"Being an entrepreneur, to me, is being someone that perseveres, takes risks, and looks at everything in life as an opportunity"
Blaire Brown is a Brand Strategist that specializes in helping entrepreneurs and small businesses get their businesses off the ground. She provides clients with top-notch elevated branding and marketing insight that is both forward-thinking and customer-centric, with thoughtful custom strategies put into place to achieve her clients’ goals. By having Blaire as a consultant, business owners see an increase in brand awareness and perceived value among target audiences. She brings a hands-on personal approach that big agencies oftentimes do not care to do. For an involved business owner, this is a game-changing value.
Blaire recently launched a Focused Branding online course that guides new female solopreneurs with brand messaging strategies so they can consistently attract their ideal clients. Prior to starting her agency, her career has been primarily based in the fashion industry, focused on marketing and public relations across major contemporary brands, and operating entrepreneurial ventures.
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Thank you so much for giving us your time! Before we begin, could you introduce yourself to our readers and take us through what exactly your company does and what your vision is for its future?
Blaire Brown: Hi Everyone! I am a Brand Strategist that specializes in helping female entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. I provide clients with top-notch elevated branding and marketing insight that is both forward-thinking and customer-centric, with thoughtful custom strategies put into place to achieve my clients’ goals. By having me as a consultant, business owners see an increase in brand awareness and perceived value among target audiences.
I build out a customized strategy plans based on client goals and where they want to be. I put a lot of research into these calls so when we hop on, it’s focused and gives clear guidance. It’s like a road map for entrepreneurs! Because I bring a hands-on personal approach, it sets me apart from big agencies.
Another process I used to help my clients, specifically for female solopreneurs that are looking to consistently attract their ideal client’s DIY style, I created a course called Focused Branding. It helps guide them to put their branding into place so they can easily build out their marketing strategies confidently. Nobody likes wasting time and money throwing marketing strategies against the wall to see if it sticks. Once they go through the course and put the strategies I teach into place, they can be confident they’ve set a solid foundation for themselves to move forward and grow their businesses.
I plan on building out my entrepreneurial resources to help others grow their businesses seamlessly. Prior to starting my agency, my career has been primarily based in the fashion industry, focused on marketing and public relations across major contemporary brands, and operating entrepreneurial ventures.
NO child ever says I want to be a CEO/entrepreneur when I grow up. What did you want to be and how did you get where you are today?
Blaire Brown: As a child, I always dreamt of being a writer and a fashion designer. I am so fortunate to have found my passion at such a young age because over the course of my career growth I have been able to do both. I started my first business as a handbag designer at age 16 and ran this company for 8 years. When I was in high school, it was recognized by Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen and sold to a global audience.
After graduating high school, I took my sewing machine with me to my dorm and went off to study both fashion merchandising and marketing communications with a focus on fashion journalism at the Fashion Institute of Technology. During school and after, I worked in various capacities across the fashion industry. As an entrepreneur with my own business, covering shows at New York Fashion Week as a writer, in product development for scarves, and marketing & PR across 8 footwear brands at a large company– and most of the time I was bartending on the side as well.
While working in corporate, I started my own Amazon FBA business selling unicorn party supplies (ha!) because I knew I wanted to have ownership and freedom over my life. The want and need to continue my entrepreneurial journey kept tapping at my heart until I took the full leap into pursuing entrepreneurship full time. Eventually, I committed to taking the leap which took me to attend the American University of Paris for a non-fiction creative writing program.
I worked as a freelance writer, continued to bartend to make ends meet at the earlier stages of my business, and then finally took my skillset as a consultant to help small businesses with their marketing initiatives. I then realized my true passion was in helping other entrepreneurs and small businesses– because I am such a believer in pursuing your passion, and doing whatever it takes to get there. There’s nothing more rewarding to me than helping others succeed in reaching their goals to move their businesses and dreams forward into fruition!
Tell us something about yourself that others in your organization might be surprised to know.
Blaire Brown: At one point living in NYC, you could say I had hit rock bottom and was in a desperate state. I had to couch surf between acquaintance’s homes and lived out of my storage unit as I was getting back on my feet. During this time, no one outside of this small circle would have known because I was so determined to pursue my dreams. While this was going on, I was still attending VIP events at New York Fashion Week- no one would have ever known what double life I was living during that “season” of my life.
Many readers may wonder how to become an entrepreneur but what is an entrepreneur? How would you define it?
Blaire Brown: Being an entrepreneur, to me, is being someone that perseveres, takes risks, and looks at everything in life as an opportunity. We’re constantly problem-solving and finding ways to make other’s lives better by providing a service or product that provides a major value. Not everyone is built to be an entrepreneur, but if you are, it’s almost impossible to ignore the calling to go after it.
What is the importance of having a supportive and inclusive culture?
Blaire Brown: It is incredibly important to have a supportive and inclusive culture. Putting different views and ideas together at a table to create and build new things is exciting, and the only opportunity for true growth. If you allow others at your business to express their views, new ideas, and suggestions, you’ll be opening the doors for major opportunities you may have never seen before. It takes a true leader to recognize and encourage employees to bring their uniqueness to the table, and to challenge old systems with new thoughts.
As an entrepreneur, I find it wildly important to surround yourself with other entrepreneurs and thought-leaders. Entrepreneurship can be an isolating journey because most of the time others just don’t “get” what you’re working towards. When you’re at the beginning stages and people don’t necessarily see your vision, it’s especially challenging to keep moving forward as guaranteed setbacks arrive here and there. With a community of entrepreneurs cheering you on, you’ll feel less alone and supported. Chances are, you may even learn from them– and provide your own help in the future!
How can a leader be disruptive in the post covid world?
Blaire Brown: In the post-covid world, it’s especially important now to proactively think of ways to pandemic-proof your business. Before covid, most people never thought we’d live in a time like we are. Now as a business leader, you must think even more about how to protect your employees, your business, and yourself from any potential worst-case scenarios. Oftentimes, this relies heavily on thinking of ways to make your business functional and scalable online more so than in-person. Think of ways to streamline your business model, offset costs of supplies that are consequently skyrocketing, and leading your team to success– even from a mental health standpoint.
If a 5-year-old asked you to describe your job, what would you tell them?
Blaire Brown: I’d tell them: I help shops show off what they sell, and make them really pretty on displays. I help them find ways to sell it to people all around the world so that they make a lot of money.
Leaders are usually asked about their most useful qualities but let’s change things up a bit. What is your most useless talent?
Blaire Brown: Hahaha- this question is awesome. Probably my ability to find creative places to store my massive shoe collection. I used to work in footwear, so I have a lot of shoes! The fact I was able to fit over 200 pairs in my tiny NYC apartment is a major talent, but also: probably the most useless.
Thank you so much for your time but before we finish things off, we do have one more question. If you wrote a book about your life until today, what would the title be?
Blaire Brown: From Falling to Flying: the Adventures of Bringing Your Dreams to Life
Mike Weiss, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Blaire Brown for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Blaire Brown or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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