viable marketing plan so your ideal client will know about you and your products and services and vice versa.

Christine St.Vil and Julian Kiganda, sisters and co-authors of Whose Shoes Are You Wearing? 12-Steps to Uncovering the Woman You Really Want to Be and owners of Moms N’ Charge and Bold & Fearless, respectively have over twenty of years of combined experience in marketing and branding as small business owners.

Here are seven of their top tips for marketing and branding your business.

Here are three of Kiganda’s tips about branding:

 Have Total Clarity on Your WHY: 

So often, we get into business because we see an opportunity that is too good to pass up, but we’re not always clear on WHY we really want to get into business. The opportunity is less important than the WHY. Why? Because your WHY defines your passion. Your WHY defines your mission—the foundation of a successful company. Your WHY defines your commitment. Your WHY will keep you pushing even when you feel like giving up.

Know who you are:

When you know who you are, you understand your value. As it’s been said: You don’t get paid for the work you do in an hour; you get paid for the VALUE you bring to that hour. How can you know your value if you don’t know who you are? I’ve found that taking the time to get clear on who I am, what I want and what I deserve, has helped me become much more focused and clear on the direction in which I want to take my business. Because of that, I can resist the wrong opportunities—no matter how good they look—because they are not aligned with who I am or the vision I have for my life.

Deliver on your promise

[Tweet “There is no faster way to destroy your brand than by making promises to customers and clients that you don’t keep.”]There is no faster way to destroy your brand than by making promises to customers and clients that you don’t keep. In this age of social media, it is more important than ever for your brand to deliver. Providing consistently great products and customer service is one of the best types of marketing there is!

Here are St. Vil’s top marketing tips for new entrepreneurs:

 Focus on relationship building

The money is in your relationships: People refer business to those they can vouch for, those who they know, like, trust and will go the extra mile. Build relationships that matter and surround yourself with people who you can learn and grow from.

Focus on creating and sharing great content that your audience wants/needs/will benefit from:

When you focus your marketing on giving rather than receiving, you will inevitably attract clients/prospects. Don’t make it all about you and what you have to share (sell). Make it about your target audience and what they need, focus on their pain points and strategies to solve them.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

Tackling the big wide world of marketing on your own as a new business owner is overwhelming to say the least. Although there are numerous tips and tricks you can practice by yourself, there will come a point in which you need the help of a professional. Accepting help from a reputable digital marketing agency will take your business to the next level. This will prevent you from wasting money on marketing strategies that aren’t going to work for your industry. It will also help you to gain clarity and consistency with regards to the types of advertising campaigns that appeal to your target audience.

Tell your story

People connect to the mess behind your message: Everyone has a story. Until you can face your own and share it with others, it will prevent them (your true audience) from connecting with you. Allow your story to put you in a position of authority and increase your credibility. Do you relate more to those who have never gone through struggle or those who show that they’ve gone through struggle and show you how you can overcome it like they did?

When your business grows, make sure your head stays the same size

Stay humble. When you become a “local celebrity”, or your status in your industry becomes elevated, never forget where you came from. Have integrity with everyone you interact with because you never know how people are connected. Don’t ever stop feeling like you have to stop being humble because you’ve “made it”.

The #BrownGirlBoss Series seeks to provide inspiration, information, and support to aspiring brown girl entrepreneurs. This is Part II of the series.

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