‘Passion Meets Purpose’ Puts Soul into Small Business Branding
Written by kammiek
on August 4th, 2006 / 9 Comments / Print this
Hello SBB’ers! I look forward to getting to know you and sharing my musings on Small Business Branding. I’ll cut to the chase. My work history has allowed me to work as an on-air radio personality, a marketing manager, special events & marketing director (working with amazing brand managers at Tanqueray, Grand Marnier, Moet & Chandon and Hennessy), a college recruiter and an assistant professor of public speaking and communications. (Whew!)
I’ve enjoyed my experiences in the academic and corporate worlds and both afforded me the opportunity to travel and explore diverse cities, people and cultures. (For more scoop, check out my website).
Upon completion of a Master’s degree in Communications Training and Development, I began a second one in Professional Counseling, and explored the option of becoming a therapist. Through research and powerful questioning, I realized that Life Coaching was my ultimate calling (along with blogging and writing books about loving life) and I switched gears to begin training with Coach University. Aha! My passion met my purpose. Helping others “fall in love with life†– the one they’ve already got – underneath all the junk, is my mission.
And so it goes that I began passionmeetspurpose.com, a site dedicated to providing resources for people to help themselves fall in love with life. People can find themselves stuck in the “What is my true passion and/or purpose in life?†The first step on that journey is simply living with more joy and passion on a daily basis. The more we do what we love - be it knitting or blogging or designing widgets – truly tuning into our unique gifts and talents - the rest of the story magically unfolds. Leading MANY of us to start small businesses.
The brand identity of an organization is often referred to as the soul or spirit of the company. As I’m fascinated with spirituality and living life with more passion and purpose, I look forward to opening a dialogue around those topics in relation to building the soul or identity of a small business.
One soulful leader, who consistently stands for integrity and inspiration in business, is Lance Secretan. He recently shared his thoughts on authenticity in business on his blog …
“I asked an expert in the financial markets the other day to name an industry that was fully authentic, one that did not trick customers, or use misleading advertising, or pay lawyers to advance their aims at the expense of others - and he couldn’t name one.
Of course, he could name shining examples of authenticity in every field, and these we gratefully take as our beacons. But the Starbucks, Patagonia’s, Body Shops and Southwest Airlines are the exception rather than an industry norm. Yet these are the icons that inspire us.
We are authentic - and therefore inspiring - as leaders, when our minds, mouths, hearts and feet all practice the same thing. That’s when we become inspired and are inspiring to others. The inauthentic frightens and saddens us.
And the authentic inspires us and guides us all to greatness.â€
I’ll do my best to write as authentically, soulfully and as inspired as I can in regard to our shared passion – our small businesses.
Peace & Prosperity,
Kammie K.
9 Comments to “‘Passion Meets Purpose’ Puts Soul into Small Business Branding”
August 4th, 2006
4:12 pm
Kammie K: That’s awesome. It’s great to meet people like you who want to share passion to others.
That’s like having a breath of fresh air indeed!
Passion meets purpose — I like that!
August 4th, 2006
11:15 pm
Hello Clair,
Thanks for the welcome to SBB! A breath of fresh air, huh? Who couldn’t use more of that:) And yes, my mission is to help others turn their sparks into a flame…maybe even a burning inferno. Without passion for our projects, our businesses, our lives…what’s the point? I look forward to sharing more juicy bits of SBB wisdom as I stumble across them.
Kam
August 5th, 2006
2:12 am
Kammie,
It is indeed enjoyable to see someone who absolutely, without a doubt, no questions asked, ejoys life! Wow - what a concept!
I loved your article and I hope that you continue to write with such passion. It is commendable and it shows.
Kudos on a great job!
August 5th, 2006
2:39 am
Hey Tyler,
Thanks so much for the kudos. Glad you enjoyed the article. I’m really looking forward to diving into this writing project, as it will also help me to streamline and simplify my own brand as I’m able to share info with all of you. I’ll do my best to keep the passion at high-octane levels!
Be well,
Kammie K.
August 6th, 2006
1:58 am
Kammie,
I believe you’re going to bring a lot of HEART and inspiration to SBB. These two components can help propel a business into huge success, and you’ll be giving small business readers something new and exciting to “chew” on that will help grow both their businesses and personal lives. Thanks for sharing your passion with others–it’s contagious!
August 6th, 2006
8:01 pm
Hi Kammie,
Welcome to SBB! I concur wholeheartedly with all previous comments
… also, I think your branding is brilliant - it’s fresh, cohesive and carries impact.
I’ve just started building my brand, and probably one of the trickiest things I’m navigating right now is balancing “what the customers wants” (i.e. is accustomed to) with the soul and spirit that I want my brand to possess and project. Perhaps it depends on the product or service, but I’m finding that creating a brand with my ideal in mind and then creating the market for that is VERY complex. At times it’s really tempting to shed my ideals and just go with what people will more easily “get”. But then of course it has no soul and is meaningless. I know it can be done, I just have to find out how!
In any case, I’m looking forward to reading your posts!
August 7th, 2006
11:40 pm
Danielle, thank you for the warm welcome! I LOVE your “Meet Market” approach! What an amazing way to take a common theme (who hasn’t been there?) and turn it into a unique mingling experience.
As for your brand building, I say keep it simple. Find one or two unique things that seperate you from your competitors and focus on that.
It can be challenging not to cave and give into what we percieve the consumers wants and desires to be. I say use your own unique voice and keep fine tuning and streamling it. The RIGHT consumers WILL “get you” and the rest you don’t need anyway!
Look forward to chatting more soon,
Kam:)
August 8th, 2006
9:44 am
That’s great advice… thanks Kammie
May 6th, 2007
10:53 pm
I really agree with something you mention here - Life Coaching is a ‘calling’. Something one is driven to, a purpose.
Leave a Comment or a Question