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Building a Strong Brand Foundation with Kristie Keever
39 Plays5 months ago
Welcome to The Goode Guide, your ultimate career companion! In this episode, I'm joined by the incredibly talented Kristie Keever, a brand and marketing strategist who helped me take The Goode Guide to the next level. Kristie and I met several months ago, and through our work together, I’ve learned the importance of building a strong brand foundation. And trust me, I had a lot more questions than answers when I first started.
In this episode, we dive deep into what brand clarity is all about and why it’s crucial for anyone looking to expand their business or personal brand. We explore the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating a brand, the foundational pillars you need to focus on, and why doing the hard work upfront pays off in the long run. Kristie shares her expertise on everything from understanding your target audience to developing your mission and vision. If you’re an entrepreneur or simply someone looking to step up your career game, this episode is packed with valuable insights.
Kristie explains how she helped me move beyond a vague idea to a clear, actionable brand strategy that truly feels authentic to my purpose. We also discuss the journey of discovering my target audience, refining my mission statement, and the importance of defining your brand’s voice and tone. And of course, we touch on how to make all of this scalable and sustainable while staying true to your unique style.
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Welcome and Introduction: Meet Kristie Keever, Brand Strategist
- 02:45 - Kristie’s Approach to Brand Clarity: A Deep Dive into the Process
- 05:10 - What Goes Into Building a Brand: The Four Core Pillars
- 10:30 - How to Find Your Target Audience: Understanding Demographics and Psychographics
- 15:00 - Crafting a Mission and Vision Statement that Reflects Your Authenticity
- 20:00 - Why Community Matters: How Kristie Helped Me Discover the Importance of Building a Supportive Network
- 25:00 - The Power of Brand Voice and Tone: How to Stay Consistent and Authentic
- 30:00 - The Transformative Process: Christy’s Advice for Entrepreneurs and Women in Leadership
- 35:00 - Kristie’s Advice for Her 25-Year-Old Self: Trust Yourself and Take Action
Resources Mentioned:
- Christy Keever’s Website
- Christy on Social Media: @KristieKeever
- The Goode Guide Website – Check out new resources, courses, and coaching offers!
Thank You for Listening: If you loved this episode, please leave a 5-star review and share it with a friend, loved one, or colleague who’s on their own career journey. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Goode Guide podcast so you never miss a beat. Thanks for tuning in, and I’ll catch you in the next one!
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Transcript
Introduction and Career Journey
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey there, welcome to The Good Guide, your ultimate career companion. I'm Shannara Good, and I've been on quite the career roller coaster. From the trenches of entry-level positions to the boardrooms as a now more seasoned professional.
00:00:15
Speaker
Believe me when I say i have been there and know that I've acquired some wisdom over the years that I cannot wait to share with you. Ever felt like you're on your career journey solo?
00:00:26
Speaker
Or maybe you're curious about conquering career plateaus, overcoming imposter syndrome, or leading with unwavering confidence. Well, I promise you are in the right place.
00:00:38
Speaker
Every week, my guests and I will share our own challenges and successes. We'll talk about everything from career development to leadership to even work-life balance. Expect a healthy dose of authenticity and, of course, our tips and tricks that will have you navigating your career with a newfound confidence.
00:00:58
Speaker
Don't miss out on the knowledge drop, y'all.
Podcast Overview and Subscription Call
00:01:01
Speaker
Hit that like, subscribe, and follow button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Trust me, you won't want to miss an episode.
00:01:12
Speaker
Because this is the good guide where we're not just chasing success, we're defining it. Are you ready to elevate your career game? Let's dive in.
00:01:25
Speaker
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the good guide podcast. I am your host, Shannara Good. And before we get into the thick of today's episode, I have something
Podcast Host Migration Mishap
00:01:35
Speaker
to admit. And I'm, I still am unwell about this situation.
00:01:40
Speaker
So let me break it down. A couple of weeks back, as I was planning for the relaunch of, or the launch of the second season, or excuse me, the third season, wow, don't even know where I am.
00:01:51
Speaker
But as I was getting ready for the launch of the third season of The Good Guide, I decided that I wanted to change hosts. um I won't get into who I had before and who I'm moving to but there is a critical step as um,
00:02:06
Speaker
um migrated my podcast from one host to another, apparently there was a critical step that i did not take. You might have noticed if you if this is not your first time visiting the podcast, you might have noticed, oh, wait, why does The Good Guide podcast only have one season up? I know for a fact there were two previous seasons.
00:02:30
Speaker
You would be correct. However, none of my episodes from the previous two seasons transferred over to my new host, you guys.
00:02:42
Speaker
and oh my goodness, I about had a conniption when I figured this out. I mean, I was trying to throw money at it. I was like, please, please, please, we've got to save these two seasons.
00:02:59
Speaker
Lo and behold, it's unsavable. It was, I don't know, deleted in the transfer. And so That brings me to what I wanted to get into before we talk about this episode, and that is I am going to be relaunching all of my
Relaunch Strategy for Lost Episodes
00:03:15
Speaker
episodes.
00:03:15
Speaker
I'm going do it little by little so that it's not all at once, but you will start to notice that I am starting to relaunch episodes that you've already heard. Now, I'm going to put this under a relaunch series. I will probably title it something of that nature.
00:03:31
Speaker
But I wanted to give you guys a little bit of a heads up before I did this so that you wouldn't be like, wait, what is going on? i feel like this is deja vu. It is not deja vu. It is just me having a hard time with technology and having to right my wrong.
00:03:46
Speaker
So you will start to see episodes from season one and season two kind of intermingled in single um in season three.
00:03:57
Speaker
i will post them as completely separate episodes and they will have a title that will allow you to know that this is a reposted episode from previous seasons. so Bear with me all as i get my bearings on this new host, but thank you so much for your patience as we you know, work through the the bumps in the road.
00:04:20
Speaker
So now that that is covered, let's get into what you all are here for. All right. Well, welcome. I so excited to have you here, Christy.
Introduction to Guest: Christy Kiefer
00:04:33
Speaker
I feel like this is, it feels really full circle because we've been working together for, I was saying, talking about this yesterday, like I mean, it's been over six months from the moment that we probably first started talking to each other until now, like it feels like it's been a lifetime. and And I'm so grateful that I even stumbled upon you and we've had the chance to work together. But
00:04:55
Speaker
Before we get into the details, I want everyone to just get a little bit of um an intro in who you are, what you do, high level, and obviously we'll get down to the nitty gritty of it, but just want to hand over the mic and and allow you to introduce you to the listeners.
00:05:12
Speaker
So, Yeah, welcome. First, thank you so much for having me. It does feel very surreal and full circle. Yeah. talk about Maybe doing an episode later down the road. It feels like that was lifetimes ago, doesn't it? know.
Understanding Branding as a Foundation
00:05:26
Speaker
I know. It really does. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so honored to have this conversation with you. So so yeah. So introduction, I'm k Christy Kiefer. I'm a brand strategist and a marketing strategist, and I really work with clients to help them take those big ideas that they have in their mind of those dreams and desires and you know trying to figure out how do I actually make this into something that is a business that i get paid well to do and it actually works.
00:05:52
Speaker
How to take those ideas and actually turn it into reality so to make it actually happen. Yeah. ah which Which you guys, like even listening to her say it, I feel like it's so simplified. But when I tell you the work is really hard.
00:06:07
Speaker
It is really hard to tactically take an idea and and make it into something. that sure, at the root of what you're trying to do is make it lucrative, make it a business, make it but it's it's actually, like I think the work that you have to put in upfront is more of the like digging deep in into like the why and the how and the like why is this even something that you wanna do? And I think that's what makes it so difficult.
00:06:34
Speaker
Um, but okay. So let's start off with like the general why behind brand clarity. Like what is the difference or what do you necessarily, um, or what do you tend to see? I should say between brands that clearly have a strategy behind their, why they're, who they are there, et cetera, et cetera. And the brands that don't have that.
00:06:57
Speaker
Yeah, this is a beautiful place to start. My favorite question. Okay, so what let's start first with what typically people believe or see branding as, okay?
00:07:09
Speaker
People typically think of branding as a logo, as colors, as pictures, as you you know all those beautiful things that you see. they They think that that is branding. And that is a piece of branding, but it is not all of branding, and it's definitely not the foundation of branding, okay?
00:07:26
Speaker
So branding is actually the foundational strategy that sets the stage for your entire business. It actually creates the model that you need in order to see business success the way that you really want to make the impact in income, in action, etc.
00:07:41
Speaker
So I like to always say, describe branding as think of it as building a house. When you're building a house, most people have the tendency and the desire to go and choose the wall colors and the finishings and all the different touches on the inside.
00:07:53
Speaker
But they're thinking about that piece before the foundation of structure is actually built. Okay. So within the foundation, within the structure, it's where you're figuring out what your focus is, why are you even building this in the first place?
00:08:09
Speaker
Who do you really want to design it for? Who do you really want to work with? um What is it that you really want to offer to people? So what is the solution that you're helping them to accomplish, attain or achieve? And then how do you talk about And how do you talk about that in a way that is actually desirable to the right people so that you're receiving the outcome that you're really intending to do? So there's a lot of intention behind it. And then through that work, there's a lot of authenticity to it too, because there's no one right or wrong way to build a business or build a brand.
00:08:43
Speaker
But what matters most is what feels right and aligned to you so that you can show up and your business can be presented in the most authentic, organic, natural way. Yeah.
00:08:54
Speaker
What I picture when you describe it um is it's like that iceberg, that iceberg picture that I feel like is ah like that infographic that everyone always uses where it's like you see the little tip and that is to your point, the logo, the colors, the like the aesthetic part of a brand.
00:09:13
Speaker
Whereas everything below that iceberg is like all of the the work that goes into the foundation to your point of the brand itself. So you say house, I say iceberg. I'm sure other people are thinking of a but a different visual. Also refer to it as a tree with roots. exactly. that yes Yes, exactly. So, okay.
00:09:32
Speaker
So you get a client, right? And they're like, all right, Christy, I want to become, I don't know, like a A yoga instructor will say that.
00:09:44
Speaker
Where do you start?
Client Assessment and Brand Strategy
00:09:45
Speaker
Like how, what are, what's even that initial conversation like um when you're sitting down with someone for the first time and just getting to know like what their goals are, their, their desire for their brand?
00:09:57
Speaker
I always start with a temperature check. I ask them some basic questions. The framework that I've built and use is a four core model. So there's four core pillars to building this foundation. And so I'm just asking them general questions.
00:10:10
Speaker
Tell me about your target audience. Describe their desires to me. Describe what their challenges or their pain points are. Talk to me a little bit about how you're wanting to work with people. Do you have set offers or do you have ways to monetize this business? If so, how are you doing that?
00:10:25
Speaker
um Talk to me about, you know, pretend like we just met at a networking event. Introduce yourself to me. How are you talking about what you're doing and who you are? and then why are you doing this? Like, what is the desire but behind all of this and and why? And then based on the answers to that questions, I kind have an idea of where that starting point is to help figure out where what do i have to where do we need to dig deeper to build it to the next the next level or to the next step. So it's kind of like taking a little mini audit or inventory yeah yeah and seeing what gaps need to be filled, what holes are there, and how can I best...
00:11:03
Speaker
strategically position them or work with them to connect all those dots so that everything is showing up in a very clear manner. It's very cohesive. It's very concise. And it's also very consistent because that's what helps you build authority and credibility.
00:11:16
Speaker
Yeah. So I'll take you guys on this journey because when I first reached out to Christy, it was...
Authentic Path through Podcasting
00:11:23
Speaker
I, so we'll get to what it's become.
00:11:26
Speaker
But when I first started out, i wanted to find a way to essentially create a side income for myself that was more geared around my professional expertise, like the tactical things that I do in or I've done throughout my career. So for example, my career, I have become, built myself as an inventory, retail, operations, et cetera, expert.
00:11:56
Speaker
And so when I first went to Chrissy, it was truly to build out. I had done some consulting in the past. I'd done some contracting in the past, but I wanted to really formalize that, um I guess, so formula. I wanted to formalize that part of my business, right? I wanted to be able to go...
00:12:14
Speaker
to clients and say like, hey, this is the suite of offerings. This is the skill set that I have. Hire me, basically. And so that's what it started as, which is crazy now, because I just I don't I can't even I barely could explain it, to be honest, because now I'm like, it's so far from like we didn't even go in that direction.
00:12:31
Speaker
But ultimately, I want to say it was probably maybe like two or three sessions in, she started to ask me more of that, foundation like those foundational questions.
00:12:44
Speaker
And I think like truly uncovering the why behind what I was doing, like ultimately I wanted to help people with their career or like professional concerns.
00:12:59
Speaker
And I thought the only way that I could do that was through taking a skill set that I had acquired professionally and give in like basically offering that to them. I genuinely only felt like I felt like that was the only way I could go about it.
00:13:14
Speaker
Then I feel like at one point you and i I, don't know how the podcast came up, but the podcast came up and I, and that was for me, the unlock, that's when it started to feel a lot more, um, authentic to your point in terms of like what I was trying to do and the outlet that I would be able to utilize to accomplish that goal.
00:13:37
Speaker
And I think that to me was like one of the biggest pieces, but I would not have been able to understand that if we didn't do that foundational work at the start. Yeah.
00:13:48
Speaker
One of the, several of the for initial conversations that we had is I have all of these pieces in part and I'm not sure how or if they go together. Yes. How can I organize them in a way and talk about them in a way so that people understand. And so It's like, and I, and I have that conversation a lot with people is, you know, I'm interested in this, lots of multi-passion.
00:14:11
Speaker
We're interested in a lot of different things. Right. Yeah. And when we're so close to our stuff and our information, we can't see the value that's there or how to organize them and structure them in a way. to make it all make sense and make it all flow together. so in essence, there's a bit of unlocking that happens.
00:14:31
Speaker
um And it's it's by me asking the questions and kind probing a little bit different a little bit deeper so that I can see what's there, taking that inventory and say, okay, well, what are you doing with this? Or what do you think about this? And what if we move this piece over here? and then it starts to kind of level itself out so that it's creating its own structure.
00:14:53
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And I very much feel like that's how it came to be. And if anything, we spent the like 90, maybe 85% of our time building that foundation and the last 15%
00:15:08
Speaker
those making those final touches or talking a little bit more around like launch strategy and things like that. But because we had put in all of that work before, like it actually, I felt like that was all we really needed for some of the other like tactical conversations. Like, okay, like how do we actually then bring this to life um because it really. Clarity. Yeah. And I think it's because once you get to a point when you're really clear what you're doing, what's there, what you have, how to use it, yeah making decisions moving forward is just like, like the flow of dominoes, like yeah everything falls into place.
00:15:40
Speaker
Right. Because now you know, and you're like, you can make decisions from a more empowered perspective, and empowered position because you're confident because you're clear. me Right.
00:15:50
Speaker
One of the things I will say about that foundation, and and yes, most of the work that I do with clients, like 90% of the time is let's talk through, let's flush out the details of this foundation and then then then everything flows. But I do a lot of consulting for for ah corporate as well, companies.
00:16:07
Speaker
um And 90% of the time they'll come to me and say, We're struggling with this. This isn't working. This isn't resonating. We're not attracting the right audience. We're not converting. And even for smaller businesses too, in any of those areas, if something is not working and something is off, I guarantee with an asterisk of disclaimer, sometimes I guarantee that it has something to do with what's going on or what's missing from that foundation.
00:16:34
Speaker
What do you think, and maybe this is a little like reflective moment, but during our time together, like what do you, if you were to guess like, or diagnose what was so difficult at the beginning, like when we were workshopping, you know, my vision and the audience and things like that, like it was really tough for me. Like I'm not even gonna sugarcoat, like cut coat that.
00:16:57
Speaker
It was something that I really struggled with. First of all, I'm not a branding person. Like I, I was the person that only ever thought of branding as the logo, as the colors, as the fun stuff. Right. I was like, well, I'm my brand. So because I'm my brand, like I don't need to do, you know, and i'm I'm me and that's the foundation of it, you know, but it was really hard to like put that down on paper. And we were talking about my audience and that you were like, all right, who's your audience? And I was like, well, me, right.
00:17:23
Speaker
And it was like, well, who is that? You know, like, why do you think, I guess in general, like, what did you see that I struggled with? Like, would you agree with that statement? But also to more of a macro level, why do you think people struggle so much with that section of it all? Yeah.
00:17:39
Speaker
Excellent question. I think that people struggle with it the most is because we cannot see the things that are closest to us. Mm-hmm. We can't see our true value. We can't see our true worth. We can't see what's already there to us until we learn how to see it from a different perspective or to presented to us in a different way where can actually see, oh yeah, you're right. It actually has been here the whole time. The reason for that is because when when we think about things that we're creating, we wear it so close to us, right? We are the ones that are focused with our eyes on what we're doing.
00:18:14
Speaker
We're digging that trench to work on what it is that our dream is, what that desire is. And we're not taking time to pick up our head and look around or take a step back and assess what is actually here.
00:18:25
Speaker
And so it usually isn't until we have somebody with the right skill set to be able to ask those questions. Because one of the things that's also important to know is at no point did I ever tell you what it was. it was the process of allowing you to see it by me probing and prompting you with different questions.
00:18:45
Speaker
Yep. Would you agree? Yep. I 100% agree. Yeah, for sure. And so- Again, it's taking that outside perspective with the combination of the right skill set to see, I could see what was there for you on your first call, our first conversation. But it's going through that process to allow you to resonate and connect with what's there um by by by doing these workshops, by having these different worksheets and different homework assignments and things that you had to do on your own.
00:19:13
Speaker
um to be able to allow, to get you to the point where you could actually see what's there and then adding my skillset of strategy and structure to it to create an organization out of it. Yeah. Yeah.
00:19:24
Speaker
Love that. So, okay. So once you, I know obviously, or as we've talked about, like building that foundation is so critical when um seeking brand clarity, what are, what does make up the foundation of
Core Pillars of Branding
00:19:39
Speaker
your brand? Okay.
00:19:41
Speaker
Good question. So there are four core pillars or four core pis principles to this brand foundation. The first one is vision. Now your vision also encompasses your mission, your, your why, you know, kind of all those things in there, but think about, think about like this.
00:19:57
Speaker
If you're going on a journey and you don't know where that destination is, now sure, you can intentionally just pick a random spot on a map and you can go. But when you're intentionally trying to build your business to create some results for yourself, for your clients, et cetera, if you don't know where you're going or what you're building, then how will you ever know that you've actually arrived there, that you completed what you intended to set out? or set intended to set out You know what I'm trying to say?
00:20:25
Speaker
Yes. like but How will you ever know if you've, if you've arrived, you have no idea where you're going? Okay. It also means that there's no way to track your progress.
00:20:36
Speaker
Are you on track to accomplishing your goal? Are you in the right direction? so if you're not clear on that vision, then it's really hard to, to, to gauge any traction or success.
00:20:47
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's pillar number one, getting really clear on that. And then with that is the vision statement, the mission statement, your core values, all of those foundational pieces. Okay. Then the next step is figuring out your audience.
00:21:00
Speaker
Okay. Now here's where this is my favorite part of this entire work, because if you're not really clear on your audience on several different levels, then everything you do from there is not going to resonate and is not going to produce results, period, end of story.
00:21:15
Speaker
Yeah. So when it comes to target audience, we go into two different foundational levels. We go to basic demographics, which is important to have an idea of who they are social status, income level level, education, et cetera, because sometimes that is important for the product or the service that you're selling.
00:21:34
Speaker
The other side, my favorite side, is actually the psychographics. So that's digging into their psyche, their dreams, their desires, their wants, the things that are keeping them up at night, the problems, the challenges, the struggles, things like that, even the mindset that they have around it as to why they're not able to accomplish that goal or objective or that desire that they have.
00:21:54
Speaker
yeah And then taking that information and then determining how you're wanting to serve them, how do we align them with you. Okay.
00:22:06
Speaker
So that target audience piece is is critical for everything else that you do i'm moving forward. The next pillar is your offer. So it's fleshing out the details of your offer suite.
00:22:18
Speaker
You can have one offer, you can have a suite of offers that are all complimentary to each other, but it's then creating the bridge that you can present to your target audience to say, if this is what you're struggling with, this is what's keeping you up at night. Here's one, two, three, four steps to how I can get you.
00:22:35
Speaker
there. So it becomes very clear what those offers are because your target audience is going to be, need something at different levels and at different stages. yeah So flushing out all the details. Then pillar number four is then your message, your communication.
00:22:49
Speaker
So how are you talking about who you are, what you do for who you do it for? And in what capacity do you get them to results? What kind of results can you help them to accomplish and achieve?
00:23:00
Speaker
And then as you're exploring that conversation, it always comes you, why are you doing this? What's your mission behind it? Where is your heart? Where did you create this? And then also your story of,
00:23:11
Speaker
Why did you choose this you know as ah as a career, as ah an offer that you're doing? So you're able to answer all of those questions from a very clear manner, a very concise manner, a very compelling manner, because the goal is to get them to convert and into working with you in some capacity.
00:23:27
Speaker
Yeah. So it's flushing those out, which is creates your foundation. And then after, if you notice in the four core pillars, there's no visual branding there. Yeah. Yep. That is actually a bonus pillar, pillar number five, that can only be done once those four cores are flushed out.
00:23:43
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, it's again, I'm like, even hearing you talk about it, it's like, I'm like going through our journey and like thinking back to like some of our sessions, like each of those each of those things.
00:23:54
Speaker
um Like I remember when we first started with the target audience and again, my answer was, well, me. And in it turns out, i mean, i think I'm a part of my target, target audience for sure, but I actually don't think I'm my target audience, like get in the kind of At the core, I don't know how to explain it.
00:24:16
Speaker
I still feel like my target audience is, sure, like maybe a ah close friend of mine, but she's not me, you know? And so it's funny if I would have just, if you would have been like, yep, okay, sure, then that's your target target audience. Like I don't think that I would have come up with the offers that I did because theoretically i have all the things that,
00:24:35
Speaker
my target audience would be seeking more or less. Right. So, um so, okay. So then let's use this as a perfect pivot. One of the things that I wanted to do in this episode is take my listeners through kind of the creation of the good guide, like the expansion beyond the podcast and talk through some of the things like my vision, my mission, et cetera.
00:24:59
Speaker
And then um talk through maybe some of the roadblocks that we hit along the way as we were ultimately, trying to get there. Yeah. So I pulled up my, like the document that was a visual. I was actually really geeked out when we finally put this together. And when I say we, like k Christy guided me through it, but like i I had to put it together. And again, this was one of those things where I'm like, well, dang, I didn't realize there's gonna be all this work.
00:25:26
Speaker
Like I didn't realize that all this homework was going to go into it, but yeah. Now I'm so grateful to be able to like have physical copies of of this as a, you know, again, a testament to a tangible. Yes, exactly.
00:25:39
Speaker
And the amount that I've had to use this and like send this out to people that I've either been working on my branding or my VA, like it's it's been so useful even already. um Okay. So let's start with the vision and or the mission and the vision. So again, when I first started, my mission was not what it ultimately morphed into. My mission was truly just to work with different ah corporations or different small businesses to provide them with like my operational expertise.
00:26:11
Speaker
The foundation to it though. Yeah. It was there, but we took it. True. There was a spark of something that you said in regards to that foundation. I'm like, hmm, let's explore this a little bit Yes. Yes. Yeah. I think that's a good point. Like what I was seeking was there. It's just the way that I was going about it didn't necessarily feel like,
00:26:30
Speaker
as authentic or didn't feel like it had the longevity that I was looking for, maybe, you know? yeah um Looking for, yeah thank you for saying that because I'm looking for opportunities to create scalability as well.
00:26:43
Speaker
Correct. Yes. And I feel like that's actually a conversation that we had um in terms of one of the things that I, was struggling with So, um okay. So ultimately my mission, we landed on this.
00:26:56
Speaker
So the mission of the good guide is to empower women leaders to step into their authentic leadership, conquer self-doubt and achieve emotional clarity while balancing professional success and personal fulfillment.
00:27:09
Speaker
So those like, that's a part of it, but the the terms like conquer self-doubt and, you know, authentic leadership, like I was so, I remember when I was kind of workshopping this, I wanted to be so um specific about the words that I was using um because authenticity is something that to me, and I talk about this all of the time, like I would not be who I am, the leader that I am today without the authentic authenticity that I feel like i show up with.
00:27:41
Speaker
And so that was really critical to me. And I don't always feel like women leaders feel like they have the space to be authentic. So like that was something that was really important to me. And then specifically the self-doubt part of it, because I truly feel like we are our biggest critics.
00:27:57
Speaker
Like we are the pert people that hold ourselves back more than anybody else. yeah um So, and then kind of the final piece of it is through personalized coaching, practical leadership strategies and sustainable growth tools.
00:28:11
Speaker
I guide women in overcoming the challenges of leadership and navigating the complex demands of their careers while um staying true to their values and passions.
00:28:22
Speaker
So that is what we landed on for the mission. And it's just even weird to be like, I have a mission statement. Like it just feels, again, like I'm still, because it's still so new to me, like just the journey that we've been on, um it makes me feel really like proud to like be able to see that.
00:28:39
Speaker
It's a big boost on paper. Yeah, yeah, exactly. um And then my vision is the Good Guide aims to become the go-to resource for women leaders across industries, helping them achieve authentic leadership, emotional well-being, and lasting work-life fulfillment.
00:28:55
Speaker
I'd say the work-life fulfillment piece of it too is another thing that you helped me uncover as well as a goal um because I didn't, I guess I've never really seen the way in which I approach leadership or my leadership style as work-life fulfillment.
00:29:12
Speaker
um i got it I didn't realize like that was maybe what I was um kind of trying to preach or or so or speak to. so um And then I just say through a combination of coaching, community building, which we'll touch on that in a second, and transformative tools, I envision expanding my impact globally, empowering women to lead with confidence, emotional intelligence, and resilience while making a profound difference in their careers and lives.
00:29:40
Speaker
um So I want to touch on the community piece of it. um Because when we started creating my offers... i but I think one-on-one coaching was something that was a no-brainer, right?
00:29:56
Speaker
um And then you know webinars and things like that was another thing that was a no-brainer. But the community piece to me was like so critical. It was like a really important add for me um because – it's meant so much to me in my career and throughout the decisions that I've made.
00:30:16
Speaker
um And so I guess I'm just curious, like, when did you, as we were workshopping this, like, was it always evident that community was something that I was going after or, or working towards, or like, how do you remember that conversation maybe coming to be?
00:30:33
Speaker
Well, again, having that initial conversation with you, i can always see the bigger picture. And part of that is because I'm a visionary. And another part of that is I've been doing what I do for 25 years.
00:30:46
Speaker
I've had a lot of practice. um And so when I hear some of the key words that you're saying without really understanding what that what realizing what is there, yeah, I see ways again for for to create connection to create the vision and the ah objective that you're trying to accomplish, just what ways are currently available for you to consider as an option in order to create the scalability? Because as we've talked about extensively, like you can only do so many one-on-one, right? So there has to be a way, there has to be some kind of container. And especially because of the type of leader that you're developing, they're giving opportunity to stay connected.
00:31:29
Speaker
They're craving opportunity to continue to enhance their skillset, to continue to, you know, look for opportunities to collaborate with other people as well. So it kind of slowly uncovered kind of like peeling back the layers of the onion, you know, it's like you're here are optionizing. I think we talked about a couple of different ways that you do this. Yep, we did. Community piece is kind of one that that landed that resonated with you the most.
00:31:54
Speaker
Yep. Yeah, I definitely agree with that um and And that was one of the things that I was worried about too. was like, i was like how – I am only one person and I only have so much time in the day. Cause was another thing.
00:32:07
Speaker
And I still say this, at least for now, like there's no plans for me to like leave my day job. I really enjoy what I do. So I was like, how in the world am I ever going to make this scalable when it's, you know, um this is something that I'm not doing 40 hours a week.
00:32:22
Speaker
Um, so I, I think the way that we ultimately came about it, um, and kind of crafted offers was perfect. Um, So then like ultimately my core, oh, go for it. i feel like you were going to say I was just going to say one thing too. And that's one thing that's really important to know is that every everybody, every idea, every and you know every individual, you're going to have a process or an approach to things that's going to work for you because it's intentionally designed, keeping in mind.
00:32:53
Speaker
your personal learning style, your preferred way of connecting, engaging with the other people, your personal way of, you know, just showing up in general there. I promise you that no matter what your preferences are personally, there is a way that you can build your business to compliment those personal preferences and still allow you to be scalable and successful.
00:33:17
Speaker
Yeah, I just want people to know because I think a lot of times people are sold on a program or a service or coaching or an offer thinking, oh, this is going to be the way because the person who created it is seeing crazy success as a result.
00:33:30
Speaker
Right? Yeah. Yeah. But it's not a one size fit all approach. And it's not duplicate my business model. It is how can I take inspiration from what you've created while honoring my own authentic self and my own authentic preferences so I can make something that organically works for me.
00:33:48
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really good point because like, and exactly what you're saying, um I feel like if I were to just have just done one-on-one, right, which again, I'm super excited to do that, but what really gets me jazzed and what I feel like actually sets me apart from maybe other offerings out there is the community piece of it.
00:34:07
Speaker
And so I'm so excited to throw my own spin on that offering. And that, it again, is something truly based off of I haven't seen it before and I really enjoy that. And so it's definitely authentic to kind of like, again, what drives me and where my passions lie. So.
00:34:24
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah. It's also really going to resonate and connect with your target audience as well, because, yeah you know, while you had, we had said earlier, you are not your target audience, I think a version of you at some point in your journey is your target audience. And that was really what you needed at that point too.
00:34:42
Speaker
Yep. Agreed. um And that's actually a great segue because that's where I was going to go next. um Now the target audience piece of it, again, this was, i think it was even harder for me than the mission and the vision because the mission and the vision, and again, I ultimately i knew where I was trying to go.
Audience Avatars and Brand Voice
00:34:58
Speaker
So that was just more so like wordsmithing and coming up with the the terms and the sentences and the structure that would feel the like most impactful to me. But the target audience was hard because I really did have to think of someone who wasn't me. And to your point, I am a part of both of my avatars, but I'm not, and but in a way I'm neither of them.
00:35:20
Speaker
Um, so who, the, the avatars that i ultimately came up with, I came up with two. So I came up with Danielle and, um, Danielle is between 30 35. So again, I'm 33. She's my so again i'm thirty three she's in my you know, age bracket.
00:35:36
Speaker
um She most likely lives in urban hubs, so Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, just in general metropolitan um cities. and she has a And she has strong career opportunities in front of her, right?
00:35:51
Speaker
So occupation or industry. So she's a mid to senior level individual. She works in corporate environments or startups. um And then she's particularly in a role of leadership or management of some sort.
00:36:04
Speaker
That does not mean, however, that she's only a leader of people or she's only an individual contributor. In my mind, those go kind of back and forth. hmm. um or interchangeable, I should say. And then in income, I said, you know mid to upper middle income range, um which ah with a so salary reflecting her career progression, um obviously over time.
00:36:25
Speaker
So that's Danielle to me. And I actually, like even in the couple weeks that we haven't been meeting with each other, i think that I also have someone, I have maybe Danielle's sister. Yeah.
00:36:36
Speaker
um We'll call her Molly that I want to blow out because i think there's also that younger kind of right before leadership. I'm trying to actively get into leadership.
00:36:48
Speaker
And one of my webinars is geared towards that. So I think I could even like expand on on that avatar. Yeah. But isn't it great now that you have the skill set to be able to do that? Exactly. Yes. I'm like now, oh, please. I know what to do. i know like how to craft her. So that's definitely something that's like on my to-do list.
00:37:08
Speaker
And then one target audience that actually i was you, I feel like this one really came from your guidance. And when you started to explain, i was like, oh, oh my God, you're right. But it was intimidating for me to even write this down. So her name is Erica. And Erica is actually in her late um forty s to early 50s.
00:37:28
Speaker
Again, same in terms of location where she is, but occupationally or what industry she's in, she's actually in more of a senior leadership role. She's typically in corporate environments, again, or startups.
00:37:40
Speaker
um She's in a high level, such as a VP or a director, senior directors, et cetera. um And then obviously is ah on a little higher from an income perspective.
00:37:51
Speaker
But what she's actually seeking is more work-life balance as opposed to more kind of leadership guidance and how-tos going through leadership.
00:38:06
Speaker
Her needs are more around the work-life balance because she's obviously put so much time and effort into her career um that it's now like, how do I actually learn to take a step back? Which is something that I feel i do really well.
00:38:19
Speaker
I'm like, work-life balance to me is such a big priority. yes so fictional So that was such a good recommendation. And I'm really glad we kind of crafted that one out too, because I never, I would have never naturally gravitated towards, quite frankly, ah somewhat a professional that's older to me, like older than me.
00:38:40
Speaker
And I wouldn't have thought that I had anything to offer them. um So that workshop was like super helpful for sure. Yeah. Beautiful. Yeah. Um, okay. And then the last thing that I wanted to go through is the voice and tone. Um, and so can you maybe share a little bit around like the importance of a brand's voice and tone?
00:39:00
Speaker
Mm hmm. Yeah, voice and tone really comes into the aspect when you're thinking about how do I connect authentically? How do i grab the attention of my target audience? How do I you know really not only a attract them, but really get them to a point where they're like advocates.
00:39:19
Speaker
They're shouting you from the rooftops. They're you know really, like i like to call them front row seekers. They're the people who are like waiting for things to open. And as soon as the doors open, they make a dad mad dash to the front because they don't want to miss a thing.
00:39:31
Speaker
right? You want those people. And so if you're if you're not, if you don't have established a tone of voice, a cadence of voice, a personality of voice and style, then there's going to be a little bit of a disconnect because they're not going to know what to expect, right? You're creatures of habit, you like routine, you like predictability.
00:39:52
Speaker
And so when you're when When somebody turns on the good guide podcast, like I know the tone of voice that you're going to use. I know the way you're going to use your affliction in your voice. I know the way that you're going to connect to my soul.
00:40:05
Speaker
yeah Right. Yeah. Can't do that without an established tone of voice. It's kind of like people think about like ah visual branding as like the the style or the body language of your brand. And yes, that's the case.
00:40:18
Speaker
But the tone of voice goes into that as well because you can't have one without the other. Yep. Yep. And I've, and I, this is actually a space where I had no problem at all. Like I knew exactly what my tone of voice was. I knew how I current, and this one was easiest because I've always said and any setting, whether it be in my podcast, whether be on work,
00:40:41
Speaker
I speak the same exact way that I always, to be funny, I'm always like, I might have a few less F-bombs at work, but like the way that I speak to my friends is the same way that I speak at work, is the same way that I speak in interviews. Like I still show up as that same individual and I don't do a lot of switching of kind of like how I'm going to, um you know, i might I might have a bit more executive presence at times, but for the most part, I'm still exactly the same in terms of like my tone of voice.
00:41:09
Speaker
um so this one was actually one that was super easy for me yeah where people typically tend to struggle and this might be it same to you as you move forward and execute and implement more content more yeahp you know connection with your audiences people have a hard time staying consistent with your voice yeah as they execute and as they implement especially when you start adding team members who are helping create things so true so true this is why when you're setting the foundation you're ah establishing the a presence a pillar that pete that can be referenced back to you to say does this match this tone of voice does it match the style does it match the intention behind it because if we're comparing picture to picture and one doesn't fit, then we've got to go back and change it. Otherwise your audience, when, when they're those front row seekers, they know everything you put out. They know everything that they do. They're showing up to all the things that you do yeah and they're going to know when something's off, when you start outsourcing and it starts getting farther and farther away from your intention, they're going to know they're going to start to lose interest. then they're going to start looking somewhere else and you do not want
00:42:18
Speaker
Yep. and ah quite honestly, this is something. So we, um one of the things that we did a lot of, at least, and I, and I felt like it really helped me craft when I did not, when I was stumped on words is we did use AI and and this is now something that I use,
00:42:35
Speaker
on a regular basis when I'm again trying to wordsmith or or when I'm like stuck on something, but I enter, I always say, use the good guides tone of voice. Like I always use that term.
00:42:48
Speaker
And at this point, you know, chat GBT has learned what that means when I say it. And it has made a world of difference because I can completely tell the difference between but before I tell them to to use it and after, like it just, it literally feels like it's me and it feels a lot more like, okay, that's exactly what I wanted to say. I just didn't know how to put it into words.
00:43:09
Speaker
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. So out of this process, you've created a communication standard. Yes, exactly. Download it as a document, insert it into chat GPT or any AI that you use to say, here is the standard.
00:43:23
Speaker
Make sure it is cohesive, complimentary and consistent. Yes. It makes that work so much easier too, because it does. got that touch point too, right? Yes.
00:43:34
Speaker
Yeah. It's a beautiful thing to have because again, it just ah it allows you to continue to build your confidence, empower you to feel more authentic, more engaged, more connected, but also at the same time, you're organically building your authority and your credibility over time.
00:43:52
Speaker
Yeah. ah Awesome. Okay. I feel like this, I mean, I hope everyone listening, like I said, this was six plus months of a journey. um And I am so grateful that we found each other.
00:44:08
Speaker
First, like how can people find you? How do you like to engage with people now, especially, i mean, this isn't your only thing. You do um a lot of other um things as well. So how can people find you and engage with you?
00:44:20
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Well, the best place is always going to be, you can find me on social media. I'm at Christy Kiever on all platforms. I'm not super active and engaged, but I am there. I do check my messages. My team also helps me check messages as well, but you can always connect with me and find things on my website as well.
00:44:38
Speaker
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for for being here today and for Providing your expertise. I will be sure that everyone has like the link to your site where you also, I think the the your site was actually what got me.
00:44:51
Speaker
It hooked, lined, and synced me after our one hour call because there were some really great testimonials. um A lot of women that were just vocalizing the same thing. that I struggled with at the very beginning and just kind of really were able to quantify or qualify the the concerns that I had. So I will make sure that they have all of the links too. thank you. Yeah, one of the beautiful things about doing the work as long as I have, I literally have hundreds of testimonials out there.
00:45:18
Speaker
Yeah, lots of case studies to review. So I absolutely love doing the work that I do. There's nothing better or more fulfilling than being able to help somebody take that idea that they have and in questioning, can I do this? How would I do this? What do I do to get started? And then turning it into something that actually is not only making an impact for you, but impacting the people that you're able to work with as well.
00:45:44
Speaker
Yes. And actually, I'm so sorry, but I forgot. I always end my questions or my interviews with this one question. And I did not give her ah preview, guys. So she's completely going to be caught off guard. But the question is, um think back to like your 22-year-old self. so if you you knew then what you know now Like what advice would you give to 22 year old Christy?
00:46:10
Speaker
Oh gosh. Maybe 25. Let's say 25. She's a little bit more established. Got it. Yes. Oh, I know exactly who she is. see her in my mind.
00:46:21
Speaker
i would tell her that, let me think about this for just a second. um I would tell her that she needs to trust herself, that she needs to just take the action, any action, it doesn't matter. You don't need to know what you have to do first, next, or et cetera. Like the path will uncover itself as you go, but just trust yourself enough to start taking action because you'll get there a lot faster if you just go.
00:46:48
Speaker
yeah I love that. That's a perfect one. Awesome. And a perfect place to end it. Thank you so much for today. your so Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor. Of course. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The Good Guide, the podcast dedicated to guiding you through every twist and turn in your career journey. If you loved this episode, make sure to leave those five-star reviews and share this podcast with a friend, loved one, or hey, even a colleague.
00:47:17
Speaker
If you have a topic that you'd like for me to tackle, check out this week's show notes for links to where you can submit your question. It might even be featured during the Q&A segment of the next episode.
00:47:28
Speaker
But first, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a beat. Take care, y'all.