Oops, we skipped a month – life has been lifing and we decided it was easier to skip than to half arse – so November will see two episodes released, hurrah!

(and isn’t this the best part of your own creative thing, having the ability to make these decisions when life gives you more lemons than you have room for lemonade in your fridge?)

Yeah, ok, let’s stop with the weird metaphors and crack on with the episode, shall we?

Inspired by September’s glorious episode with Stef Fournier, we decided to talk all about how our own personal brands have evolved over the years in this episode and it was quite the chat. Prepare yourself, we got all nerdy about branding in this one and we’re not sorry!

What we talk about

Do you have snacks and a notebook handy? Good – let’s go!

Firstly, we’re both brand photographers and we both have very strong personal brands, and yet somehow we’ve never dived right into this topic on the podcast, which is weird.

If you’re wondering what personal branding is – ah, if we had a pound / dollar for every time we’ve been asked that! – then listen up, read on, and make sure you also listen to Stef’s episode.

Talking about Sarah’s brand journey

Reminiscing about her first brand for a wedding & portrait photography business, which was a logo and a look. And some brackets which were mistaken for whale tails. A business decision, more than a reflection of her. Moving on to working with a more experienced graphic designer, and getting a new brand which involved sunflowers and a signature as a logo.

(It’s ok if you now dislike your old branding – it’s a normal part of the journey!)

The feeling of being “more professional” when it’s not been DIYed, and has had some external input. The sunflower feeling impersonal even though it’s her favourite flower. Still not feeling like it was a proper representation of who she is as well as her business.

And then she found The Autumn Rabbit. And found herself in a totally new, all-encompassing experience of going through a branding process properly. Having conversations where the depths of her soul were being explored, and the result was a glorious brand, with the centrepiece an illustration of an anatomical heart surrounded by flowers. And this was the first time Sarah fell in love with her brand.

More things we talked about on Sarah’s brand journey

The difference when a brand for your business reflects your thoughts and feelings and personal emotions as well as your business.

Several years later, bringing brand photography and copywriting together, ditching weddings & portraits, having moved continents, and with a much better understanding of the process, this time it felt more like a rediscovering. Sarah Wayte Creative was revealed over time and learning who she wanted to be in her business. And changing to sarahwayte.com meant it felt more personal and immediate and properly her.

Evolution, and layers, and how the first processes were probably necessary to get to the one that is most you. Using what you’ve learned previously to create the most authentic brand. Choosing colours, and not necessarily colours that are your favourite.

Being able to do all the groundwork and then ask someone who knows what they’re doing graphic design wise to help you make sense of it and bring it all together.

The strength of a business brand and a personal brand which are linked, but if the business changed tomorrow, the personal brand would still remain solid. “Shrek donkey layers”, according to us.

In the beginning, not feeling able to be yourself and also be considered a professional. Getting to the point where you can be totally yourself, 3000% yourself (to borrow Carla’s phrase which upsets numbers people everywhere) and people want to work with you because of being you, as well as your skills.

The power of a personal brand

First impressions, flag flying (weirdo or otherwise) and an immediate sense of whether you’re on the same level as that person you’ve just met, and whether you want to stay in touch, recommend, whatever. If your personal brand is strong, this stuff is much clearer and easier from the start.

It’s still hard to override or replace a first impression, so that is what people keep on file for you in their mental rolodex (oh look, I’m showing our ages 😂).

The very best compliment being “oh, you’re just like I expected you to be from your website” – this is a sign of a well developed personal brand!

It’s also easy to maintain that because it’s who you actually are, not a persona.

There are also mentions of chucking percentages around like confetti, or in an unruly manner. Stories. Kindred spirits.

Talking about Carla’s brand journey

Multiple businesses & brands. Two distinct brands under the photography umbrella, because of the initial different audiences. Though there is more crossover now her personal brand is stronger, which is interesting.

Google can’t cope with the fact that someone might do this, so if you too have two sides to your business, be careful with your Google Business listings.

The story behind this choice and the two sides of the photography business.

Focusing website on the boudoir and portrait type sessions, and then getting a booking she really enjoyed shooting a mock hospital lab at a university. The realisation that these were actually two very different genres of photography and they do not lend themselves to being on the same website – so splitting into two different sites (which of course she already owned the URLs for because she basically collects domain names for fun).

Getting the final inner YES when someone challenged it, and knowing that was what she needed to do.

Trying to keep the mermaid stuff under wraps, when it was all anyone wanted to talk about. Having a long and boring name for the commercial side of the business. Trying to be all the business brands at once and failing.

Following her instincts, splitting the brands, and then a series of things which led to her naturally being more herself in her business, and so also led to the development of her very recognisable personal brand.

These things included among other things waist length rainbow hair, real life wizard school, more mermaiding, fantasy self portraits, and a life size carousel horse.

Realising after the successful split of the two genres that she wasn’t sharing her commercial/brand photography website because she hated it, and deciding she needed a change.

How did Carla get to her current branding?

Gathering her own thoughts and instincts – narwhals, not mermaids, for the brand photography. Carousel horse for her art & fantasy photography. Much like Sarah’s experience, commissioning a designer she trusted, Val Tsang, to create something from these very firm ideas.

The trademark unicorn horn – in a sea of 40 faces on a Zoom call, the one wearing a sparkly unicorn horn flower crown is easier to remember… and it worked!

But it worked because she wears that kind of stuff anyway. She has a collection of unicorn horns, crowns, tiaras, shell headbands and wears them in everyday life – so it’s not weird for her to also wear them in business. Whereas if she rocked up with a briefcase in a black suit, you’d probably be a bit concerned because it’s out of character. This is personal branding in magical action!

Changing the brand photography business name to Visual Magic Maker, and immediately finding herself wanting to share it and tell people about it.

And now people know her as Carla – Carla the mermaid, or Carla with the magic, or that weirdo with the unicorn horn, or the chocolate lady, or the notebook/fountain pen lady – but even if they have no idea what the business name is, they know who she is – her personal brand.

How does she know it’s worked? Because a client came to her via her fantasy work, booked a brand shoot, and afterwards described her as “the magic maker for the magic makers”.

But that probably wouldn’t have come about if she’d tried to be all things to all people and keep everything under one business brand.

How do you create a personal brand?

Neither of us have actually sat down and decided “this is what I want my personal brand to look like” – even while going through the branding and rebranding processes and applying knowledge & experience to them.

What we have both done over time is leaned further and further into who we actually are, and been less and less concerned with conventional expectations of what someone doing what we do should be like, and that has resulted in super-strong personal brands that take no effort to maintain because they are who we are. No pretending.

And sometimes we get criticism for that – too much, too loud, too bright, too childish… but we keep leaning, because the right personal brand makes a bloody great filter for people. Not just clients, but all the people you want in connection with your business and your life.

For Sarah, one strong business brand along with her equally strong personal brand have been the right decision. For Carla, two strong but different business brands, a handful of side and joint ventures which are also their own very separate and identifiable brands, and then a rock solid personal brand has been also the right decision.

One way to tell if your personal brand is right is to check your energy levels after talking about your business. If you are exhausted from trying to say the right thing and wear the appropriate clothes and generally do what’s expected, you might want to take a little look.

If, on the other hand, you just rock up and talk about your business while being your true self, whatever that looks like – formal and neat, sweary and slightly chaotic, dreamy and full of ideas – you might just find that those interactions are much less exhausting and much more productive.

Though don’t be offended if people remember you, your energy and your personal or business brand, but can’t remember your name!

If you listen all the way to the end, we also talk about personal branding in companies which have cofounders and family businesses, and how long it can take to find the sweet spot when you have more than one personality at play and a business brand as well. Brand voice guides, SOPS and documenting for consistency may or may not be mentioned (And Sarah is your woman if you need a hand with your brand voice!)

A footnote on neurodivergence & personal branding

Both of us got our ADHD diagnoses towards the end of our rebranding adventures, and we’re both figuring out how that fits into our personal brands. Realistically, being variously straightforward, outspoken, oversharing and overexcitable probably wasn’t that well hidden before the diagnoses…

Is some of our bright, visible & consistent personal brand down to unmasking, or leaning in further to who we already knew we were?

Core takeaways about branding and your personal brand (TL:DR)

It’s a living, breathing, ever-evolving thing. It changes constantly in the same way you do as you learn & grow & have new experiences.

Your personal brand is actually a lot like your daemon, if you’re a His Dark Materials fan – the tangible, connected, animal version of your soul which also has its own cheek personality, acts as your conscience, and can act independently in some ways.

If you’re looking at your branding (for your business) right now and you’re not excited about showing it off to people, then it’s time to look at it and figure out what changes you need to make so you’d be proud & excited to show it off.

If you own & run a business, you are probably going to need to be visible to some extent – and if that visibility is authentic to you, and doesn’t drain you of energy, it’s much easier to sustain.

(and a small specific footnote to this episode – where we mention Verity, she is now Kitti, of Kitti Clarke Hair / The Art House in Colchester. And the day before this episode came out, Stardust the impulse carousel horse came home to live in Carla’s studio permanently!)