branding tips for the multi-hyphenate
Build your brand around yourself, not yourself around the brand. Communicate from there.
I’ve seen so many essays and videos these days discussing being a multi-passionate creative.
A multi-hyphenate, if you will. And let me tell you, I eat them up every time!
I was first introduced to this concept by the wonderful I Love Creatives, who I’ve taken some classes through. They’ve got a great community of “slashies” that I’m glad to be a part of.
According to I Love Creatives, a slashie is “a person fitting in many boxes who is multifaceted, and a way to define oneself at a specific time and place.” I feel that many of us can relate to this definition.
If you’re working on building your own brand, you’ve probably got a lot of things you’re passionate about.
We see so many marketing gurus telling us to niche down so that people can get a clearer sense of our work and our brand’s objective. And I appreciate that- I’ve niched down myself with Branch & Bay Design Studio, in that I specifically work with clients in the sustainability field. BUT! We all contain so many multitudes. We’re founders, executives, marketers, artists, creatives, activists, innovators, community builders. I think that the work we do sometimes can’t be contained or defined by a single statement.
In the spirit of my theme of the month, the Harvest, I want you to know that your abundance of passions and interests is not a coincidence. Your harvest of dreams for a better world is meant to be shared. You were given your unique set of skills for a reason. Call it faith, call it magic, call it coincidence. Whatever it is, your multiple talents are meant to be combined to make the world a better place. Is this cheesy of me? Maybe, but it’s something I truly believe in. If you want to make these vast interests a career, a brand, I know that you can.
Your strength lies in your multiple talents
I think what makes a brand truly memorable is when you build it around yourself. I’m talking about those people who have managed to combine all of their unique talents and passions into one venture. For example, let’s say that Julia has built a brand that speaks to her soul and serves her community. Pulling from her disparate interests of watercolors, biomimicry, and cheese-making, she’s created a deli with savory offerings inspired by nature, and every customer gets a hand-painted cheese infographic with purchase. (I wish Julia was real, I’d go to that deli in a heartbeat!)
If Julia had listened to the traditional advice of solely niching down, perhaps she would have felt forced to choose just one of those interests for the sake of making herself more palatable to consumers. This cheese-making painting extraordinaire knows that it’s important to show up consistently, but that doesn’t mean she has to shove herself into a box. By fitting everything together under one colorful umbrella, she can serve others in the way she knows best.
be the rainbow
You know how Isaac Newton refracted light in a prism to create a rainbow? Your brand is your prism, your lens through which all of your ideas for helping the world are filtered. The beam of colors pouring out from this crystal is all of your offerings, services, and products. You don’t need to feel pressured to choose between one offering or the other- all can be present in the rainbow.
What I’m saying is, use your brand core (your mission statement, your values, your character) as a thematic filter through which you pour your ideas. You’ll be able to tailor your product or service to your brand ethos from there. For my own Branch & Bay Design Studio, I offer a variety of things I filter through the prism of “using art and communication to support the planet and those making a difference for it.” Keeping that brand core ensures I don’t stray off the path, but it also lets me experiment and branch out with my ideas.
Long story short, you can build your brand around your magical set of talents and skills and larger vision for the world. You don’t have to change yourself or the way you show up in order to fit yourself into perfect, neat categories for branding. A brand is cohesive, yes, but that does not mean it is a prison. You are a multi-hypenate, my friend. And that is powerful.
communicating your work without going cross-eyed
So when it comes to communicating about what you do, a neat little box of "I help (fill in the blank) with (blank) by (doing blank), might not apply as much to you. That’s totally okay! I usually just tell folks that I'm a designer, but there's a lot of other areas my work encompasses.
Our work contains multitudes, and so do you. Your brand and how you communicate about it should reflect that! You are a human first and foremost, not a company. If you're not sure how to communicate to interested parties what you do or the importance of your work, you can try these more personable options:
Describe the type of people (or animals, or plants) your work benefits. For example, "I help panda bears in southwestern China" (I wish!)
Share your overall mission, not just the day-to-day work you do. For me it would be "to use my creativity to help eco-founders and creatives make an impact on the planet." People love hearing about your big dreams.
Find a point of connection between your work and the person you're speaking to. You never know, you might end up creating a dream collab! You could say, "I see that you really care about uplifting youth. I run an outdoor education camp. I'd love to see if we could coordinate a nature day for them." Find your shared touchpoints.
What I’m saying is, be a human! In the vein of sharing our abundance with others, try to meet people where they're at. They might not understand the specifics of your job title, but they can understand that your work helps others live a happier, healthier life on this planet. And when you find those people that truly click with you, they’ll just get it.
just be a human!
Your brand can and should encompass all of the wonderful work you do. We can still show up professionally, cohesively, and consistently while also being authentically human. I know people love using that “authenticity” buzzword these days. But what is truly genuine is letting all of the parts of you shine in your brand- your dream of owning a coffee shop that’s also a library, your amazing laugh, your weird talent for knowing what someone’s going to say before they say it, your obsession with chartreuse. People will want to work with you and interact with your work because you’re YOU!
I’m going to close with some words from one of my favorite Substack writers, Anna Mack. She’s an expert on building a Portfolio Career, one where you have a diverse array of offerings and accomplishments. I love her idea of establishing a core theme, much like we talked about above. She says once you do this “and start establishing a stronger voice, you’ll become more visible, more recognised and more understood. And when people start following you for you, you gain the leeway to talk about pretty much anything. This is what it means when they say ‘the niche is you’.”
Don’t feel like you need to be tethered to a specific path. Life is all about experimenting and trying new things that light you up. And people will be drawn to that in a positive way.
I think showing up in all of your glory is what gives you power. And the world is all the better for it!
And we’re here to help you every step of the way!
Designing a gorgeous brand, one that is uniquely you, is a strategic decision that will elevate your sustainable mission to new heights. It’s important to remember that how you show up directly correlates with who you attract.
So let’s show up as our authentic, fullest selves so that we can communicate trust, find our ideal supporters, and keep them involved in our mission long-term. A powerful combo of aligned visuals and messaging can make you magnetic. Great branding helps your mission speak louder.
Knowing it’s time to rebrand is a sign that you’re leveling up and growing. Just like people, our organizations and businesses grow and change over time.
Ready to bring your new brand to life in a way that’s strategic, soulful, and sustainability-minded? Feel free to explore our branding services or reach out. I'd love to help you plant the seeds for a brand that grows with purpose!
Thanks for reading!
Sarah
