Everybody Wants to Know the Owner, But at What Cost?
Being the face of your business feels good, until it doesn’t. The attention, the recognition, the authority… it all seems like brand power. But when your personal brand overshadows your business brand, you’re not building brand equity, you’re eroding it.
I learned this the hard way in my last business.
When folks only see YOU as the business, they don’t see the brand at all. They trust you, not the systems you put in place of the folx you hired. They expect you to show up, not your team. They rely on your name, not your reputation. And that’s a fucking problem.
Because when you become the business, the business can’t grow beyond you.
When Personal Branding Becomes a Bottleneck
Personal branding is powerful unless you turn it into a noose. At first, everything is hunky dorey. Every time someone calls your name, you flex a bit. The dopamine rush of being recognized is euphoric. Your name carries weight. Folx see you as the one make'n shit happen. But then, business picks up, and suddenly, YOU are the business.
Not the brand.
Not the legacy.
Just the one folx expect to “handle it.” That’s when "it" sets in. The day-to-day grind of working in your business. You stopped leading and got bogged down in just trying to keep up. You have to ask yourself, are you building a brand that can stand on its own, or are you just making yourself indispensable?
If your brand depends too much on YOU, then your equity is tied to your availability, not the value of the business. The real flex is building a branded house or a house of brands that thrives with or with you.
Your Name Is Not Brand Equity
Folx love to say, “I know the owner.” And as the owner, that feels like influence and your client feels important. That's until the reality check of how they see you; the fixer, the decision-maker, the one who gets shit done. Your identity is wrapped in the fucking business, and your business brand is buried under the weight of your personal reputation.
That’s what keeps so many founders leave millions on the table like me. They fail to build real brand equity. Here’s what you need to know:
Your brand is not your personal reputation. It’s the positioning, systems, and trust that extend beyond you.
If your presence is the only thing driving revenue, you’re not building a brand, you’re running a personality-driven hustle.
Your business can grow, but if people only want YOU, it won’t scale or sell.
This is where Brandparenting™ comes in; shifting from a personality-driven business to a structured branded house. You know you're tired of being the bottleneck, so get the f out of the way and shift your shit.
“I Know the Owner” Is Not a Marketing Strategy
I love when folx act like knowing you, the owner, is their ultimate flex.
“Oh, I know the owner. They got me.”
Yeah… I am the owner, mutha fucka. And what I got is a mile-long to-do list and a business that can’t function without me because my name is the fucking door. I'm still do'n dishes, payroll, and invoicing.
Folx mad because they feel underpaid
Distribution prices fluctuating daily
Equipment broke before opening
Yeah, that was my life in my last business. Customers loved the brand, but what they really loved was us, Bigmista and Mrs. Mista. And that’s a problem when you’re trying to grow beyond the day-to-day.
A brand should have a life of its own. But if YOU are the brand, what happens when you step away? This weekend, take a step back, don't post about it, and ask yourself: Is my business thriving because of its brand, or because of me?
If you can’t step away without everything falling apart, it’s time to rethink the game.
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