You’re ready to start your own business – hooray! You’re motivated, you have a few client contacts and you have a great support network.

But do you have a brand?

Souffléing, or, giving rise to your brand, is key to attracting success. You want to cook up a brand that delights and elicits “oohs and aahs.” One that will not collapse when you gently pull it from the oven. Everybody wants a piece of it.

First, determine whether your business idea fits a unique business need. What is your niche? Who needs your help? Who is your ideal client? What is their age? Gender?

One of my very wise business coaches once suggested that I pay attention to my ideal clients’ business needs when I was networking among them at a dietetics conference. What were their pain points? What kept them up at night? What did they wish they had the time to do or learn, but instead would gladly look elsewhere for this service? Hearing “Oh I need that!” is great validation for your business idea and brand.

Next, think think think about who you are. Which words come to mind that describe you and your business or product? Wholesome and family-focused…or new agey and naturopathic? How do you wish to be perceived? How do you wish to come across via your website, blog, and in both traditional and social media spheres?

I’m re-reading Pop! Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything by Sam Horn, and I stand by her suggestion for doing the ‘pitch test.’

“Just give people your pitch and watch their eyebrows,” she writes. If you share a brief pitch with a potential client and their eyebrows go up, clearly they’re intrigued. If, instead, their eyebrows furrow, you’re either confusing them or they may be indifferent. Why are they confused? Why aren’t they interested? Better to find out now by doing some pre-testing and some hard-core thinking before investing in a deflated brand.

Differentiate. It’s tough to be a dietitian among a sea of dietitians. But if you’re a dietitian who specializes in helping new mothers with their unique nutrition needs after giving birth, well, now we’re talking. Determine how you are going to set yourself apart from your competition.

Lastly, ponder…which brands do you admire most and why? Is there a particular dietitian that you idolize? What draws you to his or her brand? Which food co is uber-successful – which food co do you aim to blow out of the water (er, oven) with your own success?

What branding tips have proved successful for you? Please share!