Welcome to the Virtual Antics podcast, where we help entrepreneurs streamline their business to six figures and beyond. These short, sweet and info packed episodes will inspire, educate and leave you feeling motivated to take one more step forward in your business. So put down your never-ending to-do list, because in this podcast, we are interviewing the best of the best in the entrepreneurial world as they spill their secrets to success. This podcast is sponsored by Nandora, the all-in-one software for entrepreneurs to grow their business, with unlimited landing pages, automations, emails and text campaigns, and so much more. I'm your host, natalie Guzman. Now let's get into it. Hey, welcome to Virtual Antics podcast. I am so excited. I'm your host, natalie Guzman. Today I have a Taya Strubole on the call with us. I'm so, so excited for this because she's going to talk to us about one of my favorite things, which is branding. She is a personal brand business coach and a globe trotting entrepreneur. She's currently in Germany, but she's always all over the place, so I'm so excited to talk to her. So welcome, taya. How are you doing today?
Speaker 2Good. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1Hey, thank you for coming. I'm so excited because branding I think there is. Everyone knows they need to do it, but there's so much confusion around it and a lot of entrepreneurs just don't know really where to start. So I'm so excited to dive into this. But first, can you tell us how you got into being a personal brand business coach?
Speaker 2Yes, so it was a whirlwind. So it all started when I was working bedside as a nurse and I met my husband in Thailand and he is from Germany, and so we lived in the US for a couple of years and I was working full time as a nurse, like literally ready to retire from a job, loved working. I worked in the NICU with little kids and I was like, love it. And then he told me like he didn't really like the US and he was like are you open to moving? So then I was like, oh my gosh, what am I going to do? Nursing in Germany is different than nursing in the US. It's like I have to learn a whole new language and I have to learn all of this stuff. So then I did what anybody does and I Googled how to make money online and blogging came up, and so I was like, okay, I can do blogging, I can do that, like my husband and I. We had traveled, we did all of this stuff and it was just something that we could seamlessly transition into. And so in 2020, february, I launched my blog with literally just a bio of what I was going to be talking about in the future, and so I was like, okay, I'm going to go ahead, do this. And I just kind of worked through it.
Speaker 2And then, as we all know, february is when the pandemic hit, and so I had planned on making a travel blog. And so then it was like we were one of the last flights we're leaving Seattle, so that was like the last flight I took for the next year and a half. And so it was like, okay, like what am I going to do now? And so then I was like, let me just focus on growing on Instagram, let me just focus on, like, getting people to know me. And so as I did that, I was getting personal and I unintentionally built a personal brand and so built that brand awareness and people were getting connected to me.
Speaker 2And as I continued to do it, I became more passionate about the strategy of the marketing behind business, like why somebody clicks on something, how somebody creates sales.
Speaker 2Then it was sharing my travel journeys.
Speaker 2And I still did share my travels, but in a way from a marketing aspect. And so by the end of that year, I went into social media management for a million dollar company and I worked with them, and working with them made me really realize that a lot of small businesses weren't leveraging things right. They were kind of just getting stuck in the little day-to-day task and they weren't leveraging or they weren't making moves because they felt that they weren't quote-unquote big enough. And you know, working with that brand and like realizing that I was helping them with their email strategy, I was helping them with their Instagram growth, I was helping them do all of this stuff, and I had just started seven months, right, and I was like, okay, like anyone can do this and as far as anyone can grow their brand, they just need the right tools. And so that's when I started helping small businesses really create that brand and get that personal brand awareness and really get people to fall in love with them and then have their business be a part of them.
Speaker 1That is absolutely amazing and you know, my journey started the same way with the Google search, so I absolutely love that we have that in common. That is so cool and you know it really is a powerful thing. I've seen it at time of time again and what I love about personal brands is that you know it's personal, it's you right, it's literally who you are, to your core, and so your interest change and so you don't have to like I love personal brand websites because you don't have to create a whole new website. You have your personal brand, you just update that one. You don't have to create a whole new business. It's literally you are the business and so if your interest change or your focus has changed, you can kind of change your personal brand. What are some other advantages to you focusing and growing a personal brand?
Speaker 2Other than really that you can do anything is there's multiple ways to monetize. So, for example, like I do business coaching. But this last month I've been working with brands, so I was able to travel with Contiki and do a paid brand collaboration with them Travel. We went to Spain and Portugal. I took content for them, did all of that and I had that experience because I created a personal brand. If you were to go on my Instagram, right, I didn't have to post that content on Instagram. I was able to post that content on TikTok because that was my decision.
Speaker 2And so I think that building a personal brand allows you to diversify your income, but also, you know, I'm a multi passionate, so you're able to show all of those different pieces of you without feeling like, oh my gosh, like people are going to get confused. Oh, I'm not talking about my offer today. Oh my God, people are going to get confused. Like people know at all times, like I will get DMs on a random day I have not even talked about business yet where people are like, oh my God, I want to work with you and this because I built that personal brand and people know the different components of me and just really sticking to, because I know a lot of the times people are like oh, you've got a niche, you've got a niche and there's a way to be strategic when you're creating a personal brand that you don't have to only talk about one thing. It's having several things that are themed around you.
Speaker 1Yeah, I actually heard. I follow this guy. That was Instagram. Right, instagram strategy was a lot of things and he said something interesting that he focused on like five categories of his life and those were the and sometimes it would change but those were like the things. So, whether it was like family, he had his business, he had travel, just all the things that kind of made him him. Do you recommend kind of limiting yourself to different categories or how how would you be strategic with social media and showing your personal brand?
Speaker 2So I like to say on my feed, I have three main things that I talk about. So I have my digital marketing, I have my lifestyle I'll tell you all about lifestyle and things that I'm doing and then I have travel. So those are the three things that I mainly talk about on my feed. And then when I go on Instagram stories, that's when people get to know, like, more of me. So that's where you really dive into. Obviously there's the same themes, but that is where I share my daily links. So that is where I share what I'm up to.
Speaker 2And I think a lot of the times, business owners feel like they can't make like oh, if I share my coffee, how is that helping me make sales? Like it kind of gives you something to relate to. Like. For example, I know a business coach that talked about how she like sat around waiting for Taylor Swift tickets and then, literally the next day they were. But she had a client say like, oh my gosh, I had no idea you were a Swifty.
Speaker 2I definitely signed up for X, y and Z because, like you know, I was on the border of signing up, and so it's just those little pieces of you that you may think that are quote unquote like boring or mundane that people connect with and that allows that connection right. That connection makes it more personal. So when you're somebody who's solely selling you know your services and you're like, oh my gosh, like you know, solely selling my services, that's all I'm going to talk about. Like, I as a consumer want to know things like, oh, like, what does she do on a daily basis? Like if she's selling me a course on freedom and all she's talking about is how she has freedom, like, where's the embodiment? So that's when you're able to really go in there and really embody the things that you're doing and do the behind the scenes and then the three things in the feed.
Speaker 1That's awesome. I absolutely love that and I love stories too. I just started really getting into them and I've seen a huge shift. I have had, like you said, clients come to me and be like I didn't know that about you, or that's so cool, or like you know, I'm watching you.
Speaker 1I had a client meet me the other day. I was like awesome, good, you're going to learn some stuff, so that's cool, and you're going to learn some stuff about me, which I feel like just helps that you know client relationship right, because they feel like they actually know me, even though we never met in person for most of my clients, which is pretty cool as well. So we've talked about branding on social media. Where else should we brand ourselves?
So, literally, your brand should follow you wherever you're going. So even if you have, for example, I have a podcast, socially paid, and it's different branding right, it looks different but it's the original colors of my branding and aligns with my overall message. So branding isn't only like the colors or it's not only like little specifics, it's the things that you're talking about. So, if you have a blog, you want your blog to be branded. You don't want somebody to find you on the internet. Like, if I have this podcast episode, right, and it shows up in a Google search and then I'm on here talking about something totally random, people are going to be like, what's happening? Like what is that? So, just thinking about all of the little things that you do, like, if you're a podcast guest, you want to make sure that when you're giving, like those freebies or you're giving something to the audience, that whatever you're deciding to give aligns with your brand. And then also in your blog, you want to make sure that you're doing that. If you're somebody, even if you have, like an Etsy shop, whatever it is that you're doing online should align. So because people begin to recognize you, right, it's like one of those things where it's like oh my God, that's Italia.
Speaker 2You know, like it may be a whole different thing, but the you know the brand of voice, like the way you talk. So I always say sometimes you meet someone in person and then you're like whoa, like who is this person? Like this isn't the same person that I follow on social media, because you know you're following them, you're like getting on there. So just thinking about how you talk regularly and even in stories, like thinking about like, okay, like. Or if you do a video on your sales page, like how do you normally talk, and then bring that out and instead of just starting your video over and over to sound perfect, like if you're stumbling over your words, that is totally normal, right, like that's something that my community knows about me. Like I'm stumbling over my words because I have a really great idea. My brain goes a hundred miles per hour and so it's just part of just branding every piece of your brand.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's really smart. I was thinking about like branding too when it comes to email marketing. So when you were talking, I was like, oh man, even our emails, because that's literally like a letter from us, right, and that's going straight into their inbox. So making sure that we are talking, how we talk, is super important. That's why, like we recently had, I tried to you hand over some of our email marketing to someone they use chat GBT and I was like, oh, we got to train chat GBT how to sound like me, because it sounded completely off and that's what a lot of clients come to us and they're like man this just doesn't sound.
Speaker 1You know we had this done by chat GBT. It doesn't sound like us, and so I think it's really you can train AI to sound like you. It does take some work and some effort, but you can do it. So it's not not saying don't use AI. Just be really mindful about using, you know, about making sure we're training it first. But that is awesome. So what are others? Some maybe some tips or things that you see that entrepreneurs don't really do when it comes to personal branding that they should be doing.
Speaker 2I think the number one thing is people avoid talking about their hardships Like people, or people like stray away if they have, like, a room that's dirty or if they're you know like they're like oh, I've got a stray away for that, and I just want you to know that you need to humanize yourself, right. We're all online and when all of us are putting on this show, people can tell. But when you get realistic and you're just like my office is a mess today, I'm not going to get to cleaning it, but who else's office is a mess? I bet you your DMs are going to be blowing up of people talking about how much their office is a mess and how they're so glad that you shared that. And in the same way of not only sharing the highlights, not only sharing the good things that are happening in your brand, like yes, that shows authority, but when you're a thought leader, you want to also share the things that are difficult. You want to share if you're having a difficult time at that time. And obviously, yes, I'm not saying share every single thing on the internet, but take the time to kind of live that and then just be like okay, like I really wanted to talk about this and I think it's that vulnerability that really allows you to connect on a deeper level. And when you're creating a personal brand, like that's what you want is that connection.
Speaker 2If you're wanting to have loyal people that watch your stories every day, or if you're wanting people that buy from you, the second that you drop whatever offer you have, it's because they're connected to you in another way.
Speaker 2You want to think also about the type of content or the type of people that you see, like what things attract you to them.
Speaker 2And when you think about that and you're like, oh, like I'm attracted to them because of this, you begin to see that you're attracted to them because of the things not the things they share on their feed.
Speaker 2You're like watching their stories and you're attracted to things that they're doing behind the scenes and that they're sharing. So just remembering to share, being vulnerable, remembering to share the behind the scenes and the process, and I think a lot of times you just want to show up when everything's done, but people want to see the process, like I want to know that you're starting a podcast and then I want you to take me through, like what it is that you're doing or if you have any hiccups, like I, want to know about that, because then when your podcast comes out, who's going to support you? I am, because I know how hard you worked. But I think a lot of us are doing so much work behind the scenes and we feel like it needs to be behind the scenes. But when we share that journey with others, that allows people to see like, oh my God, she puts a lot of work into her art and then they're going to want to support you, they're going to want to buy from you, they're going to want to work with you.
Speaker 1Yeah, 100% agree, and I see it time and time again, you know and the more that we show up and just be our natural selves, and then that's when all the good stuff starts coming to us without us really having to work as hard either, and all we're doing is just showing up and being ourselves and showing up consistently too, I think, is a really big part of it. So that is awesome. So now I kind of want to know about more, about your. How do you coach people? So do you do like one-on-one sessions? You do group coaching? What tell me what it looks like when someone hires you as the personal brand coach?
Speaker 2So I have a membership which is more of like a group setting and it is a content monetization membership where you really focus on how you can create content to monetize your platform, because I think a lot of the times people are doing all this like content is a lot of work and you deserve to be paid.
Speaker 2So we really go over the seven different streams and you're able to kind of like ask questions inside of the community, get support from people in there, and then I also do like strategy one-off intensive sessions.
Speaker 2If you're somebody who's like, oh my gosh, like my personal brand is a mess or I don't have a personal brand or I don't know what my brand story is, then we really sit down and we map that out and then we create content to really go towards attracting whoever your ideal client is. And then I also work with people one-on-one coaching, where we really have a holistic approach. So my coaching isn't just, oh, like this is what your brand is and this is what you need to talk about. It's more of like who are you as a person and how can we put who you are when I talk to you into your content? How can we translate that so people understand and they see you for who you are and they buy what you have to offer. And in that one-on-one too, we work on different offers, creating that product suite, really getting in alignment of the different ways to create income, because I'm a sole believer in multiple streams of income from your brand, because I just don't ever want to rely on one stream of income.
Speaker 1Yeah, and you know that's actually something that I say a lot on the podcast is that the average millionaire has at least seven streams of income. So I love that you said seven streams, because I was in my head I was like, yeah, that's exactly what I preach, so that's awesome. I honestly love that. And plus, especially if you know something like God forbid, hopefully it doesn't happen, but like the pandemic hits and you know you had to kind of switch paths. You know having the different streams of income is super important because if one isn't working or profitable, then you can switch to the next and it gives you a lot more freeway. You know you can just kind of shift your focus, but always having multiple is definitely a really good business strategy. I absolutely love that. So how can we find more about you and your services?
Speaker 2Of course, you can find me on all social platforms Atalya Struble and then my blog. If you're looking for like digital marketing information, travel information, or just want to know more about me and my life, that is at wwwatalyasstrublecom. I am also on TikTok me and my husband. We have a family TikTok it's called the Struble family, and then if you're wanting to tune into the podcast, it's called socially paid. We are on all streaming platforms.
Speaker 1Also. I'll make sure I put all that in the show notes as well. But thank you so much for coming on the show. Atalya has been so much fun and we'll talk to you guys next time on the Virtual Index Podcast.