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When I first started White Deer, I built a brand that was grey and white and perfect and professional looking, because I thought that’s what I was meant to do. It took me years to undo it.

I’ve now been in business for 12 and a half years, and I’ve taken 600+ students through the process I use to build brands. So if I were starting again today, I know exactly what I’d do differently. Keep reading to find out why hiding behind a polished brand might be costing you, and how to build a strong brand that feels like you with my WOW model.

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What building your brand based on “looking professional” is costing you

I named my business White Deer because I was terrified of choosing something people might get deterred from. Hence the white. Then I made the whole brand grey and white, because nobody hates grey, do they?

I was fresh out of university and scared that my business wouldn’t succeed. So I didn’t call out to anyone in particular. I just wanted to look “professional” so I could get clients.

But underneath it all, I just didn’t feel worthy yet. I didn’t feel qualified, even though I was. So the brand became a mask to impress people rather than a way of showing who I was and how I could help.

As a result, I felt disconnected from my brand, and I attracted a lot of corporate businesses and a lot of men.

Nothing wrong with either, but it was all I was attracting, and it didn’t light me up. I love working with women in small business, which is my bread and butter now.

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Why a polished brand might not always attract clients

Audiences are far more drawn to authentic, relatable content than to perfect, polished, corporate graphics. AI has amplified that even more. Anyone can ask AI to produce something perfect. It’s much harder for it to copy a brand that feels genuinely real.

Picture two businesses you could hire to clean your home.

One is a faceless, perfect-looking brand with immaculate posts and no person in sight. The other is a touch imperfect, with photos of the owner actually cleaning houses. Most of us pick the second one. It feels more relatable, more trustworthy and a whole lot less like a scam.

Own the fact that you’re a human. You can build connection through your graphics, your posts and your design style.

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How to build a strong brand with the WOW model

This is my signature method, and I take every student through it step by step. Picture a Venn diagram with three circles. Where they overlap is where your perfect brand lives.

• Who: Who do you want to attract, and what do they love looking at? A brand for corporate CEOs will look very different to one for brand new mums. An educated guess is fine if you’re just starting.
• Originality: Who are you? What do you love as a human being? My second brand was pink, and I actually hate pink, so I struggled to show up as it. If posting feels painful, your brand might be part of the reason.
• Why: What do you want someone to feel when they work with you? Playful and creative? Nurtured and calm? Energised? Trusted and grounded? Each answer points to a different brand.

The three circles won’t always match perfectly. But 99% of the time there’s some overlap, and that overlap is where I’d build.

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How to build your brand with clarity

I built my grey brand out of fear. That’s not a great way to build a business. Build it from authority and clarity instead. If you don’t have all the clarity yet, use what you have and refine down the track. Chances are you’ll only need a couple of tweaks, because you started with the right questions.

What I’d do now is skip the cute Pinterest board and the random Canva template, sit down with the WOW questions, build something strategic and use it consistently. That’s what helps me show up confidently, attract the right clients and keep growing instead of fizzling.

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WORK WITH JACQUI:

// DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb

// The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub

// Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

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