(Disclaimer: The content provided here is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice 😉)

I was told:
“The most important real estate you can buy is your own domain name"

So I went ahead and bought leannehughes.com in 2011.

Year after year, I hesitated renewing it. I mean, I was a happy employee, I wasn't even thinking about running a business?!

⏩ Fast forward to 2019 when I had this idea to go all in on starting my consulting practice.

I was madly scrambling around trying to think of a business name (btw, I just
love naming things! I’ve got notebooks full of fun, gimmicky phrases).

But where I got stuck was this:
A business name dictated my future.

It’s a big fork in the road decision naming an enterprise.
- Do I want to be a solo operator forever?
- Will I want to build out a team?
- Do I want to scale my ideas (not myself)?

Now, as morbid as this sounds:
I’m okay if my business dies when I die.

I don't want to sell my business.
Also, I don't see myself ever retiring because I want to do work that I love, or at least contribute, as long as I'm around...

I felt that if I decided to include words like “team” or “consultancy” in the title, I’d be stuck/boxed in running those services.

Life is too short to pick a niche!
I want to work with different people, on different projects, in different places.

... And that's when I chose to go all in on leannehughes.com.

The good thing about having yourself as the brand as you don’t really need branding help.

- Your values become the company values.
- Your favourite things become part of your content strategy.

I can get away with weaving in my affection for Tom Cruise, sausage dogs, Peloton, long lunches, rooftop bars and roofless cars in my content.

I can talk about how proud I am being left handed.

--
Now the beauty of this, is it’s STILL POSSIBLE to niche.

I see the brand "Leanne Hughes" as the airport.

BUT there are planes jetting all over the place, taking different people to different destinations.

Each of my products/services are hyper-niched to solve particular problems, for particular people.

Example:
➡️ The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint book is for anyone who has some expertise to share, and is tapped on the shoulder to host a workshop but has no idea where to start.
➡️ First Time Facilitator podcast helps anyone leading workshops with building their confidence, and new ideas to try
➡️ Booked Out Facilitator helps consultants land five more workshops, for every workshop they deliver.
➡️ Leanne on Demand: Serves time-poor people globally who want to access my brain and riff on ideas, without having to jump on
➡️ Leanne’s Red Carpet Experiences: Serves founders who enjoy drinking champagne on rooftop bars, and executing on the ideas they’ve kept hidden way.

What are your thoughts on personal vs business branding?

#brand #solopreneur #ownyourdomain