Balancing Authenticity and Client Appeal in Your Brand Design with Amber Duffney

Welcome back to Landing Imperfect! In this episode, Jen Lander sits down with Amber, an ADHD neurospicy homeschooling mom, certified life coach, and now brand designer and strategist. Amber shares her journey from life coaching to branding, offering practical advice for heart-led female coaches and entrepreneurs looking to build authentic, stand-out brands. Together with guest Amy, they dive deep into what makes branding truly work, common mistakes to avoid, and how to tell when it’s time for a rebrand. Amber also discusses balancing business with family life, the importance of staying true to your values, and how mindset can make or break your brand transformation. Whether you're thinking about revamping your business image or just curious about personal branding, this episode is packed with actionable insights and heartfelt stories to inspire your next steps. Let’s jump in!

00:00 Branding Issues: Wrong Clients Attracted

05:27 Brand Identity Requires Foundational Work

07:01 Clarifying Employment Offers

10:47 Strategic Branding Beats Random Design

15:33 "Intuitive, Inexplicable Process"

17:00 Coaching Through Emotional Awareness

20:14 Brand Audit for Alignment

23:15 "Designer to Coach Transition"

27:42 Outsource Design or Define Brand

31:31 "Choosing a 'Done For You' Provider"

36:23 Authenticity in Personal Branding

37:11 DIY Branding Tips

42:06 Lucky Deals on Whatnot App

Follow Amber:

Website: https://www.empowerherdesigns.com/

Amber's free mini brand audit: https://www.empowerherdesigns.com/free-mini-brand-audit

Follow Jen:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jen.lander/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.butram/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jenniferlander9

Follow Jamie Gooch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breathwork.ecc/

website: https://stan.store/breathwork_ecc?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaa49ctsP6s6lbqLptHTr6kyIE9Hd-wTO7aXqV2foU_6vPFgZBVav7_M8zs_aem_5A2awUowgFDvgLHTOEhU3g

Follow Lucky Dealz on Whatnot App:  https://www.whatnot.com/live/e4f2d074-6e45-40b5-8dc1-b4ebd2889315?referringSource=listings_serp&app=web&sharing_channel=copyLink&invitedBy=jenlan14593&sender_id=16464426

Transcript

0:00

Feeling stressed, overwhelmed. Ready to finally release. What's holding you back then. You need to experience the transformative power of somatic breath. Work with Jamie Gooch. Jamie, isn't just a breathwork coach. She's a guide, a facilitator of deep healing and a true master of connecting you to your body's core sense of balance. Imagine releasing years of tension, finding profound, inner peace, and unlocking a new found sense of clarity and wellbeing. Breath work with Jamie can help you reduce your stress and anxiety release, emotional blocks, improve, sleep, and focus, deepen your self-awareness and so much more. I've personally experienced Jamie's incredible sessions and I've always left feeling lighter and more centered. She creates a safe, supportive space where you can truly let go. Whether you're local or live across the country. Jamie makes breathwork assessable. She offers both deeply immersive in-person sessions and convenient, transformative virtual sessions. So you can experience the benefits from anywhere. Don't let stress intention control your life any longer. Take control of your wellbeing with Jamie she's knowledgeable, compassionate, and ready to guide you on your journey to a calmer, more empowered. You. Jamie's contact info is linked in the show notes so that you can book your session today. She rocks and you're absolutely gonna love her Amber is an A DHD Neuros, spicy homeschooling mom of two in business. She's a certified life coach, turned brand designer and strategist. She is passionate about helping heart led female coaches and entrepreneurs build brands that honor the depth of their work and position them as the only choice for their dreams. I'm so excited for you guys to dive a little bit deeper into this conversation and what Amber's all about and how she can help. So let's get started. So how can someone tell if their branding is no longer working for them?

Audio Only - All Participants: 2:01

Yeah, that's a great question. so there's a few indicators, but one of the biggest clues is if someone's. Attracting the wrong clients. Like if they're getting a lot of, uh, clients who aren't ready for them, or clients who are just a really wrong fit, um, that's a really good indicator that the branding is not, doing what it's supposed to do. Another indication is if, I mean. A lot of people start with DIY and I mean no shade or anything to that because we just wanna get it done at the beginning. Yeah. especially if we don't have any kind of budget for that kind of thing at the beginning. But if you DIY it at the beginning and you didn't do the strategy and stuff. Beforehand and like actually create an ecosystem with it because you didn't know mm-hmm. Yeah. That you, that you quote unquote a good idea to do that. Then yeah, it's, if you've been in business a couple of years, and you've grown, um, that's probably a good sign too. Or if you have shifted. Right. So if you started off helping moms with weight loss, let's say, and now you're working on more, mindset and a spirituality or something, that's just a totally random example, but, um, yes, that is kind of how, it would be good to to revisit that because chances are it's not gonna be aligned anymore, so, mm-hmm. Yeah. So with that being said, and they know that it's not like so much aligning and they're switching kind of their brand. Yeah. But they're feeling very overwhelmed with the rebrand. Yeah. What are some things that they could look out for when they're trying to like work with or choose the right brand designer or just figure that out in general? Yeah. Um, I think like anything, I think it's really important to find someone that you. Connect with and that you feel comfortable with. Mm-hmm. Um, I don't take on every client, you know, I've had to say no to people, even though, you know, I, I wanna help everybody, right? Like, I'd love to do that, but I wanna make sure that it's a true partnership, that I am on board and really understand their business and really can get behind the mission and the value vision of what they're doing. And I think it's really important that you find someone who can do that. Um, because a brand, designer should, a graphic designer and a brand designer are two different things, right? A brand designer is generally also a graphic designer, but a graphic designer isn't always a brand designer. And so what I mean by that is if you wanna make sure that it's all. Aligned, and I hate to use the word aligned so much, but it's the only word I can think of that really mm-hmm. Fits. Yeah. I love that word. I probably, I mean, I love it. Use that word I'd love it too. And I probably overuse it as well, but I just, you know, and, and strategy, I use that word a lot too, but like, sometimes it's hard to, to articulate it in, in a better way, but it's like mm-hmm. You need to have someone who can understand your business, who can help you really dig into your vision and your mission and your why. You're doing this in the first place, and you know your brand story and, and understanding how all of those pieces and your personality and your values. I didn't say that already. I might have already said it, but all of that stuff needs to be in place before you do a visual. Identity. Right? Yeah. And that's, that's something that I see a lot of people missing because they just don't know. Like a lot of people didn't know that until I kind of got into the marketing and branding world. Like I didn't know that. Right? Like, we all learn that at different times. And so if I, if, if this, you know, someone can take away from this episode and, and know that going into the next time they do it, then maybe I can save them some time and headache. Mm-hmm. Right? Because the reality is, in my opinion. A visual identity for your brand without having that foundational work, you're just probably setting yourself up to have to do it in another six months or a year. Right? Yeah. And ideally you wanna find someone who has that ability to help you with that. And really someone who respects and understands your business and their communication, level is to where you want it to be and that you fully understand what they are offering. Mm-hmm. Um, exactly. Because, you know, it's just, it's very, those are the most important things I would say if you're looking to partner someone. And it's the same things I think of when you're looking for a coach or something like that. You have to find someone who's. Values you align with, right? Mm-hmm. And who, who is going to be able to support you in the way you need to be supported. So, I mean, that's one of the things I guess I, it's how I can be a little different for people is that I actually am a certified coach. So I kind of have a little bit of an edge.'cause I have to sometimes talk my, uh, clients. Um, off a ledge, so to speak, when it comes to,'cause sometimes there's growing pains that come with and not wanting to, and wanting to hold on to things that no longer work for their business and stuff like that. So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like that is a little bit unique and different to some people when working.'cause I feel like they just kind of throw out the offer and then they're like, here I am. Like come work with me kind of thing, you know? Yeah.'cause I feel like I've been on the other end of it where I have kind of just put money towards something and it didn't really turn out the way that I wanted it to. Right. Or what I expected, you know? So I think on my end. There could have been better questions that I could have been asking, but on the other end maybe it wasn't very clear what really they were offering. I thought it was something different, so I like that. Yeah. You bring up that point. I think that's so important. you know, it really comes down to, for me, making sure that I am aligned in a value sense. Yeah. I work with people who are heart-centered, who do what they do because they feel a calling to do it, so I mean, I feel like that could potentially differentiate me again, um, from, from other people. But I also have my own unique style right of the way I do things and, you know, you could also find two designers who are both valued, aligned. You like one person's style better, right? Mm-hmm. So that's important too, right? Someone might love my philosophies and my values, but maybe don't align with the style of visual design that I do. Yeah. And that's okay, right? Mm-hmm. It's okay. Um, not everybody is for everybody. That's why art is subjective, right? Yeah. Um, not every artist is right for everybody. So, I mean, I guess. What makes me different? I guess because I am a coach, I have some of that ability to help people with that and help them get through blocks, mindset blocks if they come up. Um, and the history that I have of being a coach, I understand that business so well. So the majority of women that I work with are coaches because I just so understand that business and I so understand how tough, um. It is to stand out, um, especially now, and, and it all not only stand out, but stand out in, in a trustworthy way.'cause trust is so depleted in the market right now, especially in the coaching world because there's unfortunately been a lot of people who've been shady and who've been, disingenuous and have offered the world and, and not really been genuine and upfront and honest. Right. So I think that's a little bit of a hurdle, which is why. Having an understanding of that. I think going into any kind of, um, branding situation, it's, I think it's really important. Yeah. Authenticity. I think that's a pretty big deal that, that you understand that piece of having experience being a coach in the past and, yeah. Knowing that mindset is so important when it comes to building a brand. I know there's been so many times where that's impacted me, so it's not so much sometimes like the strategy is just the smallest piece of it, and it's like your mindset, you're getting so much resistance and you're like, what's going on here? So it's like awesome. That, yeah, you have both of those things that is definitely unique and so helpful in so many ways. So yeah. What are some of the biggest mistakes that you see in branding? the biggest ones are diving into visuals without having the foundation like that is the biggest mistake I see. Um, the second one would be crowdsourcing visuals. Okay. I see people do that all the time, and I understand why, because you wanna get it out there and you want people's opinions. However, this goes back to the first thing that I said. If you are starting with visuals, without having a strategy, like what you're foundation to go back to what you're building off of, right? If you're building visuals off of. Random, I like pink and I like blue and you know, I like this font and this logo, whatever. If you're going off of just that and not digging into the foundation of that, then you're really throwing spaghetti against the wall.'cause you have no idea if that's going to attract the right people. You have no idea because you haven't taken the time to understand who your people are and what they want, how you want them to feel, and how you show up in an in authentic way. Like the real you, how that shows up into that branding in order to then create the visual identity from that, right? Mm-hmm. Because if you're just creating visuals, you might create something beautiful. You might create something pretty, however. Yeah. Isn't enough, like, especially in this market, and especially when there's so many coaches out there, there's so many coaches doing so many different things. In order to attract the right people, there has to be a strategy behind it. So that's, that's the one thing. And then the, the crowdsourcing, again, you're gonna get a hundred different opinions from a hundred different people. Yeah. If they're not your ideal client, respectfully, their opinion does not matter. Right. Yeah. It doesn't. It just doesn't, I mean, it's great if they think, oh, that's beautiful. Wonderful. That's awesome. Yeah. But their opinion isn't. Anywhere near as valuable as someone who actually is your ideal client that you're trying to, to attract. And if you haven't done the foundation and you're just doing that and you get a few that go, oh, I love it. And oh good, you're my ideal client. You don't know why they liked it, so you don't know what aspects of that they're actually connecting with. So you can't repeat it. It's not repeatable in that way. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yes, that does make sense. And I think, I don't know if this is my A DHD or what, but I'm like, I'm thinking when you're talking, I'm like, oh my gosh, all of this makes so much sense. And you may have said it, but how do they like narrow that down to get the answers to that? You know how you were just kind of saying, oh yeah. Like, if you're building that foundation and there's a couple people that you know are your ideal client, but they, you don't know why they like it, then it's like, how do we find that out? How do we know that? Yeah. that's where I come in. Right. So knowing, understanding your mission and your vision, your values, the brand voice. your personality has to come in with that because too many people are trying to be, let's say, prim and proper when that's not who they're trying to attract. And because they just think that they should, you know? Yeah. People are shouldn't all over themselves, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, and so What has to happen is that has to come into play first. And then from there there's color psychology and shape psychology and all of that that comes together. But that doesn't come first, right? That other stuff has to come first. Figuring out that understanding your ideal client, um, what they want, what they need, um, understanding how you want them to feel, right? Mm-hmm. How you want them to feel. And then color psychology is a big part of that, right? Because, um. Colors, evoke different emotions. That's just a psychology thing, right? Yeah. and different tones, like if you like pink, that's great, but like, should it be a pale pastel pink or should it be a bright, bold pink or somewhere in between, more warm, more cool. Like all of that stuff matters. so between having that balance and we're talking about colors and stuff, because for me, I guess just let me use this as an example. Like, I will always choose things based off of what I like and I guess it kind of aligns with. The target audience.'cause I'm targeting people who are just a few years behind me, you know? Mm-hmm. So I guess it kind of aligns in that way. So I'm just always picking out things that I like and I'm like right. Not really doing much research into like what anyone else really likes, And I think a lot of people get into that. They're in the same boat, right. So, absolutely. I guess what I'm thinking is like, how can people balance the need for a brand to be authentic to the person, but also appealing to their ideal client? Like I'm assuming you're seeing tension there, right? How do we navigate that? Yeah, yeah. Sometimes, I mean. I've yet to have a client who I've said, you know, this is the co, the couple color palettes that I'm looking at. And they go, ah, no, it's terrible. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So I can't really speak to that, to be honest. It's just, it's never really come up. I do ask people, is there a color that you hate? Like, is there a color you absolutely disgust because. You have to also like your brand. Like it can't be one that your ideal clients love and you hate. That's not gonna work. Yeah. Um, and there's no real science to it. We just kind of play with it. And, and like I said, um, I ask a ton of questions and I do, uh, a lot of that research and then. We kind of figure it out. It's so hard for me to answer, like in a way that somebody could go do it themselves.'cause I kind of, a lot of what I do is intuitive, um, based on, on, you know. What I know about, colors and, and the psychology and stuff of that. there's that part, but there's also an intuitiveness of it that I just, I don't really know how to explain to someone else how to do. Yeah. But there is, it's, it is important, like you said, it is important for the person's brand, like for them to love it too. You know, I'm never going to create, um, a brand that their ideal clients love and they hate generally. Knowing enough about their own preferences and marrying the two together is kind of where it. The sweet spot is and how I do that, I don't know. Yeah, it's just natural to, I'm sorry, I don't really have an answer. I don't have an answer for that. No, I think that I do a lot of similar things too, where it's intuition and people are like, how do you do it? And I'm like, I don't know. Like I hope not. Like I just have a feeling. I don't know. So I also think that a lot of coaches and entrepreneurs struggle with confidently positioning themselves as the person who it's like, this is the best choice for you to work with me, what strategies do you use to help people, overcome this through their brand? Um, do you mean how do I help coach them through it, do you mean? Mm-hmm. Well, I mean, we talk a lot about, what the actual feeling is coming up and what do they think that if they do X, y, z, what, what do you think that means about you? Right? Mm-hmm. And you know, if someone's going well, this, I had the, I'll give you an example. So I had a client who we'd gone through the logo process and we were very close to what she wanted. And then she said, I'm I po I'm just gonna post it in my group to see what people think. And I was like, okay, yeah. Um, but before she did that, she had asked a friend. And the friend had said that she didn't love it. And I was like, so then she started freaking out. Um, and I said, okay, that's okay. I understand. We're gonna make sure that you love it. Like, don't worry. Mm-hmm. Um, but let me ask you, is this person your ideal client? And she went, no. And she goes, and actually I don't even like her branding. And I said, well, yeah, so there's something there. Like for her it was people pleasing, right? Mm-hmm. So I have to ask the right questions to find out what it is. So in that particular example, it was, she was wanting to ha to people please to, to make everybody like it. And then we just talked about it and I, I helped her understand that. If your friend isn't your ideal client, and if you look at her stuff and you don't like her style, then it really doesn't matter. It's okay. Yeah. In fact, it's good because if someone who's not your ideal client just looks at your stuff and goes, Ugh, that is actually a good thing. Yeah. Because then they're not gonna reach out to you and waste your time. Right. Hmm, that's good. Yep. That's so true. That makes sense. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And I, and that's where that coaching, training and experience comes in you know, there was a time when I felt a lot of shame around pivoting a away from coaching. Mm-hmm. Because I wasn't making enough money. Um, I was burnt out. Yeah. And I wasn't the right business model for me. Mm-hmm. And it, I spent like$15,000 to become a coach. Yeah. It wasn't 500. It was a lot of money. Yes. Yeah. So I had a lot of resistance is a perfect example of resistance. I had a lot of resistance of letting that go to pivot to something else. Mm-hmm. Um. Once I shifted that mindset in myself, I realized I am, first of all, it was a self-improvement course in itself and it's helped me become a better parent. It's helped me self-coach it's, and now it's helping me. Still help women in this way, like those skills are transferable. So yeah, you know that's my own personal example. Not that you asked of, you know, switching resistance, but No, I didn't need to ask. I love it. I love that you're throwing that out there.'cause those are great examples that I think can be helpful for a lot of people so for anyone who is feeling disconnected from their current brand and they have like a more established business, they've been doing it for a while and they wanna rebrand, what are some initial like maybe low stake steps that they could take to begin to explore rebranding? Yeah. Um, that's a tough question for me to answer.'cause I'm trying to think like what they could do initially. I mean, they could do, I have a free tool, but I'm sure other brand designers do as well. Like, like do a little mini audit or something of kind of seeing where they're at and, um, to know whether, you know, everything is aligning with their message, um, and whatnot. And having, a review of that, I guess. Right, and, and just kind of making sure that it's still visually and messaging and all of that. Actually is saying what you want it to say, right? Mm-hmm. and and sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's hard to do that for yourself'cause we're so close to it. which is why I like the tool I offer, the free mini brand audit. but like I said, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's done something like that. But if you can find a tool like that to get a third party's perspective on, you know, and, and knowing. Is this aligned and this aligned? Because sometimes people just don't know what they don't know. They don't know where they even should start, right? So yeah, if you are messaging, let's just say, let's think of an example. I think sometimes examples are easy for people. So let's say you started off, um, you're dealing with moms who work from home and they're just trying to make, their life more balanced. Okay. And then you pivot to working with high-end business owners who are, you know, trying to scale. Those are two very different brandings. Those are two very different messaging, and they also have to have different visuals, right. There's a difference between, you know, the colors you use, there's a difference between the types of fonts that you're gonna use. There's a difference between your messaging, which struggles you're gonna be talking about. And the, you know, the transformation, conversation is gonna be different. Does that help? Mm-hmm. Yeah, no, it does help, um, for you Did that happen right away? Like, did you go from coaching to a brand designer? Did that happen like back to back? Yeah. Yeah. So that, that had to been like the pivot too with rebranding and stuff. Yeah. Yeah. When I, what was that like? So when I. When I was coaching, I had done, I had done design for my own coaching businesses right this whole time since like 2018 or whenever I graduated. Mm-hmm. and done visuals for that. I also have a little Etsy shop that I kind of just do as a passion project, but I've had that since 2020. So I've been doing design, um. I just hadn't put it as an offer. Okay. Right. So, um, until I realized, you know, I had a, a freelance coach who helped me when I was trying to figure out what I was gonna do, you know, after coaching since I wanted to pivot away. And she was like, you are actually a really good designer, you know, you could do that. And I went, really? You know what? You're right. so pivoting. I had the experience, but like. I knew I had to start all over because my, my messaging was gonna be completely different now. Like now I'm doing Mostly done for you work, right? Yeah. Versus done with you. Um, and that, I shouldn't say more. So it's, it's kind of half and half.'cause it depends on what someone needs, how much of this, the foundation that they have already, if they already have a lot of that than it is. More done for you. Yeah. Um, but so my messaging had to be different. Um, my brand story is changing because, um, you know, why did I start being, um, a designer? Where did that come from, right. Versus why I wanted to be a coach. And I mean, some of that is. Is, it's gonna be the same.'cause I always wanted to help women. That's kind of what I wanted to do. And I, now I'm just doing it from a different angle. But yeah, so your brand story is gonna be different and um, your messaging is different. And again, your visuals are different because it's based on who you're talking to. And now I'm talking to business owners, right? Like before I was talking to women who were, I think I did women who were struggling with crappy relationships. And then I did, um, I did. Something else. And I can't remember what it was now, not something. And, uh, I pivoted a lot and then I was working with tween girls and helping them gain confidence. So like, it's always been in the vein of women's empowerment. Yeah. Um, so it's just I coming from a, at it from a different angle. So yeah. So pivoting that has been a little bit challenging because it's like. Now I'm helping people with something that I'm kind of doing for them. And so your messaging definitely is different mm-hmm. When you're doing a done for you versus a done with you. And I will tell you, it's been a challenge. It has been a challenge for me because I'm like, I know how to word coaching content. Yeah. But now that I'm like doing something for someone, it's just, there's a difference there. And it took me a minute and I'm, you know, I'm still, I, I still sometimes go, oh wait, is this. Is this the right, you know, I'm, I, I'm checking myself Yeah. Constantly to make sure that I'm doing that right. So, yeah. Yeah. Well, you definitely sound so passionate about the work that you do. Number one, just empowering women and working with them and helping them reach their goals So, um, I think that's amazing, the work that you're doing. Thank you. I, I think it's important. I'm really passionate about it because. The women I work with have so much to give, like they have so much to give to the world. They wanna change the world, you know, through their clients. They wanna change their clients' lives, they wanna help them be happier, make more money, be healthier, like all of those things. And that's so important. Mm-hmm. So if I can help them. Get that out there more. Right. And and speak to those people that they can help. Then I'm actually helping those people too, I feel like, because yes, I'm helping them get to the right person. Do you know what I mean? Yes. Does that make sense? Yeah. It's like a ripple effect. Yeah. Like the work that you are doing is going to someone else that's going to someone else, like it's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. So you. I feel like you have a lot on your plate, like you homeschool, right? You're a homeschooling mom. You have a h, adhd. I'm, yeah, sure am. You're juggling a business, you're a business owner and just family stuff. Um, do you have any advice that you could offer anyone who's trying to juggle all these things too, just to be able to carve out time and just the mental space to invest in and building their brand? Yeah. I always like to say, make your business work for you. Right? I also struggle with mental health. So my energy levels are very much up and down. So I've found ways to be able to be okay if, oh, you know, I wanted to do content today, but it today is just not a high energy day. So we're gonna look at that tomorrow and give myself grace around that. Um, yeah. And I mean, when it comes to branding, like if you can hire someone to help you, like Absolutely. Because doing it on your own can be quite overwhelming because if you don't know where to start and you don't know the things that you need to know to do it, and like as far as if design isn't your strong suit, then. It's okay to hire that out. Right? It's okay. We don't have to be everything to everybody. We don't have to be good at all the things. You know, there's things that I am not good at. I suck at tech. Like I can do basic tech, but like if someone asked me to like code, I'd be like, I'd look like a deer in the headlights and like doing bookkeeping and stuff like that. I'd rather like watch paint dry. Like it's just so not my thing. Um, but that doesn't mean that I don't have other talents. So, um, you know. If you can hire it out, definitely do that because it will actually save you time in the long run. Yeah. Because you might spend a few hours, you know, back and forth with a, with a designer. Whereas if you're spending the time to do it all yourself, it's gonna take you a lot longer. Probably three times that. Mm-hmm. If not more. Right. So, um, if you have to do it on your own though, um. Doing your, figuring out, getting really clear on your brand vision and your brand mission. Um, really, really clear on your ideal clients, what they want, what they need, what they may not even wanna admit that they need. Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's, that's important, right? Knowing that stuff. And, um, what else? I'm blanking. Um, oh, like your energy and your personality. So what adjectives do you wanna describe your brand and make sure they align with you because you are your brand. And for the people that I work with generally, unless it's a faceless company, which is, you know, those, those are a little different, but mm-hmm. Make sure that you understand, you know, how you want. Your voice to come across, you know, are you, are you loud and boisterous? Are you calm and patient? Are you, do you know what I mean? Like mm-hmm. Whatever you are in real life, do that. Yeah. You know, I am loud and. Very boisterous, and I love to have fun. I'm warm and genuine and helping people, you know, to be empathetic with their struggles. But at the same time, I also love to have a lot of fun. And, you know, I poke fun at myself because life is too short not to, right? So those pieces have come into my brand, um, you know, playful and you know, upbeat and inspiring, but also I. Empathetic, right? So like, know what those are, figure that out and be truthful and honest because you want your branding to be authentic to you. Because if, if you're attracting people who are thinking you're this, and then they try and work with you and you're not that. It's gonna feel like a bait and switch to them, number one. And you're gonna likely end up with a client who's gonna drain you and you're just gonna regret working with them. Um, and then the energy that you want people to feel when they come across your stuff, right? Know that. And that's where you start. Once you have that all figured out. Then you can start looking into color and shape psychology and, you know, understanding what fonts are gonna go with those, you know, those adjectives that you've used. Right? Yeah. So if it is bold and, and bright and, and you want people to feel like energized and whatever, then there's certain colors you're gonna wanna use. Like red is a really, like bold, vibrant color, but it doesn't work for everyone, right? Yeah. Depending on their, the brand and, and the messaging of the brand. Um. And same with fonts. You know, if you're a corporation type corporate feel and you're using flowing, you know, fonts might be pretty, but it doesn't fit. And people are gonna be like, what? Where did I end up when I get on your website? Like that just doesn't, it doesn't fit right. And confused. Audiences don't buy. That's very true. So you had mentioned for anyone who is able to. Um, kind of just outsource and, hire some people to do some things that are not there, like with their, their zone of genius is what I call it. Genius. Yes. Yeah. Um, I think that's a big thing too that I fall into sometimes where it's looking for someone and then it's like not wanting to put the money into it if you don't know or trust that they're gonna deliver what they say. Where do you look when you're trying to hire? Yeah, well, I will usually follow people for a bit. Um, okay. I will, I lurk. Yeah. You know, I'll, I'll read what they're saying and I will, you know, watch if they've got, you know, trainings or if they've got this or that, or if I'm looking for someone for a done for you situation, like someone, if I was looking for someone to, you know, create my website or something, like I'd wanna see what they've done in the past. Right. So. That's important. Like if you're looking for a done for you provider, definitely look at their portfolio, um, and make sure that the style that they do is that you like it. Because again, you could align very much values wise, but potentially you may not like their style. Yeah. Right. So I think that's important knowing, you know, following someone kind of getting to, you know, read a little bit of their content. I, I'll often just like binge, right? Like I'll binge content of someone that. Catches my eye. Mm-hmm. And if I'm like looking for what they offer, then you know, I'm way more likely to, to reach out to them if they have consistent messaging and like they're always saying the same things.'cause then that means to me that they actually mean what they say and say what they mean and they believe in that whatever it happens to be. Yeah. Yeah. Will you go to LinkedIn or will you kind of just search what you're looking for on social media, or how do you initially find the person to be able to lurk? Yeah. It, it depends. It depends on what I'm looking for, but yeah. Um, I'm in so many, uh, women's business groups on Facebook. Um Oh, okay. I have, yeah. I have found, um, a lot of people in there and. And not only that, I've been in coaching groups where I'm being coached with other people. Yeah. And we end up buying from each other because we've gotten to know them. Right. Yeah. I'm not a LinkedIn person. I loathe LinkedIn. I just, I don't like it. So I don't go on there, but I'm on Facebook all the time. Um, so, in those groups and, um, connecting and networking there, like, I think that. If those groups feel like a good fit for you. Um, some of them are just super spammy. You gotta, like, there's a few gems mm-hmm. But there's a lot of garbage out there. So find a few that you know, that align with you and, and genuinely connect with people like. And then you'll meet people and then you'll meet people through those people. And like, I believe a lot in, in that. Yeah. Um, but I mean, if I'm searching for something specific, I can't even think of an example right now, but I would, I would definitely also check out someone's website for sure. Yeah. Um, to, to see that they're legitimate. That's one thing I can say too, is if you are on Facebook and talking about your business on Facebook, you have to have your profile optimized. Yeah, I have seen so many times where people are like, you know, I'm looking for X, Y, Z, and then like the comments, the just flooded, right? Mm-hmm. Um, with aunts, I can help you. I can help you, and then just for fun, I'll go and look out, look, check this person or that person, and like their profile just says their name and like, I'm a mom five like that. I don't know that you're legitimate. I have no idea what you do. Their profile pictures, a picture of a daisy and their, you know, header is some random quote. Like, you know, you have to have those things. That is part of your brand too, right? Yeah. Um, you know, even if you're not using it like as your, as your main thing, if you're on there and you are. Networking in these groups, you have to at least have that as the bare minimum. Otherwise, people are not gonna think that you're legitimate and you're not, and you're gonna lose business. Yeah. Yes. Absolutely. I will, just from my experience too, if I'm looking at someone's page, I will just bypass it. I'm like, oh, okay, well maybe they're not doing this or that, or what I thought, or maybe they're not serious. Go. Yeah, Like if they don't have, if they haven't taken the time to actually. Put even their bio and like, you know, a, a cover photo that says, I do this, whatever. Like, if you can't even take that time to do that, then that, to me and to a lot of people, especially with trust in the market being so low right now, that indicates, can indicate that yeah, there's a level of lack of seriousness or commitment to their business. Yeah. Right. I agree. So before we wrap up, is there any final thoughts, tidbits, any tips, anything like that that you would wanna offer? Anyone rebranding or just advice in general? Stay true to yourself, you know? Um, make sure that you're not posturing and trying to be like someone else, right? Yeah. Um. Authenticity, and I know authentic and authenticity are words that are overused. I get it. Mm-hmm. However I've yet to find a better word for being yourself. Yeah. Like truly being genuine. I guess that's another good one. Um, being genuine and, you know, speaking from your heart when you create your brand and really making sure that it. That it really has you in it, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, someone else who does. Who has, let's say you come across someone who does, they're, they're a business coach for women, and you're a business coach for women, and their brand is, you know, they're saying flashy, bold things and you know, I can get you X amount of money and x amount of time and you know, here's my signature program and it's just flashy, let's just say, right? Mm-hmm. And then you look at that and you think, oh God, maybe I should be more like that. But if that's not who you are. That's not who you wanna attract, right? Yeah. If that's a different clientele, it's very different clientele. So, and if that is you, then great. Go for that. Yeah. You know, if you are, but don't try and be someone else. Don't try and be someone else. Um, and oh, and the only other thing I will say about, um, DIY branding, I forgot to mention that earlier, is if you're doing, um, if you're creating a logo in Canva, which a lot of people do when they're, when they're brand new, um. A, don't use something that's like, like change it enough that it doesn't look like everybody else's. Yeah. Um, because they have templates there, which is fine, but like you gotta make sure that it's a little bit different. Otherwise, you're just gonna look, you're gonna blend in number one. Number two, those logos cannot be trademarked. Um, I am not a lawyer. I am not a trademark attorney. I will say that however. From reading through the copyright law, like their terms and conditions, um, all of their stuff is already IP owned by Canva. Mm-hmm. So, um, you know, you see people who will sell custom templates, right. From Canva. Yeah. But they've changed those and you can only sell them as a template. You can't sell it as, um. As you know itself, right? Yeah. Like it's, yeah. So it's important to know that when you're, if you're creating a logo yourself, if you do it in Canva, it's gonna limit you at some point. You're not gonna be able to trademark it. Yeah. So I like to ask everyone this because I love to read. What is your favorite book or books? Oh, um, well, It's like someone says, what's your favorite song? I what genre? What year? What? Yeah. So I'm gonna tell you what books that have kind of changed me as a person. How about that? Yes. I love that. Yeah, Tell me. Okay. Uh, well, of course, in Miracles has changed my life for sure. Okay. Um, and there's a book called Dying to Be Me. By Anita Marjani, and she's a woman who almost died and she had a near death experience. Um, and she talks about what she saw when she had her near death experience and how she came back changed. And it's just, it's super comforting for, Not fearing death for one thing. Yeah. Um, and, um, she just has an incredible, incredible story. Wayne Dyer actually is the one who found her and told her, told Hay House, you need to do this lady's book. Yeah. Um, and uh, there's another book called Illusions, by, oh my God, Richard. I wanna say it's back. Bachman. I could be wrong. It's called illusions. Yeah. Um, and it's also very, uh, very. Meta, I guess. Um, yeah, I'm all all about like looking at things from different perspectives and like thinking about, you know, what else is out there and, and all that kind of stuff. So those are the books that I, I just love and they've kind of changed my life. Yeah. Oh, that's amazing. Okay. I haven't read any of those ones, so I'm gonna put it on my list. I love getting recommendations from other people, especially when they're like, it changed my life because I don't know. Yeah. I like those types of books too, so I'm gonna check those out. Thank you so much and thank you for being here. I just appreciate your time and you helping this community out with branding.'cause that's such obviously an important piece of like building a business. So I just appreciate you so much. Thank you. Thank you. So for anyone who wants to learn more about you or wants to work with you, where can they find you? Um, well, my website is Empower per designs.com. I am also on Facebook, just, uh, Amber Duffy. I think it's a Duffy 23, although right now I'm in the process of trying to change my password, and Facebook is, I'm waiting for them to verify me, so I can only get it on my phone right now. Don't even, oh my gosh. Anyway, I changed my password and then immediately forgot it, so I went to change it again, and they were like, I said, I forgot it, and now they're like, oh. It's not you. I'm like, oh, it's me. I promise. I know it's hard to get in there. It's amazing that people can just, you know, I can't believe you're still in business. I know. To be honest, I just got hacked on LinkedIn, which I don't even use, but I got hacked and they literally helped me figure it out in 48 hours. Like, oh my gosh. Facebook. Yeah, not so much, but yeah, so I'm on Facebook. I am and my website. And, I do have an Instagram, but that is linked to that Facebook. So who knows if that'll be there forever, but it's empower her designs. Okay. All right. Fingers crossed to get the Facebook things figured out. I know. I hope so. Yes. Um, and I'll link your, I'll link your website and your social media in the show notes too, so. All right. Well, thank you and I'll see you guys next week. Thank you for having me.

42:06

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