Build your business with Brandprint Summit

A corporate dropout is a person who left their job in the corporate world either by choice, to build their own business, or due to downsizing in their company.

Personal branding coach Jamila Bannister is hosting a four-day virtual Brandprint Summit to help corporate dropouts figure out their next step in building their business.

From August 25-28, 36 speakers from Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, the Philippines, the Netherlands, the US and TT will inform and entertain about how to build, grow and develop business both online and off.

“It is for people who are dropping out of the corporate world and saying, 'I no longer want to take instructions from that person. I want to build my personal brand around my passion,'” Bannister told Newsday in an interview on August 17.

Many of her clients, she said, have only used their skills for the corporate world or for someone else’s company. She wants to provide people with actionable steps on how to take their skills outside the corporate space for their own entrepreneurial benefit.

“We are so accustomed to being told what to do for someone else’s company, we don’t know how to take that skill and turn it into something for ourselves. We don’t know how to market ourselves and our skills – and there are lots of people who have great skills.”

Bannister worked in corporate communication for eight years. She left TT to do a master's in project management from BPP University in London. When she returned, she was unable to get a job and had to build her own business.

“I had to think, 'How do I package my business? How do I make it work for people? I may not be representing big companies, but there are smaller businesses that would need support or people online to teach,'” she said.

This summit is intended to help people leverage the online space to build content. Among topics to be covered are how to brand a business, manage money, automate operations, self-promotion, public speaking and using social media. It will also help teach people how to properly price their products and services.

“A lot of service providers have a tendency to under-price themselves. Especially when we leave the corporate world, we don’t have an idea about how to value ourselves. We’ve always been told what we would be paid via a salary. A lot of people don’t know their worth.”

Many fear people would not be willing to pay if an entrepreneur sets a high fee, but that mentality, she said, must change.

“It is not about what people are willing to pay. It is the value that you are bringing to the table. It is the expertise you are bringing to the table.

"We need to switch our mindset. People will be willing to pay anything for something that is of value to them.”

A business owner must be brave enough to set their price and if a person cannot afford it, she said, they would say so and if they truly value their product, they would pay.

“You have to say, 'These are my prices and if you want the best, you’re going to have to be willing to pay for that'...You will definitely attract the right types of people because you have a clear idea of your price point.”

Bannister is author of The Brandprint: the "how to" guide to growing your side hustle. She has a Brandprint boot camp which helps people to focus and find their niche, be clear about what their centre of value is, how to use their story to build a message to reach the people they want to reach, and build a fan base of loyal customers.

From the principles in the book and boot camp she built the summit.

Building social networks online

Social networking is all about relationship-building. Bannister uses Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram to build her international network.

Leveraging social media to build a network is more than just sliding into someone’s direct messages. She has connections in the US, Barbados, the UK, the Netherlands and TT because she worked on cultivating those friendships, instead of reaching out to strangers online for assistance.

“When people you don’t know are reaching into your inbox asking you for things, it’s like people on the street walking up to you asking you to like your picture randomly...You can’t ask a person who you don’t know for something. They don’t know you. You first have to be of service. You first have to give people the opportunity to benefit and learn from you.

"That is how a relationship works. Once I see you’ve genuinely shown an interest in who I am and what I have to offer, without the expectation of anything in return, that opens up the way for conversation. That is something I practise all the time. This is something that I teach all the time.”

Online networking is one of the core tenets of the summit, which will aim to teach people how to be confident online.

“A lot of people are afraid to show their face online. People do not know how to use their online presence strategically.”

In the time of online rage and corporate boycotts, business owners tend to be wary about how they communicate online. However, having a digital presence, including social media, is essential to build a solid client base.

“We won’t get everything right, but our brand is the thing that allows us to create a cushion around ourselves. A brand is not just about showing up or posting something randomly online, it really is about building that relationship.”

These relationships allow people to get to know the business and the value system of the business which in turn helps cushion the business if any controversy comes up. A brand identity does not even have to be a positive identity.

Using US President Donald Trump as an example, Bannister said though people may disagree with him, or his messages may not be accurate, he is consistent in his messaging.

“A brand is something people know you for…You have the power to control that narrative any way you want..You could say anything you want about yourself, if other people do not believe that about you, it does not matter. The brand is about what people think what it is.”

A corporate dropout is more likely to be selling services rather than goods, and that makes them more flexible.

“People do not have a tangible product to hold on to. They have you. You are selling knowledge. People need to believe in what you are selling.”

A person can even rebrand if they want.

“You can rebrand. You can be one thing now, and decide I want to be something else."

Madonna, Michael Jackson and Cher, she said are all good examples of people who changed their brands and reinvented themselves over the years.

“We have the opportunity to do that as well. I was a corporate communications person and now I’m a personal branding person. I’ve switched. I have decided I will write my story in the way I want to rewrite it.”

The speakers

Brandprint will feature 36 speakers from across the world, including some Bannister met online and cultivated relationships with.

Branding consultant and marketer Kris Granger will speak about using a brand story to build a relationship with the audience.

"When you exchange stories about yourself and people in turn share stories with you.”

There will be a panel of authors and public speakers. Development storyteller and communications co-ordinator in the Caribbean country department of the Inter-American Development Bank, former TT TV reporter Golda Lee Bruce; MD of Closet Red Sonja Pollanais; and author of the Millennial Mind, Daniel Francis, are among the members.

Renee Serrant Layne will presen on how to develop and launch a profitable product. Layne is a TT businesswoman who is based in Barbados and has no TT clients. All her clients are from the US, UK, Australia and Canada.

“She is speaking about launching a business online. She is talking about the technical and automated business online. She helps people start businesses online. More service providers and more corporate dropouts can build momentum and brand online.”

The event is free to sign up and attend. A free pass will give access to all presentations and access to the private Facebook group to do networking. Each presentation has free downloads. Each presentation will be available for 24 hours, and if you wants to watch it after that, you can then pay for membership.