You Have A Brand Behavior Problem: And Data Can't Fix It

Does Your Brand Need An Attitude Adjustment

Every time a Founder tells me they have a brand problem, I take a deep breath, sip something strong, and wait for the list. “My messaging is off. My content doesn’t convert. Nobody’s buying. I think I need a new visual identity.” Sometimes they wanna throw out the whole business and start over. What kinda shit is that? It's real shit, and I've been there. But here’s what I’ve learned over years of doing brand strategy, a restaurant hustle, and consulting with brilliant but overwhelmed folx with beautiful ideas: Most don’t have a brand problem. You have a brand behavior problem.

And behavior, Brandbaby, is the brand long before your colors, your tagline, or your new Canva post ever hits the timeline.

Brand Behavior is the Backbone; Not the Logo

Branding is not just what folx see. It’s what folx experience. And every brand experience is shaped by the behavior of the person behind it.

You may think your issue is visibility. But what you're really struggling with is consistency. Not the kind that shows up on a spreadsheet, but the kind that shows up in energy, intention, and emotional clarity.

You launch things only when you feel like it. You ghost your audience when things don’t pop the first time. You write offers from a place of panic and rebrand from a place of burnout. That’s not strategic. That’s behavior misaligned with your values and vision.

And when behavior doesn’t back up the brand promise? Your audience doesn’t just notice. They feel it.

The Problem Isn’t Branding; It’s Distortion

The 10 Distortions Behind the Brand in the Private Reserve, wasn't created for cute coaching content. It was written to name the very real psychological sabotage, no both sides, happening behind most Founders’ branding efforts. You may not think you’re showing up distorted, and your audience may not feel distorted, but if you’re caught in all-or-nothing thinking, emotional reasoning, or personalization, then the behavior is coming from fear, not foundation.

When a single bad launch makes you question your entire framework? That’s over-generalization. When you stop promoting a program because one person didn’t respond? That’s magnification and minimization. When you assume your audience’s silence means rejection instead of reflection? That’s jumping to conclusions.

These cognitive distortions aren’t just happening in your personal life. They’re woven into your brand scripts, your sales behavior, and your marketing rhythms. And no new branding suite can cover up a Founder still operating with a distorted mind.

Branding Without Desire Is Just Decoration

Let’s not just talk about what’s broken. Let’s also talk about what’s missing. You don’t just need visibility. You need desirability and not just from your audience. You need to desire what you’re building again.

In 16 Desires Driving the Brand, I walk Founders through the emotional patterns that drive every behavior, whether they realize it or not. Your need for independence might be why you refuse to hire help, even as your business buckles under the weight of your to-do list. Your hunger for status might explain why you’re chasing public validation instead of private satisfaction. Your craving for tranquility might be why you're sabotaging launches that feel too chaotic to carry.

Desire isn’t a marketing trick. It’s the engine behind every fucking brand behavior.

When your business is not aligned with your core emotional needs, your actions will always work against your intentions. You’ll sell what you resent, market what you can’t sustain, and wonder why the fucking brand feels like a mask instead of a mirror.

Brand Behavior Is Where Strategy Meets Self-Concept

You are not just the face of your brand. You are the pattern of behavior it learns to follow. If you consistently show up apologetic, your brand will carry a tone of shrinking. If you build while doubting yourself, your audience will hesitate too. If you create from a place of performance, your content will attract people who expect a show, not substance.

This is why I always say: your brand can’t behave better than you do.

That’s not a knock on your ability. It’s a call to clarity. Because branding, when done right, is a behavioral intervention. Not a cosmetic fix. Not a copy change. Not a color refresh. Branding, when rooted in self-awareness, is how you stop performing and start aligning. It’s how you move from people-pleasing to platform-building.

And that starts with learning your distortions, decoding your desires, and designing a brand that doesn’t punish you for being human.

Fix the Founder Behavior, and the Brand Will Follow

Here’s what most Founders don’t realize: You are the most accurate data point in your business. Not your click-through rate. Not your IG insights. You.

If you’re not buying what you’re selling, no one else will. If your marketing voice feels like a costume, no amount of audience research will fix that shit. If your brand rituals feel like a burden, you’ll burn out before your brand ever breaks through.

Behavioral branding isn’t about discipline, it’s about design. A design that fits how you think, move, and desire to lead. Because that’s what sustainable branding looks like. Not a strategy that makes you someone else, but one that lets you come home to yourself; loud, flawed, whole, and still profitable.

The two Private Reserve handbooks - 10 Distortions Behind the Brand and 16 Desires Driving the Brand - aren’t about theory. They’re practical frameworks for Founders who need a mirror, not a motivational meme. If your brand behavior is all over the place, these are your diagnostic tools. They'll help you move from blame to behavior, from burnout to clarity, from emotional sabotage to brand sustainability.

A Brand Is a Promise That You Behave Into

You can’t copywrite your way out of emotional chaos. You can’t design your way out of avoidance. And you damn sure can’t automate your way into alignment.

So if you’re brave enough to ask,

What part of me is my brand actually reflecting?

Then you’re ready to fix what’s really broken. It’s not the branding. It’s the behavior. And once you change that, you won’t need a rebrand. You’ll need a runway.