Pay Yourself First

Your boss gets paid.

The electric company gets paid.

Your landlord gets paid.

But what about you?

Not your wallet. You. The real you. The one with dreams and pursuing goals and ideas that matter.

Pay Yourself First with Time

Every morning, before you check email, scroll through feeds, or dive into other people’s urgent problems, spend one hour on you.

Read that book that has been on your wishlist.

Take that online course.

Practice that skill you’ve been putting off.

Write in your journal.

Learn something new.

This isn’t selfish. It’s smart. It’s growth.

Your personal brand isn’t what you post on LinkedIn. It’s who you become when nobody’s watching. It’s the knowledge you gain, the skills you build, the habits you create.

Most people wait until later to invest in themselves. But later, you’re tired. You will want to relax. Later isn’t when growth happens.

Growth happens at 6 AM.

Growth happens when it’s quiet.

Growth happens when you choose yourself now instead of later.

A Compound Effect

Fifteen minutes daily becomes 90 hours yearly. That’s two full work weeks of pure personal development. While others postpone until later, you’re building the future version of yourself.

Your career will thank you.

Your confidence will thank you.

Your personal brand will thank you.

But first, you have to thank you.

Tomorrow morning, set your alarm 30 minutes earlier. Don’t check your phone. Sit down with intention and invest in your growth.

Your future self is waiting.

The question isn’t whether you have time.

The question is: do you have the courage to pay yourself first?

Start tomorrow. Your personal brand depends on it.

Pursue the 95%

In a marketing analytics course I am teaching, we began studying marketing metrics as we entered Week 3 of the semester. I am on the lookout for clues about a class’s subject knowledge and willingness to engage during the early stages of the semester. An observation made by a student gives me optimism about how the class will go.

Introducing Brand Penetration

Among the first metrics introduced in the course is brand penetration. Its calculation is straightforward, dividing a brand’s customer count (individuals, households, or businesses) by the total size of the market. How much of the population has a brand captured? I often tell students that interpretation and action are even more important than calculation. What do we do with the information? How can knowing brand penetration help us make more informed marketing decisions?

Interpretation is Everything

An example I shared with the class included a brand having a brand penetration rate of 5%. Once we have the metric in hand, we clarify its interpretation (5% of what?). Then, the all-important question: How can we use this information to our advantage? A refreshing answer came from Justin, seated in the front row. He observed, “95% of the population has not bought the brand.”

Justin’s observation was simple yet powerful. It may be tempting to focus on a 5% brand penetration rate as weak performance in the market; perhaps it is. The flip side is that opportunity may be found among the 95% who have not bought your brand.

A 95% Full Glass

It would be naive to believe all non-customers could become brand adopters. The reality is that not everyone wants what you offer. Some people think it is too expensive. Others think the quality is inferior. Yet others have heard from a friend about a bad experience doing business with you and have little trust.

That said, there are likely new customers to be found among consumers or businesses not buying from you now. There is a tendency to nurture (even cling to) our current customers and not put enough focus on customer acquisition. Sometimes, the pendulum swings too far the other way, and more attention is given to acquiring the customer than serving them once they become customers.

In addition to pursuing more customers in the quest for higher brand penetration, the answer for increasing brand penetration may be to fix internal flaws. A low brand penetration rate may signal marketing mix issues that need to be addressed (e.g., poor distribution, low brand awareness, or price disadvantage). Correcting weaknesses in marketing strategy could yield a higher brand penetration rate.

Seek the Why

Another point of emphasis when I teach marketing analytics is that I caution students about the limitations of metrics. For example, rate metrics like brand penetration are valuable for giving a read on marketing performance. They are also useful for tracking performance over time and comparing to industry averages.

What is missing? Understanding why performance reflected by rate metrics is what it is, good or bad. Rate metrics can signal the need to dig deeper to understand performance, expose problems, or uncover opportunities.

Seek the why for performance. Then, it is your time to shine as a marketer by making decisions that create value for customers and your organization.

Freak Out or Lean In

New technology shows up. A fresh platform launches. The algorithm changes again.

Is your first instinct dread? Perhaps panic?
“I don’t have time for this.”
“I just figured out the last one.”
“This is too complicated.”

Sound familiar?

The Choice

You have two options when facing something new:
Freak out. Or lean in.

Freaking out feels natural. It’s our brain’s way of protecting us from the unknown. But it’s also the fast track to irrelevance.

Leaning in? That’s where growth lives.

The Growth Mindset Advantage

Psychologist Carol Dweck taught us about a growth mindset. It’s the belief that abilities can be developed through effort and learning.

People with growth mindsets don’t see new technology as a threat. They see it as a chance to expand their toolkit.

They ask different questions:
“How can this help me?”
“What opportunity am I missing?”
“Who’s already winning with this?”

Your Brand Depends On It

Remember this reality: Your personal brand isn’t built on what you knew yesterday. It’s built on your willingness to learn tomorrow.

The professional who embraces new platforms first gets the advantage. They build audiences while others are still complaining about change.

They become known as adaptable. Forward-thinking. Relevant.
The ones who resist are vulnerable to being left behind by the competition.

Eat The Elephant

There’s a saying that “The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.” In other words, break down a big task into small, manageable steps.

You don’t need to master everything overnight. Pick one new thing. Spend fifteen minutes exploring it. Ask questions. Watch tutorials. Make mistakes.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s progress.
Because in a world that’s changing faster than ever, the only real risk isn’t learning something new.
It’s refusing to try.

So when the next big thing arrives, will you freak out?
Or will you lean in?

Just Say No to Constant Discounts

In today’s competitive marketplace, it seems like every brand is constantly pushing sales, flash deals, and discount codes (my favorite is the 1-Day Sale that lasts 3 days). Your inbox probably has at least one message with something like a “25% OFF TODAY ONLY!” offer right now.

But here’s the thing: Some of the most successful companies rarely offer discounts at all. Think about Apple, Tesla, or a luxury brand like Louis Vuitton. These companies have figured out something important: building a strong brand doesn’t require constantly slashing prices to entice buyers.

When a brand can attract customers without relying on coupons and discounts, it signals something powerful. It means they’ve created real value that customers are willing to pay full price for. This approach might seem risky in a world where deals are the norm, but it actually offers significant advantages for both brand perception and business performance.

Protect Brand Image

One of the biggest risks of frequent discounting is what it does to how customers see your brand. When people expect a coupon or sale price, they start to question the value represented by your regular prices. An unintended consequence can be that customers begin to see the discounted price as the “real” price and see no reason to pay full price.

Consider two coffee shops on the same street. One sends out weekly “Buy One, Get One Free” coupons, while the other maintains consistent pricing year-round but focuses on benefits like premium ingredients and exceptional service. Over time, customers will likely view the first shop as a budget option and the second as a premium experience. The discount-heavy brand trains its customers to wait for deals, while the consistent-pricing brand builds loyalty based on quality and customer experience.

This perception matters more than you might think. When customers see your brand as premium or high-quality, they’re more likely to recommend it to friends, remain loyal during tough times, and even pay higher prices than competitors. Luxury brands understand this principle well – they’d rather sell fewer items at full price than train customers to expect discounts. That said, you don’t have to market a luxury brand to position your offering on benefits, not price.

Building Stronger Financial Performance

From a business standpoint, minimal discounting directly improves your bottom line through higher gross margins. Every discount you offer reduces the profit you make on each sale. A 20% discount doesn’t just reduce profits by 20%; it often cuts profit margins by much more, since you still have the same fixed costs for materials, labor, and overhead.

Let’s look at a simple example. If a product costs $10 to make and sells for $20, that’s a 50% gross margin. But if you discount that product to $16, your gross margin drops to 37.5%. You’d need to sell significantly more units just to make the same total profit. Will the discount stimulate enough demand to offset the foregone margins? It is the classic “work hard versus work smart” dilemma; brands that are heavy users of price promotions must work harder to sustain profitability levels.

Brands that avoid frequent discounting also enjoy more predictable revenue streams. When customers aren’t trained to wait for sales, they purchase when they need the product, creating steadier cash flow. This predictability makes it easier to plan inventory, staffing, and growth investments.

I once worked for a company that relied heavily on price promotions. Yes, our deep discounts generated customer demand, but they also led to overtime at our factories, added transportation costs, and weary delivery drivers. The lower margins proved almost impossible to overcome, pushing the company to the brink of bankruptcy.

Another benefit for companies that maintain premium pricing is that they often have more resources to invest in product development, customer service, and marketing. The result is a positive cycle where better products and experiences justify higher prices, which fund further improvements.

Long-Term Advantage

Building a brand that can command full price takes patience and discipline, but the payoff is worth it. Instead of competing on price, these brands compete on value, quality, and customer experience. They attract customers who appreciate what they offer and are willing to pay for it. As a consumer, I appreciate a deal as much as the next person. As a marketer, I admire brands that have won at creating customer value by focusing on the benefits offered, not hoping to attract customers using price-based offers.

The above discussion doesn’t mean never offering any incentives. The key is being strategic about when and how you do it. The goal is to build a brand so compelling that customers choose you even without a discount. That’s when you know you’ve created something truly valuable.

The Two-Word Personal Branding Strategy You Need to Hear

If you are a newcomer to personal branding, you may notice that there is no shortage of opinions on how to do it.

There are as many opinions as there are people talking about it. Some advice is consistent; other guidance may seem to contradict other thoughts on the subject. You are left uncertain how to proceed.

Never lose sight of two words to guide your personal branding strategy: Be yourself.

One of the greatest myths about personal branding is that you must take on a persona or play a role that fits a certain mold.

A sure-fire way to get turned off to the personal branding process is to feel like you are acting in ways inconsistent with the person you are. If you are feeling inauthentic in what you are saying or doing, it’s a vibe that others will likely notice. Being inauthentic can have the unintended effect of creating negative perceptions about your brand.

I don’t know of any brands that set out to damage their image, but not being yourself puts you at risk for doing just that.

Resolving to be yourself does not mean you never need to change or adapt.

You may need to develop or strengthen skills. There are bad habits holding you back that should be eliminated. We are a work-in-progress until we draw our last breath.

Be yourself, but commit to becoming the best version of yourself that you can.

A famous quote from the poet Oscar Wilde is “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” Personal branding success is not about conforming to a best practices list. It’s about authentic You creating value for others.

Enjoy being the brand that is you. Give us the best version of it possible.

The Logo Is not the Answer

Cracker Barrel learned a costly lesson in the court of public opinion this week. The restaurant chain unveiled a new logo that stripped away its beloved character, “Uncle Herschel.” He’s the man leaning against a barrel. The public revolted. News outlets and social media cast unwanted light on the brand. Shares of Cracker Barrel stock plummeted more than 20% in a short period. Within days, the company reversed course and brought back the old design.

This isn’t the first time a logo redesign has backfired. Gap famously retreated from its new logo in 2010 after just six days of customer outrage. Tropicana lost millions when customers couldn’t find their orange juice on shelves after a package redesign in 2009.

It appears that companies have not learned from others’ past mistakes. If the aim for a new logo is to solve deeper brand problems. It won’t.

Why Logo Changes Often Fail

Logo redesigns fail because they attack the wrong problem. Customers don’t just see logos as design elements. They see them as symbols of trust and familiarity.

When you change a logo, you’re asking customers to let go of their emotional connection. That’s a big ask. People resist change, especially when it feels unnecessary. They wonder: “What else is changing about this brand I love?”

Cracker Barrel’s customers didn’t just lose a logo character. They lost a piece of their dining experience. Uncle Herschel represents comfort, tradition, and home-style cooking. The new minimalist design felt cold and corporate.

Successful brands understand this emotional impact. They know their logos can carry decades of customer memories. Smart companies change their logos gradually over many years, if at all.

The real problem isn’t usually the logo anyway. It’s deeper issues like poor service, outdated products, or unclear brand promises. A new logo can’t fix those problems. It often makes them more obvious.

What a Rebrand Should Do

Great rebranding starts with substance, not symbols. Before touching your logo, examine what your brand actually promises customers. Are you delivering on those promises? If not, that’s your real problem.

Look at how customers experience your brand at every touchpoint. Is your website slow? Are your employees unhelpful? Is your product quality declining? Fix these issues first. They matter more than any logo ever will.

Tell better stories about your stakeholders. Share how your employees make a difference. Highlight customer success stories. Show your community impact. These narratives build stronger connections than visual redesigns.

Innovation drives successful rebrands more than aesthetics do. Netflix didn’t rebrand by changing their logo. They rebranded by shifting from DVDs to streaming. Apple didn’t just update their apple symbol. They revolutionized how we think about technology.

Focus on improving your customer experience. Make your service faster, friendlier, or more convenient. Create products that solve real problems. Build systems that actually work for people.

A common thread running through these strategies is increasing brand relevance. It can be argued that Cracker Barrel’s brand had become stale and even overlooked in the hypercompetitive full-service restaurant category. Brand redesign should be driven by enhancing relevance, not focused on addressing aesthetics.

When you do update visual elements, make them support your promises and experience. Don’t lead with them. The best rebrands happen when customers barely notice the logo change because they’re too busy enjoying their interactions with the brand.

Not a Lost Cause, But…

Cracker Barrel’s quick reversal shows they listened to customers. That’s good. The company is far from being in dire straits. Annual revenue is at an all-time high. The stock price today is 40% higher than it was a year ago. The underlying challenge for Cracker Barrel going forward is to maintain relevance, attract new diners, and keep loyal customers happy.

The answer isn’t in their logo design. It’s in their food quality, service speed, and restaurant atmosphere. It’s in how they make people feel when they walk through the door.

Your brand lives in customer experiences, not in design files. Fix the experience first. Everything else will follow.

Personal Branding not Optional for Introverts

If there were photos in a dictionary associated with words, I would most likely appear beside the word “introvert.”

I, like many introverts, struggle with building my personal brand because it feels uncomfortable. I worry about putting myself out there and prefer to work behind the scenes, hoping my performance will speak for itself.

But here’s the truth: if you don’t shape your own story, others will do it for you. As branding expert Goldie Chan says, “A lot of people underestimate introverts in the workplace.” It’s because we often fail at telling our own brand story.

Your amazing skills and ideas might never get noticed if you stay invisible. While your extroverted colleagues speak up in meetings and network at events, your contributions could go unrecognized.

Well-kept secrets can be a good thing, but usually not when it comes to marketing yourself. Don’t be a well-kept secret.

The good news is that personal branding doesn’t require becoming someone you’re not. It simply means letting people know what you’re good at and what makes you unique.

Start small to build your confidence. Send one networking email or post one update on LinkedIn each week. These tiny steps can make a huge difference over time.

Your personal brand exists whether you manage it or not. People already have opinions about your work style and strengths. Why not take control of that narrative?

Remember that personal branding isn’t just about social media. Joining hobby groups or attending industry meetups also builds your reputation. Your unique interests help you stand out from the crowd.

Every small action connects back to your brand. Even activities that seem unrelated to work can create unexpected opportunities.

Don’t let your value fade into the background. The world needs what you have to offer, but first, you need to let people know your brand exists.

Buying Influeners, not Brands

In today’s digital-first world, we’re not just buying products anymore. We’re buying into the people who recommend them. Social media has created a new kind of relationship between consumers and the voices they trust. These voices belong to influencers, content creators who have built loyal followings by sharing their daily lives, expertise, and honest opinions.

This shift is reshaping how brands connect with customers. Instead of traditional brand messages that feel polished yet soulless, people are drawn to recommendations from people they follow and admire. When an influencer shares their morning routine or reviews a product they actually use, it feels more like advice from a friend than a sales pitch. This personal connection is something most brands struggle to create with their customers directly.

The numbers tell the story. According to research, 69% of consumers now trust influencer recommendations more than traditional brand messaging. This trust has turned influencer marketing into a $33 billion industry that keeps growing every year. But why do we trust someone we’ve never met in person?

The Influencer Edge

Traditional brand marketing feels like a one-way conversation. Companies create carefully scripted ads, put them on TV or in magazines, and hope people will remember their message when they’re ready to buy. These ads sometimes use celebrity endorsements, but celebrities can feel far removed from everyday life. When a famous actor promotes a luxury watch, most people know they’re being paid well to do it.

Influencer marketing works differently. It’s built on real relationships and ongoing conversations. Influencers share their lives consistently—their successes, failures, and everyday moments (some may say the overshare, but that is a different conversation). This invitation to go on a journey with influencers creates a sense of closeness that traditional advertising can’t match. When a fitness influencer shares their workout routine and mentions the protein powder they use, their followers see it as genuine advice, not a sales pitch.

The content feels more authentic because it usually is. Good influencers only promote products they actually use and believe in. They know their reputation depends on maintaining trust with their audience. If they promote something that doesn’t work, their followers will notice and call them out. This accountability makes their recommendations feel more reliable than traditional advertising.

Another key difference is timing. Traditional ads interrupt what people are doing. They pop up between TV shows or articles. Influencer content fits more naturally into people’s social media feeds. People choose to follow influencers, so they’re already interested in what they have to say. This relationship makes the audience more open to recommendations.

Influencers also provide education along with promotion. Instead of just showing a product, they explain how it works, why they like it, and how it fits into their lifestyle. This helps consumers make better buying decisions. For example, RV influencers don’t just show off cool campers; they teach viewers about weight limits, battery systems, and safety concerns that dealers might not emphasize during a sale. Influencers do more than showcase products; they communicate how those products fit into a lifestyle that their followers desire.

Tapping Influencer Impact

Brands are learning that working with influencers requires a different approach than traditional advertising. The most successful partnerships happen when brands treat influencers as creative partners, not just another advertising channel.

The first step is finding the right match. Brands need to look beyond follower counts and focus on alignment. An influencer who genuinely uses and loves similar products will create more believable content than someone who’s just doing it for money. Keep in mind that the right influencers to partner with a brand may not have the greatest reach in terms of number of followers. I would rather reach 500 people who are a strong fit with my target market characteristics than 500,000 people with little to no fit. Influencers can help you reach those key 500 people.

Successful brands give influencers creative freedom. Instead of providing scripts, they share their goals and let influencers figure out how to present the product in their own voice. This approach works better because the content feels natural and fits with the influencer’s usual style. Followers trust the recommendation more when it sounds like something the influencer would normally say.

Long-term partnerships often work better than one-off posts. When an influencer uses a product over time and shares updates about their experience, it builds more credibility than a single sponsored post. This approach also helps brands get valuable feedback about their products from real users in real situations.

Brands should also see influencers as a source of customer insights. Many influencers interact daily with their target market and understand what consumers really want. They can provide feedback about product design, pricing, and marketing messages that focus groups might miss. Some companies even involve trusted influencers in product development, using their expertise to create better solutions.

The key is building genuine relationships rather than transactional arrangements. Brands that treat influencers as partners tend to get better results. These partnerships create content that doesn’t just promote products but also educates and inspires audiences.

Successful brands also understand that influencer marketing isn’t just about immediate sales. It’s about building awareness, trust, and long-term relationships with potential customers. When done right, influencer partnerships create a cycle where authentic recommendations lead to satisfied customers who then become brand advocates.

Fixture, not Fad

The rise of influencer marketing shows how much consumer behavior has changed. People want authentic connections and trusted advice, not a barrage of sales pitches. They’re buying into the lifestyles and values of people they follow, and brands that understand this shift have a huge opportunity.

The most successful approach treats influencers as creative partners who can bridge the gap between brands and consumers. When brands respect influencers’ relationships with their audiences and give them the freedom to create authentic content, everyone wins. Consumers get honest recommendations, influencers maintain their credibility, and brands build genuine connections with their target market.

This trend isn’t going away. As social media continues to evolve and younger consumers become more important to the economy, influencer marketing will only become more powerful. The brands that learn to work effectively with influencers today will be the ones that thrive tomorrow.

Meet your audience where they are, and where they are is consuming the content of their favorite influencers.

Why Your Personal Brand Needs Constant Renewal

Your personal brand isn’t meant to collect dust on a shelf like an old trophy.

Pope Leo XIV shared powerful wisdom with young people during the Jubilee of Youth: “We are not made for a life where everything is taken for granted and static, but for an existence that is constantly renewed through the gift of self in love.” This message holds incredible truth for anyone building their personal brand in today’s fast-changing world.

The most successful people you admire didn’t achieve greatness by playing it safe or staying comfortable in their current position.

They constantly pushed themselves to grow, learn, and evolve their skills and message.

When you embrace constant renewal in your personal branding journey, you open doors to opportunities you never imagined. Your willingness to step outside your comfort zone becomes the fuel that powers your professional growth. Each new skill you develop, every meaningful connection you make, and the value you share with others creates a ripple effect that strengthens your brand’s impact.

“Set it and forget it” is not a viable strategy, but the payoffs of constant renewal make the work of personal branding a fulfilling journey.

The choice is simple: remain static and watch opportunities pass you by, or commit to continuous growth and watch your personal brand flourish.

Why Cultural Relevance is Make-or-Break for Modern Brands

In today’s hyper-competitive markets, brands can’t just make good products and expect to succeed. They need another layer of benefits contributing to perceived value: cultural relevance. Having cultural relevance means being connected to what people care about, what they talk about, and what matters in their daily lives.

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank recently put it perfectly when he said his company is “regaining cultural relevance” as part of turning around the brand’s struggles. His comments highlight a truth that many companies are learning the hard way: without cultural relevance, even great products can get lost in the crowd.

Cultural relevance isn’t about following every trend or being trendy for the sake of it. It’s about understanding your audience so well that your brand becomes part of their identity and lifestyle. When a brand makes this connection, customers don’t just buy products; they become loyal fans who recommend the brand to friends and family.

What Makes a Brand Culturally Relevant

Cultural relevance happens when a brand successfully connects with the values, interests, and conversations that matter most to its target audience. It can be the difference between a brand that people notice and one they ignore.

Four key elements create cultural relevance. First, authentic storytelling matters more than flashy advertising. People can tell when brands are genuine versus when they’re just trying to sell something. Brands that share real stories about their mission, their customers, or their impact tend to build stronger connections. Most brand marketers know this, yet they still struggle to meaningfully connect with audiences through storytelling.

Second, timing is everything. Culturally relevant brands know when to speak up and when to listen. They join important conversations at the right moments and in the right ways. They also know their audience’s interests beyond just their products, whether that’s sports, music, social causes, or lifestyle trends.

Third, community building creates lasting relevance. The best brands don’t just talk to their customers; they help customers connect with each other. This outreach might happen through social media, events, or shared experiences around the brand.

Finally, staying flexible and responsive keeps brands relevant over time. Culture changes quickly, especially with social media speeding everything up. Brands that can adapt their messaging and approach while staying true to their core values tend to maintain their cultural connection longer.

Under Armour’s Path Back to Relevance

Under Armour’s loss of cultural relevance offers lessons for any brand. The company defined its brand positioning by connecting with serious athletes and building a reputation for high-performance gear. However, somewhere along the way, they seemed to lose touch with what made them special to customers. In a recent meeting with financial analysts, Kevin Plank laid out strategic priorities for returning Under Armour to greater cultural relevance.

One major issue was trying to be everything to everyone. Under Armour moved away from its “gym-first approach” and lost focus on its roots in team sports. When brands spread themselves too thin, they often end up meaning less to everyone rather than meaning a lot to their core audience.

Under Armour also relied too heavily on professional athlete partnerships while missing out on connecting with everyday athletes and sports fans. While having famous athletes wear your gear is great for brand visibility, it doesn’t always translate to cultural relevance if regular people can’t see themselves in your brand story.

Now, Plank is outlining a clear path back to relevance. The company is shifting from a “primarily professional athlete-only model to an influencer-led network. The faces associated with Under Armour will include high school and college athletes as well as content creators.

The brand is also focusing on fewer products but making them better and more distinctive. This strategy of doing fewer things better can help rebuild the brand’s identity and give customers clear reasons to choose Under Armour.

Additionally, Under Armour is investing in direct relationships with customers through digital channels and improved storytelling. Building these connections helps brands stay relevant by understanding what their audience really wants and needs. It is an other-focused approach rather than traditional “look at us” brand marketing.

The Cultural Relevance Imperative

Cultural relevance isn’t a nice-to-have for modern brands. It’s essential for survival and growth. In a world where customers have endless choices, the brands that succeed are those that become part of their customers’ lives and identities.

Under Armour’s struggles and turnaround efforts show both how quickly brands can lose relevance and how intentional they must be about regaining it. The key lessons are clear: stay true to your roots, focus on your core audience, build authentic connections, and always keep listening to what your customers really care about.

For any brand looking to build or maintain cultural relevance, the formula isn’t complicated, but it requires commitment. Tell authentic stories, engage with your community meaningfully, stay flexible as culture evolves, and never forget why your customers fell in love with your brand in the first place. Get this right, and you’ll build more than a customer base; you’ll build a community that helps your brand thrive for years to come.