Everyone possesses a personal brand, often unconsciously, and authenticity is the cornerstone of its development. To construct a compelling brand, delve into understanding your target audience, studying competitors, and identifying the unique aspects that set you apart. But the question remains: how can we embark on this journey?
In this week’s episode, I sit down with Kim Russo, Founder of On Brand Designs. We explored her journey, starting with packaging design and transitioning to a full focus on branding. We discuss the lessons she learned along the way about establishing systems and processes to run a successful business. Additionally, we delved into the importance of connecting with people and joining a mastermind group that can help take the business to the next level. Tune in for insights that will elevate your branding designs!
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Taking Your Brand to The Next Level With Kim Russo
Welcome to Action’s Antidotes, your antidote to the mindset that keeps you settling for less. Today, we’re going to generally talk about branding. I think we’ve all heard the phrase, “You are your own brand,” or some kind of iteration on that. My guest today, Kim Russo, is founder of On Brand Designs and also an expert in transitioning people from one level to another in general.
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Kim, welcome to the program.
Thanks for having me. It’s great to be here.
And thank you for taking time out. So what is that phrase, I know I didn’t probably say it right, the idea that each one of us is a brand of some capacity?
Basically, what we’re saying is we’re all our personal brand so when you’re talking about small business, especially when you’re growing a business, building a business, and being the face of your business, your brand is your personal brand as well, and that’s something that I do strive to bring into account with my clients. So I do a whole strategy process. And, in that, I’m looking at target audience, I’m looking at competitors, but I’m also looking at you, what are your likes, what do you love, who as you as a persona, that shows up in your brand.
So, does it ever work out that someone is trying to be a brand that just isn’t them? So, for example, someone might say, “I wanna do this,” but if it’s too much in conflict with their natural personality, you kind of have to tell them, “Hey, wait a second, I know this is the brand that’s gonna sell this product but, sorry, that ain’t you. That’s not who you are. You might wanna go back to the drawing board and think it through again.”
Yeah, and I think it goes both ways. There’s that and there’s also pushing too hard to be like somebody else.
Yeah.
So it’s maybe not following your own brand but it’s also trying to mimic somebody else without pulling in your own self to it is sometimes something I come across, because, at the end of the day, you have to love it and you have to feel it and you have to live it. It definitely helps with the cliché, like know and trust.
They’re going to get to know you and know and trust you with how you’re showing up in your brand. Share on XI do often work with a lot of uplevels so when people are kind of stagnant in where they are with their brand and need kind of a refresh or there’s too many things going on with it that’s confusing, too many fonts, too many colors, and you’re just confusing who you’re trying to attract and who you are, is a lot of times, I am going to have to come and kind of simplify and really hone in on who they are but also I like to keep an essence of their original brand. So I always say to people who are starting out there’s going to be something in your brand that is going to hold true to you, to be cohesive and give you longevity, but you can always uplevel it, you can always change it. So, if I’m redesigning something that is just not working for somebody, it’s not who they are, it’s not even attracting who they want, I always find some sort of — maybe it’s the way that their logo was originally stacked, for example. I try to have that look like it’s — it’s just an evolution. It still looks like it could be part of the same brand but it’s an evolution of it. Or, although I do you like to do many different variations of a logo so that you have it for different uses and elements but holding on to some sort of essence, whether it’s a color that now is just like a tiny accent color, still keeping something to carry through for your brand to keep it that cohesive and longevity while still refreshing it, keeping it new. And also people change. Even myself. I’ve kept my logo since I’ve started because I’m still in love with it and that’s one of the perks of being a brand designer, although sometimes it can be hard to design for yourself. I really understood me more than anybody else could and still love it but my brand has evolved immensely since I started five years ago and so I’ve added things to my brand but still keeping it on brand.
And when you say keeping on brand, does that also includes some of your, say, outside of business personal behavior? Like is it possible to ruin your brand if, say you have a bunch of social media posts or even have interactions with people within your community that are extremely inconsistent with the brand that you’ve built?
I don’t think I’ve come across anybody as extreme as ruining your brand. As far as maybe getting involved into politics or social issues, that would be something that could. As long as you’re consistent and I’m always a pro for neutral, appease to everybody so you won’t hurt anybody so I definitely — I mean, even me, I have a separate, not that I post much but I have a separate personal account than I do my business persona and so I do keep some things separate. But at the end of the day, I’m pushing my brand and so I do cross over a lot, but I do tell people like keep personal issues, keep political and social issues out but also be authentic. This whole year too, we’re coming into it where people don’t want the cookie cutter, they don’t want the fake, they want the real, they want the stumble your words, you’re not perfect but you’re doing better than I am so how can I work with you? How can I be in your space, in your sphere? But people want to see what are you doing on the weekends. They’re intrigued by all the things that you do. So as long as you’re keeping on brand, so, for example, I have a client who’s a great social media. She is a female contractor construction, interior designer, she does all of that. Above and beyond just interior design, she’s doing the actual renovations. And so, typically, that’s a male-dominated industry but she’s also taking her social media and she is sharing baking cookies at home and because it’s this whole holistic way that you show up where it’s the caretaker of the home, it’s the aesthetics of baking in a beautiful kitchen, it’s also showing that you do more things in life than just work.
Yeah, because I know for a while it seemed like there was this temptation to be about one thing and only about one thing and to have everything you ever post, everything you ever do, everything you ever present to anyone all be about the same exact thing. And what you’re saying is now people want to see your whole self, even if your whole self has a completely different aspect. Maybe you have your job and you’re doing something similar, graphic design, something creative, but maybe you also just, I don’t know, going on bike rides or doing certain activities with your friends that are like so different but it shows a whole person.
Yeah, and you want to be relatable.
So, if I’m going to get on a call with you, I’m going to research a little about you on your social media, on your website, I want to know about you so when I’m getting on the call, I’m communicating something that we have in common and that’s kind of like that icebreaker to make somebody feel comfortable with you and the same vice versa. They’ll come on to me and be like, “Oh, I just saw you posted for this live webinar that you have going on. I saw this about you. What’s going on? Tell me about it,” and it just opens up conversation to feel more comfortable with somebody. And a lot of times, I don’t even have to show my work, it’s just showing up with personality and that’s all it is. Another thing that I do, I’m a big proponent of is like having good photos. So, having a really good brand shoot to show you in that side too so your professional side. So it’s having a mix. You don’t want to just be all no style, no knowing what you actually do, you want to have a mix of it too. So setting up a brand shoot of the person that you’re trying to attract, the person that you are so, for example, I just did a brand shoot and went to places that I love, I wore my favorite outfit, I kind of exhibited this lifestyle that I want my audience to also live and that’s how we’ll connect and relate. And side note, as a web designer, having great photos makes my job a little easier.
And so, on your website or on anyone’s website, you recommend having photos of yourself, someone having photos of themselves, because I see a lot of websites that you don’t or you see one photo when you click the About section or something, but I even see some that have no photos of specific people behind the website, it’s just information about what the service is.
Yeah. Well, it also depends on what you’re offering and what your service is. So, I like to do a mix of showing up your face in different settings. I don’t really love to use stock photos so something that I always recommend to you if I have a client that’s going on a brand shoot is to have the photographer take photos of the scene around you or even just your hands working or doing whatever profession you have, even if it’s the back of you so it’s not your front face everywhere, but that there is a consistency in how the images are showing up. So, for example, I have pictures on my website of my computer and it’s the same style of photography, it’s the same photo finishing and edit as all of my other brand photos so that it all aligns. Now, I have two different brand shoots that I use with another but there’s accessories that match the rest of the images to help keep everything, again, cohesive and on brand. And so you don’t have to show up with your front face all the time but having something that represents what you do. So if you’re a business coach that, for example, meets with people one on one in person, you want to have somebody that’s sitting next to you that looks like you’re working with them.
Oh, yeah.
If you’re a homecare health taker and you give out medicine to somebody every day, get some close-in shots of you organizing pills. If you’re an artist, paint. If you’re a podcaster and that’s what you do, get pictures with you with your microphone. Even just get pictures of your microphone without you in it, that’s the same, matching the same filters or finishing that your photos have to kind of keep it all looking like it’s coming from the same source.
So people want to see you doing what you do, pictures of you, and, hopefully, they’re pictures of you looking happy doing it. Because it will defeat the purpose if you’re like, okay, this person is doing their job but they look so miserable or so, you know, whatever.
Yeah, and plan ahead for marketing. So I have a funny story that I’ll share. So last shoot I did and I recommend other people to do this, I had a blank wall behind me and I knew I was going to be doing some marketing for this course that’s launching and reading text above me and pointing at things so I have some photos where I’m pointing up, I’m pointing my finger up right now, and a friend of mine saw the photos as soon as I got them before I did and they sort of text her ads with them and she was like, “Why do you keep saying you’re number one?” I died laughing. I was like, well, because I am, but, no, I’m just setting myself up to use these photos for purposes of marketing.
Yeah.
Just kind of planning ahead and having all of that and going that route rather than stock photo, but I do use stock photos and always add like a personal touch to them so that it matches within your brand.
And so for like a brand photo shoot, how long should someone set aside if they’re going to do one of those? Is it like a whole day affair or is it something someone can knock out in like an hour and 90 minutes?
So I’d say, again, I have photographers to refer to that are better for this conversation but for me when I’ve worked with clients, we’ve done many shoots which have been about an hour. Less than that, you’re not getting much variation. So I’ve done shoots for myself that are 30 minutes, I’m just getting a few headshots and that’s just because I need those for specific marketing materials for promotions. If you’re going to be doing your lifestyle brand shoot, I’d say a couple hours, at least two because you want to also get a few outfit changes. If you’re going to be going through the effort of doing that, you also don’t want to be on your website and all in a green shirt on every single page.
Yeah, because then people will ask that question, like, “Why do you always wear the same shirt everywhere you go?”
You don’t want it to be so repetitive too. Then you’ve got a bunch of images that look the same. So having a variety is definitely — so I recommend at least three outfits per photo shoot. And then another thing that I strongly suggest and I have a VIP package too where I kind of go through the whole branding system with you is that you don’t do your photos until you’ve established your brand’s colors and look and feel. Because I’ve had some clients that insist on doing it backwards and then we go to do their branding and it doesn’t align with the photos. The colors are just competing and the look too is competing with what they’re articulating that they want in their brand. So it’s kind of a whole holistic system that you have to look for to do and you don’t want to jump ahead and then have to go back and adjust based on that.
And when you talk about the brand colors, what goes into that decision? Because I’ve read some materials about the whole idea that certain colors are associated with certain emotions, like red with power and green with being kind of more earthy or something like that. What makes a color a good color for a brand?
So there’s definitely a whole psychology with it and there’s different charts that each time I’m working on a brand I’ll look up and make sure that we’re conveying the right message. But one thing that I do whenever I’m creating brands, I create a mood board and, within that, we’re capturing images from what the client likes, what the persona of their target audience is, and then I’m also creating a whole page of competitor brand marks so seeing what other colors are used in that industry a lot.
Oh, yeah.
Because although you don’t want to blend in with everybody, you definitely want to stand out, you also want to make sense for who you are. It can be a little bit more ambiguous for somebody like me as a brand designer or a coach or a consultant when you’re kind of in a saturated market and it’s more of a personal brand, it’s a little bit more flexible to create a color palette, but if you are more of a commercial-based industry so if you’re a restaurant, if you are an air conditioning company, if you’re a tech company, you want to kind of be within the family of what makes sense.
You want to be out of nowhere, like I keep thinking about all those energy drinks, like Monster and how they all kind of have a similar vibe to their logos and everything like that and what it would be like to all of a sudden have like an energy drink but have your logo be like something out of a yoga studio or something like that and it would just be like, okay, it’s different but it’s not in the family.
That’s actually a good example of how to show how something can be so different but the same thing. So, it’s who you are attracting. So Alani Nu and Monster, they’re both energy drinks. Alani Nu, I’m more attracted to than, say, my boyfriend is, he’ll go pick up a Monster and I’ll go pick up Alani Nu because it’s targeted towards a more feminine look. So, that’s when you definitely consider who you want your audience to be. But they’re also using bright colors to still compete on the shelf against the other bright colors.
So it kind of makes some sense in the family but it also, obviously, is like appealing to a different audience, and that actually made me think of one of the recent branding successes that I’ve recently seen, which is the Liquid Death cans of water that you see everywhere.
Oh, that look like beer.
Yeah, it’s like some genius figures, it’s like I see people drinking them most commonly at places where a lot of other people are drinking beer but they just want to only have water and they have that and it kind of makes them blend in even though everyone knows that it’s water at this point.
Yeah, it’s kind of like a subconscious feeling. I actually was at Red Rocks for a concert two years ago and took one of the buses from downtown Denver and remember my friend and I, she just missed the window to buy a drink because it was like 9:45 or something, they stopped. It was our first time, so we go to get on the bus and like, “Oh, they’ve got beer, we’ll have a beer for the ride home.” Oh, it’s just water. I mean, it’s still cool but it was not what we were expecting.
Yeah, it is something completely different when you first see it. It’s befuddling in some ways because there’s this logical level where I said like, “Well, why would someone pay $4 for a can of water when it’s free?” but I think the idea is like what you’re paying for is like a feeling, the same way —
The packaging.
— when you have like a brand or anything, you’re really buying the person who creates that. When someone signs up to your course, they’re buying you, not the course itself, in a way.
Oh, yeah. I mean, the market for everything is so saturated. Now, with what I do teaching designers and creatives how to build a business is a little bit more niche down, there’s not a ton of people out there, but it’s not like this is something new, everybody’s out there so you’re really just buying the person and trusting the person. In my market research, everybody too going back to the original thing that we talked about being authentic, people want to buy with somebody that they can relate to know and have access to. They want to know you’re a real person and they can get on a face to face with you and know that there’s also struggles that you faced and how did you overcome them. So, yeah, definitely kind of pivoted from packaging to showing up.
That’s a really good segue. I want to make sure we get a chance to talk a bit about your story, about how you got to where you are. What made you decide that you wanted to create On Brand Designs? What made you decide that you wanted to help people with these branding issues and do it in the structure that you have created?
Yeah, well, it kind of goes back to always being creative but there was always a side of me that wanted more and had this little bit of an entrepreneurial spirit and I think it’s from seeing my father work in different industries and have his own business. But I knew I was creative and that was just like a divine talent that I was given to be able to create and I have this visual capability to see something in my brain, in my head before I even produce it, which is developed over years and years, 41 now, I’ve been designing and working in the industry since college so over 20 years. But I started in packaging design and didn’t intend to be there, kind of came across it when I was in college, I went to FIT and it was one of the programs for bachelor’s degree and they only accepted about 20-something students and it was the only bachelor’s program in the whole country for packaging design and I’m a very competitive person, I was a swimmer my whole entire childhood, and wanted to get in so bad and had to kind of fight my way in there and worked in packaging design in New York City for about 10 years, working on big brands, but I was always part of a team where I didn’t get to work on projects that I wanted to. I didn’t have necessary control or I would work on something that I thought came up so cool and then next person would take it and it would evolve to something that was out of my control, and while I loved still being able to work on these big brands and go into the grocery store and see stuff that I’ve touched a little bit of, I kind of always had this drive of being able to do it on my own but I never went to business school, I just went to art school. There was a side of me that was like, okay, this is something I wanted to do but I probably need a business partner because I’m just going to be the creative one and, as I’ve gotten older and then I worked at a print shop where I was doing everything for a long time and it kind of just segued into me being on my own and I kind of had to figure it out myself. So, I always freelanced throughout my whole career. So when I was working in these different packaging firms, I always started on the side to get my side hustle freelance and some of those clients are still with me now 15 years later, as now in my business. Those are the few old ones that I won’t let go of because they’re kind of like family now.
Yeah, for sure.
Doing packaging, you have to be consistent so there’s a lot of like brand rollouts where you’re doing multiples — for example, Kleenex, multiple tissue boxes in different shapes and sizes or different beauty products, Gillette razors was a big brand that I worked on. There’s a gazillion SKUs for that. And so it helps to keep me on brand and that’s kind of how I came up with my name and I still do a little bit of packaging but I really fell in love with creating a brand from start to finish. So I taught myself web design, I figured out how to really strategize and branding first to be more successful in the design process but it took me about two years into starting my business that I was like this is not going to be sustainable if I continue the way that I am and, by that, I mean I had no systems set up. I was saying before, I had no calendar, no booking, no sales strategy, no proposal strategy. I was one-offing when people somehow contact me through word of mouth, taking days to try to figure out, tormenting myself, I don’t know what to charge, and it took me a few years and then finally I was like I was working nonstop and didn’t have much to show for it and so started to network. This is after COVID. So I kind of started my business the year before COVID and then was kind of like I don’t know what to do. And so I invested in myself. I bought my first course and it was a huge investment for me but I knew I needed a change. I knew I needed something. And it wasn’t necessarily the place for me. It was marketed for creatives and it really wasn’t, but I learned a lot, and what it did do which I don’t regret is it opened up the door for me to go and keep seeking out better help. And one-on-one coaches, the right Masterminds, the right groups to network in, and that’s what totally elevated and skyrocketed my business to where I have a team now, I figured out what I need help with from a team, and all of those things that I learned, which there were some coaches that didn’t work out, they didn’t understand my business, they only got me so far and then I just surpassed.
Yeah, you had to move on to something else, yeah.
Yeah, so what I decided to do is like, okay, now I’ve achieved this, and I still have growth to do because I want to get to the next level, but I want to help other creatives get to the level that I’m at without investing as much time and money as I did.
Yeah, that makes sense. And so when you talk about these creatives and people you were trying to help kind of get to your level and you talked about networking, finding coaches, finding the right people, Mastermind groups, what would you say are the people that anyone listening that’s trying to get to that level need in their lives? What would be like maybe the top three or five you need to have a person for this, you need to have a person for that?
So, a VA just to handle any sort of admin tasks, organizing and automating your proposals, your pricing packages, you’re getting just like contract setup, I never used to have contracts. Just somebody that can handle the day to day like client intake of following up with clients, helping with that kind of stuff. I’m at the point too now where I’ve got design help. I always was passionate about art directing because I do love to do it myself and nothing goes out of my studio without me at least touching the file or tweaking something, but because I’ve done this so long and I know what needs to be done, I’m able to articulate and teach too at the same time somebody on my team to help be my hands so that I can take on more projects. And then, for me, social media help. That’s something that’s — I don’t know if it’s a generation thing or just a me thing but I love creating graphics for social media, I don’t like sitting there posting and I’ll come up with the concepts and idea but I just want somebody else to physically do it so I have an internal social media help.
Well, that’s a good thing to recognize because I think one of the things that a lot of people realize is that any business you’re doing, depending on what it is, you’re going to have a lot of tasks and then you’re going to start to realize over time that, “I notice I really enjoy doing this task, I notice I really don’t enjoy, I kind of start dreading that task,” and so maybe it’s about finding out, okay, what’s the ones that I’m dreading, what’s the ones I’m not feeling and kind of doing what you can to outsource that particular part of the job. What about coaches and Masterminds? Is there a certain type of person that people need to find, just for that kind of general type of support, whether it be like a coach you pay for or just a community of people who are on a similar or somewhat similar path that you can just kind of bounce ideas off of or share struggles with and say, “Oh, yeah, I know when this happened, I’ve tried this, I’ve tried that”?
Yeah, so I have a few and, honestly, that’s been the game changer in my business.
And also showing up to local networking groups. So there’s a ton of virtual ones that I’m involved in and that’s great because you can just show up on Zoom but, for example, though it can be exhausting, I have a holiday party tonight for a networking group or a local magazine, tomorrow night for a networking group, and then same thing and last week was the same thing, I had three, and every week I’ve shown up to something, I’ve gotten a client off of it, whether it’s somebody in the group that’s new that needs help or they’re referring me to somebody.
And so being involved in Facebook groups, where, again, I’m not on social media a lot and I’m sure you’d be happy to hear that I don’t check my social often, but I do have this whole team of cheerleaders that are in my communities and multiple communities that they’re going to see somebody is looking for brand design or logo design or website design, I’m going to have three, four, five people recommending me and so because that many people are in my court, whether I’ve worked with them or they’ve already referred a client to me I’ve worked with, they’re knowing me because I’ve gotten to know them over many different events, they’re going to recommend me and then that person is going to pick me over anybody else because I’ve just been recommended by five women. So that’s been huge. And that’s something I do talk about a little bit more in depth in my course is how to put yourself out there and network and show up is really being visible.
And so when you show up at events in your local community, do you need to be, one, on brand, as in on whatever brand you show up as part of that brand and then do you need to show up consistently? Because I think many of us that have hit some of these circuits, we’ve all encountered that person that shows up once and that’s fine, that’s great, but then when you start to run into the same person and say, “Oh, I ran into you a couple of weeks ago,” “Oh, yeah, I remember meeting you back in Startup Week in September,” all of a sudden, now you start to kind of know that person without having to put too terribly much effort into it, for lack of a better word, because like, “Oh, this person just happens to show up to these types of events that I always see them at.”
Yeah, consistency is huge. I mean, people forget you if you don’t. But I say just show up as you. That goes back to the whole being authentic and building relationships and, sometimes, I have friends within these groups and it takes a while to actually figure out what they actually do, but I’m going to refer them to me because I know what great of a person they are and they’re going to refer me, but you’re all like-minded, you all have a goal and you all have an understanding and so, yeah, absolutely, the more you show up, the more somebody gets to know you and they’re gonna refer you over somebody else 100 percent, or use you over somebody else. And it can be exhausting but it definitely pays off. And some of my closest friends now are females that I’ve met in these networking groups because, again, they understand the pains of being an entrepreneur. So I’m in an amazing one called The Dames, which I know you’ve heard of. There’s a virtual and we also have a local chapter here in Charleston. That group changed my life because they have multiple virtual check-ins and trainings throughout the week that you can come in and connect with people, but then, once a month, we’re doing something locally and these people have become some of my closest friends. We sit in a circle and we talk about, “Okay, what are your goals? What are any problems that you’re having that we can help solve? And then what’s a big ask?” and that’s the big thing that I’m actually working on that a lot of these groups try to push for is don’t be scared to ask for what you need. You’re never going to get it if you don’t ask.
Yeah, that’s a hard one for a lot of people too because there’s this idea in a lot of people’s head that if you are asking for stuff, you’re either showing that you’re not doing your job well or you’re being a burden on someone.
Yeah, but vulnerability is super attractive, for a lack of a better way to explain it.
People want to know that you’re real and having similar problems to them. And help. People do want to help. Share on XI know I’m the first person to jump in line then. Again, why I created a course. I just want to help. Again, why I do branding that helps starts businesses every day is I want to help people. I forget to ask for help myself but when I do, it’s life changing.
However many years back, in the beginning of your life, even when you’re a teenager and the only thing you’re doing is asking someone in your class out on a date, it’s like, well, the answer is no if you don’t ask the question. And it’s the same thing with asking for business help, if you never speak up, you’re not going to get what you want essentially.
Yep, exactly. Work in progress.
And then so does the beginning of all this involve knowing yourself and knowing who you are? Because it sounds like you have to show up authentically but you also have to show up in the groups that makes sense for you and if you don’t know who you are yet or if you end up in the wrong setting, it could end up not working out quite as well?
Oh, yeah. You have to be clear on what you want. Not maybe in the moment. I mean, I’ve been asked and put in the hot seat what you’re asking at the moment, I’m like, “Oh, shoot,” and then something will just come to my mind and I’ll ask for it but it is absolutely, there’s been networking groups that I am 100 percent not a part of because the level of commitment that I can’t offer. There’s ones that you’re like you have to give referrals and you have to do this many and you have to meet this quota and it just becomes like a second job.
Oh, yeah. I mean, I’ve seen those too.
Yeah, and I know that’s not my place. For some people, that’s where they want to be, it’s consistent for them, that works for them. For me, I want to be able to put into it what I get out of it. And trying something out more than once, you could go to something and maybe feel like you don’t belong but if you try it again and you start to connect with people, and bring a friend too. I mean, that’s always a good way to kind of break the ice when you’re going to something is having that kind of sidekick to help you and support you when you’re — it can be scary to go into a room with new people.
Oh, yeah.
Also bringing people, if you’re like a seasoned person that like myself that is involved with a lot of networking and is at the point where I’m comfortable walking into a room where I don’t know anybody, if there’s somebody that you know that’s scared of doing that, invite them along with you. It’s exactly what I’m actually doing tonight, bringing somebody new to this new group to — she’s growing her business, I’m helping her, let’s get you out there and I’ll be your security blanket for the evening and then once you meet the next person, you’re going to be feeling more comfortable to shine. But if you could try it a few times and you just feel like it’s not your place, then don’t bother.
Yeah. I mean, it’s this balance because you don’t want to go for so long in one event that’s not working out for you that you’re not meeting your own needs, you’re not taking care of yourself, but you also, like you said before, you don’t want to give up after just one particular event because it could have been just an off day and I even know of certain groups here in Denver where the attendance and the type of energy, the type of vibe you get at a certain group could vary quite a bit from week to week, month to month, whatever, just depending on who happened to show up, who happened to not, what happened to go on.
Yeah. And just like how we met, I’m going to give a shout-out to Becky Clabaugh, she’s got a group that she meets, I think it’s like every other month or every month, the 6-Figure Focus Group, and that’s how we met and I love showing up to that as much as I can because I love Becky. I love her and the people she brings in, the community that she’s built, and I am going to that 100 percent and you never know what’s going to happen. We connected, I’ve connected with other people just by showing up, but it’s Becky who’s bringing me in so that’s another way to get involved with groups. I mean, The Dames too, our local chapter president, she’s one of my good friends and love her and she’s part of the reason why I’m in it but also the woman, Megan, who runs the whole entire community, she treats everybody like they’re your friend and she personally takes her time to make sure I’m okay and I’m where I need to be. And so having that person be a full community, not just a networking event that you’re swapping business cards but it’s an actual community that you feel a part of and heard and seen is really important.
Yeah, and I would love to give a shout-out to anyone out there who is putting in their time and effort into creating community and bringing people together. We do live in an era where there’s kind of record issues with loneliness and isolation and I actually consider anyone that’s taking the effort, anyone like Becky, to be kind of a hero right now, to be 100 percent honest, because there are so many people out there who are just craving community and craving exactly what you said, the thing that’s not just about, okay, exchange business cards, okay, who can be my power partner, blah, blah, blah, but actually does care about you as a whole individual, asks how are you doing, how was your last week, your last month, however long it is, and what are you struggling with.
Yeah. And it doesn’t have to be the same industry, although I do, I’ve connected with other designers that are the similar level to me and we’ll just schedule a call and just do like a branding brain dump, complain, vent, whatever, and we could typically help with great suggestions because we understand each other, but then I also have partners that we never refer anybody to each other because there really hasn’t been that opportunity but we check in all the time and like this is what I’m going through, this is what you’re going through, like try to resolve it and nothing to do with my industry, nothing to do with their industry but we just, from life experience, can help each other out.
Yeah, because there are life experiences that go, maybe the similarities are a bit deeper than that superficial level, like, okay, maybe they haven’t worked with the same tools as you, they haven’t worked with the same exact person but the idea of, say, the uncertainty, the idea of someone didn’t pay their invoice and just ran off, all these things that are common to anyone that puts themselves out there and tries to build something meaningful to themselves on their own as opposed to just, as I always refer to, as living by the script, which is kind of staying where you are, staying with what’s safe and what’s easy even if it’s not that inspiring.
Yeah, exactly.
So, what’s next? You said you just launched this new course for On Brand Design. What’s your ultimate impact that you’re having on humanity, I guess?
Yeah. Also, the course is called The Profitable Brand Designer and that’s just to help creatives become profitable and learn from what I’ve done and you kind of have it both, you can be creative and run a business. That dream of me having a business partner, I don’t need it because I figured it out myself and it’s super empowering to have that, and so I want other creatives to have that same feeling and that same level of success but my ultimate passion is serving in brand design and creating graphics and creatives for people that have the vision but don’t know how to put it out into life. Always helping business uplevel throughout their creatives and their branding, and I’m really focusing in 2024 more on the VIP experiences so having a team helps to be able to serve everybody at different levels but, for me personally, to be the most intentional with creating a brand, really focusing in on just a few clients of me personally to really help with that super elevated experience and have a really intentional brand.
And if anyone out there listening is hoping to get a hold of you or talk to you about whether it be your course or building a brand, what would be the best way for someone to reach you or find you online?
Yeah, so onbranddesigns.com is my website and I have a form to get you set up into my system but then I have links all over the place for calendars, to book on my calendar, and Instagram is a good place to reach me too, send me a DM and I’m not on there a ton but I’m on there at least daily.
Yeah. I mean, a DM doesn’t take that long.
So it’s @on_brand_designs but where there’s a space, there’s an underscore.
Excellent. Well, Kim, thank you so much for joining us today on Action’s Antidotes, telling us a bit about your story, how you got from that level where you kind of knew you wanted a little bit more personal touch on it and what that brought you in your business and how to learned how to do the business end of it given that a lot of people are creative and not everyone necessarily has the knack for all the business-y stuff about it. And also telling us a little bit about how we can think through our personal brands and live a personal brands and get yourself out there in the places we need to get to to make the connections that will help us get to where we want to be going.
Yeah. Exactly. I used to say I like to make things look pretty but I can do so much more than that.
Hopefully, everyone out there is ready to do more and I would like to thank everyone out there listening who is ready to do more for tuning in to Action’s Antidotes. Hope you’re getting inspired and hope you’re ready to bring your life to the next level.
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About Kim Russo
CEO, Lead Brand + Graphic Designer, VIP Brand Strategist, Creator of ‘The Profitable Brand Designer’ Course
Kim Russo stands as the visionary force behind On Brand Designs, an exclusive design studio nestled in the vibrant heart of Charleston, SC. As the Founder, CEO, and Lead Designer, she not only shapes visual experiences but also empowers her clients and team.
Kim is also the creator of ‘The Profitable Brand Designer’ course teaching creatives how to switch their mindset from freelancer to entrepreneur and create a profitable design business.
She began her career working for top packaging design agencies in NYC after getting her degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology in packaging design. In 2018 after spending her entire career in corporate, Kim decided she was ready to make a bigger impact on a smaller scale. She left the “Big Apple,” and started On Brand Designs, which launched in September 2018. Kim moved to Charleston in 2020 and has been focused on growing her business ever since.
Her areas of expertise include brand strategy, brand identity, website design, print graphics and packaging design. She loves creating scroll-stopping designs for female entrepreneurs that make you say out loud, “ooo, I love that!”.
When she is not busy working, Kim enjoys crafting, painting pet portraits and laying on the beach or by the pool with her friends and family.