Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in consultancy but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Suzanne Tulien, Founder of The Brand Ascension Group, located in Colorado Springs, CO, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

As a Brand Clarity Expert, author, speaker, & consultant for over 30+ years, I help distinctive, values-driven businesses & solopreneurs identify, define and align to their unique brand's value position to become who they want to be known for. Because every business already has a brand, whether they are conscious or in control of it or not. I help them become more conscious, strategic, and deliberate in their awareness of what they stand for, through their employees, culture, leadership, and systems & process to walk the talk and deliver on their promises every day! From solo professionals like Real Estate Agents, Practitioners, Brokers, Coaches, & speakers to businesses with up to 1,000 employees, I can get them hyper-focused on their brand and make it tangible for their markets to realize their true distinction & become advocates of the brand.

I am the pioneer of a process called Brand DNA (book by the same name) and Personal Brand Presence (book - Personal Brand Clarity) that literally helps the client unpack their brand attributes, define them, and infuse them into their daily actions and behaviors so that they carve out the distinction in their customer experiences.

Tell us about yourself

I used to be on the marketing or 'external communication' side of helping businesses communicate their service offerings until I realized that most of the businesses I was trying to help actually had never even taken the time to identify and define the brand they were attempting to go out and market! So, I pivoted into that niche so businesses could clarify the brand they were spending time, money, and effort in marketing! This changed everything and helped my clients get much greater ROI in their efforts because they were now aware of their unique distinction and taking control of and aligning to their unique Brand DNA to become who they wanted to be known for.

From training employees to embody more 'on-brand' actions and behaviors all the way to redesigning the customer experience, company vernacular, and even the leadership to create a fully 'on-brand' aware culture, this process is a transformational awakening that creates a level of clarity to help business owners discern differently and stay in their own lanes to maximize the distinction for their markets.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

  • Building out a highly successful proprietary process enables businesses to get in touch with, take control of, and align to their unique value position and begin to show up with a distinction to become what they want to be known for.
  • Writing three books on the topic of branding to help businesses realize their full potential (Brand DNA, Personal Brand Clarity, and The 6 Myths of Small Business Branding).
  • Helping hundreds of businesses focus on their value position and grow exponentially.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I believe it is an enormous responsibility to get crystal clear on what and how you offer your products and services and then create the experiences day after day to deliver on your promise. And as a solo professional, it is a lot of work to wear so many hats to keep even just the essential fundamental processes going strong. If I had employees, the burden would be to ensure their jobs are secure, provide a powerful work experience, and give them the tools to expand and grow daily.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

That is hard to keep it to only three tips! But here goes:

  1. Take the time to identify, define, and align to your brand value position. Realize what you want to be known for and discern that concept every single day to become who you want to be known for.
  2. Develop processes that enable & perpetuate your brand position and create consistencies that build customer and employee trust every day.
  3. Lean into becoming more and more generative - which means keep searching for ways to be more and more of who you say you are, stay in your lane, advocate for your value position, and deliver on your promise every day.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

"Marketing MIGHT get your prospects in the door, but it is YOUR BRAND that keeps them coming back and telling their friends." - Suzanne Tulien, Brand Clarity Expert, Author, Speaker.

Brand tips and techniques: YouTube: Personal Brand Clarity https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Xr8GUiQsriW9BYIhQuQ0g

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://brandascension.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandascension
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandascensionconsulting/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/suztulien
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannetulien/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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