Defining Your Brand as a Solo Business

Solo Business Branding 

Defining your brand can get a little trickier when you’re a one-person operation. Sometimes it’s difficult to separate your personal brand from the brand you’re creating. Just think about actors that you just can’t seem to separate from their iconic film roles… Harry Potter, anyone?

There are ways, however, to distinguish yourself from your brand so that when you finish your work at the end of the day, you can switch off and be yourself. Here are our tips to define your brand when you’re a solo business:

Keep Separate Social Media Accounts

Make sure that you keep a separate social media account from your business account. Sometimes it’s nice to show some behind-the-scenes of a brand and give it a face, but if the face becomes the brand, the option to “shut off” gets removed. Your words and actions become your brand’s actions and words, so try to keep your personal life separate. Many operators of solo brands keep private Twitter and Instagram accounts for friends and family only, so if you’re having a bad day, it’s not your brand’s bad day.

Share (But Not Too Much)

Your audience should know there is a person behind the brand, but in a limited capacity. Unless your brand is entirely focused around vulnerability and openness, it’s best to keep the personal sharing to a minimum. This will allow your consumers to feel like your brand is personable –– but not like they’re your family.

Have a Separate Work Email

Create a separate work email so that your personal email inbox isn’t flooded. If your consumers know where to reach you anytime, anywhere, you lose an important boundary of personal space. With work-related emails coming in any day at any hour, it can create additional stress and add an emotional burden that may hinder your success.

Define Work Hours (And Stick to Them!)

Being on-call 24/7 can be cumbersome for any professional. Setting definite work hours will keep your consumers from contacting you personally at any hour they please. Sticking to these hours and only allowing yourself to communicate during them will ensure that your customers don’t hunt you down when they don’t hear from you at 10PM on a Friday.

Feel like you’ve got these tips down for solo business branding? Dive deeper into defining your brand, and learn more about some of Issuu’s solo editors who are making it work for them.