What’s in a brand?
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007It’s been a most interesting experience creating/conceiving/starting a business. I remember when I first used to think of how working for myself would be better than working for someone else. After all, that was the original cry. How it came to be colored with overtures of being more like Mercedes-Benz rather than Hyundai, or the boutique rather than the bargain basement has most recently captivated my attention. Perhaps I’ve been plugged into the community too much at the expense of diluting my own thoughts and ideals? Of course, there is something to be embraced about premium product, cutting-edge marketing, or the sense of giving or having “the best.” But what about the relics of “common availability” that still continue to boldly saturate the landscape?
I’m pressed to ask myself if branding was most important from the beginning? Did I even have a brand working for someone else? Was making “so much” or “all this money” what was important from the beginning? I remember telling myself if I never made a cent more than I made working [retail for someone else], but I was working for myself: making my own hours, calling my own vacations, defining my own policies, and representing things the way I would prefer them to, I would’ve been happy. Now I’m forced to ask myself, Where is that guy now?
The guy who would’ve happily taken pictures just because, not because this job or that job would’ve fetched a greater earning, or because these prints packaged this way can get this, but because what I’d be doing for whatever reason was going to be far more satisfying, enjoyable, and fulfilling. It’s amusing how the analogical references always distinguish between high and low, when the rest of the human experience seems to cry out for middle ground. You never hear religious overtures for people to spend life in purgatory, there’s only heaven and hell. Rich and poor, hot and cold, best and worse. And of course, we all want to sit atop the mountain because apparently there’s no glory in the billions to be had by the Walmarts of the world (Let’s be honest, we don’t have the capital necessary to be that cheap, right? Is that really the only thing stopping us?)
At the eve of a new year, I find myself revisiting what really matters. This handful of months has been a rollercoaster of emotions, perspectives, ideas, reflections, and revelations. Not much different from this first semester I’ve completed of graduate study.
And yet, the question remains. Where do I stand with my branding? How will I represent myself? Is it to be luxurious, one-of-kind, and worth every penny (note here the consumer is scraping the pennies, not me)? Or is it to be full of value, decked out in quality, and within reach of even the common man? Speculation says the middle class is eroding and middle of the road marketing is the way of the “gone-out-of” business.
To self: Should I even be soul-searching on my blog? I think yes. It’s a necessary part of doing business. And that’s what I’ve committed to doing. And the time has come for doing (the ever-glorious point of difficulty). The answers can’t all possibly come before doing occurs.
It’s long overdue.