8 Simple Ways to Define Your Brand

By Geraud Staton

Branding, in its simplest definition, is an expectation. Whatever your brand says about you, that is the expectation that your customer has. A lot of your brand happens before anyone actual interacts with you or your product. Do you have a high-cost, high quality product? Or do you have a low-cost, high value one? You can't be both. You can't be the person who disrupts traditional thinking AND be the person who follows traditions and applies those to your work.

The question becomes: what do you want people to think about you and your product, or you and your service, or you and your business? The following eight tips will help you put your best foot forward when it comes to branding.


1. Define Your Mission
What is your mission? What is the problem that you are solving for your clients, your neighborhood or the world? Knowing this is the first part of determining what your brand is. It's important because if your brand doesn't somehow show this mission to the world, then it does not serve you very well.

2. Know Who Your Customers Are
Who are you serving? A company that looks to create a less expensive, high quality dress shoe is wanting to help everyone show a more sophisticated appearance without paying a lot. So, your customers are most likely people for whom the difference in a $200 dress shoe and a $100 dress will matter. Probably not your big time banker, But quite possibly middle executives. So, what do they like? What are their personalities? What are their needs? The more you can learn about your customers and their likes, the better you are able to serve them!

3. Decide What Qualities You Want Them to See In Your Company
You know what your mission is, and you know who it is you are serving. What part of your mission do you want them to see? This is the sweet spot for your branding campaign. If you have a company that is focused on the needs of your customers, then this overlap will be large. However large it may be, what is it about your company that you really want your target clients to see? Is it that you care for the environment? Or that you are a company that cares about families? Are you all about saving money for your customer, or providing personal service?

4. Take a Stand!
You're most likely a small business, or a smaller part of a large corporation. Take advantage of the lack of bureaucracy and stand for something big! It may not be your primary mission, but it should make a statement about your organization. You may run a small pet sitting company, but that doesn't mean that you can't support nature preservation, or even a particular patch of land that is important to you. Even the Tough Mudder obstacle courses support the Wounded Warrior Project. You can stand for something as well.

5. Create a Logo That Fits
You don't have to be an artist to design a logo that fits your company image. And you don't have to panic about creating just the right thing. You don't want a logo that takes away from your message. You might think that dog is adorable, but if you're a lender you may be giving the wrong message. In future articles we'll talk more about designing a logo. For now, if you're not comfortable with it, seek out the help of someone with design skills. They will be a huge help!

6. Integrate Your Brand
Your brand should affect how you answer the phone, how soon you respond to email, your email signature, even what you wear to the office every day. If you're a laid back company, your language should be casual. If you're a more formal organization than your language should be more glitzy.

It should be a part of your company culture, which means it isn't just you doing it. Every employee should reflect your brand. That means that communication is key. If your employees don't know the message you want to get out, then they won't know how to share it with the world.

7. Develop a Tagline
It is surprising how often a tagline is overlooked. A tagline can be a shortcut to identifying your brand. - Don't leave home without it.  - Be all you can be.  - Fly the friendly skies. -It takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. These help a new customer zero in on what you believe.

What's your tagline?

8. Keep it Consistent
Once you know what your brand is, be sure to duplicate it in everything you do. Use the same font for your fliers. Use the same color scheme. Is there a sound associated? If so, be sure it can be heard often. The more your customers can see your theme, the more easily they will recognize it.


It has been said in marketing that if you aren't one of the first 3 people that someone thinks about when they need a problem solved, then you are most likely not going to get their business. If you are always at the top of your clients' minds, then you will be in a place to help them when they need you!

Have any more branding ideas? We'd love to hear about them. Please share in the comments!

3 Ways to Avoid Decision Fatigue

by Geraud Staton

Decision fatigue has been something of a fascination of mine for a few years now. This fascination was reinforced with President Obama told Vanity Fair, "You'll see I wear only gray or blue suits...I'm trying to pare down decisions. I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make."

Decision fatigue makes us order ridiculous items from late-night television, allows us to eat that bag of cookies when we're on our diet, or worse, lets us ignore danger signals that would normally shine bright to our normally sane minds. As John Tierney explains it, "It's different from ordinary physical fatigue - you're not consciously aware of being tired - but you're low on mental energy. The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain, and eventually it will look for shortcuts."

Those shortcuts tend to follow two choices. We either act erratically, such as snapping at friends or family members, or spending money that we know we shouldn't. Or we do nothing at all, which is the ultimate energy-saving strategy. We don't exercise, or we don't cook dinner, or we don't make that important business call.

Call the client now, call later, or just watch Netflix?

Researchers have proven the effects of decision fatigue time and time again. In fact, if you're interested in how it works, you should read Tierney's article. As for how to manage it, we can give you three pieces of advice.

1. Make decisions early in the day
If you have some important decisions to make, or a large number of decisions, do it as early as you can. I do most of my writing in the morning, as well as getting the bulk of my work done first thing (I like to start at 6am). My afternoons are when I hold most of my meetings and the like.

2. Get plenty of rest
Sleep makes a huge difference in decision fatigue. If you're already tired, you're starting with a lower gas tank anyway. Avoid that with a good night's sleep. And if you have to make decisions later in the day, consider a nap.

3. Set up rules that are etched in stone
When you have to decide what to wear, it takes a toll. I've watched my wife change clothes three time before work. Already, she's starting a few steps down in her day. If you have the same breakfast every day, you don't have to decide what to eat. And you don't have to decide what to purchase when you do your grocery shopping. I eat the same breakfast and lunch every day. I wake up at the same time on weekdays and weekends alike. Many professionals, like the President, have adopted a uniform to alleviate decision-making.

By eliminated the decisions you have to make, especially when you have to make the same ones over and over again, you can give yourself more bandwidth. You can leave the simple things and deal with the larger ones, rather than the other way around.

Want to learn more? Check out John Tierney's article at 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1

And be sure to tell us how you avoid decision exhaustion!

Three Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Board of Directors

James O'Brien, PhD, believes that you should have a Board of Directors, no matter what size your company is. Here at Helius, we agree 100%.

First off, it would help to know what a Board of Directors really is. A Board of Directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization (Wikipedia). They go by many names, including Board of Regents, Board of Visitors, Board of Managers, Board of Trustees, etc. Part of a typical Board's job is to establish broad policies, ensure financial resources, approve annual budgets, and set salaries.

To many Executive Directors of both nonprofit and for-profit businesses, particularly those that started their companies on their own, it may seem like giving away a great deal of power. Dr. O'Brien tells you why that may not be the case.


1) Boardrooms augment your core competencies
You're working in a small business, probably in an area that you are passionate in. But that doesn't mean you can do it all. You need to be able to manage staff, handle finances, manage recruiting, organize distribution, and perhaps even policy and lobbying. Board members can help with all of those things by setting regulations that help you stay on track.

2) Experienced Board Members help you avoid mistakes
Just as no one can do it all, no one is perfect. But, when you have experienced eyes looking over your organization you can often avoid costly mistakes that may come up.

3) Your Board is a simplification tool
I'm sure i'm not only speaking about myself when I say that sometimes Executive Directors can get very emotionally involved with what they are doing. We want to do it all. And we want to do it the best it's ever been done. Sometimes, however, we need someone to tell us to slow down. this is where your Board comes in. They can often see the forest while you're stuck in the trees.

And, with the power of the internet, you don't even need to have a Board that sits together once a week. You can reach out whenever and however you need. And, better yet nearly at anytime, day or night.


To read the entire article, go to https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/why-your-small-business-needs-an-advisory-board/.

And let us know in the comments how you built your small business Board of Directors.

2015 End-of-Year Fundraiser

Helping Those In Need The Helius Foundation needs your help. Helius is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit that works with Necessity-Driven Entrepreneurs (NDEs). These are individuals who are unable to find traditional, living wage employment. Reasons can range from job seekers being long-time veterans, single parents with limited available hours, the undereducated, people with minor criminal records, or individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds who lack the social networks needed to find well-paying jobs. These individuals create work for themselves through entrepreneurship. NDE's like James. James is a single father, with a 6 year old daughter named Tasha. He worked in the maintenance department at a local hospital for 11 years, before he was laid off. He has no college degree. For the past year he’s has been struggling to find work. Instead of waiting around for a hand out, James started a business that builds residential fences. But his business is not doing well. According to James, one morning before he went to work, he made his daughter three sandwiches. He told her they needed to last her all day. James, in the meantime, ate nothing. James is one of many NDEs. Among all entrepreneurs in the United States, 15% of them are NDEs, and these numbers are expected to increase by another 6.6% in the coming years.  And with Durham’s on-going entrepreneurial explosion there are more NDEs than ever, many of whom will be left behind without assistance. How Can You Help? You can support these men and women who wake up every morning and fight to provide a life for their families. Like you, they want healthier food options and better healthcare. Like you, they fight to provide an education for their children so that they don’t have to fight these same battles when they reach adulthood. Just click on the link below to be taken to our CommitChange Campaign.

About Us The Helius Mentorship Program provides all of the services that any business owner needs in order to create a sustainable business. We provide the same level of mentoring and coaching that you would demand for your own business. And we do so at no cost to the NDEs in our program! This includes one-on-one coaching sessions, free training seminars, and business development tools needed to take an NDE’s business from the idea phase to a fully-operational, self-sustaining business that earns a fair living wage. But we can’t do it without you. We Need Your Help Tax deductible donations of as little as $25 and $50 can provide a month of coaching for a local NDE. Donations of $100 to $500 can help in marketing and licensing of NDE businesses. Just click on the link below. Donating takes less than a minute. All donations come with the seasonal newsletter, including updates and profiles for the Program Participants so that you can see exactly what your donations have provided! Thank you in advance for your support. By donating to the Mentorship Program, you are giving struggling NDEs a fighting chance. You are providing them with the chance to support themselves and their families with dignity, despite race, education or financial upbringing. Sincerely, Geraud Staton Executive Director The Helius Foundation