The first rumblings of inspiration came at the start of 2019. A thought, an idea, one that needed to be incubated and nurtured before I was ready to release it to the world. Making changes to your brand is always nerve wracking, even if you're a brand consultant, but finally the time is right, the behind the scenes work has been done and and so I'm excited to be starting 2020 with a new brand, a new name and a new look.
Introducing The Brand Storyteller.
Stories have always been at the centre of my world. By the time I was 7, I'd read every book in every class I'd been in at infant school. That's not one of those awful social media 'humblebrags', I just loved reading and couldn't get enough of it. I devoured books, engrossing myself into story after story, visualising people and places with a clarity that has never left me. Today I still read daily and one of my favourite moments of the day is sinking into bed so I can pick up my latest read and carry on the adventure.
By the time I was a teenager I thought that writing stories was going to be my 'thing' and I spent years bugging every media outlet that would let me to come and work for free so I could get stuck in. From local newspapers to local radio and even the dizzy heights of Smash Hits (remember that?) I poked my precocious teenage nose into every aspect of journalism that I could. But I soon realised that reading and writing, while intertwined, were not one and the same and journalism contained just a little too much writing for my liking.
But the experience wasn't wasted. Ultimately it led me to the career that would make up almost two decades of my working life: PR. Working in the fast-paced and exciting world of video games, I found the perfect outlet for my skills and interests. I was crafting and selling stories to the media on a daily basis and I loved it.
In 2013 I decided it was time to branch out and go it alone and so my first venture, Light Switch, was born. The brand has served me well for almost 7 years, encompassing my initial foray into PR and later my pivot to branding.
And that's where this new chapter begins. Today I am lucky to be doing something that truly makes my heart sing. I work with a wide variety of small, creative and entrepreneurial businesses to help them find, articulate and tell their brand stories. As a brand consultant, it's down to me to help business owners communicate with clarity and confidence. And yet, behind the scenes, I was struggling to do it myself. As faithful as I've been to my Light Switch brand, I knew that it was starting to create a barrier for me in terms of how I talk to my audience.
Branding is one of those tricky terms that can mean everything. And nothing. To many people, branding is synonymous with logos and yet I'm not a brand designer. When I started the process of working towards the change I'm making today, I knew that I needed to find a new brand name that would immediately resonate with potential clients and tell them very simply how I can help them so that I could move forwards with the more exciting part of helping them build their brands, rather than getting stuck time and again explaining which part of branding I do.
And so The Brand Storyteller was born.
A brand story encompasses more than just the 'Our Story' part of your website. It's your mission, vision and values. It's the audience you want to reach and the tone of voice you use to reach them. And it's the narrative and messaging you use to find and tell your own unique story that sets you apart from your competitors. The clients I've worked with tell me they've found the process cathartic, enlightening and empowering, enabling them to take on the next stage of their business planning with a renewed energy and focus.
After taking a hefty dose of my own medicine, I'm ready to do the same.
When you work with The Brand Storyteller, you work with me and only me. Bringing 25 years of storytelling expertise and a lifetime of passion for creating captivating stories, I help you find your voice so that you can tell a story that compels people to buy from you.
Take a look at my website to find out more about the different packages I offer.
Here's to the start of an exciting chapter.