The 8 Tiny Business Issues You’re Not Addressing

I’ve worked on all sorts of businesses with different people, personality types, and motivations. A through line with all of them: you have to pay attention to the small stuff, because the small stuff can turn into the big stuff. Molehills to mountains, as they say. And it's not great to be stuck on top of Everest with no gear. 

Here are eight small issues you could be overlooking that have much bigger implications if not addressed sooner than later.

ONE

You haven’t faced your fears or at the very least surfaced what those fears are. Any person who starts a business has fears, insecurities, triggers. Having a really straight talk conversation with yourself and writing down what your fears are will get them out of your head and onto paper (physical or digital). A lot of times these fears, insecurities, triggers are intuitive sensations that we don’t have language for. They can creep up without us realizing and unconsciously sabotage us. Digging deep, bringing those fears to the surface and recording what they are, forces you to to create language for them so that as they pop up along the way, and they will, you will recognize them more easily and take them head on.

TWO

You haven’t decided WHY you actually want to build this business. Having an idea, knowing you’ve got the ability to execute it: all great stuff. But have you asked yourself what you want your business to do for YOU in the future? Thinking through and jotting down how your business fits into your overall life mission (determining what your life mission is in the process) is hugely important. This is a big question to answer but even taking a stab at answering it will be a helpful tool to in you connecting your business effort with a clearer purpose, so that you can do what’s right for YOU and get quicker into solving the problem at hand as you face different business challenges in the future.

THREE

You haven’t incorporated resting and recharging into your strategy. You haven’t made “whitespace time” a priority. I’ve seen a lot of owners fill their time with busy-ness--they equate constant movement with progress.  All that go, go go energy is good for nothing if you’re not also balancing it with some chill, chill, chill energy to regroup, let things settle in, and give your business building muscles a chance to recharge. At the beginning of your business determine how you’re going to build “whitespace time” into your strategy. Otherwise, say hello to burnout.

"You need to make whitespace time a priority." 

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FOUR  

You haven’t thought about how you’re going to make money -- MONEY. You have a business idea. You even know how to market it. You’ve got the network to start spreading the word and you’ve got the messaging and your target audience down pat. But have you thought about how you’re going to make money? Building that audience is one thing. Making money is another. Build your business with money and profits on the brain right out the gate. Taking the time to put together a financial plan--even if it’s rough and dirty--that can evolve as your business evolves will help you keep the lights on and set your business up for more sustainable growth.

FIVE 

You’ve made someone a cofounder when they shouldn’t be. There are a lot of reasons why I’ve seen this happen. Some business owners have been scared or didn’t realize they were scared to go at building their business alone (see #1-- if the person maybe knew this was a fear they would’ve probably been able to manage this) so they bring on a cofounder. Sometimes people make someone a cofounder because they don’t have money to compensate them as an employee so they make up for it in giving them cofounder status. Whatever the reason is, make sure you’re bringing on a cofounder to augment your business, not satisfy an insecurity or out of not being able to pay (there are other creative ways to compensate--apprenticeship, barter, etc.!).-- you won’t be setting up that person nor yourself nor your business for success if they’re brought on for any other reason besides being a strategic leadership partner.

"Business mistake: You’ve made someone a cofounder when they shouldn’t be."

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SIX

You haven’t decided what you’re okay saying no to. Your time is a precious commodity. And you’re one person. If you haven’t figured out what you’re okay saying no to, next thing you know your calendar is chock-full and you’re taking coffees with people without really knowing how to maximize your java date. Being able to turn a conversation into something that will help you grow your business is a skill. But so is saying no to meetings that don't make sense. You need to focus on the more important aspects of your business that deserve your attention. Get laser focused on what you’re going to say “no” to (nicely of course). 

SEVEN

You haven’t determined who to go to for what. Think through the strengths of the people in your network and uncover how they can help you. This will help you be clearer and more strategic in your asks of them. People like to help but don’t waste the wrong ask on the right person.

EIGHT

You haven’t written any of your plans down. If you’re starting a business chances are you’ve been thinking about it for some time and you’ve finally gotten to a place where you’re ready to pull the trigger. You’re ready to take that leap. Pause and jot down, even quickly, what your current plan is. You don’t have to do a full-fledged strategy; it doesn’t have to be fancy. Writing down what success looks like for your first week, month, year will help you avoid blockages going forward--this is not only a great way to clarify your thinking it’s a great way of firming up the commitment to yourself. 

Alison Gilbert is a business coach and consultant. She’s helped over a dozen owners and entrepreneurs grow profitable businesses quickly and efficiently, including such companies as Well+Good, Levo League, Maiyet and Plum Alley. Prior to building her consultancy she was hire number four and COO of food media company Tasting Table where she grew it into a forty person team reaching a readership of millions.  Visit her site and schedule a free consultation. 

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How to Raise Money for a Startup

Asking for money is rarely fun. But it’s especially tough—and often futile—for women. Why? We’re less likely to get a raise at work, even though we ask at the same rate as men. And we’re especially unlikely to get money for our startups since only 2.2% of all venture capital goes to female founders. (The percentages are even worse for women of color.)

Even for those women who successfully ask this question, it’s as I write in my book Startup Money Made Easy: The Inc. Guide to Every Financial Question About Starting, Running, and Growing Your Business, “seeking outside money is a daunting, grinding, tedious process.” It can go horribly wrong. But raising money can also go tremendously well if you do your homework, network like crazy, and get lucky.

Over the course of nearly five years of reporting and editing money coverage at Inc., I’ve interviewed many successful women founders. Some of them avoided raising outside money entirely; others have raised tens of millions of dollars. So if you’re ready to take the VC plunge—or to start off by asking friends and family to back your business.

Here are five things to know about raising money for your startup.

You don’t necessarily need to do it.

VC-backed startups like Uber, WeWork, and Airbnb get a lot of the headlines, but most startups never ask outside investors for money and many thrive regardless. Take S’well: Founder and CEO Sarah Kauss turned her high-design water bottles into a $100 million business without ever taking outside investment.

There’s an increasing number of women funding women.

While traditional VC has a long way to go to close the gender gap, there is a growing number of investment firms focused on women-led startups. Some examples are Arlan Hamilton’s Backstage Capital, Susan Lyne’s BBG Ventures, and Anu Duggal’s Female Founders Fund. Women founders, meanwhile, told Inc. that female investors often better understand their target markets.

Still, it’s often a slog.

“When you see company after company raising money, you get the outside-in perception: ‘It's not that difficult if they can do it.‘ But this is not the case,” Policygenius co-founder and CEO Jennifer Fitzgerald told me about her initial fundraising expectations. “It was a very fruitless and frustrating few months,” she adds. Fitzgerald and her co-founder eventually raised their seed round through small checks from about 50 friends and family members, “which is a painful way to do it, but we had to get it done,” she recalled.

It can also be exhilarating.

“Raising money was a year and a half of my life, and I loved every minute of it. Boy, was it grinding and difficult,” Christina Tosi, the pastry chef who’s now the founder and CEO of Milk Bar, told me last year. “You're going to war … and not necessarily in a negative way. It doesn't have to be argumentative.”

It matters who your partners are.

Don’t accept just any investment. As your business grows, you’ll want to make sure you and your investors can agree on what’s best for the business (unless you want to try to buy them out). As Tosi put it, “You can't do a good deal with bad people, and you can't do a bad deal with good people.”

About the author: Maria Aspan is an award-winning business journalist and an editor-at-large at Inc. Magazine, where she oversees money coverage and writes about startups, technology, finance, and gender. She has also covered business and finance for The New York Times, Thomson Reuters, and American Banker. At the latter, she served as national editor and covered the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath.

This post was originally published on March 11, 2019, and has since been updated.

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Do You Really Need to Be a Full Stack Employee?

If you really want to land that dream job, you need to be sure that you’re making yourself as marketable as possible to a potential employer. Obviously, if you are more experienced and have a wide variety of skills you already have a leg up on the competition and are one step closer to getting hired. However, is catering to a broader spectrum of tasks in order to impress an employer more efficient, or is it a recipe for spreading yourself too thin? 

Being a full stack employee doesn’t mean that you need to be able to do every job there is to do under the sun. By allotting yourself a list of tasks that are catered to the position that you’re looking to get, you’re able to give yourself and your employer/client a better understanding of what you’re able to do rather than promise to do tasks that you might not be able to do to their full capacity.

IS BEING MULTIFACETED MARKETABLE? 

There is no doubt you should find the ways to get a leg up on the competition and stand out to your potential employer. If you’re a marketer, and your potential employer hears that you know how to produce content, edit, write RFP’s, know how to manage social, know how to edit a website, and even walk their dog; there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll get the job. However, there’s a difference in being able to cater to your employer/client’s needs and over-promising on things that you won’t be able to fully execute.

We won’t argue that there is a large demand for full-stack employees today, especially in the startup world, but the more your over-promise the more you run the risk of running into  situations where your attention is pulled into so many directions your work is suffering and you are not getting tasks completed to their full potential.

THE MORE TASKS YOU HANDLE, THE LESS FOCUSED YOU CAN BE.

Think about it you’re writing and being your own editor, running meetings, taking notes, creating content, shooting photos, creating graphics, handling events, running production and now you're at the point where you’re not even sure what your title is anymore. Are you even a marketing director anymore, or are you more along the lines of a creative director? Or are you something completely different then what you began as? You don’t even know what to label yourself as.

Sure tackling on all these tasks can look impressive on paper, but you might be doing yourself a disservice by having your attention divided on so many different tasks that you less focused on the more important ones. Not only that, but if your employer may start to see that you are not able to fully dedicate yourself to the tasks you promised; they might start to think that you lied on your resume to get the job. If you want to truly make yourself a full-stack employee, you have to start off with prioritizing and focusing on the most important task and then see how you can branch off into the specifics. 

NARROW IT DOWN.

Even if you’re a full stack employee, you still need  to set your limitations, while understanding that you can still be niche and specific. For example: if you’re an editorial director you can also say that you write content, handle an editorial team, edit content, shoot content, pitch sponsorships, and even edit content for your social media manger. Know yourself, your limits, your capabilities and be confident in them. 

At the end of the day, you want to be able to do your job to its full potential and still be able to wear a lot of hats. That’s what will make you truly marketable and will ultimately land you that dream job.

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9 Secrets to Working Remotely From Your Apartment & Loving It

If working from home has become your new normal, then you’ve probably come to the same realization that we have: Working from your bed in your pajamas just isn’t cutting it anymore.

Maybe you’ve started missing the office and wearing blazers (and, dare we say, heels?!), but there are plenty of perks to WFH if you do it right. It’s all about creating the right environment, ditching distractions, learning what works for you, and finding your productive streak.

Working from home presents both advantages and disadvantages for any telecommuter, but for those of us who live in an apartment, telecommuting has its own set of challenges. Consider the following tips and tricks to turn your place into a work environment where you can get the job done.

1. Carve out a cozy workspace.

Apartments in cities tend to be tight on space, which can cut down on the available areas where you can work uninterrupted.

The most important thing to do before you start working out of your apartment is to think about where you plan to situate your home office to conduct business effectively. Identify potential workspaces that lie outside regular traffic patterns. Working at the kitchen table might be fine if you live alone, but if you live with a spouse or roommate or have children, you need a place away from the action.

For example, rethink your underused rooms. Consider using a small guest bedroom, place a cubicle panel or screen in a corner of your own bedroom, or modify a walk-in closet to accommodate a desk and bookcase. Wherever you set up your office, you’ll need to make sure you have excellent Wi-Fi and cell phone service in order to conduct business—so a room in the center of a brick building might not be conducive to your productivity.

2. Decorate your space.

Just because your space is small doesn’t mean you have to skimp on decorating. Turning your own quiet nook into a place with personality can increase your desire to be there for long hours. Hang your favorite photos or works of art, bring in plants, or add knick-knacks and keepsakes.

Studies have shown that certain colors have a direct effect on our mood and productivity. When painting, papering or choosing furnishings for your space, keep these ideas in mind:

3. Learn how to deal with distractions.

Nothing zaps your productivity faster when working from home than having to respond to distractions. Whether you have kids running in and out, a spouse looking for their favorite shirt, or the neighbors in the apartment above practicing their tap dancing skills, dealing effectively with distractions is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

To drown out barking dogs, traffic on the street, or even your roommate streaming a marathon of their favorite Netflix show, choose noise-canceling headphones that help you focus on the task at hand. Before you sit down to work, turn off noisy appliances or hang a fiberglass blanket over the door to block out noise. Plan ahead for conference calls or phone conversations with potential clients, or make sure to schedule them for times when you know you will be alone.

4. Store inventory off-site.

If you have a business that requires inventory and you don’t have space at home to store the merchandise, consider renting a storage unit. The extra space you’ll find after moving unnecessary items to storage can make it easier to stay organized and keep your personal belongings separate from items required for work.

5. Dress for the office.

While it may be tempting to sit around in your pajamas all day when you work from home, it can help to treat your remote work like traditional employment by wearing designated work clothes. Getting up in the morning and getting dressed for work helps you separate your private life from your professional one, further preparing you mentally for your job.

6. Identify a specific scent with work.

Another way to distinguish time to work from personal time is by designating a specific scent for work. Burn a candle, turn on a diffuser, or even wear perfume during your office hours.

7. Invest in productivity tools.

Make your home office feel more like a traditional office space by investing in appropriate supplies. Choose a notepad and pens—and perhaps even a computer—designated solely for work. Keep in mind that office supplies qualify as expenses related to your home office and are usually deductible at tax time.

The same is true for software. Countless apps and online services are available to help home workers with correspondence and communication, scheduling, collaborating on tasks across multiple projects, or measuring productivity to make sure you’re keeping up. Marketing software can help you enhance your client interactions, and accounting software can help with tracking time and expenses.

8. Give your day some structure.

Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you can’t implement some structure in your workday. Use your peak hours effectively. Consider the time of day when you are most alert and use that time to accomplish your biggest goals. Schedule work time and try to avoid personal activities (or at least relegate them to designated breaks).

At the end of the day, power off your electronics, turn off your work phone and move away from your desk or work surface. Also, avoid taking your laptop to bed to work or working from the couch. This can make it harder to separate work time from personal time and unwind later.

9. Communicate with colleagues.

If you are working for a company, be sure to communicate regularly with your colleagues. This can help you remain connected with company goals and stay up to date on any progress made for team projects. Regular dialogue with co-workers also reminds you that you’re a part of a team and keeps you from feeling isolated.

Working remotely can provide numerous benefits for employees, companies, and even clients. It also can be mightily challenging when space is limited. Take advantage of the work-at-home opportunity by setting up an optimal space, figuring out what keeps you motivated and connected, and sticking with it until each day’s work is done.

Written by Laura Gayle of BusinessWomanGuide.org.

This post was published on January 5, 2019, and has since been updated.

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What Does a Magazine Editor Do? Domino's Digital Content Director Explains

How many times have you peered voyeuristically into the lives of people you admire via social media, video, or published interviews and wondered what it must be like to do their job? We’ve all been down that research rabbit hole on our quest to create and cultivate the career of our dreams, but often we’re still left pondering about the realities of their day-to-day—so, what is it really like? Well, in this series, I Want Your Job we uncover the truth by getting down to the nitty-gritty on what it’s actually like to work in your quote-unquote “dream job” and if the reality stacks up to the expectation. Up next, Sophie Miura, Digital Content Director at Domino.

When it comes to your career trajectory, there really is no clear path anymore (or a gold watch at the end!). Today, it’s fraught with twists and turns, ups and downs, curves, and sideway maneuvers but that’s what makes it so exciting. Sure, there are challenges along the way, even a few mistakes, and wrong turns, but ultimately, we all land where we’re meant to be. And oftentimes, it’s in a position you never expected to be in either.

This was the case for Sophie Miura. While she had a passion for media, she was unsure of which area to pursue, so she tried them all—from radio to broadcast, print and digital—until she found the one she really loved: magazine publishing. But breaking in and landing a job in the very competitive world of magazines wasn’t easy.

Read on to learn how Miura interned her way to the Digital Content Director at Domino (where she has helped to launch compelling new series, such as New Voices, that spotlight and celebrate women who are shaping the design world), the lessons she’s learned along the way, and why she believes in the importance of on-the-job experience.

I Interned Everywhere to Get My Foot in the Door

As soon as I finished high school, I started interning and worked at almost every type of media outlet, from broadcast radio to television, until I found one I really loved: magazine publishing. When I wasn’t studying media and communications at university, I was interning at Hearst, and, after three months of fetching coffee, organizing the fashion closet, and sourcing rare purebred dogs for a cover shoot (yes, really), I scored a full-time offer as the assistant to the editor in chief—I was ecstatic! 

I spent four years working my way up, from picture and production editor to health and features writer. Then, the magazine closed. I was devastated, but ultimately, there was a silver lining: I was invited to join the launch team of Elle Australia. It was a crazy experience, and I learned to be incredibly resourceful and do whatever I could to just get the job done. By age 25, though, I was totally burnt out. I took a giant leap and quit my job, bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok, and spent five months backpacking without a plan. It was so liberating after spending my early twenties working so hard. 

I was so worried that it would halt my career but it actually did the opposite. I knew two things by the time I finished traveling: that I wanted to live overseas and that I loved writing about travel. I reached out to every person I knew in publishing, sent a lot of cold emails, and after a lot of hustling, landed a job as a lifestyle editor at MyDomaine in New York. It was a whirlwind. I traveled to far-flung destinations like the Arctic Circle and Bora Bora to write about new hotels and airlines as I cut my teeth as a digital editor.  

All in all, I must have done at least six internships before landing a full-time role. It was the best way to figure out what kind of career I actually wanted. Certain media roles sound impressive but are completely different in reality. Interning helped me to fast-track that learning experience and really zero-in on what I wanted to do. 

On-the-Job Experience Often Trumps a Degree

I have a Bachelor of Arts in media and communications. It was a great entry course but the best experience I had was on the job. If I hadn’t consistently interned while studying, I don’t know where I’d be.  

I Set an Agenda Each Morning and Prioritize Tasks

I’m the digital content director at Domino, which means that I oversee digital editorial as well as the social media and email team. My days are pretty varied, but typically, I’m in the office early and use that first hour of silence to do the most important tasks: I set an agenda for the day (I find that three priority tasks are realistic; any more is a stretch), review our daily content mix, take stock of industry news and competitor coverage, and dive into overnight traffic to make sure I’m across any fluctuations. The rest of the day tends to be dominated by meetings! I manage a team of eight and work with the print and branded content teams so face time is really important.  

I Have My Dream Job, But Reality Doesn’t Always Match Expectations

It’s much more strategic and team-facing than my last role, which was a senior editor at MyDomaine. Fortunately, Domino is a pretty flexible workplace and we’re really encouraged to shape our own roles. When I crave a dose of creativity, I jump into a brainstorm or workshop stories with our editors.  

There’s much more to my job than overseeing the website. What you see (whether it be on Domino.com, Instagram, or our other social channels) is really a fraction of the role. It’s much more numbers-based than you’d expect.  

I Worked in Several Adjacent Roles and Industries Before Landing on This One

My advice is to try as many different roles within media or publishing before you choose a path. The industry has really evolved in the last three years, and chances are, there are roles that you don’t even know exist. The most valuable thing I did was to intern in radio, television broadcast, and publishing, then, within publishing, I tried advertising, brand partnerships, and editorial. Give yourself time to test and learn before you specialize—it might feel like lost time, but it’ll be worth it in the long run. 

I Chose Jobs Based on Who I Wanted to Learn From, Not What

Apply for positions based on the people you’re excited to work with. Your manager plays such a formative role when you’re starting out—learn good habits from the best! My first editor in chief, Lizzie Renkert, helped pave the way for me today. She offered me my first job in publishing and consistently challenged and supported me.  

I’m Constantly Paying It Forward and Leading With an Outstretched Hand

I’m always impressed when someone cold contacts me, and even though my schedule is packed, I try to grab coffee with students and interns when possible. Unintentionally, it’s also how I’ve found some really talented employees. 

I Found Mentors Over Time, But I Didn’t Force It

I think it’s helpful for anyone trying to build a career to have a mentor, but in my experience, it has to happen organically. If you do find someone who you click with on a professional level, be proactive. Reach out regularly (for me, that’s every two months) and always offer to work around their schedule. 

“Work Hard and Be Kind” Is My Motto (and It’s Served Me Well)

Work hard and be kind. My mom wrote this simple quote on a chalkboard in our kitchen when I was about 15, and I’ve never forgotten it. It might sound naive, but I really believe that if you do your best and try to act with kindness at work (and in life!) good things will come your way.  

I Am Constantly Learning From Other Women in My Field

Stella Bugbee, the editor in chief of The Cut, consistently pushes the boundaries, and I’m so inspired by her work, voice, and point of view. I learned a lot from her interview on Bon Appetit’s Foodcast podcast.

Have an Appetite for Media (and Consume as Much as Possible)

For me, it’s less about career books and more about constantly staying on top of digital articles from publications and writers I admire. The sites I check daily are The Cut, The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Medium, Digiday, and Domino, of course. 

I listen to the Digiday podcast to stay up-to-date with industry news, The Daily for current affairs, The Cut on Tuesdays for storytelling, Offline for work-life perspective, and The Minimalists to remind me that less is more.  

Never Stop Learning

It’s almost impossible to feel like you’ve truly mastered your craft when you work in media, and you have to learn to be okay with that. There’s always a new platform, a new algorithm, a new way to tell a story. The most successful people are those who like to be kept on their toes.  

Digital Media Isn’t Easy, But I Find Inspiration in the Challenge

A healthy dose of reality. Digital jobs can be tough—the 24-hour news cycle is relentless and you’re constantly “on”—so sometimes it helps to take a step back and remember why you started. At its core, Domino aims to inspire readers with beautiful home tours, clever DIYs, and feel-good decorating ideas. I try to remember that when I’m stressed and need to find my center. 

I Swear By the One-Touch Rule for Maximum Productivity

Email is the biggest source of stress for me. It’s never-ending and I hate feeling like I’m not on top of it! Lately, I’ve been trying the one-touch rule which means that as soon as I open an email, I have to action it (respond, forward, or archive) and remove it from my inbox. It takes a lot of discipline (I’m guilty of leaving messages unanswered) but it means that I never do the same task twice or let inbox anxiety simmer. 

I’m Always Looking for Contributors, So Hit Me Up

I’d love to hear from you! I’m always on the lookout for beautiful home tours and sharp contributors. If you have an idea for Domino or are interested in collaborating with us, shoot me an email at pitches@domino.com. 

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4 Steps To Define Your Brand Voice

Do you have a certain name for your followers, such as “posse,” “magic makers,” or “Insiders?” Do you love shortening the word “business” to the ever-so punchier “biz?” How about insisting your checkout page says “add to bag” over “add to cart?” If you’ve answered yes to any of these, you already have the makings of a verbal identity—aka brand voice. But if that's not you and you're looking to define your brand voice, don't fret!

So what is a brand voice and why does it matter?

A brand voice is how your personality is shown through language. It encompasses everything from your words to your tone, to even your grammar. Everyone has a personality online, and most entrepreneurs have a sound that’s based on their voice. But whether that’s a clear, conscious personality is a different story. 

Developing brand recognition requires consistency and repetition to establish trust. So if your personality or messaging changes often, it’ll be difficult for your audience to know what you stand for. 

At the end of the day, your customers want to connect with you on an emotional level—85 percent of people buy from companies they have a strong emotional connection with—so having a strong sense of self in your brand helps attract the right people to you, and plays an important role in cutting through all the noise out there. Whether you’re looking to create a memorable brand from scratch or gearing up to finally scale your content, here are four simple steps to flesh out a brand voice your audience will love, and one that feels authentic to you.

1. Use the W.I.L.D framework

This is the exact framework I use when documenting a client’s brand voice for them. Use it as a lens through which you’ll review your writing.

W - Words: The lingo, vocabulary, and terminology for everything, from your regional slang to how to call out your most coveted product.

I - -isms: Your quirks, traits, and all the little things that make you, such as your fav emoji, your favorite phrase, how much you mention your dog, and more.

L - Length: The rhythm of the sentences, such as a long, languid flow or choppy and to-the-point writing (or something in-between).

D - Delivery: The tone of your writing, as in excitable and filled with exclamation points, curious and always asking questions, or even rebellious and breaking all the grammar rules for emphasis.

2. Survey your audience

When you’re a one-person show, it can be tough to take a good, hard look at your style. In that case, turn to your audience. Simply send them a survey or post on your Stories to ask the following:

• In one word, how would you describe our brand?

• If our company were a person, who would it be?

In addition to or in place of their direct input, try auditing your high-performing content. Whether it’s an email to your list or even a podcast episode, your popular and successful pieces can provide insights into the messages and voice your audience likes best.

3. Look at competitors

If you’re brand new with no data to help you, or you’re feeling stuck and dont know where to start, ask yourself: “What don’t we want our brand voice to be?” Looking at others in your field, was there something that sparked you to start your own business? Is everyone saying the same things, and you know you were born to stand out? Use that fuel to determine how you will write your messages.

4. Document it all

Now that you’ve got the research and brainstorming section done, it’s time to distill that information into your brand voice DNA.

Besides price, voice is typically the number-one reason entrepreneurs don’t, or feel like they can't, hire a copywriter to handle their writing. So have an in-depth, well-defined brand voice and style guide to ensure whoever you hire gets your voice just right. That'll give you time to focus on what you do best. Here's some of the details you should include:

A personality type

This can provide an overarching sense of how you show up online. Are you the momma bear who’s fiercely protective of her tribe? Or are you the Monica Gellar of your industry striving for perfection? Have fun with it!

3–5 voice pillars

According to the adjectives your audience used to describe you, as well as the insights you’ve conducted, simply look for the common threads. Are you bold, savvy, witty, sophisticated, elegant, authentic, flirty, etc? Choose three to five that best describe you.

Changes per channel

As for tone, think: Does your authoritative self come out on Linkedin? Does your brand discuss sensitive or politically-charged topics that you’d want to be more sensitive about on social—but bolder on your email list? List out the channels where you are present, and how the tone may change.

Grammar

If you cringe at a missing serial comma or you’re a mega fan of the interrobang (‽), get it all down on paper. This not only makes your writing consistent and full of personality, but ensures you can cut down on editing time next time you want to hire a writer. 

About the author: Kaleena Stroud is a conversion copywriter and brand voice strategist from California. She creates personality packed verbal identities for DTC brands that want to stand out and personal brands that need help defining their brand voice magic. Check out her website for more voice and writing tips or contact her to find out which of the nine voice archetypes YOU are.

This story has been updated.