Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in branding and marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kelly Conkright, Founder of The Brand Terminal, located in Pacific Palisades, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am the founder of The Brand Terminal, a global brand agency that works with both business brands as well as personal brands. We believe branding is everything, and everything is a brand! Personal branding is new for some people. Keep in mind that each and everyone one of us is already a brand. The key is to be intentional about it. So whether you work inside of a company, own your own company, or work as a freelancer, our agency helps growth-minded individuals with strategy, messaging, visual worlds, and activation plans for themselves. This is B2P, which is what I call, Brand to Person!
Tell us about yourself
I am a brand strategist, having spent the first part of my career in advertising. I worked in many cities and countries, including helping to open an office for my international agency network in Paris and New York. Looking back, I realized I was an intrepreneur. Then, I became an entrepreneur and launched my own agency, bringing in my love of travel as part of my brand theme! With personal branding, I am working in my absolute sweet spot between brand building, psychology, and self-development. My mission is to help people follow their passion and do so successfully to live purpose-driven life at work and beyond.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I think my biggest business accomplishment is simply staying in business! The path of being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart, but I often would have a voice inside my head telling me to keep going! And I now do public speaking and workshops about personal branding and have faced and overcome my biggest fear with public speaking in order to stay true to my mission and help as many people as possible.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
I love everyone I work with, and we are all very close friends! But managing people is also the hardest part. It reminds me of therapy. You never talk about your actual job in therapy because most of us are good at our jobs and have hard skills. It is always the human side, the people, and the feelings that we need to navigate. I am working on an initiative right now with a larger company to reimagine the resume and capture the full, three-dimensional people that we are. We want to make soft skills more important for both the interviewer and the interviewee.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't follow your passion; find your sweet spot! This is a combination of what you are passionate about, what you are good at, and what you have experience in.
- Think holistically about what you want your life to look like and if the career path you are choosing aligns with your life goals and lifestyle.
- Get comfortable selling yourself. If you have a business, most people are actually buying into you!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.thebrandterminal.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyconkright/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-conkright/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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