I recently read a great article in Entrepreneur Magazine about the use of colors in your business branding.  The similarities between colors for your business and the colors you wear are striking.  This is something that I will talk about in detail at The Style Plan workshops.  Here is my spin on a few of the more popular colors I see used in business branding:

www.colorcombos.com

Blue portrays, trust, dependability, calm and secure.  Blue carries a strong emotional connotation of well being and is associated with sky and water.  You will see many banks and financial companies using the color blue.  Navy when worn in professional attire portrays wisdom.

www.colourlovers.com

Red increases the heart rate and creates energy.  Red is an action color and evokes passion and creativity.  On the flip side, red can be taken as dangerous or indebtedness.

 www.colourlovers.com

Green is the color of life and denotes health and calm.  Deeper shades are associated with wealth and prestige (emerald).

www.colourlovers.com

Pink is a risky color to use in branding.  The message that people receive from pink varies from person to person.  Generally, hot pink conveys energy and youth, but speaks to a less expensive, trendy product or service.  Lighter pinks are received as romantic.

What is your favorite color to see in branding?  What color makes you feel the strongest emotion?   We’d love to hear your thoughts!

I adore Niecy Nash.  She has such a positive and contagious personality, I think she is a great example of someone living authentically.  She also has a great sense of style and knows that bold colors really work for her.  I especially like that she has a beautiful, “real woman” curvy figure and doesn’t hide it under baggy clothing.  She knows what fabrics work for her, and that fitted clothing worn correctly can be tremendously flattering on fuller figures.   

There are two things people instantly note about Niecy Nash:

1. She wears a flower in her hair
2. She wears bright colors

These two things have become her beauty “trademark”.  She is known for them.  She probably just likes to accent her hair with flowers.  I say she is a branding genius.  If someone did not know her name, she could still be easily described.  Do you agree?

From left to right, photos courtesy of:  www.marieclaire.com; www.exposay.com and www.eonline.com

Do you have a beauty or style “trademark”?  You may have one without even realizing it.  Could you use a signature element of your style in your branding?  For instance, out of all the wedding planners/florists/photographers in your city, what distinguishes you from the others?  Are you the wedding planner with long red hair?  Are you the florist who is always dressed in varying shades of pink?  The photographer that always has a zebra print accent such as a scarf, handbag, broach, etc.  Think about it – I’m sure you can name at least one professional in your area who has done this and it works well for them.

Oh, and by the way, VOTE FOR NIECY on DWTS!

Are you ready to Make Things Happen in your business?

As of the time of this writing, a few slots may remain for this workshop to be presented by Lara Casey on December 21st in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.  Regardless, I wanted to write about it because I know Lara plans to “take the show on the road” in 2010.  Anyone involved in the wedding and event planning industry needs to follow Lara, (@WeddingRep on Twitter) her luxury wedding market consulting business blog, and the magazine she created and publishes, Southern Weddings.  If you are a mental list person like me, I highly recommend that you add her to your list of industry professionals to watch, in 2010 and beyond.  In the meantime, check out the Making Things Happen Intensive :

Without a doubt, I consider Lara a dear friend, but I have also had a wonderful experience as a recent client of her consulting company, Lara Casey Reps.  Lara was so instrumental in helping me with the launch of The Stylish Planner and I am incredibly grateful for her insight.  The end result of The Stylish Planner if I had proceeded without her assistance would have been completely wrong, and I have no doubt that the project would never have taken off as it has.   She has an amazing ability to visualize and execute the vision of others.  That ability really blows me away because honestly I had this great vision with no clue what to do with it  – I could barely even verbalize what was in my mind.  Lara also has amazing connections in the industry and pointed me to the right vendors to contract with for the services I needed to execute The Stylish Planner.  Lara does what she says she will do.  You will not have to follow up with her.  Lara will get excited about your ideas, and she is an amazing encourager.  When my project took a scary turn that caused the launch to be delayed, Lara helped me be at ease with the change of plans and focus on the end result.  I can’t say enough what a wonderful experience I had working with her on this project.

For those of you who may not know Lara personally, you should know that she is very genuine.  She will take the time to learn about you on a personal level prior to learning about your business.  I am a very relational person, so for me, that is so refreshing and only adds to her charm.  Lara is very warm and caring – when she asks how you are doing, it isn’t just lip service.  She often randomly replies by direct message to my tweets even when they are of a personal nature.  Lara is real, and as a woman, I appreciate her transparency.  Many would say it isn’t professional to show emotion in business.  Personally, it makes me relate and empathize with folks and I then have an opportunity to encourage them.  Lara gets that.

In addition to all this, perhaps her most redeeming quality is that she is tons of fun to be around!  Here are just a few of our fun times together:

Want to attend a Making Things Happen Intensive in your city?  Let Lara know via Twitter @WeddingRep – she is planning her 2010 trips as we speak.  Will you be watching Lara in 2010?  Tell us why here:

Challenge: Ask a few people, “What is personal branding?”  I think you’ll get several different answers.  I think you’ll hear, “Oh, that’s marketing.” or “Oh, you mean your logo, business cards and stuff, right?”  Well both of those answers are partially right.  One thing is certain, if you are a business owner and you network on a regular basis, you are definitely hearing the buzz phrase – “personal branding”.

Wikipedia defines personal branding as:  “the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands.  The personal branding concept suggests that success comes from self-packaging.  It is further defined as the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual; this includes but is not limited to the body, clothing, appearance and knowledge contained within, leading to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable.

Personal branding may often involve the application of one’s name to various products.  For example, celebrity real estate mogul, Donald Trump uses his last name extensively on his buildings and the products he endorses.”

Here is my interpretation of personal branding.  Please keep in mind, I am thinking in terms of how it pertains to wedding and event planners.

• Defining your strengths and passions
• Creating a niche product or service for those strengths and passions – be as specialized as possible
• Determining a target market for the product or service
• Building the foundation of your brand (logo, business cards/stationery, website, blog, twitter account, etc.)
• Assessing your image – is it in line with your brand foundation?
• Putting yourself out there – market, network, and advertise

Please know, there is a lot more involved in branding than I’ve mentioned here.  I’ve only hit the highlights, and I’m not an expert on personal branding.  Each step contains several “sub-steps” for completion, and each step involves a lot of thought, feedback from friends, family and peers, and planning.  It’s definitely not an overnight process.  If you are just getting started in your business, re-branding or starting a new business, you should contact my friend, Lara Casey.  In addition to being the Editor in Chief of Southern Weddings Magazine, she has a consulting business dedicated to the luxury wedding industry.  Just look at what she has done for her clients, me included.  She is an expert on branding and she is a joy to work with.

I wanted to bring personal branding to the forefront of planners minds for many reasons.  While the main emphasis for The Stylish Planner™ blog is on image/style and fashion, I feel that the foundation for your image should be your personal branding, so that your style and fashion choices are made with branding in mind.  It’s important to me that you know I’m not just talking about great shoes or the latest must-have designer handbag.  (Although our affection for shoes and handbags should be duly noted, thank you very much!)

So, what’s your take on personal branding?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!