If you’re a small business looking to build your business, let me give you a hot tip – nailing your branding first and then your social media efforts will get you most of the way there.

Fi from Girl Friday IP is someone who has leveraged both of these things to build a kick-ass business.

As a service provider in a typically unsexy industry, Fi’s ‘think like a lifestyle’ brand philosophy has provided her year old business with traction – referrals, business, exposure and recognition – that would never have been possible had she just done what every other IP firm does.

Shownotes

In this episode, we cover:

• Why Fi decided to go out on her own and start her business, and the bravery and courage that it takes to do so;
• The importance of not glamorising doing business for yourself, and how lonely it can be;
• The things that people DON’T tell you about being your own boss, and why Fi wouldn’t change it for the world;
• Why Fi chose ‘Girl Friday’ as the name for her business (a left of centre choice for an IP professional);
• Why professional services firms should think like lifestyle brands;
• The impact that concentrating on her brand has had on business referrals;
• The importance of branding when setting up your business;
• The impact of injecting personality into your business and how personality can pay off;
• The concept of disarming people of their expectations and pleasantly surprising them;
• The importance of articulating your craft in plain English as a service provider;
• How developing a value statement can attract the right people to you;
• The impact that social media has had on Fi’s business;
• Fi’s blogging strategy, and how she creates engaging and interesting content;
• Why Instagram is Fi’s favourite platform;
• The importance of securing all of your social media handles before you start your business;
• What Twitter can be useful for;
• The value for a service business in cultivating a small, engaged following;
• The importance of the ’SOCIAL’ aspect of social media;
• Why the lack of competitors on social media can be a great reason to dive in; to
• The ‘is this someone that I want to have a drink with’ test [!!!];
• And more.

Links + Resources

Girl Friday IP website: www.girlfridayip.com

Girl Friday IP Instagram: www.instagram.com/girlfridayip

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