I know the feeling of getting my business off the ground without two pennies to rub together.

Tryna make a dolla outta 15 cents seems impossible, right?

Oh boo boo, I know this all too well. I’ve been there, too.

*But* I’m living proof you can create a world-wide brand by simply SHOWING UP.

This was the pep talk that I gave to the crowd inside A BREWERY. *Perfect location for a stressful subject, am I right?!*

Pour yourself a drink and soak up these brand building topics!

How can I continue to monetize my following?

I’ll follow this question by asking another question: How do you continue to keep content interesting and fresh? By making things harder for yourself as a point of differentiation. Double down on creating content that is unique and innovative. This will not only benefit your followers to prove that you’re an authority, but it will also keep you hungry.

How do you determine the best hashtags?

First of all, if it’s easy for you to find your hashtags, you’re choosing the wrong ones. Put yourself in the shoes of your dream customer and ask yourself what hashtags they are using or searching for. It’s important for hashtags to reflect what’s in the photo, so take the time to build out segments of hashtags for certain categories of posts.

What platform is the best to post on?

I’m going to go all Gary Vee style and tell you ALL OF THEM, boo boo. One piece of content, posted at staggered times, formatted specifically for the user experience on any given platform will work wonders for your brand. You want to be able to speak to ALL members of your audience by giving them content in many different formats!

What 3 apps do you recommend using to post on social?

To be completely honest, I prefer to post in real time because the algorithm favors organic posting. If you have the time to post in real time, you’ll be rewarded for it. That being said, schedulers like Later, Plann, and Planoly are useful tools, so feel free to use them to their full potential.

How do you not take away from your personal time while running a business?

I wake up at 4:30AM every day. Not because I hate sleep, but because I need time to myself to pray, read, meditate, and complete my morning routine. Then, I get down to business. My husband understands that when it’s working hours, I am working. I may work A LOT, but when that clock hits 6:00PM, my time is devoted to us.

What is one thing you learned from Gary Vaynerchuk? 

I literally paid Gary Vee for 10 minutes of his time to hear this advice: Shut up, do the work, serve people again and again and again. That lesson was worth every penny.

Friend, I hope these answers helped you in some way! I know that building a brand is scary and hard, but you most certainly are not alone in this.

That’s why I’ve got your back, pushing you to believe that a seemingly crazy dream can blossom into a life-changing opportunity.

If you’d like to hear more pep talks like this one, I go live on Instagram every Tuesday for Coffee & Conversations and every Wednesday on Facebook for my weekly Ask Me Anything sessions, so pour yourself another drink and I’ll see you there to answer your burning business q’s *live*!