Nick Kraus is the CEO & Founder of Kraus Marketing, an agency that delivers high-end digital marketing. Learn more: krausmarketing.com
There comes a time in every founder’s startup journey when it becomes nearly impossible to be involved in every client meeting, call or discussion. And while this is typically an indicator of growing success, founders are then faced with learning how to navigate away from their original vision to account for new growth and potential success.
Through my own trial and error and speaking with other entrepreneurs facing similar pain points, I’ve narrowed down four pillars of brand-building that allow for both organizational development and transcending the need for founder involvement on the employee level.
The 4 Pillars of Brand-Building
To successfully transcend your brand beyond its founder, you will need to account for the four major moving parts that make up a successful brand: your culture, your team, your marketing and you — the founder and CEO.
1. It starts with culture.
As one of the most overlooked pillars of brand-building, culture is critical to a successful workspace. The term “work culture” is a relatively new concept introduced in the last 10 to 15 years. Prior to this point, many companies simply allowed their culture to be a more “it is what it is” situation. But in 2022, work culture is everything. It attracts talent, impacts job satisfaction and improves productivity. Still, the most remarkable aspect of culture is that it can be whatever you want it to be — as long as it is deliberate.
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To transcend their brand beyond the initial startup phase, founders must create a thriving work culture for their team by fostering and manifesting the type of environment they would like to create. This should be done through choosing leadership, setting workplace policies, and recognizing and rewarding employee contributions that align with company values.
2. Hire and keep the right people.
After successfully fostering a positive work culture, founders must hire and keep employees whose personality attributes align best with their culture. Founders actively looking to expand their brand seek trustworthy, reliable and skilled professionals that can do quality work above and beyond their original standards.
But with a rapidly growing business, founders may not be able to interview every potential new candidate personally. To transcend your brand beyond the need for founder involvement during the hiring process, you must train your hiring managers and develop a detailed onboarding process that will seamlessly transition your new employees into your company.
After you’ve found your team of skilled professionals, you must increase employee retention by paying them proper wages, emphasizing professional development, and fostering collaboration and communication. By doing these things, you are actively transcending your brand beyond yourself by creating a talented team that your clients will be happy to work with — without the need for your direct involvement or input.
3. Showcase your brand.
Brands often have difficulty establishing trust with their clients during the initial startup phase of their business. This is because, as an up-and-coming business, your company does not yet possess the proven reputation that comes with several years of industry experience. As a result, new clients may often feel strongly about working directly with the founder because they view you as the face of the company. However, once your brand begins to experience significant growth, it will become impossible for the founder to participate in every project.
For potential clients to know and trust that you have a great team, you have to tell them about it. With effective marketing, you can showcase your positive work culture and dependable team of professionals to highlight your brand’s reliable reputation. By having an active presence on social media, you can also demonstrate all of the talent, awards and hardworking leadership that makes your company a reputable and trustworthy brand to work with.
4. Determine your role in the next phase of growth.
After setting up your business for the next stage of growth, it’s now essential to identify what your new role will be. Often, founders unwilling to delegate and allow new leaders to take over responsibility will hinder potential growth and miss out on unique perspectives that could advance the company. It’s important to remember that you’ve hired your team because they possess the skills and knowledge you believe match your company’s values. Now it’s time to mold them into what you want them to be to continue advancing your company’s success.
As the brand’s creator, you have the opportunity to determine precisely how you want to participate moving forward in your company’s growth. Whether this includes hiring a COO, creating an executive board or simply continuing as the highest level of company leadership, you get to decide what to do with your company. But, with an intentional work culture, a successful team, the proper marketing and a vision for the future, you can successfully transcend your brand beyond the need for the founder at the employee level.
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Author: Nicholas Kraus, Forbes Councils Member