💣 The TRUTH About Building a Brand

Let’s talk about something no one wants to say out loud: branding is hard.

Not because you’re doing it wrong, but because building something meaningful, aligned, and consistent across all your platforms takes time, energy, and clarity.

But here’s the good news! In this episode, I’m breaking down why it feels so hard and how to make it easier.

Whether you’re stuck right in the messy middle, second guessing every branding decision, or just feeling totally disconnected from your brand… This ep is going to help.

I cover:

• The real reason branding feels overwhelming, and how to take the pressure off yourself
• 5 common branding myths that are probably making things harder than they need to be
• What to do when your visuals don’t match your vibe anymore
• Easy ways to get back on track (without burning it all to the ground)
• Practical tips to help you feel more confident and consistent in your brand

This episode will help you zoom out, get clear, and start building a brand that actually works. One that feels aligned, attracts the right people, and gives you something solid to stand on (especially on those wobbly days because they creep up often).

Want your brand audited by me? Keep an eye on my Instagram (@the.fearless.designer) – brand audits are coming back soon!

Questions or aha moments from the episode? Slide into my DMs or email me at hello@thefearlessdesigner.com.au

Transcript

Hey, friends, welcome back to the Fearless Designer podcast. It is I. It is Morgan with you again today, and I'm going to come straight at you with a truth bomb that. Oh, it's really not pretty and it's really annoying, but it is so important. And that truth bomb is. Building a brand is hard. Yep, bloody hard. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to scare you off, and I don't want to kind of build on that idea that a brand is some mystical thing that's a vibe and a feeling and not something tangible.

But I really want to free you from the illusion that it should be something done quickly and easily. And in a weekend on Canva, building a brand, like a real brand is not just a pretty logo. And it takes time and energy and a whole lot of clarity. And when you're in a small business or solo business or a content creator, when we have to do all of the things, it can become so overwhelming. So I wanted to chat today in this episode about what it actually takes to build a brand. I know I've touched on that in previous episodes, but it might be a really great refresher for us all. Also, the biggest myths about making it feel even harder than it needs to. And I also wanted to give you some tips on how to stay grounded and focused as you build something that actually works for you and your business.

Hello and welcome to the Fearless Designer podcast. I'm your host, Morgan MacDonald, aka the fearless designer, and I'm here to help you embrace your fears, level up your visual brand, and take your business to fearless new heights. For two decades, I've worked with business owners just like you, designing brands that are bold, consistent, and authentic. I've lived a profesh corporate life as a graphic designer, and I've also spent the last 13 years running my own brand and graphic design business. So whether you're running a six or seven figure business, craving a brand refresh, or just ready to add a little more wow to your visuals, I got you. Each week, we'll dive into fearless brand strategies, design tips that you actually can use, live brand audits, and interviews with fellow business owners who have dared to do things differently. So if you're ready to stop playing small, take control of your brand and leave with confidence, you're in the right place. Let's go.

So I'm really excited to delve into this, and I thought I'd hit the easy, quick tick and flick thing first. What building a brand really means. So when you hear the word branding, most people think of a logo and a few colors and maybe some nice fonts all put together with the brand pattern and maybe some icons, and voila, that's it. Call it a day, your branding's done. But branding isn't just the surface, it's the substance. Branding is how people feel about you. It's the story your business tells even when you're not in the room. It's the confidence someone feels when they land on your Instagram.

It's so many layers. It's the visual identity, it's your tone of voice, it's your personality, it's your offers, it's your values, it's your energy, and most importantly, your consistency. Please don't get overwhelmed with that list. There are really easy, quick ways to get yourself sorted in all of those categories so that you can give yourself a really strong backbone when building a brand of your own. So keeping all of that clear and aligned across every touch point, every single day is really, really hard. Which is why most people either go about doing their normal work in their businesses and they kind of half focus on their brand, or they burn out, or they give up, or they change things because it never feels quite right. I have so many people in my orbit that I can even just see by browsing their Instagram that they're changing their fonts too regularly because they've either not had the time when they've been creating something in Canva to make sure it's consistent, or they just don't have something that feels right for them. So, anyway, without waffling, that's what I want to talk about today.

There are a few persistent myths floating around the online business space that make building a brand feel really hard, or even worse, make you feel like you're doing it wrong, when actually the problem is the advice, not you. So I just wanted to bust a few really quickly. The first myth is you just need a logo and a Canva template. Now, that's fairly naive, but I don't know how many startups that I've come across in my journey as a business owner and as a designer that have that mentality. And oh my gosh, I wish it was that easy. A logo and a Canva template are like an outfit. Yeah, yeah, cute, but utterly meaningless if you don't know where you're going or who you are. Branding isn't just visuals.

It's meaning. It's clarity. It's having a story, a point of view, a promise that you deliver on consistently. And I mean across all everything. Your words, your presence, Your packaging, your visuals, absolutely everything. And this myth is a dangerous one because it gives people a false sense of being done with branding. Like, you just kind of tick it and flick it. But when they wonder why no one's engaging with their visuals or their visuals don't feel like them, or why they're constantly tweaking things, it's because they're branding without a strategy.

And pretty much what they've put together is just decoration. Myth number two is once your brand is done, it's done. Kind of like the. I did a brand photo shoot in 2020, got a logo done. Do I have to do it all again? Yes, yes, you have to. A hundred times, yes. Your brand is not a tattoo. It's more of a living thing.

It evolves with you. If your business has changed and if your energy has shifted and you're working with new types of clients or your offer is different, or your brand needs to. Your brand definitely needs to reflect that. Otherwise, it feels out of sync, and you'll feel like you've outgrown it. That feeling of my visuals don't match who I am anymore is a real one. I'm going through that right now. And, like, personally, in my own business, that's where I'm at. And it leads to brand shame, it leads to avoiding to post content, and it also leads to an overthinking kind of spiral with everything from your grid to your website, but nothing actually ever gets done, so you do not need to burn it all to the ground.

But maybe scheduling a brand check in every, say, six to 12 months, pop it in your calendar, make it reoccurring. That's really smart. That's strategizing. And that gives you an opportunity to check in, see how things are going, see how much time you're spending on it, what's working, what's not, what needs to be adjusted. As I said, that's smart. That's what big businesses do, and that's what you should be doing as well. Okay, myth number three. I'm too small.

Do I really need a brand? Oh, you know, things like, oh, I'm not at six figures yet. I just can't justify branding. It's too expensive. I'll get to it later. Please. No, no, no, no, no. If anything, the smaller you are, the more important branding becomes, because you are the brand. You don't have to have a marketing department.

You don't have to have a team doing the visual direction for you. It's just you. And clarity is your biggest asset. Branding builds Trust. And it creates recognition. It helps people choose you, even if you're not the biggest or cheapest option. So your brand is your presence when you're in the room. And it says, I've got this.

I know who I am. And people trust that energy, even subconsciously. If I get it right, I'll feel confident every day of my business life. And I wish, I wish this myth was true. I wish that branding came with this, like, automatic dose of confidence. But that's not how it works. Even when your branding is beautiful and aligned and looks amazing, there will still be days where you feel unsure and insecure and like a bit of a fraud. But here's the good news.

Your brand can become your anchor on those days. It's your alter ego, your reminder of what you stand for, even when you don't feel like you know the most fearless version of yourself. And that's how I created the fearless designer. Not because I'm naturally fearless, but because I needed a brand to help me step up every day. And it works. It totally does. Branding doesn't erase fear, but it gives you a place to stand while you work through it. And myth number five, branding is a one person job.

I should be able to figure it all out on my own. Well, no, that's not true. Let's cut that shame spiral out right now. Branding isn't something you're meant to do in isolation. Even designers like me work with others to clarify their own message because we're too close to it. It's the same as a designer designing their own logo. We're too close to the project and we always look for assistance and opinions and help from other people in our orbit. So trying to build a brand in a vacuum leads to overthinking, confusion, and just too many canva templates that you're never going to use.

Branding is a process of reflection, strategy, creativity and clarity. And guess what? You're allowed to get help with that. You don't have to be the brand expert or an expert in branding, but you have to be brave enough to explore what's true for you and to get support, turning that into a really clear and consistent presence. So why is branding so hard? And is it worth it? Well, yes. Yes, it is. It is worth it. But it is really hard and it does ask a lot of you. It requires you to look inward and get really clear and then consistently show up in alignment with that clarity, even on the hard days.

But when it works, when it works, your brand starts magnetizing dream clients. When people get you before they've even met you. When you. When the content just flows more easily because the message is baked in. When you stop second guessing every decision and every design, decision or caption, it is so powerful, becomes your support system, your strategy, your voice. It's not just how your business looks, it's how your business leads. So if you're stuck in the messy middle, here are a few practical tips that might make the whole process just feel that little bit more doable. First one, number one, pick three brand pillars and commit to them.

These are your values, your themes or messages that everything ties back to. Think about how many times I may have said the words clarity, confidence and consistency or clarity, confidence and creativity in my podcast episodes. That may be a hint as to what mine are. Number two, please use visuals that you actually like. If you're choosing colors or fonts that you think will target the right person or your audience might like or in fashion at the moment or you should be using, but you freaking hate them, it's never going to feel good. Choose brand assets that feel aligned and exciting. And I want to put another little kind of mark to this. Please don't go to a designer or a design agency expecting them to do that work for you.

It is a joint partnership where you provide ideas and internal thoughts and likes and dislikes and answer their questions so that they can create something that feels and looks really good and consistent for you. It is not something that a design agency is going to solve for you. You need to have skin in the game with this. You need to be doing this work too. It is more than just a Pinterest board. It is actually working and leading this process. All right, number three, do regular brand check ins every quarter. Every.

No, I'm going to say every quarter. 6 monthly is great once you get going, but every quarter, look across all your platforms. Is everything still aligned? Is it starting to drift? Do you need to overhaul? You just need to notice. Let your brand be your filter. When in doubt about a new offer or a photo or a post or an email, ask does this feel on brand? Does this align with my message and my energy? And lastly, number five, remember that branding is a practice, not a project. It's okay that it takes time. That's normal. It's so supposed to grow with you.

Please take your time. It is a real labor of love and quite often the most successful brands that we see are ones that have taken time and effort and care to align themselves perfectly with the strategy. So there you have it. Branding and building a brand is hard, but it is the most worthwhile thing you can do in your business. If this episode has resonated with you, or if you're struggling with brand shame, or second guessing or even just wondering why it feels so hard, please know that you are not alone. The more you show up, the more you reflect, the more you refine, it becomes so much easier. I would absolutely love if you were able to share with this episode with anyone, whether they're a business friend or someone that needs to hear it. Or let me know if you had an aha moment or something that you feel like you could work a little bit more on or something that you're doing so well.

I'm here to celebrate you. And please remember, you don't need to be fearless to build a brand. You just need to be brave enough to keep going. And that's it for today's episode of the Fearless Designer podcast. I hope you're feeling really inspired, fired up and ready to go make some bold moves with your brand. If you love today's episode, don't forget to hit the subscribe button so that you never miss a dose of fearless branding goodness. And if you're feeling extra generous, drop us a review. It just helps more fearless legends like you find this podcast.

If you've got any ideas or questions for future episodes, please slide into my DMs or send me an email. I would love to hear from you. And until next time, keep being bold, keep being fearless. And remember, your brand is your superpower. So go out there and dare to be different. Bye.