[BR]and Identity E-Book

[BR]

and

Identity

BY JASMINE TOSSETH-SMITH

CONTENTS

3

First, the Baboon Story

4

Joseph & his Color-story

5

Solomon in all his Finest

6

Lydia was all about her Business

7

Esther was also the Queen of Timing

8

Adam & Eve: Mistakes Happen

9

You: Naked & Afraid

SO FIRST, THE BABOON STORY. I am from Zimbabwe in Southern Africa and lived there for the first 24 years of my life. My Grandfather owned a farm outside city limits and we often went there over holidays and for family gatherings. The entire family would be there. I am the oldest child on my Dad's side of the family and so I was often put in charge of the younger kids. It was my job to look after them while the Moms and Dads went about farm business.

About a mile from the farmhouse there was a man-made dam for the cows to come and drink from. We loved playing by this little man-made lake. We would run and explore and make up games for hours and hours on end.

One fateful day, we were at the lake playing as usual. I was about 8 at the time and the cousins I had in tow ranged in age from 6-4. So imagine it, there we were playing by the watering hole when 2 baboons came up to get a drink. Me, being me, thought that I could chase them off. So I shouted and waved and threw sticks at them but they didn't seem to care and just kept on coming. So, thinking I was slick, I picked up a hard-shelled fruit we have in Africa called a Matamba and started throwing those at the baboons. That got their attention and they backed off a bit.

All was going well...until one of the baboons caught a Matamba that I had thrown in its hand. Now if I had been 36, as I am now, I would have never engaged a wild animal as I did. However because I was 8 and less mentally prepared for meeting an animal in the wild, I continued to throw Matamba and the baboon continued to catch them.

Then the baboon began to throw them back at us.

Then I began to think, "Ummm this is not so fun anymore" My cousins began to head towards the farmhouse.

I began to back away slowly.

The baboon began to saunter in my direction.

I continued to back away slowly.

The baboon caught up with me (as I was moving slowly) Then my life was forever changed...the baboon extended its arm back and an instant later, I felt the sting of its massive leathery hand making contact with my plump round cheek.

I picked up the youngest of my cousins and we ran home with the baboons cackling and laughing as they watched us leave.

While I wasn't physically naked, I learned a lot about being vulnerable, out in the open and being afraid.

Lessons that apply here. I'll tie it all together at the end, so make sure you read to the end but first let's talk about another child - Joseph.

3

JOSEPH & HIS COLORSTORY Genesis 37 v 3-4 - "Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was the child of his old age. And he made him an elaborately embroidered coat. " It's a beautiful thing. This business. This mission. This purpose you are living out. It was and IS born out of love. While the idea may flash on us in an instant, usually we take our time marinating, incubating and growing the idea for our business or our brand. By the time we show our baby off to the world in the form of our logo, our social media graphics, our New Client packets...we have sat with the idea for a while.

We have wished for it. We have prayed for it. We have waited for it to come about.

It only makes sense then, that once your brand, your baby is born, you want to clothe it in the finest clothes. I think here about when I was pregnant with my own children and how I would cruise the baby aisle looking at all the cute clothes and dreaming of what I would put my baby in. I was a teen mom. I got pregnant with my daughter when I was 17 and even though I was scared out of my mind, I was also excited to dress her up and love on her. I spent hours hand-knitting booties and little jackets for her. I knit hats and crocheted blankets for her. I shopped for outfits and looked for ideas in magazines. If Pinterest had been a thing, I'm sure I would have set up dozens of boards dedicated to giving my daughter the best I could afford.

It is the same with you and your brand. Your brand is your baby. Your favorite child. You want to clothe it in the finest robes. You have waited for it and worked for it and put your heart and soul into it, so just like Jacob, you want to clothe your child in the finest robes.

Dress your child you should!

Your brand should stand out among its competitors in the same way Joseph stood out among his brothers. Not I am not saying that you should make others hate you or that you should go out of your way to create branding to generate haters. To the contrary!

What I am saying is that your branding, your color story, the way you "dress up" your brand should make it obvious for people to recognize you. Just like there was no missing Joseph in his distinctive coat, there should be no missing you in your brand. YOU should stand out and shine through your branding. You, the authentic you, should be what we see when we see your logo, or receive your newsletter or sign our new client packet. We should recognize that it is you. We should be able to tell you apart. Even when you are 1 of many doing the same thing, your branding should still stand out as YOURS. We should be able to see you, feel you and hear you even in a sea of others similar to you.

The key to doing that is to be true and authentic to who you are. Do not create a logo with 36 colors and elaborate scrolling type if that is not at all who you are or what you care about. If you are quiet and love clean, simple lines - create a logo like that.

If you live bold and proud and you want to stand out dynamically, create a logo that reflects that.

If you are colorful and bubbly and love to make people laugh and feel good, create a logo and materials that reflect that.

Your logo doesn't have to look like every other business coach out there. Your color scheme doesn't have to look like every other consultant out there. The fonts, the shades, the design elements you choose, DO NOT have to look like everyone else out there. The only person they have to look like is you.

This business, this brand, this calling, this purpose...God gave it to YOU. He did not impart it on anyone else, Noone else ever can do it the way you do. It is YOUR vision. It is YOUR God-given dream.

Genesis 37 v 5 "Now Joseph dreamed a dream..."

Genesis 37 v 9 "But Joseph dreamed still another dream‌" Joseph was given the dream. Not his brothers. Not his Father. Joseph was given the dream.

You were given this dream. The vision and purpose God has given you is the starting place for your graphics and how you brand your business.

What is the ultimate goal?

Who are you being called to serve?

How has God wired you?

How do you want to show up in the world?

What message do you want to spread to the world?

What do you want people to know?

What do you want your voice to say?

What impact do you want to have?

What skills, gifts, talents, people, and resources has God equipped you with to bring your vision from dream to reality?

These are important questions to answer. Write them down in your journal and answer them for yourself.

This is your baby to dress as you choose. Do not dress her up to please other people. Do not dress her up in the hopes that other people will "get" it because the truth is that not everyone will understand it. You were uniquely and beautifully made. God wired you the way He wired you for a reason. There are people that you are called to. Some people are waiting for you. Some people will show up ONLY when you show up...BUT that will only happen when you start showing up authentically when you show up as who you are.

Yes! You want your logo and graphics to resonate with your audience.

Yes! You want to connect with your audience through your media.

Yes! This is important to move and grow your business.

Equally as important, and to meet the goals above, your branding must be real and authentic to you. You should be lit up about it. It should bring you joy. You should be proud to share it and show it off. It should be a beautiful expression of who you are and what you care about.

Jacob went out of his way to clothe his son in the finest he could find...you should do the same for YOUR baby.

4

SOLOMON IN ALL HIS FINEST. Matthew 6 v 28 - 29 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these."

In all we do, we should seek first the Kingdom of God. Solomon was the wisest man ever to walk the earth and as a king wore the finest linens and the finest robes and yet in Matthew we are told that he paled in comparison to the flowers of the field that God made. So what does that have to do with branding? 2 things.

Look to God first. He is the master creator It doesn't need to be complicated, but it can be as elaborate as you choose It is easy to see all the branding Guru's out there and try to duplicate their formulas and create as they do. However, as faith-based business people, we know and we understand that God is the ultimate source and the master creative. You can drive yourself crazy trying to find what color is on trend for this year. Is it horizontal or vertical stripes that are in now? Are swirly fonts all the hype right now or should I go with plain simple fonts?

Don't do that to yourself. Come first to your Father. Who are you in Him? Before you are a brand who are YOU? At your core who are you?

The answer to this question is what dictates how you show up to your audience.

When you know the truth that you are loved...you show up in love.

When you own that you are accepted by Him...you show up as your real self without fear of what others will say When you live in the truth that you are a child of The King...you will carry yourself like royalty and your brand will show up with the authority of a Queen When you know that you are forgiven...your brand can show up apologetically When you understand that it is God that qualifies you...you feel the freedom to show up as the expert He is equipping you to be When you seek, you find. Seek Him first. Seek His will, His purpose, His design in you and let your branding flow from your true identity.

Let your brand speak from the voice God has given you. Let your brand design flow from the way He has designed you.

This leads to number 2...take some time out to actually go outside or to your local flower shop, or check out the lower section at Walmart and take a few moments to study the flowers. Notice the colors. Notice the petals and the green of the leaves. Notice the shapes and the designs on them. Notice how some are simple yet stunning. Notice how some have elaborate colors and the petals are intertwined. Notice how some have multiple colors and others are just one solid color.

They are all different and yet they are all flowers and they are all beautiful in their design.

You are attracted to some flowers more than others.

Some flowers grab your attention, while you don't really pay attention to others.

The colors of one speak to you, while you may dislike the color of another.

Yet, none of these opinions diminish the fact that they are flowers and that people are buying them. The very bouquet you might look over is the very bouquet another woman will love.

When I was 18, the father of my then one-year-old daughter, sent an impressive bouquet of red roses to be delivered to my house. I was ecstatic and overjoyed. No one had ever bought me flowers, let alone gone to all the trouble of having them delivered to the house. I set my school bag on the floor and buried my face in the bouquet that was on the dining room table. I took in their sweet aroma and the softness of the velvety petals on my cheek. With a big smile on my face, I detached the little envelope attached to them and expectantly opened the envelope to read the card inside.

The handwritten message inside it read‌ "I care about you, but I don't love you. Sorry" I have hated RED roses ever since! Any other color I love though.

My point is this, you won't be for everyone. There will be people that dislike your logo, what you put out and what you are about, but there will be others who will be raving fans. You are no less a beautiful flower just because others don't get it or don't like it.

The fact that I personally hate red roses, doesn't make them any less a rose. The fact that I would never buy them, doesn't make them any less God's creation. Just because they are tainted in my mind, doesn't mean that they are a horrible creation. They are still special to someone else. They have meaning and hold beautiful memories for someone else. Their worth and their shine is in no way diminished just because they are not for me.

The same is true about your branding. You are a beautiful flower, created by the master creator. Just because not everyone will recognize you for the gift you are, doesn't mean you stop shining for those who do. The flowers of the field didn't stop blooming just because Solomon was dressed in his finest. Just because someone else's brand comes dressed up differently from yours doesn't diminish your brand in any way. Don't let them ruffle your petals. Bloom baby, bloom!

5

LYDIA WAS ALL ABOUT HER BUSINESS. Acts 16 v 14 " "One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying."

Your brand is a business. You can be both a Christian and a businesswoman just as Lydia above was. All too often we believe the lie that we cannot or should not bring our faith into our business, but you, being a faith-based coach, already know that this is a lie. You understand that God has not called us all to the pulpit. A lot of us are called to the marketplace and that is our field of favor and where He has positioned us for maximum impact. It is with this in mind that I need you to understand that your brand is a business.

There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. There is nothing wrong with accepting the lavish gifts of your God. As in Lydia's case, she was able to comfortably open up her home and let the missionaries in. She had more than enough provision to assist them with their immediate needs and to continue to assist the congregation that stayed behind. She was able to do more and help more and give more out of the abundance of what she had been blessed with; out of the abundance that flowed through her business. Do not be deceived that you must play small! You must play at the level that God is calling you to.

Imagine the impact you can make when you can give $100 vs $1 Imagine the real good you can do when you can donate $1,000 vs $100 What real injustices could you help give a voice, stand with and champion when you can freely pledge $10,000 vs $1,000?

Your brand is a business and your business impacts lives. As faith-based entrepreneurs, we are about Kingdom business. We are about sharing, spreading and showing His light in the marketplace. We are about owning who we have been destined to be as heirs with Christ and creating a space for others to know the joy and freedom of that truth; all while offering them valuable products and services they need right now.

Let your brand reflect that you are serious about your business. Let it reflect that you care about providing quality and serving your clients in excellence. Let your brand show the world that you are serious about the impact you want to make and the lives you want to touch.

This DOES NOT mean that your logo or your graphics or your workbooks need to be stiff and stuffy! It just means that they have to show up as their best. It means that goofy and silly, or loud and bold or streamlined and minimalist, your brand shows up as its best. It means that like Lydia, that as you work with people, you allow the Holy Spirit to move and do his work. It means that you create a brand that conveys that you listen to your clients and that you pay attention to the things that matter to them.

Acts 16 v 15 "She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. "If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my home." And she urged us until we agreed."

It means that you create a brand that responds to their needs and meets them where they are. It means creating an inviting brand that encourages them to come in and take a load off and do business with you. It means creating a brand that has an open door for them to step in and allow you to serve them. It means creating a brand based on hospitality and love.

Does your branding reflect hospitality and love?

Is it warm? Is it inviting?

Does it encourage people to do business with you?

Does it speak to your ideal client in a way that shows that you listened to them?

Does it urge them and persuade them to come in and stay awhile?

Business is personal. Your brand flows out of who you are. It flows out of the way you live, the way you move, the way you carry yourself.

For your brand to be real, to be authentic, to connect in a way that has meaning...your brand HAS to be tied to you. It must be connected to who you are. It must flow out of who God created you to be and how you are wired. This is Kingdom business and as Kingdom people we want our brands to reflect truth and authenticity. Let all that God created YOU to flow out and spill over into your branding. Let the voice in your articles and in your newsletters and your post speak love. Let your heart flow in the graphics you use and the care you put into producing your workbooks and checklist.

I know this all sounds good and it sounds amazing and you want to build your branded materials from that place, but it's a question of where do I even start. Start with the [BR]and Identity course. Start to dig into the HOW of creating branding that is true to who you are. Start by learning, through this program how to reconnect with who you are in Christ and how to build out your branded media from that solid foundation! "For out of the abundance of the heart, your mouth speaks." Matthew 12 v 34 Your heart is connected to your brand. What is your heart telling your brand to say?

6

ESTHER WAS ALSO THE QUEEN OF TIMING. "Esther 5 v 1 "On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the King's hall.

The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall facing the entrance'" A business coach first alerted me to this verse and Esther's story as it relates to business and visibility. (In fact, she will have bonus content on Visibility for the [BR]and Identity Course). Esther looked her best and then positioned herself in front of her ideal audience. It is the same with your branding materials. You want your workbooks, worksheets, social media graphics and presentations to look good. You want to put them in front of your ideal client and get their attention. Now unlike the world that is constantly yelling at us, what we learn through Esther is that we don't need to be loud or flashy - we just need to be ourselves and then position us in the right place. Esther was the Queen and so you would think she would have been able to schedule a meeting with her husband, the king, through an advisor or she could have arranged a private meeting or something like that. However, she stayed true to her character. She remained humble and played her position. What she did do was show up where she needed to be. She positioned herself in front of the king so that even though there were other people in the room, she was in his line of sight. Your branding should get you in your audience's line of sight. Your branding should allow you to stand out in the crowd for YOUR audience.

Unlike these large companies that are into mass media, as an online faith-based coach, you want to target and speak to a specific audience and it is THAT audience that you want to notice you.

Also like Esther, you should be prepared. Think through your branding. Think through what you want to say. Think through what you want your audience to feel. Think through how you want your brand to serve and how you can do that in love.

Ask yourself: How do I want to be remembered?

When my audience interacts or engages with any of my materials, what is the last thought I want to leave them with?

How do I want them to know and trust that I served them and gave them value? To answer these questions, you need to be prepared. Esther fasted and prayed for 3 days before presenting herself before the king. There may be times in your own business when you will need to fast. There are times in your business when you are going to have to get quiet and get with God first. Before a launch, before a new topic, before a post...prepare. The world tells us we should go, go, go...but God's yoke is light and He calls us to rest. The rest is active. Rest is sitting with Him. Rest is engaging in a twoway conversation with your father. Rest is getting out of the way and letting God prepare the way forward. We are Kingdom faith-based coaches and so God is the source and everything else is a resource. In our branding, we seek Him first and let Him add all the other things we need.

7

ADAM & EVE: MISTAKES HAPPEN Genesis 3 v 7 "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."

So I have never had that dream, but since they show it in movies all the time, clearly someone has had this dream. The dream where they are standing naked and afraid on a stage in front of hundreds of people. Their embarrassment and shock are palpable. I have never had that dream myself, but even watching it play out on a movie, my palms get sweaty and my mouth goes dry. , this feeling of making a mistake. This feeling of being exposed. This feeling of hundreds of eyes on them...is one of the things that scare small business owners with regards to branding.

Here is the truth‌ you won't get it right 100% of the time. You will make a mistake and you will take a misstep. Own it now. Get comfortable with the idea of that now and then let it go. You are not perfect. You are a masterpiece in progress and as such, you may take a wrong turn. When that happens allow The Holy Spirit to course correct and redirect you.

That is why seeking first the kingdom is so key. When you do go the wrong way, you are much more sensitive to the leading of heaven in course-correcting you. Own the mistake, correct it and keep it moving.

Don't let fear derail you. Remember that you are loved by the creator. Your Daddy loves you and has forgiven your sins and cast them as far as the east is from the west. You are a new creation, the old is dead and the new has come. You are redeemed and you are transformed. Because you can be confident in Him, you can be confident in your branding.

Don't fear mistakes. Use them as your jumping-off point to learn and grow. Use that story as part of your testimony. Let your audience know that you are human. Show your humanity. Show your vulnerability. Connect with your audience on a real, human level. People buy from people and we want to know that the people we do business with get us. We want to know that they understand and can relate to our struggles. We don't want to deal with robots, we want to have relationships with other humans.

So when something does go wrong, grab your fig leaf, but unlike Adam and Eve...take it straight to God. Do not hide because that allows shame to grip you. Nope! Take it to your father, course correct and get your brand back on track.

8

YOU: NAKED & AFRAID All too often, you may find yourself out here branding naked and afraid.

You may struggle not knowing how and where to create your branding You may have a hard time understanding design concepts and how to use them Or, similarly, as a faith-based coach you are wondering how you can infuse your faith into your branding.

You want to know how you can brand with integrity and based on biblical principles.

I hear all that and I'd love to invite you to take part in the [BR]and Identity Course. Over the 6 weeks you will learn: How to stand out and how to use color to tell your story How to dress up your brand in its finest so it stands out among the rest How to infuse your faith and kingdom principles into your branding How your brand is your business and how to encourage people to come on in How to get your brand in front of your ideal client and stand out in their minds Design concepts; what they are and how to use them You may feel unhappy or feel trapped by what you see other coaches doing. You may feel like a small fish in a big pond when you see everyone else online.

You may have made branding or business mistakes in the past and so you may be feeling afraid of repeating those mistakes. Or you are just starting out and you want to do the best job you can with your branding. If any of these are you then this is the course for you.

Your brand may need a refresh, or are you finally ready to integrate your faith with your business and show up as the faith-based coach you know you are? Then I am excited to see you be a part of this course.

I say NO to overwhelm and stress as it relates to your branding. I'm here to encourage you that you can do it and I'm here to support you the whole way. I can't wait to see your brand emerge wide-awake and to see you living your best, most fulfilling life. Branding can really be radically simple and I'd love to show you what I mean.

You will also get these bonuses: Claire Winson, an amazing copy-writer who specializes in writing sales copy that converts will walk you through copy-writing. Your brand is your voice so learn how to use it to speak to your audience, capture their attention and convert them into clients.

You will also hear from an incredible storyteller, Craig Pickerill, in the movie-making business about how you can make your ideal client the main character in your brand story and how to produce, edit and direct your brand effectively.

Learn how to show up and show out where your people are. Cassie Kitzmiller will walk you through how to become visible and attract your ideal clients.

AND...

Get a free Graphic Media Audit with me. To take a look at your current workbooks, worksheets, presentations and social media graphics to see how we can get them better aligned with your authentic brand style.

At the end of our 6 weeks together, it is my goal that you leave: more confident in your branding.

With a plan to move forward in integrating your faith into your brand Loving what you see when you see your graphics, workbooks, presentations and the like Understanding how and where to create your branding materials Knowing how to catch your clients' attention and invite them in with what your branding says and what message it delivers Knowing how to make your client feel like the main character of your brand story

To register for the course, please go to >>> https://mailchi.mp/464de62e9c23/brand-identity-course So what does my baboon story have to do with branding?

Just like I did then, I believe that we spend too much time throwing stuff at things that are bigger than us. We see more established coaches, we watch Iyanla Vanzant or we see what big companies are doing and we try to shoo them away. When, because they are bigger and more established than you they keep on coming, you start throwing other things at them. You try to switch out your graphics, you start trying to talk like them, you try to imitate them. You try to move and breathe and operate as they do, but they seem to just get smarter and evolve and just keep coming and you keep throwing until they are right up in your space slapping you in the face!

8-year-old Jasmine got slapped in the face, don't be like 8-year-old Jasmine!

Instead, stay in your lane. Own your niche. Own that you cannot and should not compete at that level. Understand your audience (my cousins I was looking after) and make it a priority to look after them. Do not be so focused on the others, that you forget those that came with you. Do not be so focused on "them" that you forget the ones you were called to serve.

Trying to fight, what was essentially a giant to me, left me vulnerable and exposed. Not only that, it left my people vulnerable and exposed.

Spending so much time and energy throwing things in the wrong direction left me open to attack. That attack caused me to lead in fear. I picked up my youngest cousin and ran. But I was running scared, that meant that when some of my cousins fell behind, I wasn't in a position to effectively help them up. Because I was running scared, I did not give clear direction and for the first few minutes, all my cousins were running in all different directions. Because I was running scared, I was not able to focus on what they really needed and I was just rushing them through the process to hopefully get them safely to the other side. That is the danger of branding naked and afraid... the audience that you leave behind. The audience that you cannot serve. The audience that is themselves left feeling vulnerable and afraid. So it's a question of what kind of coach you want to be and what kind of impact you want to leave...will you continue to move forward naked and afraid or will you get up, get dressed and do this thing with confidence.

The choice is yours and the [BR]and Identity course is here for you. You've been naked. Ready to get dressed?

9

[BR]

and

Identity

TO REGISTER FOR THE COURSE, PLEASE GO TO >>> HTTPS://MAILCHI.MP/464DE62E9C23/BRAND-IDENTITY-COURSE