The Art of Strategic Branding with Juliet Wright

In This Episode

• [02:55] – Juliet shares her background story, starting with learning photography in her grandfather’s darkroom and opening her first photography business right after high school.
• [10:53] – Stephan and Juliet discuss Kolbe assessments and how understanding your Kolbe score can impact business decisions and risk tolerance.
• [20:26] – Juliet talks about her book, Red Thread, and its focus on dissolving shame through a seven-step process.
• [30:56] – Stephan and Juliet explore the difference between personal and company branding, with Juliet explaining how brands are defined by what people say when you’re not in the room.
• [37:19] – Juliet breaks down her process for turning brand concepts into practical elements like fonts, colors, and mood boards.
• [42:55] – Juliet covers different customer archetypes and how they influence brand messaging and sales processes.
• [55:48] – Juliet mentions how listeners can connect with her through her website and social media.
  

Jump to Links and Resources

Juliet, it’s so great to have you on the show.

Yeah, thank you for having me on.

Yeah. We know each other through Genius Network, which is an amazing mastermind and community family of amazing entrepreneurs, marketers, and business owners. You’ve been in for how many years?

I’m just finishing my second full year and signed up for year three.

Yeah, congratulations. I’ve been in since 2018, so it’s been a while for me, and I can’t imagine not being in that group. So I think I’ll be one of the really old-timer veterans one of these days eventually.

Yeah, me too. 

Yeah. Now, how did you get started in the marketing and branding world? I know you had a career as a photographer, but what got you into the creative arts? How did you go from school or whatever you were up to creating this business?

Yeah, absolutely. My grandpa was actually an insurance agent but had a dark room in his basement. He loved photography and did it as a hobby, so I grew up in the darkroom with him. In high school, I got a job at a portrait studio in the mall. One of those 499, you get 200 portraits. I really learned composition and just a love of photography, so I decided to open a photography company just two weeks out of high school.

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College was never in my plans, and I started doing senior pictures, family portraits, and other things. And then eventually evolved to commercial photography. I did a lot for personal brands, packaging, magazines, etc. And really, my branding agency just grew out of frustration because I would spend all day on a photo shoot with the client and usually a lot of time before planning for their shoot, talking about exactly what they wanted these photos to represent and how they wanted to come across and all of that. 

So, I felt like I knew them and was cheering for them. I love their company and brand and have done my best to represent that. And then I had to send the files to a marketing agency or a design studio, and I’d see the finished product, whether it was a billboard or a full-page ad or whatever it was. And I just felt like I missed the mark so many times because the designer on the other side wasn’t having these in-depth conversations; I was out of this frustration and maybe a little bit of control.

I decided that if I could learn graphic design just enough, at least to create concepts or create mock-ups, that would help my clients in the long run. Well, that turned into hiring a team of graphic designers, videographers, sound engineers, and website developers. Again, I felt like every time that brand was passed, every time elements or creatives were passed along, it was like the game of telephone. And I didn’t recognize it when I saw the end result. And oftentimes, my clients didn’t even have the words to communicate what was off. But they were just disappointed. And so it came out of a problem I was trying to solve that grew faster than I could have imagined because I felt that need was there.

So, what kind of in-depth conversations do you have with your clients to help them crystallize their thinking on their brands, their positions, and the promises that they’re going to put out there into the marketplace?

Yeah, I feel like I have a holistic approach. I ask them a lot of odd questions. In some ways, it’s almost just like a podcast we’re having. But I talk a lot about, like, the five senses. Suppose your brand was a smell if your brand was a fabric. When you think about fabrics, you have very earthy fabrics, linens, and really cozy, sleek leathers that you know, and all those fabrics represent something. And so oftentimes, we’re having conversations that, from the outside, have nothing to do with a brand. But then once it’s finished, it’s like, “ah, all those pieces come together.”

But again, it’s usually a very abstract, roundabout way. And I have to often say, “Just trust me.” But we talk through all five senses. I go through questions like, “If your brand was an animal, if your brand was a food, if your brand was a vacation destination, what would it be?” Because if someone says, my brand, let’s say it’s a dental office, if it’s Las Vegas compared to a rustic mountain in Colorado, those brands are going to have very different looks and feels and energies and even down to fonts and colors. Whether you use a gloss mat or linen paper, it all comes into play.

So, what would be the answers to those questions for your personal brand and for your company brand? If your brand were an animal, a vacation destination, or a smell, what would you say personally for your personal brand and for your company?

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Yeah, I’m just launching a new company right now. In some ways, my agency is transitioning to a new name because it’s expanding into a bigger market. So, I’m going through a lot of these exercises now. So, my brand is under my name, Juliet Wright. And my brand colors are red, black and white. I use a lot of silvers. But really, my brand is very feminine, and I wear a lot of bright red high heels and red lipstick. There’s also a sturdiness to it, a strategic side to it.

So whenever I think of those questions for myself, I often think that while it is bright and fun, there’s also a lot of ancient wisdom but a little bit of an old soul to it, a little bit of hardiness. I think walking that fine line, especially as I speak on stages and things like that, is being feminine and approachable but also has this sturdiness. So, if it comes to food, it would probably be something like a delicious steak and crispy brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes or something. Again, that’s a little bit more hearty and filling in rather than something.

It sounds like Houston’s if you know that place.

Yeah, so it is. But it’s important to think about those things. People often say things like, “Well, I’m not a restaurant, so the food doesn’t matter.” But I said, “Yeah, if you were going to invite clients to a dinner or have a ribbon cutting with appetizers, Food is a part of your brand whether you think about it or not.”

You said an old soul. Expand a bit more on what that means from a metaphysical standpoint.

Well, as you know, more than anyone in this world of SEO and marketing, I mean, things change. I love your book, even as you said, about how people at Google don’t quite understand the algorithms because they are changing so quickly. And that’s how I feel it’s easy to get caught up in what the latest speaker said, what the reels said, or what you need to do. And I feel like sometimes it can be this sporadic, always feeling like you’re behind this FOMO when it comes to branding and marketing. 

But I really encourage clients to just like take a deep breath and congratulate themselves for what they have done, celebrate the wins and then also just think of some of those foundational pieces like the psychology of colors or what an O in a font can say if it’s round versus has a square features to it or if it’s a true oval. I mean some of those foundational pieces when it comes to composition and feelings, and really, the question I always ask is, “What’s this brand’s job?” And that oftentimes can get us to more of those foundational pieces. If we’re creating a logo, it has to be a wayfinder on a sign. That’s a lot different than a digital brand that’s trying to build trust and be a thought leader.

So often, I try to get my clients out of the FOMO world, really take a deep breath, and think of some of these foundational pieces that may be missed. Then, we can always go for the fun, exciting stuff.

A really awesome thing I heard from a psychic: a famous one said FOMO fear missing out is not real. It doesn’t exist. Except when you actually have FOMO, then you create the missing out. Otherwise, there is no missing out. Everything is perfect. Things that you’re meant to experience and learn and have, you will have. And the things that you’re not, you won’t unless you have the FOMO. Now you’ve created missing out by having the FOMO.I just thought that was really brilliant. So I believe that to be true.

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Yeah. I’ll have to take that to heart. I’m an extreme extrovert. I’m a quick start. And so often, that’s a great perspective I’m going to take because I’m usually the last one to leave an event just because it’s like, “Oh, if there’s one more conversation, I want to be in it.” But that’s a good perspective. You’re exactly where you need to be.

Yeah. So if I have to miss an entire day of an event, but I feel guided to go anyway, I’ll go. I’ll not feel like I’m going to be penalized by the universe or God by having to miss that last day or that first day because of a time conflict or whatever. So, you mentioned a quick start. Not all of our listeners will understand Kolbe’s terminology. So, could you describe how Kolbe assessment has played a role? First of all, what has it played? Second, how has it played a role in your business and your growth trajectory?

Yeah, absolutely. I’m far from a Kolbe expert, but I did just take the assessment about a year ago.  A fellow entrepreneur, and I made some calls just to build community and check in on each other. He was really big into Kolbe and really encouraged me to take it. So there are four numbers; the third is a quick start, and mine is a 10. It ranges from 1 to 10.

Good for you. I’m nine.

So my Kolbe, for anyone that knows it, is a 2, 3, 10, 3. In some ways, some people can say that and say, “Wow, that’s pretty unbalanced.” I know my friend who was very into this; he said, “Wow, this is a unicorn score. Like, I’ve never seen a score like this,” which I often hear a lot when I take personality assessments. I’m starting to look at that as a good thing, not a negative. But for me, that 10, quick start means the rate at which you want to take action. So again, out of 10 people, I will probably be the quickest one. But then I also have really learned how it also connects to your tolerance for risk.

Someone who has a quick start is typically a high-risk taker, and vice versa. Suppose you’re on the other end of that. I do think that’s true. I’ve never really had a number to explain risk, but it’s interesting that my husband and I had a great conversation after this. He took his Kolbe as well, and he’s a two-quick start. He’s a talented graphic designer who has worked with me for the past six years for my agency. And it explained a lot of how we work because I’m very quick, kind of build the airplane on the way down, and I’m willing to take the risk. And he’s definitely more cautious and really wants to understand more.

But for me, the only way I can put risk into words, I guess, and this is how I’ve always thought of risk, is I feel like the risk is, do you think that this person can pull it off? I don’t necessarily look at the numbers or the timeline. I don’t necessarily look at maybe some of the typical things people look at.

I really look at it as, “Okay, I know who I’m talking to. I know who’s taking this chance to start this business or buy this property. Do I believe they have the skill sets to tackle any problem, conflict, something out of left field that comes?” And if I do, then I’m all in. And I realize that that’s probably because of this 10. I don’t really necessarily look at the numbers or anything else. But also, that has helped me put into words what I sometimes take personally because if somebody thinks that something isn’t a good idea or maybe it’s too risky, I take it almost as well.

You don’t believe that I can do this, which isn’t what they’re saying, but it was interesting with this Kolbe. It helped me put that connection together. I’m all about connecting the dots. And again, connecting the dots of, like, because I’m an extreme risk taker when people. When other people don’t take risks, I almost take it as a personal, sometimes almost a challenge. Like, I don’t think you can do this. It’s helped me have a lot of really interesting conversations with my husband and other entrepreneurs, as we’ve talked about. What does risk mean to you?

Yeah, that’s cool. We’re very similar in our Kolbe scores. Mine’s a 3393.

You’re probably the most similar of anyone I’ve met. That’s really interesting.

That’s fun. By the way, have you heard of the WHY.os assessment? This is Dr. Gary Sanchez, another Genius Network member.

Yeah, I’m a certified WHY.os coach. Oh, cool. I spoke at Gary’s event in Albuquerque, and Gary and I have been very close. I use a WHY.os assessment with my clients to really give me more context and understand their why again as I’m building out their brands.

That’s cool. Yeah, I interviewed him for my other show, Get Yourself Optimized. I think I know. I’m thinking about it; why shouldn’t I put that episode on this show, too? Because I think it’ll be really beneficial for listeners here on Marketing Speak. So I’ll air that sometime after this episode airs. But anyways, so the WHY.os you got certified in that. How did that come about? Because certifications on any particular modality require a commitment, you need to sell yourself on investing that time in their framework or whatever. So what was it for you?

Yeah, it was all about condensing time and collapsing time, which probably feeds into my 10 quick starts. But I felt like as I was meeting with clients, we did a couple of hours again, just asking those questions and really trying to understand. But oftentimes, it still wasn’t enough. Again, as I’m collecting matter, I always think about it before I form this logo, company name, color palette, website, or whatever it is. I still felt like there were pieces I thought I knew, but they didn’t actually say, and I really had to assume. And so when I heard about WHY.os and went through the process myself, I could see the information it gave just on the report, which would fill in a lot of those gaps and, again, collapse that time. So now, when I use it with my clients, they often say, “Oh, my gosh, this is spot on. I don’t even know how you came up with all this. I was thinking about this, but I never knew how to say it.”

There’s always something to improve, and the confidence that follows is the catalyst for everything you do.

I’m a big fan of all kinds of personality assessments because they fill in those gaps a little bit. Gary’s done a great job with WHY.os, and I just love his energy. It’s also opened up doors for me just through connections and his great community there.

Yeah. So what is your why?

My why is a better way, which makes a lot of sense. My wheels are always spinning, and no matter what it is, I’m always looking for that even 1% better way to do things. So mine’s better way makes sense and then challenges.

For our listeners unfamiliar with this, the next one is the how, and the next is the what. So your why, why don’t you explain what better way means in the whole sentence and then go on to the how and the what?

Sure. Yeah. So my why is a better way, which means why I do what I do is to find a better way to do anything, even if it’s just 1%. My wheels are always trying to find something that’s optimized in a better way. I do that by making things simple and easy to understand. I use a lot of analogies and parables in what I teach because I always want to make sure that it’s easy to understand. And then what I do is I challenge. So, I think outside the box.

I come up with out-of-the-box solutions and oftentimes go against the norm, finding the gray area. Again, I didn’t have the language for it, but oftentimes, people come to me versus maybe another branding consultant because I think outside the box. I’m making things simple so that they can understand it. And no matter where they’re at, there’s no shame in it; there’s no judgment. But it’s always like, “How can we make this even 1% better?” Because I feel like no one has hit the pinnacle. There’s always something to improve. And once you make that improvement, the confidence that follows is truly the catalyst for everything that you do.

So, how do you convey your why better through your brand and your website? For example, in your other marketing collateral, in how you present on stages, how you appear on podcasts, etc.?

Yeah, I think it’s the idea that you’re never at a hundred percent. There’s always something to do. So my website’s always living, breathing, and evolving, as I think all websites should be. I think it’s a living, breathing representation of your brand. So, your website should change as you change, even if it’s just updating a paragraph or a photo. Yeah, I’m someone on stage. I never thought that this talk was the talk. It’s always just this version.

So I might be at 1.0 or 2.0 or 6.0, but there are always ways to make it better from feedback that I get from aha. Moments that I have. I try to watch things back, podcasts that I’m on and just really think of, okay, if I was going to do this again, what’s a little thing again, without judgment, without shame. But what’s a little thing I could do to make this experience just slightly better?

Yeah, actually, you mentioned without shame. I just happened to be looking at your website and seeing that word in the write-up about the Red Thread, which is one of your books. Through the transformative red thread process, you’ll dissolve shame and weave together the fragments within you. So, could you elaborate more on that, and how does that relate to brand positioning and marketing?

Yeah, so Red Thread is a book that was published just a year ago, in December 2023. And it’s a book that was in my heart. It had nothing to do with what I do daily, but I felt this urge when people asked, “How do you do it? Or how do you do everything that you do?” The line I get most is, “Man, I’m exhausted just watching you.” But what I realized is that I really have learned how to control. I called the book a shame critic. But that voice inside your head tells you you’re not enough, or you’re too much, or people don’t like you, or whatever that voice says, those cruel words that you would never say to anyone else, but we say to yourself. I feel like it’s a loop that’s spinning, taking our energy, and keeping us from reaching our potential. So, I wrote this book with Keira Brinton, who is another Genius Network member at her publishing house called JOA.

But I created a seven-step process. It takes about 15 minutes to help you stop that loop and break through that shame. And I feel like once you get that energy back, that energy that shame was taking or the weight you were carrying, the sky’s the limit, and it just opens you up. It helps people when they don’t know what to do when they’re trying to make a decision. Because oftentimes, we do know it’s something that’s in our gut. We know the answer, but it’s a shame. Or maybe it’s the voice of what our parents are going to think of. Or the money that I spent on something else.

I always waste money. Whatever that voice is saying, saying is oftentimes a roadblock. I say this book that I wrote is kind of a book from my heart. It doesn’t necessarily have a business behind it, or it’s not a bestseller. But I felt like this was a message I wanted to get out, almost a legacy message. It has helped hundreds, if not thousands, of people, but it is also a message I want to leave for my grandkids and great-grandkids, and I think it is just an important message we all need.

Yeah. So, if you’re willing, what was your shame critic, and how did it negatively impact your business, brand, and marketing until you dealt with it?

Yeah. So I feel like two shame critics are the most common, as I’ve taken hundreds of people through this process, and they’re typical: I’m not enough, or I’m too much. My shame critic was definitely that I was too much. Like most driven, I have found that’s their loudest shame critic. People who aren’t driven or entrepreneurs are often not enough. But my too much really kept me small. Who do you think you are to stand on the stage? It fed a lot with that imposter syndrome. Or I’d be in a board meeting, and they’d ask for ideas, and I always have ideas.

Every website should be living, breathing, and evolving.

My shame critic would say, “You’re too much. No one wants to hear it. Stop talking. Give everyone else a turn.” And so I’d often stay quiet just because I didn’t want to come across as too much, too pushy, or talk too much. And finally, I just had to learn that that’s a lie. They asked me to be on this board because they felt like I had opinions to share, or I was invited on this stage because I had a message worth hearing. It did take a lot of work to really stand in that.

I was just in Miami all last week, filming a TV show called Legacy Makers. It was funny because I was there with my publisher, Keira, and we talked about how Miami was so freeing. We stayed on the south beach, and everyone there was too much. They wore crazy outfits and were loud and bright. And for some reason, we both felt so alive there because we could be as big and loud as we wanted. We came out for our video shoot. We were wearing evening gowns. Nine in the morning on a Tuesday, and no one even bats their eyes.

We grew up in central Nebraska, where I live now. If I wore an evening gown, everyone would say, “What’s going on? What are you doing? Why are you wearing that?”

Who do you think you are?

Who do you think you are? And I would just feel like I was being too much. And that’s a shame critic I have had to break down and battle against. And it’s funny. It goes back to. I remember getting picked up from camp when I was about 8. I was at a church camp for a week. I got in the car, and my mom asked how it was. I started rambling like I am now about all the friends I had made and the activities.

My stepdad turned to me and said, “Who put a quarter in your ear?”

Oh, that’s awful.

And I just shut down and stopped talking. And the whole hour drive home, I was just quiet, and still to this day, I’m like, “Ah.” I think that might have been the moment when I didn’t know for sure, but I just felt like what I had to say wasn’t important enough to share. Thirty-one years later, I’m still breaking through the shame critic.

Wow, it’s crazy what people say, like caregivers and people who love you, family members and your partner, whoever, they say something, just some off comment, they think they’re being funny, or they think they’re being spicy or something. Still, they’re dealing you an almost mortal wound. On the other hand, it is a huge gift because it also helps shape you into who you are now. Because if you didn’t have that wound, you didn’t work to heal it, and you didn’t find all this gold through the process of doing all that work to heal that, then you wouldn’t be able to share it with the world.

That’s right, yeah. It’s all a part of the journey, right? Absolutely.

Yeah. But one thing that I found incredible is pretty metaphysical, so that’s why it’s on the other podcast, My personal development one, Get Yourself Optimized. But there was an incredible story of a guy who did the Hoffman Process. What happens apparently at this Hoffman Process is one of the instructors will walk you through, like, imagine a time when you were younger, say, eight years old. And so you had this eight-year-old moment. And for this guy, he was eight at the time as well, and he had this horrible experience.

He was by himself in the room that he was in and felt like he just wanted to die. He wanted to run away or kill himself or something like that. And yeah, instead of doing that, he heard a voice in his head tell him, “I’m you in the future; everything’s going to be okay; I love you.” And guess what happened at this Hoffman Process? Decades later, the instructor says, “Imagine when you were 8 years old, and you’re going to tell your younger self. Exactly these words.” He had heard those words, and he had forgotten all about them. I mean, it had been decades forgotten about hearing that voice in his head saying, “I’m you in the future, everything’s going to be okay, and I love you.” And this is what the Hoffman instructor told him.

Wow, that’s such an impactful piece. As I work with authors a lot, there are a lot of writing exercises that Keira Brinton and I took through, and a lot of it is that we do not do exactly that exercise, but we do a lot where it’s even writing letters. Yeah. To future selves and past selves and. When you’re writing a book, there’s a lot of shame and fear, and people will think.

A lot of the authors that we work with share their most important messages, but often, they deal with very heavy topics, and they don’t know what the consequences are going to be or what it will be like after the book is published. It sounds like fun and games to write these books, market them, and get your voice out there. But then it is often doing the inner work of being okay with that and the healing work of when I can market this as much as we can, build a brand around it, and get it out there. But the person who wrote the book is the one who is dealing with comments on holidays from family members, lost friendships, or sometimes, lawsuits.

Consistency builds trust.

I mean, whatever may follow as they share these most important messages.

Yeah, it’s mind-blowing that you can actually send your 8-year-old self a message from the future. By the way, the guy that I interviewed was Ray Brehm. It’s incredible. So yeah, I hope you’ve forgiven your stepfather for saying who put a quarter in your ear because he was out of line. He was absolutely out of line. People do their best with the frameworks, mindset, and so forth they’ve grown into or grown out of. It’s either a fixed mindset or some programming from his parents or his caregivers, so it’s like they are doing their best.

Yeah, absolutely. But it’s definitely made me more aware and sensitive to what we say to others, and I just know that we’re building people up. And because of those one-liners that we. Like you said, we think we are just supposed to be witty or whatever that is. I feel like something I’ve really been aware of is just the words I speak as my consciousness has expanded and just being aware of what we can say, how we can build people up, how we can encourage people because there’s enough negative out there that I really feel like it’s not my job to add to the negative, but instead to hopefully be light and just a supporter. I feel like in the world of marketing and branding, again, there’s a lot of just feeling like, what I said, “you’re, like, you’re not doing enough. Like, everyone’s further ahead than you. Maybe you’ve been burned before.”

So it’s like, man, how can we change this narrative and just say, just like you said, “We’re doing the best we can, and I’m proud of you for where you’ve gotten.’ And this brand we’re building, what’s the bigger impact? It’s not the money; it is just the consequence of it. But what are we building that’s really gonna leave a legacy?

Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. – Jeff Bezos

So, let’s differentiate a personal brand from a company brand in that respect, in terms of building a legacy, making an impact on the world, doing right by others and being a light in the world.

So I always think Jeff Bezos said it best when he said,” Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” For a personal brand, I always think about being at a networking event and standing in a circle and talking, or maybe a family event, whatever that looks like, and then you leave and what is said in that circle after you leave. Usually, people say, “Oh, man, she is so blank. He is so blank.” And they fill in that blank with something, and whatever they say is ultimately your brand. And I feel like it’s our responsibility to build a brand so that we can control the narrative. 

We first need to decide what we want that word to be like, “Man, she was such a light.” or, “man, she was so inspiring.” Or it could be something like, “Man, she doesn’t even listen to anyone else when they talk.” It can be negative or positive, but I feel like it’s up to us to decide that. The same goes for a company. When someone pays that invoice and sees your company’s logo come across, what’s the first thing they think of? Man, that company is so blank. What would they say? And then we need to capture that. And then again, see, that’s an alignment.

I always encourage clients to choose those words. We typically choose three words: if that’s what a company is, if that’s what somebody said about you, yourself or your company, you’d sit up a little taller, you’d smile, and you’d say, “Man, they really get me.” Once you define that, it’s your job to organize yourself or your business around that, communicate it, and be consistent. Because it’s really that consistency that’s gonna build that trust. Whether you like it or hate it, there’s always consistency. And that trust is built. When I’m speaking in groups, I can say McDonald’s is so, and everyone has a word to fill in that blank.

Starbucks is so and everyone; something instantly comes to their mind, and to you, that’s that brand.

Right. So how do you then take that word or phrase and make font and color choices, come up with the tagline and mood boards, and do whatever else based on what they say when you’re not in the room?

Yeah. So let’s say you’re creating a mastermind or some kind of coaching group, and you want to say, “Wow, she builds an incredible community. I feel so welcomed.” So if we’re talking about a community or about a group of people, feel welcome and included. Circles may be a big piece of that brand. So, as we’re looking at fonts, we may choose a font like a century Gothic. Whose O’s our circles? Because that’s so, so subliminal. But when you see an O, that circle will make that community, that connectedness.

From there, maybe we’ll choose a color palette with blues because blues equal trust and belonging. And so maybe we’ll use a color palette of blues. And our imagery may be soft. And again, using words like we’re so glad you’re here and welcome, and we have a seat for you and the value you bring is welcomed and encouraged.

You follow your brand standing guide unless you have a good reason not to.

I mean, it’s the messaging behind it. The colors can play in. Blue is a soothing, trust-building color compared to, let’s say, red, which is a bold, attention-grabbing color. So it all plays out. And then again, if you’re thinking about community, let’s say we talk about a fabric you may want to think of, like a cozy blanket.

And you want this community to feel like you’re wrapping someone in a blanket, and it’s like this haven. So, the colors may be more like a freshly baked cookie or a vanilla with a soft blanket. And that’s going to build that community feel, whether printed out on a mood board or incorporated into an in-person office space or retreat. But that’s going to have a much different feel.

So, let’s say you’re putting together retreat boxes for anyone who’s signed up for this retreat. Every piece of that, you’re going to want to think about how it is to be in this community. How do we want them to feel? And that should play into every single piece. There’s no right or wrong when we’re doing this, but it’s all about intention. And just again, that wisdom piece of this feels right? Does this feel wrong? What is your gut telling you, and why are you thinking of it as big as hundreds of pieces coming together to build that brand?

Yeah. Are you familiar with Robert Cialdini‘s work?

I am, yes. I’ve heard him speak at Genius and have read his books. Absolutely.

One of the cool things I thought of when you were talking is that he discovered that when you work in the shape of a smile, into a logo or into an email, into some graphic design or something, that increases the likability of your brand and the positive feelings that the person experiences. All you have to do is work in that shape. It doesn’t have to have eyes or anything; it just has to somehow have the shape of a smile in the graphic. And then they like you more, and they buy from you more.

Yeah. And I mean, if you look at Amazon, they’re prime examples. Their little arrow that goes into Amazon looks like a smile. Colgate does the same thing. Colgate uses a shape that looks like a smile. Obviously, they’re a too-faced brand, but it’s that likability piece again. We can’t necessarily put those pieces into words, but it’s like somehow we know our body knows again that a smile means that they like you, and you like them in return.

So what do you then do with, let’s say, the mood board, the font choices, the color palette and all that? What do you do with that then? Turn that into, let’s say, a brochure or into a website or, I don’t know, some sort of big billboard on the side of the road. There’s a process there. So how does that work?

Yeah. So we always look at that mood board and create a branding standard guide with the exact font names, how you use them, and what percentage you use a hero font versus supporting font. And then that book is really the foundation. That’s what we go back to every single time. So I mentioned at the beginning of this episode that if you don’t have that consistency, it is like the game of telephone. So if I just said my brand is red, and I pass that down from maybe a funnel builder to an email marketer to a graphic designer to a videographer, and all of a sudden the red, I mean, there’s thousands of colors of red. And so it really is having the color code, the hex code, the Pantone numbers, the CMYK code, like having that in writing. Once you have that, you always go back to it.

If you feel like 99% of people don’t understand you, you’re exactly right.    – Douglas Brackmann

So, every time you start a new project, you don’t go off the last project; you go back to the original. If you kind of think of it, if you’re painting your house and you have that sample, that paint sample that has the numbers on it, when you run out of paint, you take that back to the store because that’s going back to the foundation. So that’s the first piece of it: just knowing that as you stray and things get confused, you need to go back to the source. And that’s what keeps a brand intact. When you look at these brands that have survived the test of time, McDonald’s, the big brands like that, go back to the source every time, which keeps that foundation in place. Then, the other piece of that is also having fun with it and finding little wiggle rooms. I always say, “You follow your brand standing guide unless you have a really good reason not to.” 

So that might be. For example, we work with a lot of clients, like in the month of February, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, maybe they want to turn their logo pink. And they always say, “Well, I know it’s not my brand color. I don’t know if this is allowed.” And I always say, “What’s the reason?” And they say, “Well, we’re doing a breast cancer awareness charity event.” “Okay, yes. If it’s a reason, you can break your branding center guide. But then, as soon as February is over, you go back to the foundation.” And I think that’s that core piece.

The same is true with the vision board and the mood board. Even though that imagery, let’s say, of this cozy blanket, fireplace, and this. This imagery, let’s say if we’re building this community, may not actually go somewhere. Maybe those pictures will turn up on the website or in other places, but it’s still that feeling. Usually, when we build mood boards, we’re kind of on cloud nine. It’s like our day of creation. And it’s, like, so fun. I bring a lot of people in-house to our studio here in Nebraska. It’s almost like this retreat where we build this brand usually over three or four days, and we’re kind of in this time warps incubator castle, and everything is great, but then the real world is waiting, and there are meetings and calls and deadlines. And so it’s like whenever you feel like you don’t know what to say or you don’t know the message, or maybe you’re trying to write an email and you’re just stuck, go back to that mood board.

Our clients usually hang it in their office or even on the back of a closet door somewhere that they can go back and just ground themselves back into the foundational pieces of their brand, take a deep breath, and move forward from there again. Whenever my clients write messages, especially if it’s about something, we always pre-write messages to deal with negative comments or anything that could go wrong. So, if I’m helping someone with an event, we write the cancellation email. Fingers crossed, nothing will ever get canceled. But we write it as we’re building the event so that we’re writing it from this genuine place of the foundation, the authenticity of the excitement of the brand. And then, if something goes wrong, we have it.

What we think is a weakness can be our superpower.

Wow. I’ve not heard of that before. That is such a clever idea. Did you come up with that yourself, or did you hear about it from somewhere?

I think that’s something I came up with. I don’t remember hearing it, but just that idea that if the event gets canceled and you have to write the email that day, it’s not going to come from a pure place of your brand. It’s going to come from a place of frustration. It’s going to come from a place of anger. Even if it was something outside of our control, like a snowstorm, there would still be so much emotion that is not true to the brand.

That is so brilliant. If somebody is going through the turmoil of canceling their event and they’re in this place of lack and failure and writing that email, the energy of that lack and that failure is going into the email. Even if you’re writing the same words as you had written six weeks earlier. But the fact that you’re writing it while you’re building the thing, you have the enthusiasm, and your positive expectancy is going into the email, even though it’s a cancellation notice.

That’s brilliant.

Good job for that.

Yeah, thank you. And again, it’s just that cohesion, and it’s like we can create more at once. That’s why I love these immersive events. Just because it’s like we’re in it and just doing it, it’s like demoing a house. It’s like, “Yeah, you can do it room by room,” but it’s going to be a lot easier to just move out, demo the house, rebuild it and then move into this space versus living in a construction zone for years. And I feel like it’s the same with a brand. The more you can just be in it, immersed in it, the better, the stronger, the more cohesive and just the more authentic it’s going to feel.

What is another, let’s say, framework, tool or process that you put your clients through when they’re in that immersive three—or four-day event with you?

Another thing we talked about is archetypes. I know there are different ways of archetypes, but the ones that we talk about are: Why does someone spend money or justify spending money? We really talked through four archetypes. First, it’s all about information. They have to know everything. The next archetype is really about more status. They want the best of the best. They want to know that they hired a kind of maverick in the space.

The next is all about care. They want to feel cared for; they don’t want to feel rushed. Then, the next one is all about the everyman. They just want to do what’s kind of the most popular, what their friends do. They don’t need a lot to do the research themselves. And so we really decide which archetype. Especially if you’re not someone who works with everyone, now, if you’re a store, you won’t turn someone away who walks in.

But if you have a coaching program, maybe a yoga studio, or something a little more specific, you choose which archetype you want to work with. Typically, those archetypes are what we are because we like working with people like ourselves. But it makes a difference. The information gatherers and the care archetypes are a lot slower in a sales process, but they’re much more loyal versus the mavericks and the everyman; it’s a lot quicker decision makers, but they’re not as loyal. They’re going to go with whatever is recommended. And so kind of deciding that. Then, we decide on the messaging based on that, including the number of copies that are written. If you’re looking for someone to gather information, you will have to provide a lot of information, links, and references.

But bullet points are all you need if you’re attracting the everyman. They really aren’t going to read anything further than that. And so it’s really important to understand who you want to be selling to. Sometimes, there are strategies for both, but that will help with everything you do. Again, especially down to the amount of text and the messaging. So that’s always something we consider and try to think about from the very beginning of who we’re speaking to.

So I don’t know if this is an archetype or not, but you mentioned this earlier in the episode, drivens. Can you elaborate on that? Because that might not be terminology with which our listener is familiar. And I know you’re probably referring to a book called Driven and the whole framework and philosophy that’s outlined in that book. So maybe you could elaborate.

Yeah, absolutely. That is a term from Douglas Brackmann‘s book Driven and one of my very first. It might have been my first Genius Network meeting. Douglas Brackman spoke, and I hadn’t read his book yet, but he spoke with Joe Polish for maybe 90 minutes or so in this interview and really talked about the driven. The percentages can vary, but anywhere from 5% to 8% of the population with an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex really do live differently than the dopamine that other people get. They don’t experience it at that level. Oftentimes. These are the people who are always building, always going, and rarely satisfied, but really the creators.

And I had never heard the word driven or the driven type of people. Oftentimes, it’s referred to as, like, the hunters. But as soon as I heard Doug speak, tears ran down my cheeks, and it was the first time that I felt understood. I remember I went to Doug afterward, over the next break, and I really just thanked him, and it was what I needed to hear. He put his hands on my shoulders, held me tight, and stared into my eyes. And he said, “You are not broken.” And for some reason, it was like that was everything I needed to hear. Growing up again, I always felt like I was too much.

In central Nebraska, I know very few entrepreneurial women. I could probably count how many I know locally and where I live on two fingers. Almost everyone stays at home with their children, or maybe they’re teachers or secretaries, but that’s about the extent of it. So, as I’m running four companies, I’m raising four teenagers and volunteering on boards. I travel every other week to work with clients. I felt very misunderstood and very broken, honestly. So then, of course, on the plane ride home, I read the book Driven, listened to it, and just so much perspective came in. And I think for women, it’s actually about 1% to 2% of the population.

So he said, “If you feel like 99% of people don’t understand you, you’re exactly right.” And it was just very interesting. I feel like between that and then assessments like Kolbe, looking back at my Gallup strengths, my WHY.os, all of these assessments, my Enneagram, it really helped me build this full puzzle to understand who I was at 37 years old. For the first time, I felt like I understood why I do the things I do, some of my relationships, and how. Why have they been good or bad and different things? Is there anything I left out for Driven, or what does driven mean to you?

I guess I haven’t read the book. I just intuitively felt like I needed to explore that with you, that it was meaningful. It wasn’t just like you dropped the word in the conversation nonchalantly. No, there was intentionality there. So I haven’t read the book. I don’t really have any kind of feeling about being driven one way or the other. But, yeah, I appreciate you sharing. Did you make some sort of change in your lifestyle or in your business because of reading that book?

The thing I thought was interesting about the book was that it really talks about the brain, the makeup of the brain, and how the brain of a driven person works. I mean, they’ve actually done brain scans to see how the prefrontal cortex is, in some ways, underdeveloped and other things like that. So oftentimes, that’s also linked to things like ADHD and things like dyslexia, which I feel like I have both of those things. And so, again, it’s like. Then I also read the book ADHD 2.0, and I felt again that it was kind of connecting these dots of some things that I’m not great at. Like, I don’t have great time management. My phone is often not charged. I have a hard time finding my keys.

I mean, some of these smaller things are inconvenient in my life in a lot of ways. But then, I also looked at the reverse side; I have some of the superpowers. One of the superpowers I love having is that I have hyper-focus. I think this is a kind of ADHD thing. But I either have no focus or hyper-focus or lack of focus or hyper-focus. And when I get in a hyperfocus, which sometimes we call a flow state, I can accomplish in seven hours what might take someone else seven days or seven weeks. And I can do this. I don’t need to take a bathroom break.

I don’t need to eat. I don’t even think about what’s going on outside of my idea or something I’m creating. And so again, some people might say, “Well, that’s obsessive, or that’s weird or whatever.” But I’m like, man, this is an incredible gift. This hyper-focus state I learned just through reading these books taught me to appreciate and look at it as a superpower.

Yeah, it really is a superpower. And it was evolutionarily selected for. It kept our ancestors alive. What I understood from a friend of mine, Emi Africa, is that there were three groups of prehistoric people back in the day. There were the hunters and the gatherers. But then there was the third type, and those you’d call ADHD or driven today, but they were the spotters.

The spotters would be the first to notice that the food source, let’s say the herd of animals, was on the move. And so, “Okay, pack up. We gotta follow our food.” They’d first notice it before anybody else. They would notice before anyone else that someone was sneaking up on them from a neighboring tribe to murder them in their sleep and that sort of thing. So, it was essential to have spotters in the tribe. And thus, it was evolutionarily selected for it as a superpower. It gives you the ability to do things that other people are not wired to do. So it’s something to see as a benefit, not as a disorder. The D in ADHD is for the disorder, and that’s a terrible label. That’s not even true.

Yeah, I agree. Interestingly, my letters have always flipped on me, even as a kid, and it’s actually gotten even more severe as I’ve gotten older. But my letters have flipped on me and transposed on me with my dyslexia. And again, I always view that as an inconvenience. I wasn’t a good reader. I hated reading out loud to a class. But now I really see it as this 3D world that I see so, even as I’m building these brand ecosystems, or even as I’m building a logo, I don’t see the world as a two-dimensional thing. 

When we can connect these dots, creation mode starts again.

Even in my head, this logo is spinning almost as if it’s like a rotator on a lazy Susan or it’s flipping upside down. Or I’m visualizing how one letter reflects another letter or how maybe this E, in some ways, also looks like an infinity symbol or whatever that looks like. I feel like, again, recognizing this gift of dyslexia to really see things in a 3D moving, changing world, rather than as most people see things, very flat. And oftentimes, people say, “How did you see that? How did you see that shape or that letter? Or how did you see this piece of this logo that no one else sees?” And it’s, again, this superpower gift that now I’m recognizing and appreciating. As you start stacking those, if we can really recognize this incredible stack deck that everyone has to some capacity, someone else might have a stacked deck that never loses anything and is always perfectly on time. And that’s an incredible superpower that they have. And I think once we can lean into those, truly appreciate them, communicate them, and fully embrace them, that’s when this next level of whatever we’re doing, the doors just swing open.

This next level of abundance is what I believe.

Yeah. So you help the client have this emotional and spiritual breakthrough and then reflect that superpower into the person’s brand, whether it’s a personal brand or a company brand. That’s really cool.

Thank you. Yeah. And the last piece, I think, is just connecting everything that they have. Some people say, “Yeah, I have a company. I may have two companies. I have a podcast, a YouTube channel, a book, and this blog that I’m on. Plus, I also donate my time to this nonprofit.”

Everything has a purpose.

And everyone always comes at it as if this is too much, this common thread. But I don’t know what to do with it all. And it’s so random. And I really feel very few things are random. And that ties back to that WHY.os. It would probably all go back to you if you looked at it. Why? There’s a common denominator between them all. And I feel like once we can uncover that and build this brand family, and maybe it’s creating a new brand that’s a parent brand that everything lives within.

Maybe it’s just reorganizing it a little bit. Maybe it’s putting one podcast under one business and the book under another. But once we can connect these dots and make this map or this tree or whatever you want to think about it, I feel like it’s like this breath of fresh air, and this creation mode starts again. Because it’s clear. No one wants to be random. No one wants to just say, “Well, I just have all this stuff, but I don’t know why.” Everything has a purpose. And once we can strategically arrange it, then it’s like, “Oh, okay, now that I see this map, what I need to maybe tie these two brands together is an event.”

Or maybe, “Now that I have these maps, if I just had one more blog, I could connect all these dots together.” Typically, people come to me feeling slightly embarrassed and overwhelmed, and they leave in this mode of creation because now they’re excited to build more and build this robust brand that isn’t random but brilliant.

Wow. That’s really cool. Thank you for sharing all this. It’s very inspiring. So, I know we’re out of time. If our listener is also inspired and wants to work with you, go through this process with you, or just learn from you, from your social media, your blog and so forth, where should we send them?

Yeah, the best place is my website. It’s julietwright.co. That’s kind of my hub for everything. I offer a 30-minute discovery call on there that you can book right on my site, and I love to brainstorm. So, that’s my favorite thing to do. If you have an idea that you’re afraid to tell anyone and that you think is just crazy, I’m your girl. Please book a time.

Let’s talk through it. And then my Instagram is just @thejulietwright.

Awesome. Thank you, Juliet, and thank you, listener. I hope you are going to do something to reveal your light in the world and not just passively listen to this episode. We’ll catch you in the next episode. Have a fantastic week. I’m your host, Stephan Spencer, signing off.

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Your Checklist of Actions to Take

Utilize tools like YOS (Why Operating System) to quickly fill knowledge gaps and streamline client interactions, ensuring faster understanding and results. 

Embrace personality assessments like the Kolbe score. They offer deep client insights, enabling me to devise more targeted and effective strategies.

Always seek even the smallest improvements in my work and branding efforts. Continuous improvement ensures I stay ahead and evolve, benefiting my clients and business.

Simplify complex ideas and concepts with analogies and parables to make them more accessible and engaging for my clients. This approach clarifies my message and keeps my audience interested and involved.

Ensure that what people say about my brand in my absence aligns with my desired narrative. Take responsibility for consistently reinforcing my brand’s identity, which significantly impacts perception and loyalty.

Cohesive brand elements, such as fonts, colors, and archetypes, are crucial for building trust and connections. Consistency across these elements strengthens my brand’s identity and visual impact.

Consider how my brand would look, feel, sound, smell, and taste to create a more profound and multi-dimensional brand experience.

Develop standard communication templates during the brand development phase. Ensure my messages, especially during crises, maintain an authentic and positive tone rather than being written under stress or frustration.

Focus on foundational branding principles, such as color psychology and font characteristics, to avoid constantly chasing new marketing trends.

Visit Juliet Wright’s website at julietwright.co and schedule a 30-minute discovery call to discuss my goals, explore how her unique branding methodologies can benefit my business, and establish a direct connection. 

About Juliet Wright

Juliet Wright is a parallel entrepreneur, author, and keynote speaker known for connecting dots in the brand ecosystem. Starting as a photographer, she built a thriving branding agency. Today, she travels globally, working with authors, speakers, and entrepreneurs to inspire bold ideas and creative success.