Yes, this is the title of a book, but this is not about the book. I found the book after this phrase came to me one day while soul searching about my business and I Googled it to see if any others had had the same thought and were further along in exploring the concept. But, what do *I* mean when I say “I am my brand?”
My career was not particularly typical. My degree and most of my professional life was in the museum field – which I love. Before making Tabletop Teas my full time gig, I was a magazine editor. But, these jobs were still more typical than owning and running my tea business. I was part of a team. I had bosses. I had meetings. And, at the end of the day my success within the field was very dependant on my professional skills.
The hardest thing for me to learn, and still be learning, is that when you create a brand and sell a product under that brand, especially in today’s social media heavy online environment, is that my talent for being able to conceptualise and blend damn good teas is only a small part of the success equation. Let’s be honest, people can buy tea blends from other vendors, often cheaper because those vendors are larger and able to buy cheaper in bulk. But, what I have to offer that those other companies do not is ME.
This means that my face, my life, my ethics, and my idiosyncrasies all become part of the product. My product is geeky because I am. My product is activist because I am. And, more than that, I have to leverage all these aspects of my life behind my business. So, nothing I do is in a vacuum, really. I can edit and filter my life, of course, but I have to consider how everything I do can be used to promote my business and get my product in front of people.
That means that projects like Your Average Adventuring Show (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsMJ_kSK8S9sWA_-RDn9bvg) or my (hopefully) upcoming YouTube channel, become intertwined with Tabletop Teas. I have to mention my shop in as many spaces to as many faces as I can. I am a cottage industry business (who happens to be avoiding Etsy) with no real advertising budget. And, it seems very counter intuitive sometimes, but I cannot be shy or humble or timid. If I don’t hustle and put myself out there in every way possible, then I make no sales and I cannot grow my audience.
And, at the end of the day, yes people are buying some pretty fantastic teas, if I do say so myself, but they are also buying the concept of a middle-aged geeky mother who believes love is loves, black lives matter, our bodies our choices, is awkward, loves history and Ren faires, has an unusual sense of style, plays D&D, etc etc. They are buying damn good teas from SOMEONE and not SOME PLACE. You are getting a great product that is created by someone who gets you, who could be your friend, who is as interesting as she is talented at tea blending.
At the end of the day…I AM my brand.