[0:00] In this dynamic world of client-based businesses, which includes coaching, speaking, authorship, anything that is expertise-driven, the need to pivot will
[0:10] come for a lot of different reasons. So whether that's due to market shifts, your personal growth, or the realization that your current business model just doesn't work with your vision, understanding how, when, and why to pivot your business is crucial for long-term success. And that's what I want to talk about today. So let's dive in. You're listening to Aesthetically Speaking. On this podcast, we're talking about all things branding, logos, colors, fonts, and the strategy behind it all. It seems like these days it's easier than ever to build an audience, but harder than ever to stand out online. My name is Rebecca and I'm a brand strategist and designer. Together, we're going to talk about how to bring your brand to life.
[0:57] I've been having some really interesting conversations lately with past clients, current clients, and my industry peers about pivoting your business. And I think this word pivot is so scary to us because it has been pounded into our heads that consistency is the most important thing we can do to grow our business. And y'all know I am a big fan of consistency. But equally important to consistency is integrity. And there may come a time in growing your business that you feel out of integrity with what you're doing. And that's not to say that you're being dishonest. What I'm saying is that you're out of alignment. What you're doing is no longer a match for what you want. And if that's the case, then it's time to pivot. So what do I mean when I say pivot your business? Well, this is a really ambiguous term that can mean a lot of different things. Sometimes it just means rebranding, right? And I'm going to talk about that today. Sometimes it means redoing your offer suite, changing what you're actually selling. Sometimes it means changing what you do or what you call yourself, changing your audience. All of those things would be defined as a pivot in my mind. The most important thing to note is that a pivot is a significant shift, whereas an evolution is a subtle shift. And knowing whether you're hoping to make a significant shift in your business
[2:17] or a subtle shift in your business will change what you actually do to do it. So why should you pivot your business? Well, there's two main reasons.
[2:27] One is there's something going on with you. So your personal and your professional growth, especially as a coach or a speaker, that needs to be reflected in your business. So as you acquire new skills, as you increase your client roster, or even just as you develop your own unique point of views, pivoting allows you to integrate these elements into your business. And I mentioned alignment earlier because your business should always align with your core values, vision, and mission. And over time, these are going to evolve. If they're not evolving, then you're probably not doing the work necessary to really grow your business. So if you find that your current business model is no longer aligned with your overarching goals, pivoting becomes necessary to ensure that your work is fulfilling for you,
[3:15] impactful for your clients, and profitable for the business. The second reason you might want to pivot is because of something that's going on in the world around you. There's a lot of different things this can mean.
[3:28] Sometimes in the corporate world, they'll talk about market evolution. And even for personal brands, this is something to be aware of. Markets are not static. They evolve. What was super relevant and super cool a few years ago is not going to be the same today. For example, back in 2020, mega courses were all the rage. And this is a term that I made up, but it might be something that you purchased. It was really popular to create a course full of content. The more content you had, the more you could charge for it, the more valuable it seemed. So you would sell a course with hundreds of videos, dozens of workbooks or PDFs or audio trainings. The idea was that the more information you could give your course participants, the better. That is not true today. The market has changed. People no longer want courses with tons and tons of content. I don't want to watch 10 videos when three videos could teach me the same thing. So as a client-based business, you need to stay attuned to these market trends. If you notice that there's a decline in demand for your services, or you notice that you are interested in a different type of service, it might be time to pivot.
[4:45] Another thing that's going to happen is your competition is going to change and evolve. And increased competition often means you need to pivot. So if you feel like your market is becoming saturated with similar offerings, making yourself unique becomes really challenging. But a strategic pivot can help you find your unique value or just adopt a new approach that helps set you apart.
[5:09] The last thing that might be going on that can be tricky to navigate when pivoting your business is understanding your audience. Sometimes my clients come to me and they have been working with a specific type of client for a really long time, but they know that they're capable of helping a different type of client or maybe a client who's farther along the path than the current clientele they've had, but they don't want to alienate the audience that they have cultivated relationships with.
[5:36] Evolving your business or pivoting your business at this point might actually make it easier for you to communicate with the clients you want and still keep the audience that you've worked so hard to build. Only you can know if you need to change your business completely, if you need to refresh it, or if you need to just keep on keeping on. But let's talk about a few considerations in when to pivot your business so you can make that powerful decision for yourself. Now, the first thing you've got to be aware of is whether you like your business. I think liking the way you run your business is a great metric for success, especially as a personal brand, because your enthusiasm, your interest, your passion, and your time and energy are the things that power your business. So if you are feeling disengaged, burned out, unfulfilled, that's a really good indicator that a pivot might be necessary to boost your motivation again. I often tell people, if you are not obsessed with your brand, how can you expect other people to be obsessed with your brand? The same is true for your business. So if you're not happy, think about making a change. Another metric to look at is your revenue. Are you stuck at a certain revenue? Is your revenue dropping? These are signals that something needs to change.
[6:53] Ebbs and flows, ups and downs, those are all normal. If you feel like it's harder to make money now than it was last year, it's probably because your business has not evolved enough to the current market.
[7:06] Another indicator that it's time to pivot is feedback from your clients. As a personal brand, you have personal relationships with the people you're working with. And you know if they are interested and engaged in what you're selling, or if they seem to have tuned you out. Sometimes you need to gently shake them awake to remind them of what you're doing and how it can serve them. Sometimes you have to ask them for this input, but it's always valuable to get this information so that you know if it's your approach, if it's your offers, if it's your pricing, or if it's just a general thing going
[7:41] on in the world that's keeping people from working with you. The last reason you should consider pivoting your business is because you want to do something new. And this is where a lot of my clients are. If you have been offering one-on-one coaching services for a long time, you have a full client roster, you're satisfied with what you're doing, but you know that you are capable of serving more people, of bringing more value into the world, it's time to pivot. It's time to evolve your brand into something bigger than it is. There is a difference between having a business and having a brand. And there's a difference between just having a brand and using a brand to start a movement.
[8:21] If you want your ideal clients to care about what you're doing as much as you do, if you want them to advocate for your business, if you want them to be champions for your brand, then you have to give them something to champion. Pivoting your business, evolving your messaging, elevating the clients that
[8:40] you talk to will help you do that. So let's talk about how, because I want to give you some specific examples of how to pivot your business in a way that's easy and effective.
[8:51] What I want you to do, evaluate your current position. Get a piece of paper and divide it into three sections. You're going to write business model, business offerings, and brand position. In each category, you're going to identify what's working, what's not, and some possible reasons why. So you might love your business model of one-to-one services. You might love your current coaching packages, but you might see the positioning you're using is not helping you sign clients for those packages. On the other side, you might say that your business model is fine, but your coaching packages are way too long. And your positioning, while it's helping you sign clients for long containers, is not helping you get some of that quick cash injection that you need. But understanding how these things work together is really crucial before you
[9:45] start making any changes.
[9:46] The next thing you need to do is actually define your vision. And you know, I talk about this all the time, you guys. I worry that people think that I'm just out here saying like, set big goals. That is nice. That is lovely. That is important. But what having a vision really means is that it is clear in your mind and defined on paper. I want to know what you are hoping to achieve with your business I want to know what you're hoping to achieve by pivoting your business. So if that is reaching a new audience Say so if that is offering a new service That will give you better profit margins say so if just adopting a different business model altogether I want you to be clear on that because having that clear vision is going to guide your decisions so much more effectively than just a vague
[10:35] idea of what you're hoping will happen.
[10:38] Now, if you're pivoting, you've got to do some research. You've got to understand your audience. You can ask questions and analyze competitors. And I help my clients do all of that. We'll make a strategic plan, outline goals, marketing strategies. You've got to have a timeline, yada, yada, yada. But the most important thing in actually pivoting your business is communicating transparently. And this is the biggest mistake that I see businesses make, especially when they're rebranding is they either do it all at once with no communication and people are surprised and confused or they introduce it so gradually and so quietly that nobody notices it.
[11:19] You need to communicate with your audience, especially as a personal brand. Like I said, they have a relationship with you. You have to communicate with your audience. That means your clients, your team members, your stakeholders, communicate the reasons for the pivot, what they can expect and how it's going to benefit them. This will build trust and excitement actually in the pivot because they will
[11:41] see how this is better for them and it will reduce any kind of resistance that they may have. Let's talk specifically about rebranding when it comes to pivoting your business, because this is a really critical component, especially for client-based businesses.
[11:58] Rebranding is not just about changing your logo or updating your website. It's about reshaping perceptions. And it's about aligning your audience's perception of your business with the reality. It's communicating the vision that you have with your audience. So here's why this is so essential. Number one, a rebrand or a refresh of your brand signals change and it signals seriousness. One of the things that I hear from my clients all the time is that they want to be more legit and they see that branding will do that for them. And I understand that because the way that you look says something about who you are. And if you want people to see you as an authority, if you want them to see you as credible, then you need to show them that visually. So you need to rebrand your business if you're pivoting to give them this visual confirmation that something significant has changed. We are such visual creatures, right? So when we see a new logo or an updated website or new marketing materials or new social media content, it signals that the business is evolving. And the degree of visual transformation is the degree to which you are changing. So little tweaks mean little changes. Big visual transformations mean big substantial changes in direction.
[13:18] So rebranding also communicates your commitment. So this communicates to your
[13:24] clients and to the market at large that you're serious about the pivot. This is why it's important to work with a professional because so many businesses will rebrand on a whim. They'll get some new backgrounds from Pinterest, they'll change out their highlight covers, but in two weeks, they're back to doing what they were doing before. So a comprehensive rebranding effort is going to communicate that you're serious and that you're going to stick to it. It shows that you have invested the time and the resources and the thought into this new direction. I think you would be surprised how well people respond when you show them that you're serious about this. Because this kind of commitment, especially when there's a serious investment involved, reassures clients that what you are offering is a good investment for them. So it enhances their trust and their confidence in your business.
[14:12] Rebranding also reinforces your vision. So when I talk about aligning your visual and your verbal messaging. I'm talking about understanding who you are, defining it, writing it down, and creating the visuals that actually match with that vision. So this is going to come through with a new tagline, with updated brand colors, a new website. Every element of your rebrand should reflect your new focus and your goals. And I want to just tell you all of the elements that are included in the rebrands I do for my clients, because I think you would be surprised how much I really include.
[14:51] So in my signature rebranding service, in addition to all of the market research, pain and frustrations of your ideal clients, your unique offer, vision, mission values, blah, blah, blah. Okay. These are the design elements that I include. We have the creative direction, which is a verbally defined direction for the creative assets of the brand. So they can take that and use that for photography, for interior design, for graphics, for virtual assist, like whatever it is. Then we have four different logo versions, primary logo, horizontal logo, a monogram or a favicon logo, and then a logo lockup, which is like all of the elements together. We have a color palette with primary colors, secondary colors, accent colors, neutral colors. We have font selection with headings, subtitles, body copy, accent copy. We have logo application.
[15:47] So the actual file types of all the logos. We have imagery and photography. I'm sourcing stock photos for you. We have custom icons and illustrations, brand patterns and backgrounds, and all of these things are exported so that you can use them in your brand.
[16:04] So when I'm talking about aligning your vision, that's what I mean. I mean having the actual tangible assets to back up what you want to say with your brand. Now, there's two more reasons that rebranding is an important part of pivoting. And one that I want to mention is differentiation from your competitors. And I understand that as a personal brand, our goal is to not have competition, that we believe everyone can succeed. But differentiation for yourself is the key to standing out. So you need to highlight what makes your direction unique, and then you can attract clients who are specifically looking for what you offer.
[16:40] This also will help you attract a new audience. So a successful pivot often involves targeting a new audience or just expanding your reach. And rebranding helps you reach this audience by presenting a really fresh, relevant, attractive image. So if you are a life coach shifting to executive coaching, your rebranding needs to cater to those professional and corporate clients. And the new brand identity should reflect the professionalism and the corporate trust vibe that appeals to this demographic. Rebranding also just helps you build a lot of momentum and excitement. I know what it's like to be so all in on your business and feel like nobody else cares. If you want that buzz around your business, pivoting and rebranding can really help. Think about a well-executed rebrand where people are actually anticipating the brand. They're curious about what it's going to be. You can do this by launching your brand. You can have teasers, announcements, you can even do like a social media event.
[17:45] Build that momentum and keep your audience engaged and excited about these changes. The last reason rebranding is important for pivoting is because you want to be excited about your business. It's not just for your external audience.
[17:57] Rebranding has a significant internal effect. It reignites passion and motivation for what you're doing. It helps you see the vision for your business more clearly and see how what you believe in and what you're working towards is actually coming true. So if you're thinking about rebranding your business to pivot your approach, here's what I would do. Start with a brand audit. Just look at your brand's strengths and weaknesses. Get feedback from people. Understand where you stand.
[18:25] Identify opportunities for change, opportunities for improvement. Then work with a professional to define a clear brand strategy with messaging statements, including your values, your mission, your vision, your personality, that actually aligns with your high-level vision and goals. And this is going to serve as both the foundation for your rebranding efforts and the North Star guiding you as you continue making business decisions. Don't feel bad if you can't do this by yourself. That's why I'm here. I am really good at asking thoughtful questions, helping you figure out what you want and connecting the way that you care about
[19:05] your business to the visuals that you're using to actually market your business. Involve your clients in this process. Maybe you do surveys. Maybe you give them sneak peeks. Maybe you tease certain parts of the brand to them, but involving your clients will create that sense of ownership and loyalty and they'll feel more part of the journey. Lastly, launch your brand strategically. I'm probably going to do a whole other podcast about this because it's not good enough to just change your business if nobody knows about it. You need to announce your new brand strategically. Like I said, this might be a special event, a social media campaign, maybe there's a special offer, but make sure that all of your communication is aligned, that your messaging is clear and consistent and that your visuals are chef's kiss.
[19:52] Pivoting and rebranding are a necessary and exciting part of growing your business. It helps you change. It helps you grow. It helps you attract new audiences and build excitement. So as you navigate this journey, as you consider whether it's time to pivot or whether you need a little brand refresh, remember that your brand is the cornerstone of your business. So embrace the power of rebranding to actually move you towards the business that you want to have in the future. If you have any questions about rebranding your business and whether this is the right move for you as you evolve and pivot, send me a message and I'd love to chat more. Talk to you soon. We hope you enjoyed listening to Aesthetically Speaking. If you want to support the podcast, please leave us a nice review or connect with us on Instagram at Rebecca Peterson Studio.
[20:41] Music.
