From Photography to Brand Strategy: Building Authentic Brands with Audacity

Welcome to the Profit Talk Show. In this show, we're going to explore strategies to help you maximize profits in your business while scaling and creating the lifestyle that you want as an entrepreneur. I am your host, Suzanne Moriga. I am a certified public accountant, a certified Profit First professional, and a certified tax coach.

And today, we're going to talk about strategies to help you maximize profits in your business. Hello, Profit First thought leaders and entrepreneurs. I'm so excited to have you guys today because today we're going to talk about everything branding. And I'm really excited because we are bringing in Asia Dorr.

Asia is a brand strategist on a mission to really simplify and revolutionize the concept of branding so that every entrepreneur can take full advantage of it in order to grow their business. She's using her signature strategy, which is the strategy audacity method. She's helped hundreds of business owners, both effective and profitable brands that really empower them to leverage, become known for their unique expertise. So please join me in welcoming Asian Dory to our platform.

Hi, Asia. How are you? Hi, Suzanne. I'm doing so good.

How are you? Good. Well, we're excited to have you to talk about brand strategy. And we had a really great conversation.

I know offline, we're talking about big business versus small business and how, especially now where quality seems to have been thrown out the window, So, you know, I find myself looking for that mom and pop, you know, even startups, right, that have like 20 years of expertise before they started up to really do the job now because, you know, there's nothing like having somebody that actually cares about the project do the work. Yeah, truly. I honestly think that entrepreneurs and small business owners are going to save the world because as small business owners, we have the luxury of choice a lot more because, you know, we don't have shareholders to answer for.

A lot of times we don't have a board of directors breathing down our neck. We can make the choices that we want to make to be responsible and ethical and actually create value in the world. And of course, be compensated fairly for that value. But it really can start with those micro decisions that we can make in order to, yeah, really change the landscape of like how consumerism works these days.

Definitely. So first of all, you know, we love at The Profit Talk to kind of get an idea of how you got started because we love knowing like what piqued your interest in this and what took you down this lane. Yeah, I wish it was like this big, glamorous, adventurous story, but really I sort of fell into it all by accident. I originally started my business in 2014 as a photographer and that was also an accident.

I just enjoyed the hobby of photography and realized, oh, people are asking what I charge for this. I could make this a business. I eventually made my way to focus on brand photography. And I realized very quickly that while a lot of my clients were extremely talented and were offering a quality product or service, they really knew what they were doing.

When I asked them to explain their brand, they had no idea what it was. And so in order to create really solid brand photos, you know, photography that actually represented their brand, I had to understand what their brand was. And if I if I couldn't or sorry, if they couldn't understand it, then of course I couldn't. So the strategy piece just became an important part of my work as a photographer.

And then in 2020, I realized, oh, actually, the strategy part is the stuff that's really exciting to me. So at that point, I sort of dropped the photography and have strictly focused on the strategy ever since. I love it. I love it.

And you're right. You know, when you're, when you're working photographer, the photographer has to really understand like, what type of pictures should I be taking? Right. In order to capture really the message that you want to send across.

So very important with that. And first of all, let's talk about today, why branding is so important. Like, why is it important to spend time developing your brand and letting the world know, like, you know, you used to be able to list any yellow pages and, you know, Joe did plumbing and you needed a plumber and you called, you know, usually you wanted to have your name again from A so you could be at the top of the list. So why is branding so important nowadays?

There are a lot of reasons, but I'm going to just bring it back into two. And one is internal and one is external. It's important internally because your brand strategy is what really tells you where are we going? What is the point of all this?

What's the vision? What's the actual specific achievable mission that we're working towards every single day? It shows us how to show up. It shows us the tone of voice that we use, you know, whether we're writing content or speaking like you and I are doing now.

It reminds us what our values are. It tells us who we're targeting, right? Our ideal clients, our target audience. It gives us direction in terms of the choices we make, the decisions that we make in business.

And business owners, how many decisions do you think we make a day? I think sometimes it's well into like the thousands, honestly, like these little tiny micro decisions. And so when we have that guidance, when we have that compass of our brand strategy, it just makes the decision process so much more efficient. And therefore, it makes the work that we're doing, whether it's creating marketing content or going out to find new clients or serving the clients we have, it just makes it so much more effective and therefore more profitable because we're spending the time doing the things that actually matter.

So it matters from an internal perspective that way. But the other reason why the other one of the other reasons why it matters, right? The big reasons is because externally it shows the people that we are targeting, the people who can benefit from our product or service. It shows them very clearly what our solution is, whether we're the right fit for them and really why our work matters, like why anyone should care.

So the easier that you can make it for other people to make a decision about working with you or not, right? That's a good thing too. The easier you can make it for them, again, the more efficient business is going to be and therefore the more effective that it going to be I love it I love it And so when somebody is thinking about a brand right and they thinking about like creating a brand where do they start at really with that? So branding, like the branding industry loves to overcomplicate the branding.

It's just, it gets so convoluted and you need all of these different things and all of this corporate industry jargon, but branding is really so simple. It's not necessarily easy, but it is simple. And I like to break it down into just five simple steps. The first thing you need to know is what exactly you do, which might seem pretty simple, but especially for entrepreneurs or coaches, people who are working in a less tangible field, it can get a little confusing because we help our clients in a really holistic way.

But we need to get really specific about what the actual solution is that we're providing. The second thing we need to know is who we're doing this thing for. Again, our target audience, our ideal clients. A lot of people hate to do ideal client work because it's confusing and it's like, am I just making someone up?

But the more you can dig into their psychology, the more you can dig into what they want, what they are frustrated by, what they're motivated by, who they want to become. the easier it's going to be to communicate with them. And therefore, the easier it's going to be to sell to them. So the third thing you need to know is how you do what you do differently than everybody else in your industry.

And this can be really confusing because a lot of times when we brand our businesses, we try to focus on just like the one thing that makes us different. but what we really need to do is figure out how all of the things that we offer, all of the solutions that we provide, how they all fit together to mean one thing to our ideal client. So that's sort of the secret for like finding out what makes you unique. The fourth thing you need to know is why any of it matters, like beyond making money in your business, which yes, is the point of making, is the point of having a business is to make money.

Beyond that, though, like why does the work you do matter? You are solving problems, right? And therefore you're making people's lives better. Maybe you're even making your community better or your industry or whatever it is.

You know, think about the ripple effect. But when we can articulate why our work matters, it's easier to get other people to care about it. And if other people care about it, they're going to pay attention. And then the fifth step is to go talk about those things all the time over and over and over again until you're absolutely bored of talking about it and then keep talking about it.

Because that consistency is what is going to build trust and it's what's going to make it easy for people to understand what you're all about. I love it. Now, you know, I always think that it's really interesting when people say what makes you different. And I think a lot of people struggle with this, right?

Because, you know, especially in compliance type of businesses, you know, what you can't say I'm a better doctor than you, you know, the training should be the same, right? The results should be the same. The accounting should be the same. You know, we should all get the same answer.

But there are differences. But how does someone explore what makes them different than someone else or anyone else? well i think this is a little bit um probably occupation and industry dependent because like you said someone like a doctor is like we're all supposed to it's supposed to have a standard of operation right but at the same time even a doctor is going to have a different approach approach right are you the type of doctor who is like get in get out here's the information because some clients want that right other clients want more hand holding they want the bedside matter, right?

They want that. I really need you to listen to me. And there's a type of client for everybody. I mean, there's billions of people in the world, right?

It's like, I don't even think that a saturated market is a thing because so many people want so many different things. So if you can think about things like your knowledge, just the things you know, right? Literally the things you know, maybe your education, your actual lived experience, the results that you've gotten, your clients. Maybe you have a unique framework or methodology that you've developed.

Maybe you use multiple modalities in your work in order to help people. So in terms of like practical what to do to figure out what makes you difference, just like brain dumping, get a piece of paper, send a voice out to your best friend, be like, these are all of the things that make me really great at what I do. And once you know that and you know, okay, well, who now am I targeting? Who are my ideal clients?

What do they want and need from someone like me? And find the common threads. That's really what's going to give you an edge because when we talk about what makes us unique, you don't have to stand out to everybody. You don't have to stand out amongst everyone else in your industry.

All you have to do is stand out to your ideal client. Nothing else really matters. And that really clears the air and clears the noise in terms of messaging. Because it's not shout, shout, look at me.

I'm the shiniest. I'm the loudest. I'm the noisiest. It's cutting through all the noise because you are delivering a message and talking about the things and talking about why you're unique in a way that benefits your ideal client.

And that's what's going to get their attention. I love it. I love it. So really taking that brainstorm and it's a combination of things.

And being able to talk about those combination of things that bring about the results then is really what we do. And you'd be surprised, right, out there how many people are not good communicators and don't really differentiate themselves very well. So that's very good. Now, in terms of like developing brand, when you see someone developing a brand, where do you see people just go wrong and just flop?

Well let talk about strategy audacity because I feel like that really the answer to well that my answer to the frustration of what are people doing wrong And it also like I am not excluded in this In building my own brand I have made all the mistakes which honestly is what I think makes me an expert is because I know what not to do right So the issues, the main two issues I see is people or businesses build their brands in one of two ways. Option one, like path number one, they are extremely strategic.

This is the strategy part, They know exactly what their message is. They know exactly what their colors are. They know exactly who they're targeting. And that's great.

Like the strategy part is great. But because they are so focused on doing everything perfectly and perfectly on brand, if you're listening to this, I'm doing air quotes, you kind of lose any room for flexibility or more important for evolution. And times are moving fast. Like time is going by fast.

Things are progressing. Society is changing and it's happening quickly. So you need to build a brand that is, yes, solid and secure. But we also need a little bit of wiggle room.

Like it's it's like those when they build a skyscraper that allows for earthquakes. Right. We need to be able to stand strong while still sort of wiggling around. And so because they stick so much to their brand strategy, there's no soul.

There's no personality. There's nothing to connect to. It's just a business. And you would think for something like, oh, okay, like a doctor or a lawyer, like we want that, right?

We want just solid study strategy. We want just the business. But at the end of the day, we're all still people and people connect with other people. So if you have a law office, that's obviously a very serious thing.

You don't have to be like fun and goofy all the time. But anytime you can add some humanity into what you're doing, it's going to benefit you because you are working with other humans. So that's the first mistake is they go way too far on the strategy side. The other mistake I see is when businesses just sort of wing it.

They just are like, well, I don't really want to be tied down to one thing. And branding is sort of confusing and I'm too multi-passionate for any of that or I'm too busy for any of that. So I'm just going to kind of do whatever. I'm going to share whatever.

I'm going to start an Instagram account for my business, but sometimes like share pictures of my kids with no context or, you know, they're just, it's sort of like just a mishmash of whatever. Other days they're talking about their offer and it just doesn't make a lot of sense. And so while that is great from a human connection perspective, because they are showing they're humans, we lose the strategy then. We lose the piece that's like, okay, but who are you and why are you in my feed and why should I care?

Right? So we really need to marry the two. And this is where strategy audacity was forged from is from the realization that you really need a balance of both in order to have a brand that is extremely profitable, but also impactful. Now, a lot of things that I, a lot of times what I'm hearing now from a lot of coaches and consultants is that it's hard to cut through the noise now.

Like it, you know, 2020, when everybody was bored at home and on social media, you know, a lot of coaches had significant success but now in 2026, right, where we've got social media fatigue, in some cases, too many social media options, how does one stand out with their brand and get noticed? I will preface this by saying I'm not a marketing expert. So like these things that you're talking about, they're even things that I'm questioning and experiencing in my own business. Because like we talked about, like things are changing, things are different, things are moving quickly.

What I will say is that it doesn't matter how noisy and flashy and even consistent you are online in your marketing. If you don't have a clear message and know exactly what problem you solve, what solution you're offering and who you're talking to, it's just going to make it seem even noisier. So from a branding perspective, from a marketing perspective, I don't really feel qualified to answer that. I think that the best marketing strategy is the one that you can do consistently well that plays to your strengths, your communication strengths, and also matches where your ideal client is.

But from a branding perspective, which needs to come first, get really clear on those things. What problem are you solving? What's your solution? Who are you talking to in your content?

And then go say those things just again, over and over and over again until you're absolutely sick of them. I love that. I think that's the part where people mess up. They don't get to the point that they are completely sick of them or they stop when they get sick of them.

Right. And it's, it's like, okay, I'm bored of this and it's not working. So I'm going to switch gears and do something else. But consistency and communication are really the things that build a brand.

Right. Because there's always somebody new going into the pipeline that might be your customer that's just hearing it for the first time. It's true. But I get it.

And so with brand strategy, we talked about how to get started. We talked about things that go wrong with it. Tell me about like, you know, working for a professional like you, what is that like? What does that look like?

Is that something that you can do on your own? Is it something that having a professional helps you go an extra 10,000 miles fast. Tell me about what does that look like? Because a lot of us, you know, may not have, you know, small business may not have invested in that yet.

That's true. And like, as someone who's been in business almost 12 years, I've sort of been at all of those stages. And I am, I am super pro DIY. Because I think that when we try to do things ourselves, we learn how they work, which means later on, if we do decide to invest in help from someone else, we have a better understanding of who's the best option for us.

Like, what do we actually need? And I've, you know, I mean, you even said it in my introduction, my mission really is to simplify this concept, revolutionize this concept so that anybody who owns a business, any entrepreneur understands how to brand themselves or their business. So I have like, go to my blog or my YouTube channel. I have so much information about like practical advice on how to do this from multiple different angles I very proud of the fact that between that and my email list and my social media content if you go read a chunk of it, you will be like, you will feel very clear on what to do.

So I'm very proud of that fact. However, the problem of course, with DIYing things is that it does take time, especially if you are learning a brand new thing. So this is something that I see a lot of business owners struggle with when they're at a point where they're pivoting in business, whether that's switching industries, or they're just specializing, or, you know, they want to just work in a really specific way with a really specific type of client, but they've been more general helping up into this point, is that's like, well, this is working for me, it's bringing in money, I don't have the time it'll take to like switch.

So I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, even though I'm unhappy, even though this isn't the thing that I'm feeling like called to do. And that's really sad for me, because I think one of the greatest things that one of the greatest reasons to be an entrepreneur is the freedom of how we work. Right. So if you feel tied down by your business, that's not a good thing.

So if you are at a point where you're like, I don't like sure I could DIY, but I don't have time for that. I think that's where working with a professional, in this case, if you're working on your brand strategy, and especially if you're pivoting or refining your brand, working with a brand strategist can be really helpful. So I won't speak for other brand strategists, but for me, I have an offer that's essentially half a day where we just sit down on a Zoom, just like you and I are doing now, and we really just go through all of the components of a brand strategy, just dump it all out on the table.

It's very messy. It's a very trust the process thing. But I've been doing this long enough that, you know, I have my strategy audacity method that I bring all of my clients through. I know how to find the gems.

I know what's going to be potent and what maybe needs to be tabled. And through that process of really just brain dumping, this thought partnership sort of, you know, meeting, I call it a meeting, but it's really, It really feels more like a brain dump. In that process, we dump all the puzzles out and then we eventually, you know, put the pieces together. And in the end, the brand strategy is now clear because it's, you know, this is one of the things that I think is so difficult, especially for the clients that I work with who are experts, is that when we're an expert in a thing, it's also obvious to us.

but it's sort of a double-edged sword because when we try to talk about it, it's like it all just sort of like word vomits out of our mouth because we're like, I know all these things and I can connect it in all these different ways. And we lose the potency of our message when we do that. So really being able to articulate all of the stuff that's in your head is going to make a huge difference when it comes to building your brand. So I went on a little bit of a tangent there.

But in terms of how I work as a brand strategist, if you feel like you don't have time to do this, if you don't have time to refine your brand, we get it done in four hours. I love it. That's nice. Time is money.

So four hours is pretty good to have all that done and solidified. Now, Aja, this has been extremely helpful. Lots of great information today. You know, one of the things that we'd like to ask our guests before we close is if you could leave us any piece of advice.

It can be personal, it can be business. What would that piece of advice be? This might seem a bit silly, but my advice is try stuff. I really think that's the best way to figure out what works because you can hire any strategist, any coach, you can buy any course, you can go to college, you can figure out how other people have done it.

But until you really experiment with your own way of doing things, it's just going to feel like a copy paste strategy and it's probably not really going to feel right. So just being willing to try stuff, being willing to be bad at stuff, being willing to make mistakes and fail, I really think is the secret to success, like ironically. And in that vein, just allow yourself to follow your curiosity. Like I said, I started my business completely by accident, but I'm so happy with where I ended up just because I did follow that curiosity.

So that's my advice. Just go try stuff. I love it. I love it.

Now, Asia, as we close out, how do our viewers and listeners, how do we find out more? How do we work with you? How do we follow you? Yeah, if you are that coach or consultant or service provider, someone who is ready to specialize within your business, someone who is really ready to build that brand authority, maybe you're interested in like speaking or writing a book, or really you just want a very specific type of client more on a high-end package, but your brand isn't really reflecting that.

It's sort of, you sort of just like mishmashed it together over time and you're really ready to refine it. Then I have a masterclass that I think will be really helpful for you. I really just walk you through the five things you need in order to start positioning yourself as an expert. It's super actionable and practical.

It's like 30 minutes and it's only $7 and you can find it at asia door.com slash masterclass. Hey, you guys can't miss that $7. I mean, you've got to sign up for this class.

Thank you, Asia. This was really great. And what I'm going to do for you guys that are listening, who might be driving and we want you to keep your hands on the road. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to put Asia's information in our show notes at the bottom.

And so when you get to the same place, you can definitely connect with her to learn more. So thank you, Asia, for joining us today. Thank you, Suzanne. This has been so great.

I really appreciate you inviting me on. I want you to have your most profitable year ever. Yes. No matter what's going on in economy, no matter what's going on in the world, you can have your best year ever.

And I want to show you how. Join me in our private Facebook group where I will be hosting our free, yes, I said free, Profit First Masterclass. And Facebook, please join the Profit First Masterclass with Suzanne Maria. I look forward to seeing you there and watching you have your best year ever.