Episode 6 -- Alexandra Figueredo - Founder Of MissionBasedBranding.com : Branding!

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Oh yeah, we know what that sound means. This is Social Buzz on Air. What is happening, everybody? I'm Sebastian Rusk, your host, as always. Hey, welcome to the show. Got a very special guest this week, and when I say special, I mean special. I've got the lovely Alexander Figueroa, the brains behind mission basebranding.com, aka the beauty of Beauty and the Buzz. We're gonna be chatting about branding and how important it is, but more important than branding, mission-based branding. We are slowly approaching, actually rapidly approaching, 2014. We've got a few weeks left in 2013. The time is now to get your brand in gear. Maybe your brand's not doing so good this year or the past couple years. It's time to realign things and get it back in gear. Some people are headed for the slopes, some people are headed for vacation, some people are head down putting a plan together for 2014. So if that's you, you've tuned into the right episode. Maybe you're listening to this episode a couple of weeks from now. Hey, thank God for podcasts. Let's not waste any more time. Friends, help me welcome to the show, Alexander Figueroa.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Thank you. Wow, what an awesome introduction. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Hey, thanks. Thanks for uh thanks for making some time to be here today.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Yeah, no, thank you. Thank you. I love I love being with you here and and chatting it up.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

I thought you were just gonna say I love being with you. You and I you and I have you and I have met before, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

A couple of times, yeah. I think uh, you know, like once or twice in the last year.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Or three. So those of you that might know not know who we are, hey, welcome to the show once again. But Alexandra is my lovely fiance, uh aka Beauty and the Buzz is what we referred to. We had the awesome opportunity of um, or I had the awesome opportunity of asking Alexandra to be my wife earlier this year. Actually, later this year, it was in August in lovely San Diego after we got done with Social Fresh West. Thank God she said yes. So we will be exchanging nuptials at some point in 2014. That's a whole another podcast and a whole another level of buzz. So thanks for being on the show, honey.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

All right, back to business. So it's been an exciting year for you and missionbasebranding.com. You've been had the opportunity to take on some really unique projects. I know you spent a lot of time down in the Caribbean working on some Latin America, Caribbean stuff with Samsung. You've been working with some local brands here, tying a mission into it. Why does a brand need a mission?

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Yeah, well, definitely it's a it's extremely important as far as developing a focus and an identity for your company and for your brand. And what a mission does is it really helps the company and just in a in a one or two sentences really get aligned with what they're most passionate about and what they most care about. And actually, even in many cases, doesn't even necessarily have to do with what they do, although that's also important within their mission. But coming up with a in a very short one or two sentences, what it is that you are passionate about, what it is that you do, and using that as the focus for all your business thereabout, and and not only your business focus, but your branding, your communication strategy, and why people align and connect to you.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Now, I know in addition to you doing mission-based branding, one of your very favorite things to do is take people from going, well, I have an idea or I want to launch a brand or actually helping them make that a reality. So it's it's almost the end of December, almost the end of 2013, only a couple weeks left before the beginning of the year. Somebody really has a bunch of ideas and they know, you know what, this is the year, they've got the itch to make it a reality. What are some things they can do immediately? Let's talk about three things they can do immediately to be able to make that brand a reality uh for 2014.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Yeah, well, I loved how you said earlier that if not now, when? And I think that that's so important to get that in into your mind because many times as a brand or even as a business, especially a startup or a business that just started, uh, you really start to get this uh almost comfortable with where you're at. And sometimes you don't get to the point where or you don't think that the things that you need are really necessities. And so you kind of delay it and you let it go until it becomes a problem, right? And so a couple of things, I would say three things that are really just necessary for any new business, or even somebody that are a business that or a brand that wants to rebrand is like we were talking about a minute ago, starting with your mission. And I typically define a mission by two areas. One is actually what your brand does or what your business does. And then the second, the second definition is another passion or something, another uh another cause that your brand wants to be aligned with. And so many times it's the same, like a mission-driven business. Typically, the businesses I work with, in themselves, their their business focus is to help others and to really give back to the community and make a difference. So start to re you know, get clear about what it is that your business does, what your mission is. And many cases, and this is a great time now during the holidays, when everyone else is gonna go on vacation to get back realigned to what it is that you love, what you're passionate about, and what you want to be doing and focus on for the new year. And, you know, a lot of times many businesses are gonna start doing this in the beginning of the year. So take this time. It's a great, it's a great couple of weeks when there's more downtime to be getting clear about that. And so I would say that that's the first thing. Really define your mission, get clear about it, and get focused. And the second thing is developing a really strong brand. And what's important about branding is it's delivering your message clearly so people understand immediately what you and your what your brand offers and allows you to stand out. And many times some of the businesses that I work with, because they're solo entrepreneurs or only have a very small uh number of uh team members, they don't really focus on this aspect until it's absolutely necessary. And the thing is that it's necessary when you start your business. So sometimes people delay that, maybe they they say that they don't have the money, they don't necessarily think it's a priority. But if your business or your brand doesn't stand out, there's nothing clear and focused about or unique about what your brand is, then you're just one of a C, it's almost like you're a commodity. You're one of a C of other people doing what you what you do rather than standing out and and and really being um really differentiating yourself in the marketplace. So with that, it's it's uh it's important if you don't have a brand, you haven't developed yet what is your what is your um clear identity as a brand, working with somebody that can help you to develop that. And many times it's going back to the mission, using that as your basis, and then uh working on other aspects like, for example, a logo, a slogan, other things that can help the communications part so that you can start to have a brand and really start to make yourself unique in the market. And then the last thing I would say is I mean, really, we're talking about things you can do in like 90 days or less, right? Is actually create a presence online. It's really interesting, but you can almost have a uh an appearance of having a real huge global business just by having a really awesome website and and and and social media presence. I mean, brands have been created like yours, like Social Buzz TV, just by having or starting out by having a really awesome uh presence online. And some of the people that I've been speaking to this year don't think that it's uh they know that they need a they know that they need a website, but they don't prioritize it enough to put the the resources toward it. And so, I mean, literally within in a month or less, and you and I both know this, it's not difficult at all to start a website. I think it's more overwhelming because many times we try to take on this project ourselves, myself included. I've tried to do it in the past and just things get delayed, you have other priorities come up. So you want to uh find somebody that that you trust and that can help you get that done. And I think again, even the even the things that the three things that we spoke about in 60, 90 days can be done. And so I think it's just a matter of focusing on that, prioritizing it, and knowing that 2014 is not the year for excuses. You're not gonna delay this any longer. You're not gonna say, okay, well, I don't know, I don't need this right now, but I need, you know, I'll I'll work in it maybe in second quarter, you know, in the springtime. No, if your brand does not have a mission, if you don't even have a brand, you know, you there's no branding to your to your business, and if you don't have a website and an online presence, it is a priority and it's a necessity now.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

I agree. And I think it just comes down to you know, Nike's old slogan, just do it. And that really it also comes down to how bad do you want it? Do you really want to make your brand a reality? Because that's not going to just happen. A lot of people sit around and hope only takes us so far until action comes into play, where you literally have to create that logo, get that website up, conceptualize your brand, and start a conversation with an agency and an expert like yourself that knows what they're doing pertaining to getting a brand off the ground.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Yeah, absolutely. Exactly. And it's and it's a lot easier as far as once you get the resources in place and you find somebody that can help you get it done, is really not that difficult. I think that as new businesses uh and startups, sometimes we have this tendency to agonize over these things and because it's not what we're used to doing. We're not an expert in that. And then it's it it just becomes a bigger burden than what it really is. And and and honestly, it's it's so vital to to your brand. Uh, it's I mean, it's almost even when I work with with businesses that are conceptualizing and maybe create in the process of um like uh cre uh doing logo uh uh prototypes for their business, for example, I try to get involved even before the the the actual product is out in the market because branding is so vital to really to the to the to the actual product and the and the business.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

And I think people discount branding. I think they think that's a secondary luxury for something, but it really, if you're going to have a brand, you've got to have a branding strategy to it. And I think what you guys do at missionbasebranding.com really ties all that together. You help people better understand why they need a mission when they may not understand that they did before, because I didn't know what a mission-based brand was until I knew, until Tom's entered the marketplace, where I realized that if I went and bought a pair of shoes, it was gonna give a pair of shoes to somebody that didn't have one. And there's so many ways that you know Tom's is just on a ginormous lever. I really look at them as kind of the godfathers of mission-based branding and conceptualizing that idea and bringing it into the marketplace where people can dite really sink their teeth into it. Orbe Parker does a great job. Um, that you and I've talked about before with glasses. You buy a pair of glasses and gives a pair of glasses to somebody who doesn't currently have one. But even if you're a small brand just getting started, a solopreneur, you do all kinds of stuff locally here in South Florida with brands and people that have an idea. You help them make that idea a reality, and then you tie them into a charity, nonprofit organization, whatever you want to refer to it as, um, pertaining to something that they're passionate about. And because it allows even the small guy, the little guy that's just getting started, can say, Hey, I'm just now starting, we're just now becoming uh we're starting to generate revenue and drive uh revenue in, but we understand the value of taking a portion of that revenue and providing it to a mission charity, nonprofit organization that could utilize our support. And what that does is it provides that two-prong approach for brands. It allows brands to say, hey, look what we're doing. It's not just about us, we're supporting this organization, and it allows the organization, who may be a large organization here in South Florida, to say, we appreciate the support of XYZ brand that is a mission-based brand. So the I I think there's a lot of there's there's a lot of value with both the organization and the brand being able to play off each other by simply telling the story of being mission-based.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Yes, exactly. And he really, and if you talk about from a branding standpoint, the reason I created this business to begin with, is that aligning yourself with an additional cause or mission that you're passionate about is in itself a point of differentiation. So it actually helps the the helps the branding efforts. And what's so important about that, apart from being good as uh from a, you know, from a giving back and really helping to make a difference in your community, is that you align with people who care about those same causes. You might open yourself up to a larger market of clientele or even people that are just at least talking about your business. They don't necessarily need to buy from you, but you might get people to talk about your brand online or even off or even at offline, you know, in events and things like that. And uh great way, like you said, share your story and to get people to naturally talk about your about your brand uh where they may not have actually been able to talk about that. You you don't you weren't necessarily giving them that content and those uh that emotional connection with with people to be able to talk about your brand. And so I you know, it really is, it's it really is. I mean, just synergistically, is for me the best way that I've been able to find where I can both make a bigger impact by aligning businesses with causes and also from a marketing standpoint make a bigger difference because people want to know and they want to hear about those types of things. And press media love to cover businesses that are giving back. I mean, there's a term called cause marketing that is precisely that. Uh you you're tying businesses to causes and talking about it in both online, offline, and and in the media. So it really is, from my perspective, the best way to uh to do good as a company and also do good with marketing.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Yes, do good, no pun intended, right? Do good. You're doing good as a brand. Well, uh, we're we're almost out of time here, and I know you're a busy girl, you're buried in projects right now at the end of the year, which is just great news. I'm excited about it, and I definitely know you're excited about it. Um, you and I were talking before the interview, and you said you wanted to really hone in for the next week and a half, really hone in on reaching out to those individuals that have that that are that are on the fence with that idea. They it keeps them up at night, they've been thinking about it, they conceptualize it, they're passionate about it, they're excited about it, but they're just stuck. And you really want to provide that unstuck branding solution for them. So I know um that you've got a um uh you're offering our listeners a unique opportunity um for a uh phone strategy session uh here at the remainder of 2013. So let's talk about that real quick as we uh as we close out the show.

SPEAKER_00 15:37

Sure, yes. I mean I run I want to make it really easy for people like you said who have been on the fence, maybe haven't thought of it of creating their branding strategy as a priority to no longer even have to worry about it. Uh it's a I think it's a great sense of relief when you know somebody can guide you and and hold your hand and really get it done. I mean, ultimately it's about results. And if you've been worrying about this or not getting it done, now's the time. I mean, like we said, if not now, when, right? So I'm off, I'm offering the listeners an opportunity to have a complimentary strategy session with me. And we'll go over your brand, what you're currently doing, what your goals are, and we'll put together a um uh some steps and some strategies for you to implement into your business immediately. I'm all about education and providing value. And if it's so inclined, then um they might be able, we might be able to work on something going into the new year. But I'm all about getting it done and uh and and and I'd love to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

But the first things first is establishing where you're stuck at because you either have a brand already or you want to have a brand and you're stuck, and uh Alexander is the unstuck queen pertaining to really helping you uh open uh the the uh uh opa uh open your thought process to exactly where you need to be and what you need to be doing to get that going on there. Um, Alex, how can they get a hold of you? How do they find you? I know you got an email and a phone number for them.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

Yes, um easy way to uh to call me at 305 uh 20956, or you can email me at alexandra at missionbasebranding.com. And also my uh the web address is missionbasebranding.com, and I can be reached both those ways. And I just wanted to make one one comment, and it's almost obvious now during the holiday season. You know, we talk about uh I know you and I have spoken before about givers gain, right? Um now at the end of the year.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

That's very BI of you.

SPEAKER_00 17:41

Yes. Now it's it's the end of the year, and it's a really great and unique opportunity to be able to give back to your community, make a difference either through giving donations, perhaps doing uh tying in a uh a charity or a cause if you're having a holiday party or an event for your business. I mean, I it I know it's we're almost halfway done through the through the month, but I mean it's never, it's never uh it's never too late. And also, of course, get a tax benefit, a tax write-off for your business.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

I know I and I get that too. And you and I have had this conversation a couple of weeks ago. Everybody's a mission-based brand at the end of the year. Isn't that ironic? It's the end of the year, it's time to get that last tax crack. But what would happen if you did that all year long? And then at the end of the year you finished strong, but when you sat down with your accounting team or your accountant or your CPA to be able to talk about the previous year, it wasn't just December, it was the whole year. I mean, don't you agree that all year is better than just one month of the year?

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Uh absolutely. I think right now it's a good start if you're not already doing that. But absolutely, I mean, the the the very nature of my of what I do is helping you to tie into a cause that can help differentiate your brand while also being uh giving back to that cause all year round.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

Well, we know what that sound means. We're out of time here, Alexandra. Thanks so much for taking time to hang out with us today. It's always a pleasure to hang out with you, Alexandra.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

Thank you so much. I appreciate it and I love being here with you.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Missionbasebebranding.com is her website. Alexandra at missionbasebranding.com is her email address. And give her the uh give everyone the phone number to the office one more time.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Sure, it's 305-209-5886.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Remember, if not now, when? If not you who? We're wishing all of you an awesome remainder of 2013 and an absolutely blessed 2014. Alex, thanks again for coming to the show. Come back soon, honey.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Please invite me back.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

So uh you uh you uh want to have lunch? All right, we're out of here. Hey, I'm Sebastian Russ signing off from our studio here in downtown Miami for Social Buzz on Air. We'll talk to you next time.