Building a brand requires many things, but to build a brand, you certainly must be different. Being different means standing out from the crowd. Standing out from the crowd requires COURAGE. Standing out sometimes can be controversial and, at a minimum, it means being at odds with generally accepted principles….especially in the beginning. Intellectually, most of us recognize the challenge of differentiating themselves and their brands. Yet, far too often, we gravitate toward building our brands in ways that are similar (if not the same) to what everyone else is doing, not really differentiating.
We hear – maybe even tell ourselves – that “that’s what the market (customers) want”. 
For many of us, thinking in fresh new ways or trying something totally different can be frightening. Nobody wants to look foolish. Yet, how can you be unique and different –i.e., a strong brand – by doing things the same way everyone else does or if your product is just like the leading brand’s product. If that ends up being the case, the only pathway left to achieve success is to be the cheapest provider of your product or service. And, in most cases….there’s ALWAYS somebody who will provide the same service or product you do at a cheaper price. So…to build your brand, you must figure out how you are going to be different….how you are going to be truly unique….and then believe enough in yourself so that you stay the course when things are difficult which they often are in the early days of building any brand.
Building a brand requires COURAGE.
