do so much more of it. And so I was shifting, I needed to shift my business away from my older business model and into something new. And Cara. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve been in this position with your business recently, too, haven’t you? Cara Taylor Swift 19:03 Yeah, when I first started working with Maredith, I was in a place where I was ready to I was really ready to I needed to clean some things up. Like I felt like my message was unclear. And that’s one of the things that you know, I needed to, for me, it was less about shifting the conversation and more about defining it, if that makes sense. Like really getting clear on what that what that needed to look like. And one of the things that Meredith, I remember had me do was, you know, sit down and really get clear on my mission and my avatar. And we did a lot of work on that and then that helped me take those next steps into you know, determining what that brand identity was going to look like and then then you move on to the the fun stuff, which is your logo and your colors and your you know all of that your website design and but I had to do all that hard work first. And I think that especially if you’re a new business owner, like you want to jump right to the logo, I mean, I mean, we’ve all seen it, you go online, you’re like I need to rebrand and I’m looking to do my logo and that’s really the last thing that you’re focusing on. But yeah, absolutely. I have been through that. And then even you know, Kim and I, we’ve had to reshift a little bit with the podcast, you know, and with some of the the stuff that we’re doing with cowgirls with cameras, and that all is a little bit of a brand shift to some, you know, the conversation changes. Kimberly Beer 20:17 I’m a business in that position. Meredith, what, what kind of advice do you have? Or what thoughts do you have around a business that found themselves in that place where they really want to shift into maybe a slightly different market? Or they want to shift into a different business model? Maredith Davis 20:35 Yeah, absolutely. So I think where the best place to start with this question, is looking at how the shift is being made, right? are we shifting to a new audience? are we shifting our services to maybe up level and better serve our current audience, that’s really where I would start simply because once we understand who it is, we’re serving, you know, with this with this new business shift that’s really going to allow us to speak to and visually create content, that’s going to continue to, you know, appeal to our ideal audience. And so what I would really encourage you to think about if you’re thinking about shifting your business is, you know, do the people that I’m now speaking to, did they have the same problems? Do they have the same motivators? Are they in kind of the same camp as the people that I was originally serving? But now I’m just doing it in a different way? Or am I shifting my audience completely. And once we have an understanding of you know what that shift actually looks like? Then we’re going to be able to go back to those five brand pillar elements and really kind of redefine them. As far as how that applies to the new business structure. If you’re still speaking to a similar audience. That’s, that’s great. That really kind of makes our job a little bit easier, right? Because now we’re just restating, we’re rephrasing how we’re solving their problems, versus shifting to a completely new audience where we’re having to basically reintroduce ourselves and rebuild, actually start to build that know, like, and trust that really is so crucial to doing business. Kimberly Beer 22:05 Absolutely. And that’s a big consideration when you go to shift and entire audience that you’re aiming for. And that needs to have a lot of thought and a lot of finesse. And I think it’s a really important thing. And we’ll get to this in a few minutes to ask some advice from you about working with a brand professional, because at that point, it may be time for you to consider that. So let’s let’s go ahead and talk about our third of the big three, which is what do you do when you find yourself in a position where you’re looking at the things that you’re putting out in the world, and you don’t feel like they’re reflective of who you are or what you’re doing. And I see this a lot in my own clients. And in my own students, when they kind of DIY decide hustled themselves into a business. And they get to a point and they get embarrassed about what they’re putting out, right. They don’t want to share their website, they don’t want to share their content out in the world because they don’t feel like it really is a reflection of the quality that they’re providing. And so they start to question themselves a lot. And then that’s oftentimes when they seek out businesses like yours to get some help. But let’s talk about that particular camp and that particular concept around why you should rebrand when you find yourself in that position. every small business owner wants to gain traction in their marketing. After three decades of working with small business owners just like you, I have developed what I call my four by four marketing method. In just 190 minutes session, you’ll discover the four major focus areas of a successful marketing plan. And together we’ll uncover where your business is getting stuck, you’ll leave the session with an action plan of next steps that engage your revenue engine drop by bemorebusiness.com To request your session today. That’s BEMOREbusiness.com. See you there. Maredith Davis 23:58 So I think it is so important to understand that the content that you’re producing as a business owner, right is really what you’re using to build that know, like, and trust with your audience. So when you feel like there’s a disconnect between the quality of work, the quality of content that you’re putting out, and the quality of work that you’re actually doing that really is to me a huge red flag, you know, that that’s something that needs to be addressed almost immediately, simply because there’s an incongruency there. And that’s really what I was seeing when I first started my business, um, you know, was just an incongruence between the quality of work that people were doing in the barn or in the show ring versus the quality of their website that they built in the early 1990s. Or, you know, their Facebook page that they hadn’t updated in, you know, four years since they sold a one horse that they did to the big name trainer. And so what I would highly recommend is that first if you are a DIY warrior, first off, there’s nothing wrong with that. I do not want to make Anyone feel, you know, shameful or anything like that if you are a DIY kind of person, I am a DIY kind of person, through and through, I think as, as entrepreneurs, I think of particular, as equestrians, that’s just kind of who we are, right? We’re the kind of people that we just we grit it, and we bear it, and we just figure it out on our own. But I am here to, you know, to let you know that, as a business owner, you don’t have to wear all the hats, right? That is what is so incredible about being a business owner, especially being a business owner in a very well defined niche is that there are people out there, right, that specialize in things that for lack of a better word that you kind of suck at, right? I mean, then that’s fine, right? Like thinking about as an equestrian, there’s a reason I don’t show my own horse, right? Or the I don’t do my body work on my mayor, or, you know, things like that, like we as a question as we go to other professionals to get help all the time. But yet, in our businesses, we don’t, we’re like, oh, I’ll just figure it out on my own. And I think that really, a lot of times, doesn’t you know, business owners, they really suffer because of that, because they’re so busy trying to wear all the hats, that they won’t give up a little bit of that, that control. Because, you know, horse, people certainly were type A and so giving, you know, giving up that that control to an extent is is a little scary, but really just making sure that, you know, if you do feel like the quality of the work that you’re putting, or the quality of the content that you’re putting out is not reflective of the quality of work, right? I think we have to start off with, well, why is it not connected? Right? Is it because you don’t, you know, you’re not really sure about how to make, you know, higher end looking graphics, or to update your website, you know, or something like that, if that’s where it is, that’s fine, because there are so many resources out there, you know, that can teach you how to update your website in a way that makes it look more professional, you know, their service providers, like Cara who can come out and take professional photos, you know, that’s a such a simple place to start. And then you know, going past that, if it’s if it’s something more than that, if it’s because you don’t feel like you’re very clear on you know, what it is you’re actually trying to say, or what people are resonating with, or what’s going to connect with your audience. That’s what’s so fantastic about platforms such as social media right now. Because that really allows you to start to dive in to test to find out, you know, what do people want from you? You know, what, what are people looking for? How can you say something differently? Or how can you make something, you know, look differently? And how are people going to respond, right, you can, you can kind of test it, and you can play with it and see, you know, what’s getting attention and what’s not getting attention. And so that’s really where I would encourage people to start is, you know, one we have, we need to get clear. But that path of clarity is not, you know, a one worksheet and we’ve got it figured out. It’s not let’s listen to a podcast. And then we have this beautiful aha moment. And now I have clarity in my business, it does take time. And so that’s really where you can you can turn to your audience. You know, shoot, if you have clients or students that you really enjoy working with, shoot him a text message, you know, next time they’re there at your shop, ask them questions about you know, about themselves and ask them, you know, why, why they enjoy working with you what it is that, you know, drew them to you in the first place, and then continue to create content that replicates that Kimberly Beer 28:22 Absolutely very, very wise words, there are four people that are finding themselves in this position in the growth of their business. And and that’s really the conversation we’ve been having all day today about rebranding is watching businesses grow and expand and figure this out as part of the process. I know a lot of people think when they start a business that it’s going to get carved in stone, and there aren’t going to be a lot of shifts and moves. But I think entrepreneurship is all about how you handle those shifts and moves and how you grow your business and make it truly a successful part of your life. And it’s all part of the process. In growing that business. There’s the direction that it needs to be as it matures. So we never start out, you know, kindergarten to college. There’s a lot to go through before when you’re when you’re on that journey. So Cara, what other questions do you have for Maredith? Cara Taylor Swift 29:20 Okay, Maredith. So we’ve talked through, you know, people thinking about do they need to rebrand their animal business, and we’ve went through our big three today, talking through the three big things that would maybe indicate that your business is in a place where you’re ready to rebrand. So we probably have listeners right now that are out there thinking, you know, maybe I am at that place, is there anything that you can say to them to help them maybe move into that next phase, give them some advice or help them just determine if they’re really prepared for that step? Maredith Davis 29:49 Sure. So where where I would love to start with this question is going back and making sure that when I ask questions about you know, these five brand pillars, your mission your niche Your differentiator, your story and your aesthetic preferences that you have a baseline answer for those things. So whenever a client comes to me to start working, we always start with what I call your branding workbook. And this is it’s a little intimidating, I will tell you this upfront, it’s about a 12 page document that I send that goes through everything from the backstory of your business, you know, why you started? What’s you know, what’s behind the name? Who are you trying to serve? What caused you to serve those those types of people? You know, what are your goals? What are your personal goals, what are your business goals really just helps me get into, you know, the, the heart and the soul of your business. And a lot of times when I send this document to my clients now, not only is it long, so I do preface that whenever I send it to them, but it does take them a little while, you know, a week or two weeks to really work through it. Because a lot of times I, the feedback I get is, you know, I’ve never really thought about those things before. You know, I’ve never really thought about why I offer the service that I did, I just kind of decided that that was what you did, you know, if you’re in this industry, and so I started offering them or, you know, I stumbled upon it, and someone wanted to pay me money. So I kept doing it. And so I really encourage, you know, if you’re looking at whether you’re branding for the first time, or you’re rebranding your business, that you have a general idea, you know, you have a bit of a concrete hold on what it is you’re doing, you know, and what you want to be moving into, because a lot of times that I think the biggest downfall that I see with clients, whenever they first come to me, and they’re not fully prepared, is that they don’t know where they want to go. You know, they’re like, Oh, I’m just starting out, we’ll see what happens. We’re flying by the seat of our pants. And it’s really hard to be strategic, whenever there’s not an end goal, right, it’s very hard to position them and create content that is going to be reflective of the type of business that they want to grow into, when they themselves have no idea. And so that’s really where I would encourage people to start is let’s start with, with what is that goal, right? Because my goal as a brand designer, is once I create the brand strategy for you, that is your guide to grow from, right i It’s not my goal to have you call me every two years and say, hey, you know, I’ve grown a little bit, I’ve changed some things, I need your help again. No, I want to set you up for years and years and years of business to grow into not, you know, keep you in a foothold feeling like you’d need me to help you continue to expand the business every couple of years. And I think that it’s important. The other I guess the other piece of it that is important that people realize is that when you approach branding, as you know, from this position, it’s an investment, right? This is not, oh my gosh, I need a logo. Let me you know, find someone to make something semi custom and slap my name below it. Right? That’s not what we’re doing. When we’re talking about brand strategy. In this sense, you know, what we’re doing is really making sure that you have a guide, like I said, to grow into, you know, that you have the resources you have the information that you need, that you feel confident with, that feels very personal to you and your gold and your customers or your students that’s going to allow you to progress through your business. And so I do think it’s important that people understand that this is an investment into long term result of your business. This is a result into the experiences that your customers are going to have with you and your business. This is not let’s just you know, find something on 99 designs or buy a logo off Etsy, and I’m going to type your name below it. That’s absolutely not what we’re talking about. Cara Taylor Swift 33:48 Excellent. Thank you so much for that. Kim, did you have any other questions before we tell folks how they can find Maredith? Kimberly Beer 33:53 I don’t I loved this episode. Maredith though, I don’t have a question. But I have a comment. So I’ve loved this episode, you have jam packed this full of really good information for our listeners. And I know that some of them out there are taking a massive amount of notes in the things that you’ve said, and I just want to really express that I am appreciative of that. And that I know that our listeners will be very appreciative of it. And now Charis got that all important question about how can people find you? Cara Taylor Swift 34:24 That’s right, folks are going to want to know how to find you. They’re going to want to know where they can follow you online to get your tidbits of information and possibly even want to work with you. So can you tell folks, where can they find you online? I know you have a beautiful website and then maybe list your social media handles and anything else you want folks to know about you. Maredith Davis 34:41 Absolutely. Well, thank you guys so much for having me on. This has been such a blast. I am feeling so energized and I love talking about branding. So this was this was so much fun. But if you guys are interested in learning more about what I do for my brand design, or my web design services, you can And visit my website. It’s just Maredith davis.com. But it’s Maredith spelled like a horse. It’s in a r e di th not the traditional Maredith. So my parents had no idea I was going to be horsey. But they gave me the mayor. And it was just fate. So Maredith davis.com is where you can go, I do have a freebie download on there. If you guys are interested in jumping into working through these five elements of brand design, there’s a freebie on there that will walk you guys through how to how to start that you know how to really start thinking about those different different elements in you know, specifically for your business. Otherwise, I’m on Instagram at Maredith Davis design. And yeah, I think that those are probably the best two places to reach me, you guys are more than welcome to reach out directly. And I would love to hear you know, if there’s a way that we work together, let’s get you looking fabulous. Cara Taylor Swift 35:51 That’s perfect. So what we’ll do, then just because I know folks are a lot of our listeners listen to this show while they’re driving their tractor, and they’re galloping around the arena and that sort of thing. So what we’re going to do is we’re going to make sure that all of that information is in our show notes, and that there is a link to that download as well for folks. So we’ll make sure that that’s all ready to go and when this episode is released, so Maredith, once again, thank you so much for hopping on you were our the first person we thought of when we put the show together today. And it has been an absolute pleasure. And this is a jam packed episode full of information for folks, so we really appreciate having you. Thank you. Jaz 36:26 Thanks for listening to this episode of The Business Animal. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you learned something today, leave us a review. To learn more. Find us at the business animal.com We’d love to hear from you. Until next time, keep your business well trained with The Business Animal