Heather Briggs of Buddha Branding

Heather

Heather Briggs, founder and Creative Director of Buddha Branding, sits down with LOADED BOW to reflect on her transition into entrepreneurship, finding her niche, and the process of branding!

Loaded Bow:  Can you tell us a little bit about Buddha Branding’s story?

Heather Briggs:  I have done a complete 360. I went to Ryerson University to study fashion marketing, and like many BA graduates, I finished feeling really overwhelmed. I had no clue how to translate what I knew into a career.

I started working at Lululemon. It was a young company then, and I had just gotten into yoga so it was a cool spirit to work in. I grew through that company. When corporate Lululemon had bought out their franchises, it was a time when they really wanted to promote people from within the company. I really wanted to get into graphic design. I had done a few projects on the side and a little bit of graphics work for Lululemon. Six months later, sure enough, a posting comes up for a graphic designer in Vancouver.

It was exciting, but the company was also going through a lot of upward growth. It was a pretty insane place to be for my first real job. At the end of that year I decided that it wasn’t the right fit. I started working as a Junior at a graphic design firm and it was amazing! They really helped me understand the graphic design business. They were like mentors to me. Then they merged with another company, and because I was on contract, I found myself without a job. In the back of my head I had always wanted to start my own business, but there is a lot of fear that comes with that.

I had a friend who was doing a self-employment program through Toward Excellence and she just kept telling me that I could do it. I decided to go for it! I can’t even begin to say what a great program Toward Excellence was. It really gave me the time and the space to just work on an idea. They did a lot of personal development work and spent the time to help me get over my fears and realize that I had to be comfortable with risk.

A year later, I’m still in business! I wrote my business plan for being a graphic design shop, but when I went into business I realized that I was still attracting fashion clients because they are part of my social network and experience. So I am actually in the process of repositioning myself as a Fashion Marketing Agency.  We will relaunch in September.

LB:  Fabulous!

HB:  It’s a pretty cool time right now. I have had to embrace the fact that I have gone in a circle. I have a background in fashion marketing, so I know more than just graphic design. I think there is substance in my design and once I know the client I try to bring that out throughout their work.

LB:  It seems like there are a lot of marketing agencies, so it is pretty awesome that you were able to distinguish yourself.

HB:  There is confidence that comes with having a niche. You don’t have to take that step to learn about a client’s industry because you already know it. When someone hires me they can know that I have an understanding of the industry. It is mutually beneficial and there is a common language.

LB:  What did you set out to achieve when you were branding Buddha Branding?

HB:  I have an interesting story about my name.

I was part of the Red Dot Campaign at the beginning of the year which got a lot of national coverage and my company had a new level of exposure. I started getting a few not-so-nice emails about my company name, saying that I was disrespecting Buddhists. I took it really personally. I don’t go to the temple every day, but those values are very important to me and strongly influence the directions I take in life.

It was through my branding exercises that I came to the conclusion that the reason I named my company Buddha Branding was because of the values behind it. That is what a brand should stand for, and it should immediately set up a conversation about who you are. That really happens with Buddha Branding, especially in the fashion industry where there is a lot of shallowness and superficiality.

I also received some flak about having the word branding in my name, when my focus was originally on graphic design. But the visual component is such a huge part of branding.

LB: It sounds like your redefined concept of Buddha Branding as a Fashion Marketing Agency will do branding on a larger scale.

HB: Exactly. It’s kinda neat: I’m growing into my name! It is pushing me to think bigger.

My tag line is creative enlightenment which ties in with that idea of the “aha!” moment with the client when you both really connect with each other.

LB: Do you talk a lot about the values of Buddha Branding with your clients?

HB: I think it is more of an organic process. Language is important. We are trying to capture those concepts through our writing without having to heavily outline: we believe in this, we believe in that. It is more about the language and the imagery that we use. It attracts the kind of work that I’m interested in doing, where we have a common value base.

LB: Can you tell us about the process that you go through when you are developing a brand for a particular company or project or client?

HB: I do a creative consultation during our first meeting that includes a questionnaire. I use the questions to get an idea of their vision, their values and their creative spirit. For example, we hear a lot about competition in the marketplace, but I might ask, whose in your tribe? who loves you? My questions help me to understand them and their ideas.

I don’t try to cram the design process into one day because spreading it out gives you clearer perspective. I always try to give my clients 2 or 3 concepts that are quite different so we can pinpoint where their vision is. Then it goes back and forth to refine it.

LB: How did you come up with your list of questions?

HB: I have these 2 great books: The Brand Gap and Zag by Marty Neumeier. They are so written for the creative person. They inspired me and helped me to write my questions. I also went through my own questions for Buddha Branding and it helped me to realize that Buddha Branding is a great name with strong values.

LB: For women who are thinking about launching their brand, or rebranding their business, what do you think are the most important things to take into consideration?

HB: Who do you want to be to your customer? I think that in the beginning, your company is very closely related to who you are, but as you grow, your brand is really only real in your customers’ eyes. You can give them tools, but ultimately, they are the ones who are going to tell you what your brand messaging is.

LB: What have your biggest challenges and achievements been so far?

HB: Getting cash flow within your first year is really difficult. I have always been propelling off of my own income. Conversely, I really celebrate cash flow and that has been a big success this year!

Personal growth has been a huge success. I wouldn’t be the same person if I was working for a company right now, having to go through those difficulties. Also, you can’t run away from a client who is unhappy. You have to talk about it. As a creative person, it is really easy to take things personally. That separation is important in business though. I want my client to be happy. Learning how to have those conversations without taking things personally and without reacting has been really important. I feel like that has been a success and that I am learning to do it well.

LB: What have you learned about yourself?

HB: I surprised myself by finding out how organized I am. You really need to apply yourself in the real world or you are going to feel the effects of it. You have to be present in your day, know what you’re doing. I have learned that I am capable of working harder than I had ever thought possible.

Most importantly, I have learned that I LOVE being an entrepreneur. You couldn’t really pay me to go back to working for someone else.

 

It was clear that Heather is clearly passionate about what she does

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