The Business Leadership Podcast

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Danielle: [00:00:00] You should be honest with who you are. I just think you should be careful about the parts of you that you share with the world and people who have no context of who you are outside of what you show.

Edwin: Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, whenever, wherever. We're checking this out. Thank you for joining me on another episode of the Business Leadership Podcast. I am your host, Edwin Franzo, and on today's episode, I had the pleasure, the opportunity to sit down with Danielle Savas. She is the.

Chief Marketing Officer at Kelly Roche International, and she is the brains behind implementation of conviction marketing. She helps hundreds of entrepreneurs inside the company to bring their genius to the world. Danielle, she has a background in psychology, education and copywriting, which basically [00:01:00] gives her this superpower, this unique pulse on the current marketing landscape and culture where she's able to give strategic.

Create a brand direction to clients and her audience. In this episode, you will hear why you need to always be building your brand, whether you do it intentionally or not. Hear us talk about how everyone has different comfort levels on what to share on social media and some strategies on coming up with your North Star.

Because sometimes it's different than the North Star of your company. This episode is brought to you by Slingshot Communications, the Business Leaders Preferred Cloud phone service. Without further ado, here we go. Welcome to the Business Leadership Podcast, Danielle.

Danielle: thanks for having me. I'm excited to be.

Edwin: , why don't we start off with, [00:02:00] you know, we talk about brand building.

It's out there in social media. Uh, everyone talks about it. And what, what do you say? to people when they're like, you know, Danielle, they tell me to be myself.~ Um, and what is the challenge? Is it true? What are the challenges of being yourself? Maybe, maybe anything you wanna share in terms of the com components or, or for those listening that's just starting on that journey.~

Like where would you start? It's a huge umbrella.

Understand why you are building your brand
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Danielle: Yeah. I have so many thoughts. So first, I think it's really important to understand why you're building your personal brand. Actually, let's back it up a step further. It's important to understand that everyone is building a brand, whether they're doing it intentionally or not. So when you post on social, even if it's just your dog or like some old picture of whatever, like you're unintentionally building a brand.

And that's because your brand is just your digital reputation. It's the thing that people think of when they hear your name. And so you're always building it no matter what you're doing. Cuz people will say like, I don't do that. I'm not gonna do those things. Well, you are. Because you're building a reputation somehow.

So number one, it's important to understand that and really be okay with doing it [00:03:00] intentionally. Number two, you wanna really understand your goal. So if you're a company founder, most company founders wanna start or think about personal brands for a couple different reasons. Number one, they wanna drive sales in their company, they wanna grow their company.

But number two, they typically want opportunity. They wanna speak more. They wanna write a book, they want to maybe start another company. They wanna. You know, a foundation, like they've built something successfully and they want to get that thing more exposure and they want more doors open to them as a person.

So when you're clear on what your goals are, then you wanna act accordingly online, because if your goal is to be seen as an industry leader, as someone who is highly sought after for speaking as someone who. You know, gonna sell out, you know, the book publisher might wanna work with, then yes, you wanna be yourself, but you don't put it all out there, [00:04:00] right?

Because you are curating this reputation for yourself. And so I'm fully supportive of everyone being who they are, but I think the big misconception is that you have to put every part of who you are out on the internet. And I don't think most people should do that because if. Goal is to become a speaker, a notable person in your industry.

What parts of you do you need to pull out? The parts of you that you need to pull out are your professional success, your views on leadership, your views on what's happening in your industry, like what the news is, what's currently going on. You probably don't need to pull out the struggle you're having in the background that nobody really knows about because while that will connect you with people, your goal.

Is to be seen as an expert. Your goal is to be seen as a leader. You want people to say, Hey, come speak on my stage of 5,000 people. You have to position yourself that way. So I, yes, you need to be yourself, but I think everyone needs to think about what their end [00:05:00] goal is and determine what parts of yourself you bring out.

Does that make.

Edwin: Yeah, a hundred percent. And somebody, you brought up something that's very interesting and maybe it was a trend more on LinkedIn. Um, Maybe on Instagram, but I, I would see some colleagues, some peers really share their struggles and I don't know if it was just a trend that they were following, but from what I'm hearing from what you're saying, Danielle, If your goal is to become a thought leader, maybe you gotta tone that part down.

Not to say you don't have to share your struggles, have an outlet to share your struggles, maybe a mastermind, a group of peers, and have that, but maybe like what you're, what I'm hearing, and for those who are listening in is like, you have to be selective of what you're sharing, right? Is, is, is, is, is that what you're saying?

Danielle: Yeah, I think there's a couple layers of this and everyone's gonna have their own personal comfort level too. There are people we all know and love. I always use Gary V as an example. You know, he's so [00:06:00] everywhere. He's like in your like everywhere. And for years, I mean, 20. No one saw his family. Like none of us would know what his kids look like.

None of us would know what, you know, his wife looked like. So like he kept this part of his life very, very quiet. And that's his choice, right? And he was, Literally all now we, you know, we learned about his dad, we learned about that business. So there are parts that he, his personal life that he chose to share, right?

We all have those choices that we can make. They're, we're all gonna have a different comfort level. Some people will be very comfortable sharing their family, like their kids and things like that. Some won't be, when it comes to sharing your struggles, your mess, I think you have to be very, very careful. A lot of people say make your mess, your message.

I am not a fan of that. I think you should. , your cleaned up messes your message. So I am fully supportive. You know, often you are the best at being able to speak to who you are 10 years ago, right? So if you, you know, [00:07:00] 10 years ago had this addiction and you struggled with it and you rock bottom, and then you came back and you built this company and you turned your life around, that's an incredible story to tell.

And one you absolutely should tell if you're comfortable. Some people don't wanna tell it. And if you're not comfortable, don't tell. Do I think in the middle of it, when you get outta rehab day one, we should be blasting that all over LinkedIn. Probably not if your goal is to be seen as a speaker, right?

So again, it goes back to what your goal is. Now, let's say your goal is you're writing a book and you are writing a book for moms who are in the midst of postpartum depression, and your goal is to sell millions of copies of that. Should you share your own struggle with postpartum depression? Absolutely.

Do I think you should share it in the midst of like the depths and the throws of it? Probably not, and there's a couple reasons why not. Number one, when you put stuff out on the internet, people have opinions and they're not always nice and they're not always kind. If you're in a mentally vulnerable place, I wouldn't put it on the internet , [00:08:00] because if you're in a mentally vulnerable, People are going to say things that, that put more chins in that armor.

So that's reason one, I don't think we should share it. Number two, there is a sense of, you know, depending again on what your goal is, where you can really undermine the authority you wanna build. There's a totally different feeling of someone who tells the story of, you know, 15 years ago I was in the throws of addiction and I rebuilt my life, built this company up to 10 million.

You know, done all these things. That's like the side of the story where you're like, dang, like this person like really overcame, they really built something. They really grew. That's super different than like being in the middle of it. People are gonna be like, why are you sharing this online? Like, that's not someone who's gonna be like, oh yes, come and inter, you know, come do my state, come speak on my stage of 5,000 people.

So you wanna make sure that you're acting in alignment with your goals, right? Those stories are fantastic When you are on the other side of. , and you're probably in a much better place to tell them too, because 15 years [00:09:00] removed from that, you can kind of handle people talking trash about it. In the middle of it, you probably can't.

So I think it's really important to stay honest with who you are, to share the parts you're comfortable with, but to remember that maybe there should be a little wait time. Maybe you need a little lag time between like you're in the middle of it versus you're on the other.

Edwin: Yeah, I mean that, that, that's really huge actually. And it's a good distinction because sometimes, and this is my, my opinion, Danielle, sometimes I feel like when people are sharing those struggles, when they're in a bit, I think they're getting addicted to the likes and, and they're definitely away from their goal

Danielle: Yeah. Yeah. And it's really important. I think we have to, and, and again, everyone is different in their comfort level. So, you know, if you, if that's really what you need, great for me, like those are things I share with people in my real life. Like, and I have friends from the internet who are in my real life, but these are things that I'm gonna sit across a table and talk with someone about, you know, I'm gonna sit in a living room and talk with someone about, I

Edwin: a glass of wine.

Danielle: [00:10:00] Yes, have it. Also, I want someone who knows me as a person and knows that what I'm telling them, what I'm showing them is one 10th of who I am. One, 100th of who I am and has context. People on the internet don't have that. They only have what you show them, and so if what you're showing them is that, it is a very false sense of whatever you're getting.

So if it's likes or comments, Super shallow. That's super, super like superficial because they don't really know you. And one day you're gonna say something they don't like and they will turn on you like that. And so you have to remember that like. , you curate what people see. And I'm very against curating things that are dishonest.

Like, if you don't have a jet, like don't go buy one and stand in front of it. Like, you know, like if, if you're not really living a lifestyle, then don't act like you are. So I want to be clear that I, you should be honest with who you are. I just think you should be careful about the parts of you that you [00:11:00] share with the world and people who have no context of who you are outside of what you show.

Edwin: Yeah, I mean, I mean, to that point, do you have any tips? Um, I mean, even for those who are maybe have already done the work and they understand their goals, and this might be a little. Difficult. So we, we could put a use case around it, but for those that are looking to generate that compelling content that will elevate their message, elevate their story, build that personal brand, where do you think they should start?

And let's, let's say it's a B2B type brand or, or a founder that, that we're talking about.

Danielle: Yeah, I think there's a couple of components everyone needs. Number one, you need to understand your personal brands North Star. So when you think about a company and how you market a company, you typically have a mission, vision, values, all of that stuff. And it's sort of like the North star of the company is to do xyz, but a lot of people make the mistake of is making their personal.

like line up completely with their company brand. And you have to remember your company is just a tiny portion of you. [00:12:00] So you have to come up with your North Star as a per, like as a human right? When you are 85 years old, what is it that you want people to say about you then? Not your company. You might have five companies by then.

You might have bought, sold a hundred of a hundred companies by. So what is it that you want them to say about you as a human? And I don't necessarily mean your closest friends and family, cuz hopefully they'll say a lot of great things cuz they know you, they've lived with you forever, but some random person on the internet who's been following you for a long time.

What do you want them to say about you 30, 40, 50 years from now? That's the place you have to start. You need to start with what do you want to be known for? Then you wanna think about, okay, what are all the things that make that up? Like what are the things that I'm passionate about that I can talk about?

So I'm in marketing, but I started my career in education and I was really passionate about it. I have so many beliefs about it. It's something I talk about and it really fits in with my North Star. And [00:13:00] so what you wanna think about is there's always gonna be a piece of you that's probably gonna talk about whatever your business is, right?

If you're in tech, you're probably gonna talk about tech stuff. You wanna be a speaker in the tech field, you're gonna need to talk about tech stuff. I talk about marketing stuff all the time. I talk about personal branding stuff all the time. But I also might talk about education and what I think about it.

I also might talk about reality tv cuz I love reality tv. So there's going to be components. , what I talk about that aren't a hundred percent in alignment with like if I was running a social media page for the company. And I think what you need to think about first is what is that that you wanna be known for?

And then what are the topics you wanna talk about that are gonna feed into what you wanna be known for? Knowing that some will be directly related to your company and some won't be. And that's. Then you wanna talk about the stories that build those things. We all have, we've heard of brand stories right?

In our lives before. So when you are telling a company's brand story, you have [00:14:00] why, why the product was invented, you know who they serve. Like there's all these stories around the brand. What are your personal stories? What are the stories that make you. What was the point that made you decide to build your business?

What was it? What was like an underdog moment where you were counted out and you were gonna fail and this is what built you? Uh, what are the times where, uh, you were like the, the David to the Goliath, right? There was this big mean monster and you overcame it. Um, when did you wanna quit and. And why did you say, um, what are your failures?

And they don't have to be business related. I've told I was a gymnast, I was a gymnastics coach. Like I've told stories about coaching gymnastics for a long, long time. Why? Because I learned a lot of life lessons there that help me in all areas of my life. So what are the stories in your life that you can pull from that will build the topics that will then build that North Star mission?

If you can do that over and over again, people will come to know you as more. That [00:15:00] tech guy founder, right? They'll come to know you as, oh, so and so. He has this tech company, but he also does this, this, this, and this. Which opens more doors, gets you on more stages, gets you on more podcasts, gets you, you know, connected with foundations.

It gets you all the things that you wanna do, and it'll drive sales for that thing you're built. You just built.

Edwin: well, exactly. And, and I guess from your experience, and there's two points to this as well, is, um, building your personal brand as the founder separate to the business will not only. Grow their business. Right. Um, but it will grow their brand outside of their business. Right. And, and that's sort of a mindset shift, right?

Because a lot of founders. They're connected to their business brand or they feel like the connection is there. And if they go outside of this, and this is something that I talk about with a lot of SaaS founders or coaches who want, not coaches, [00:16:00] entrepreneurs who want the podcast, but I say, are you building the podcasts for the business?

Or are you a founder of that that have many other things? Right? Like it's, it's almost something that I kind of

Danielle: Mm-hmm.

Edwin: allude to. Exactly. And this is why we talk about the same thing. And I was excited to talk to you about. So it, it reflects that. And so what's the mindset shift that they, they have to go through to really maybe separate that because maybe they've been in the trenches for so long and they identify still to that brand.

Like how do you navigate that?

Danielle: Um, there's a couple things you need to keep in mind. Number one, you are there. Now, if you're truly entrepreneurial, you will not always. And you will want to do something else one day. And if you are so entrenched in the day to day of what you're building, you will never be able to get out of it. You'll never be able to build the right team and you'll be stuck when you want to do other things.

So building a personal brand outside of just [00:17:00] your company allows you to do the other things that you will inevitably wanna do. And here's what I, I, I. I mean, do this in like you're not in contrast to the company you're building. Build your company's brand, like build that. Well, like really, really dial that in.

That's a super clear, like what's the problem you solve? How do you solve it? Like build that brand but your personal brand. As you talk about that it will drive sales, that as people fall in love with you, they're gonna look at, oh, what is the company that they run? Like, what do they do? So an example, I always give these two examples.

One of my favorite podcasters owns a, um, supplement company. Um, it's not Joe Rogan. And, um, They, it's Andy Illa, and so he owns First Form, which is a massive supplement company. I was buying my supplements someplace else, and I changed my mind and started buying first Forms because I really just loved what he was doing.

Um, I also love Gary V and he, hi, his [00:18:00] dad's wine company or, you know, liquor store. Um, they have this online wine text thing. I can buy wine anywhere. I can go to the grocery store. I can go to the liquor store around the corner. I buy them from him because I value the brand that he's built. All the learning that I've had from like marketing, you know, stuff there, I just love him.

So I'm like, oh, he's gonna text me on my phone and all I have to do is press a couple buttons and I can buy the wine from there. I'm gonna buy the wine from there. So I think people think if I build my personal brand, I'm not building my company brand. Number one, you have to do both. Number two, your personal brand.

When you do it right, people will love you and they'll want to support. And they will say, okay, I have to buy wine. I love this person. I'm gonna go buy it from that person. It's just gonna naturally build your sales without you having to say like, buy my stuff. So that's number one. Number two, you really have to assess is what I'm building right now.

The only thing I'm ever gonna wanna build is [00:19:00] it truly the only thing I'm ever gonna build in my life. If it is, then I guess you could kind of just build that and be in the background and not worry. But if you ever wanna be a speaker, be an author, you wanna start a foundation, you want to start another business, you wanna sell this business, you need to have a brand that connects people to you.

Because what happens when you sell that? Gary v's. A great example. He built the wine, the direct to consumer wine company, and sold it. Guess what? People still follow him now. And buy other stuff. They buy NFTs from him. They buy other things from him because they're connected to him. They're not connected to this brand.

So you have to assess what are your goals, and if your goal is to never do anything but the company you're doing right now, and you don't really wanna get out there and speak and write and do these other things, okay? Don't build a personal brand. If your goal is to do something else, you have to connect people to you as a human.

So that whatever you start in the future, why do you think the [00:20:00] Jenners and the Kardashians are who they are? They could literally come up with like a glass cleaner and everyone would buy it. Why? Because of the brand they've built as people. So we have to think through like, what's your goal? Are you gonna stay where you are or do you wanna do other.

Edwin: Yeah, no, a hundred percent. And, and as we think about. Um, just a quick question, and I know this might be a super loaded one, and what have you seen in terms of the, you know.

the different platforms that could create the personal brand, let's say, of a B2B tech founder? Where would you recommend them starting?

Would it be maybe just a blog? Could it be a podcast like I talk about a YouTube channel or is this back to what are you comfortable

Danielle: Yeah, I mean I definitely preferences just based on like ease of algorithm where you are. So for a B2B tech founder, you know, LinkedIn and TikTok, and everyone thinks TikTok is for 15 year olds, it's [00:21:00] not for 15 year olds. LinkedIn and TikTok are really the places where you're gonna be able to grow quickest.

Um, I love LinkedIn because it rewards conversation, not just content drops, you know, like just posting and running. Like when you start conversations there, you can actually build your brand by just entering in conversations that are already happening. So I love that on LinkedIn. Um, and obviously b2b, that's where a lot of your opportunities are.

That's also where a lot of opportunities are for speaking and for, you know, podcast guessing and things like that. So I think that's really valuable. TikTok I think is valuable because it allows, I think everyone should have some sort of video platform because it allows people to connect with you in a deeper way.

Bethany Frankel has done this so well on TikTok like, She just talks about random stuff whenever she wants. Sometimes business, sometimes she does make up reviews, like the cheap version versus the expensive version. Um, sometimes she'll talk about like kind of current affairs and what's going on. Um, it it'll, when you do use a video platform, whether [00:22:00] it is like a YouTube or a TikTok, it allows people to connect with you on a deeper level.

So I really think it's critical to have. Um, some video platform and YouTube's a lot harder to learn than TikTok, so I think TikTok is, is a good place to start. I love a podcast, having your own podcast. I think if you're someone whose goal is really to become a thought leader in your industry, it's really to make connections and it's really to like get speaking opportunities than a podcast is really, really valuable.

And the reason it's valuable is if you wanna be a thought leader, you have to have original. And people have to hear them. And one of the best ways to do that is through a podcast. And so that's number one. Number two, if you're someone who has guests on your show, it's a fantastic way to like meet the people you wanna meet, right?

Like it's a great way to network. So I think it's super, super valuable to do that. Um, I think everyone, you know, a blog is okay. If writing is a strength of yours, don't do it. If it's not, um, if it's a strength of yours, it's great. I having something that you [00:23:00] own like a blog is really valuable because it is yours, right?

So TikTok can be taken away, LinkedIn can be taken away. Uh, your podcast probably won't be like, that's something you own, but you're not driving, you're not like gaining, gathering any info with that where like with a blog you are. So, um, those where I'd start, if you really are glued for punishment, head on over to Instagram and Facebook and try to grow stuff there.

Um, I think it's sometimes more effort than it's worth for us in our agency, we use those as secondary platforms for clients. So we build on LinkedIn and TikTok. And then repurpose content on those just to have a presence in other places. Um, but yeah, I think you have to assess, do you like talking? Do you like video?

Do you like writing? Um, if you are someone who's not opposed to video, I really feel like you can't build a better connection anywhere else than on video. So tip's. I'll start with that.

Edwin: Amazing. I just have one question and it's something that comes up in [00:24:00] my world, um, and you didn't mention it. What are your thoughts about Twitter Still.

Danielle: Yeah, I, I, I think Twitter's a great platform. I think you have to be careful. I think people can get, like, they can really lose judgment on things like Twitter, . So I actually think it's fantastic if you can keep a cool head and you can like enter into conversations wisely. I think it's a great tool. You also have to be great at like, putting lots of thoughts into a small amount of space, right?

Remember when I talk to you on this interview, you have so much context right now, you can pull two lines outta that and make it sound like something else. But if someone listens to the whole interview, they're gonna have like the full context. Well, Twitter is those two lines that you pull out. So you need to make sure that if you're building a brand on Twitter, that you're doing it in a holistic, comprehensive way that gives people context of who you are.[00:25:00]

If you can do that, I think it's a fantastic platform. It's a great way to, again, build connections. Uh, if you wanna, like PR stuff. A lot of like journalists are still on Twitter. That's where they find people. So that's actually a great place for that. Um, you just have to be smart. You can't be crazy. You can't just respond.

You can't just like get in there and just say whatever. You have to really think about what you.

Edwin: Yeah.

a hundred percent. I appreciate it. Um, , I love, I love these conversations about personal branding and, and it's, it's also a little selfish too, because I'm also always continuing upgrading the personal brand that I put out there, and that's something I'm sure Danielle, you know, we talk and people who are listening like, Oh this is all I have to do.

But can you share how often you're revisiting someone's personal brand to ensure that you're pivoting in and making it closer, closer to where they want to?

Danielle: Yeah, so number one, I think you have to understand that your presence online and building your brand is a critical driver in your business. Building a personal [00:26:00] brand is not all I do. I run three divisions of our company that's over eight figures in revenue in a year with several hundred. Um, this is the, I I can spend about 15 minutes a day on this, so , and I don't have anyone doing it for me like I'm doing it, so you have to understand.

The reason I do it is a couple reasons. Number one, it drives sales. I literally made a post yesterday, made a $3,000 sale in 20 minutes. Why? Because for years I've been building a personal. . Um, I've done that and made a $25,000 sale in two hours. So you need to understand that it's not taking away from your core responsibilities.

It will drive it them if you're doing them well. Um, that being said, you need to decide is this something you're gonna build yourself or is it something you're gonna invest in, right? So you're either going to invest your time or money. Everything we do, we're making a decision to either invest our own time or our own money.

[00:27:00] So if you're like, Hey, I need a personal. But I don't know that I can do it. Then hire someone either internally on your team or an agency to help you, or you're gonna invest your time and you're gonna have to do it. So, um, you know, I look at someone like Gary V who runs multiple companies. He's not just sitting around chilling, like, what should I talk about today on social media?

Right? Like, Having to squeeze this in, in three, we actually did training with his team. He, they'll like literally stand outside his door for three minutes in between a meeting to get like one question answered and then go back out. So like you need to, it has to have the right priority in your mind, and then when it does, you'll make the time for it.

Um, And then you have to decide whether you're gonna get help and support to, to keep it running, like to keep the machine of it running. I do think consistency and frequency matter. I think if you really wanna build something, you gotta show up every day and you gotta show up with a high quality content consistently over time.

You don't just like post three things and [00:28:00] people love you, like you have to build this over. So it, it's an investment and it's not one like ads where like you put money in a sale comes through. It's like this immediate response of like, I put it in, I make the money. But long term, the value of this will 10 x, 20 x whatever you can do in sales, not just for your one company, for anything you do moving forward.

So you have to have that mindset as you're.

Edwin: Yeah.

No, that's great. I love that. And, and I think, I think, and just, just a point before I go to my next, uh, uh, my, the next thought is for those listening, it's, it's not a quick hit, like you said. It's, it's something that, um, when you put the time in, and maybe you're waiting for that. First deal that you close because you shared something or that, that it came and like what you're seeing, Danielle, like, I spent 15 minutes, I made $3,000.

Like someone is listening to that right now is like, oh [00:29:00] wow, I wonder how long that took. Right? Like, so the question and whatever the, the self-talk or whatnot, or should I invest in this, um, it's not only realize, you gotta believe that it's there and then when you realize it, you're like, This is amazing like, like it is.

This is great.

Danielle: And, and I don't wanna make that seem simpler than what it was. I, I've been, I've had a brand online for five or six years and I didn't go into it selling anything. And so now I'm at a point where I've built an audience, I've served a lot, I've given a lot, I can make a post and get a sale from it, right?

Like one, I, it was literally one of those like blue backgrounds on Facebook. It wasn't even like a well thought out, you know? It was like nothing.

Edwin: Yeah.

Danielle: But that took time. That took time to build, right? What you look at someone like Gary V who, like he comes out with a sneaker club and he posts about it twice and it sells out well, that's amazing.

But it's because for like 10 years, [00:30:00] 15 years, he showed up every day. It does a hundred pieces of content a day. Now whenever he says, here's a thing to buy, everyone's like, oh my gosh, let me go buy it. You can't just do that like tomorrow. You have to be able to. build over time without that expectation.

And then when it's time to make an ask, you make an ask. So you deposit, you deposit, you deposit, you deposit, you deposit. When you ask for a withdrawal, nobody's mad about it because you've deposited so much.

Edwin: yeah.

You know what came to mind right now, Danielle, and I don't know if you follow, follow, follow, follow him, but just recently I've been following DJ Callie a lot, you know, and he's, he's such a super billionaire entertainer, works with everyone, but he's been recently sharing photos of him in the nineties.

You know, he's like hustling and doing whatever he needed to do because people sometimes maybe who just came across him now don't like, how does this guy become a billionaire? He's just a dj. Like he's been building his [00:31:00] brand for years, putting out hits, working with the greatest and, and like he's reminding people, like you said, he's been giving back and he's been working and that, I know Gary V does this as well, that's why he always brings back the wine library and he brings back, like, uh, going to the garage sales, right?

Or they yard sales and making money, making, you know, 10 times on a garage sale move. Right. So I think, I think, I think that's also part of building your brand.

Danielle: I, and, and all of us, especially if you build a company that's re really successful. . You have a story like that where you hustled? Nope. I, I, I don't buy this. You know, I just woke up yesterday and made a million dollars. That's all a lie, y'all. They didn't just wake up yesterday. Actually, even the people who are like, I make a million dollars on Instagram every year.

They might, but they built their account 10 years ago and so today, yes, the audience they built has done that. I think you have to understand the. Analysis of what it takes to really build something successful. And [00:32:00] if you've done that and you have that story, you know, I think of Damon John, like selling FUBU in from his car.

Those are the brand stories you tell. We all think about the wine library story in Gary V. We all think about the selling from the back of his car for Damon John. These are stories in ingrained in our minds because they've told them so many times. That's the power of understanding your own brand. . So what does that mean?

When I look at Damon, John, do I love fubu? Not really. But when I watch him on Shark Tank and he has another bit like Bombas socks, like, I'm like, oh, I could buy those. Okay. Like it ca, those stories carry over into these other worlds. And so that's the power of understanding your own stories and telling them Well, and if you hustled to get somewhere, don't make it seem like.

because you want it to feel easy like this didn't take, tell the story of how you hustle, tell the truth of what it took to build your company. People will respect you [00:33:00] for it. People will want you to come share that story more. So I think it's so important for founders to understand. Again, that's a personal story a little bit.

Is that probably part of Fu Boo's story? Yeah. But that's a Damon John story. So what does that do when he's a, an investor on shark? You know, he understands that hustle and like the ground up and you want him as an investor in your company because he built that from literally his apartment. Right. So it's a different vibe.

Edwin: Yeah, That's amazing. Danielle, I, I'm just having a blast of, I hope for those who are listening, you definitely check the show notes. We'll drop, you know, any resources that Danielle has to. With us in the community. Thank you for joining us on the Business Leadership Podcast.

Danielle: Thank you so much for having me.

Edwin: That's it. Biz Leaders. Thank you for joining me on another episode of the Business Leadership Podcast. This was episode number 180 with Danielle Civas. For more information about Danielle Kelly, Roche International, or any other resource that we shared, please [00:34:00] slide into the show notes directly in the app that you're listening to.

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