Whitney Sewell: This is your daily real estate syndication show. I'm your host, Whitney Sewell. Today, we've packed a number of shows together to give you some highlights. I know you're going to enjoy the show. Thank you for being with us today. Trevor, I'm honored to meet you and to have you on the show. I know you have some amazing skill sets that the majority of our listeners are going to learn so much from and are going to benefit from their businesses. And I'm looking forward to the conversation. But before we do, give them a little bit more detail about who you are and your business and your focus and then let's jump in.
Treva Graves: Sure. Thank you so much for having me. Well, I have been in business for about 10 years now. I am the CEO and founder of Bloom Personal Branding. We've been around since 2013. I started out really more so in the image and executive impression business, helping people present themselves, communication skills, you know, all of those kind of soft skills you know that we talked about in the business world, but I eventually started working with people on building their brands and so this included entrepreneurs, leaders. so on and so forth, you know, things kind of morph and change over the years. And so for these last probably five years of my business, it's been really focused on helping people build their personal brand and how and why that matters in our world today. I think a lot of people don't fully understand how important it is and hopefully by the end of today you'll have a better grasp of it and how it can help you succeed in your business.
Whitney Sewell: Yeah, it's a very important topic. And I think it's, it's something that is often, you know, minimized or just thought, Oh, that's not, you know, I don't really need that type of thing. Or, but you know, so let's start at a very high level, just so the listeners can, can understand the importance of a personal brand. And so what is a person? Oh, yeah, what is a personal brand? Why? Why would I do that versus, you know, this, this business brand that I've been focused on for so long?
Treva Graves: Well, I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make, whether they're an entrepreneur or a leader, is they start out with trying to market themselves before they really, truly understand who they are and what makes them unique. And personal branding is really another word for reputation. We all have a reputation, whether we realize it or not, and that reputation is what is going to connect you to your audience, to the people around you, to the people you want to establish relationships with or do business with. So that's really basically what it is. It's your reputation and your reputation then really is an assessment of your trustworthiness. So people are going to check you out and make sure that you are someone they want to do business with. And, uh, you know, just kind of seeing, is this someone I can like, are they warm, friendly? knowledgeable, can, will I trust them? Yeah, that's kind of basically what it is.
Whitney Sewell: And why focus on a personal brand versus just like being solely focused on building our business brand?
Treva Graves: Yeah, well, that's, that's really where the relationship begins, in my opinion. Let's just take real estate, for example. You know, real estate agents are a dime a dozen. There's lots and lots of agents out there. But it's like, why would someone want to do business with you? And that's really where personal branding comes in. Branding used to be about companies, you know, so for example, you know, take Century 21 real estate, you know, the back in the day when they wore the gold jackets and, you know, that was kind of the gold standard, right? It's like, I could work with anyone at Century 21 because of the company brand. But there's been a huge shift in the marketplace now and people don't do business with companies anymore. They do business with people. just through some research that I've, I've done, you know, millennials, for example, do a lot of their, their business, um, through learning and gaining testimonials or endorsements from other people. So it's, they're not really just looking at a company anymore. Like, wow, that's great. It's gotta be, they're going to do business with the person that's in the company, no matter what company it is. So hopefully that makes sense.
Whitney Sewell: It does. It makes a ton of sense. And the listeners would know this about me. I hope anyway, I've talked about it pretty often or at different times on the show. And we're like helping them to think it through how they're raising money from investors, right? How are you connecting to investors? How are they building those relationships? And I've talked often where this, this, It really happened. The Lord just had a plan here. I mean, because I didn't have this planned out. But I saw it start to work, Treva, where, you know, when I first started networking really hard in this business, I was brand new. And I would meet people at a conference, you know, there's thousands of potential people there. And I'll talk to as many people as I possibly can, just like everybody else is doing, right, trying to meet investors. And, and, but you know, everybody shakes their hand and says, well, you know, what do you do? Right. And, and I immediately lead with, with our foundation or the way we want to help families adopt children and get past the financial burden of adoption and, and those things. And, and, and so we, we, I focus on that and then I say, Hey, we do that through our commercial real estate business. Right. And so investors get to play a role in this, but it doesn't affect their returns. Well, that immediately changes the whole conversation dynamic. And then, you know, to fast forward here, when I follow up with them a week, even if it's two weeks later, hopefully it's not that long, but if it is, they still remember me even if they talked to 100 people that day, right? Because it was very different. And there was a conversation than everybody else. And there was a relationship component that I started seeing happen versus me just talking about LifeBridge Capital.
Treva Graves: Yes, absolutely. That is so important. You know, each of us has have our careers right you know we're known in our career by what we do, but we also have to have something else about us to talk about that humanizes us, and that is a huge part of personal branding. And I, what you just said with adopting children and all of that, I, my husband and I have an adopted child.
Whitney Sewell: So right there, I know that just so the listeners know. So right now I'm thinking that draws me to want to know more about you and what you do.
Treva Graves: And so it's that feeling, it's that energy, that emotion, that is what drives the relationship, probably more so than, oh, I'm an investment baker or a venture capitalist or whatever it is that you do. And so it doesn't matter if it's something very personal and the whole adoption thing, it could be talking about maybe you have a love of dogs or you hike mountains or you know whatever it is there's got to be something else about you that is unique to you that people are going to remember you by. And that's a perfect example of what you just said. The people that you networked remember you more for maybe your foundation than the other part of who you are. So very, very good point.
Whitney Sewell: You know, speak to someone that's struggling to find that unique piece that helps them stand out. Because I feel like often it's a, it's a big struggle, right? I've talked about that on the show before. And people might say, Oh, Whitney, that's like, I don't know how I'm so different than the other guy that's got the same kind of business. Right. Or, you know, what is that thing for me? Have you maybe helped people or maybe an example?
Treva Graves: Yes. Well, and that really is the key right there. You know, how are you going to differentiate yourself from everybody else around you? And that is where you really have to spend some time thinking about who you are. You know, what problem do I solve for my clients and customers? What makes me unique? Why would they choose me over somebody else? And so, for example, I'll just use myself as an example, but the problem that I determined that I solve for people is self-doubt. In my business, I work with a lot of people who are unsure of themselves and they're insecure. There's this new business owner that wants to start a business, but they're full of this insecurity and worry. With the problem that I solve for people, my uniqueness is the flip side of that. It's confidence. So I help people build their confidence to be better leaders, to be better networkers, to start businesses. But it's really going through a series of questions and asking yourself, what am I good at? What's my secret sauce? What do people come to me for? What do I research on my own time? You know, if you kind of just start digging deep that way into really your values, your passions, your purpose, your strengths, that's where your personal brand is going to live in those things. So that's where I would start.
Whitney Sewell: I think it's a good list of questions just to think through, no matter how established you think your business is, but as you're trying to build this personal brand, like you're talking about, you know, what are you good at? And the secret sauce. You know, I was just in a meeting yesterday and somebody was struggling to think through on the team, even some, as we're laying out like SOPs, things like that. And they're like, you know, all these things that we do, how do we document? And that was one of the questions I said, well, what do people come to you for? Like, I need you to write those things down. You know, like, what do people come to you for? So it's interesting here that, you know, that's a uniqueness, right, that you have. Obviously, people are asking you because they already have the confidence in you that you know this thing.
Treva Graves: Yes, absolutely. If you can determine the problem you solve, what your unique value is, you can then come up with this sort of brand vision or message, your brand message. And so, for example, you know, I was talking about the problem I solve is self-doubt. my uniqueness is confidence, my message really is weaved in everything that I do and that is believe in yourself. So it doesn't matter if I'm talking to friends just on a friendship level or talking to clients or I'm writing content for social media, the common thread in all of that, in what I say and what I do is is my brand message, believe in yourself, I might not be actually saying those words every time. But that's how I present myself. And that's authentic to me.
Whitney Sewell: Speak to maybe help the listener think about the the end goal of the personal brand, right? Is it you know, maybe they have a you know, something they're selling, you know, under that personal brand, or maybe, you know, they, they have a real estate business similar to us where, you know, they, they're raising money from investors over here, they're buying commercial real estate, but this personal brand kind of compliments, it's almost like the, the first door into the house, right, to building that relationship to getting them over here to then teach them about what we do in real estate. Or what are your thoughts on like the, the end goal of the personal brand?
Treva Graves: Well, of course, the end goal of personal branding, I don't know if it ever really ends, but I can speak to that. You know, for example, if you are someone who is in sales. And what do you need in sales? Well, you need leads, you need to close the sales. And so if your brand is working for you, you should be generating more sales and more leads. If you are in leadership, and you are building teams, and your teams are actually flowing and working together so well, and you're expressing your uniqueness to help your team, then to me that's a win. Because that says that those employees like you, trust you, follow you. If you have a product, they're probably going to buy from you. So it takes time. It doesn't happen overnight. But the more that you really immerse yourself into what is it about me that I can help serve other people with because that's really the bottom line. It's about taking that unique value about yourself and exploiting it by serving other people. And that's what I always think about is how can I take me, my uniqueness and serve other people.
Whitney Sewell: What do we need in a personal brand? What, what are some of the mechanical things are between websites, social media, and we hear all these different things that, man, it can be quite overwhelming, right? When we think about all these things that, oh my goodness, you know, I need to be posting on how many sites or I need to be doing water with my website or, you know, help us break that down a little bit so we can all understand and see what we need.
Treva Graves: Yes. Well, first of all, in business, you know, if you're, I wouldn't worry so much right away to get a website going. I mean, even if you just have a Facebook page to get started with, you know, Facebook seems to be the, it's the largest social media platform with, you know, bill of over a billion people on it. But I would definitely set up probably some type of business Facebook page just to get you started. And just start obviously connecting with your own personal contacts and kind of expanding, you know, again, those building social media following takes a lot of time and effort. We'll talk about that a little bit more. But, you know, if you're ready to, you know, create that first website for yourself, It's really important, again, you know, having that brand development now created versus, you know, making the mistake that I did when I started, you know, 10, 11 years ago. You know, I was creating all these websites and doing all these things, but yet I forgot about the brand development. And so now you've got the brand development, you've got the problem you solve, your uniqueness, your message, who you are, what you stand for, your secret sauce, it's all ready to go. And you're building a following now and you are ready for a website. One of the first things that I would think about are colors. And every color has a different feeling or a different meaning to it, right? You know, reds are more you know, vibrant, energetic, strong, passionate, you know, blues are trustworthy, you know, classic, greens are a little bit more earthy, harmonious, those types of things. But do a little bit of research on your colors, and those colors should match your personality. I think, you know, a lot of times people They may not give a whole lot of thought to color, but color truly matters. And remember, your brand is all about creating emotion and connectability, and colors do that as well. So colors matter. And even the font matters. So if your personality is big and bold, you know, then choosing fonts that match that. If you're a little bit more feminine, elegant, you know, depending upon, you know, you and the audience that you are working with, you might want to choose something, you know, that's a little bit more scripted. fonts and colors matter. And I'd probably work with someone, you know, like a creative person who does specialize in websites can kind of help you with that. And they'll create this brand guide for you so that you know exactly your fonts and colors and all of that. And that should just flow seamlessly into any of your marketing materials or flyers or things that you create. So don't forget about those.
Whitney Sewell: That's interesting detail. Cause I would say, you know, early on that is where I would have, I never placed enough importance on those things. I don't know something. It seems so simple to the colors and font. Right. Uh, and even just having that, uh, just brand, uh, the, those things that, that highlight our brand and, and having them documented. So I know every time we create something on the website or a new page on the, like it needs to follow that. Right. We didn't, we didn't think about that in that detail early on. And I wish we had of, um, but okay. So we have the, let's say we have the color and the font, uh, you know, what's, what's some of the next things.
Treva Graves: Yeah, well, you know, some businesses, well, I think most businesses have like a special logo. And maybe, you know, maybe your logo is just your name, but have a creative person maybe come up with a cool way to present your name. My company is Bloom, so obviously that has something to do with a flower. Another part of my brand that I talk about sometimes is my love of flowers. I may talk about that in some of my social media posting, but I've always felt that flowers are a symbol of growth. growing, thriving, achieving, that's kind of a part of my brand and I help people do that. I help them grow, thrive, and achieve and that's a flower. So I incorporated that personal side of me into my logo and Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. It just depends on what your business is, but your logo is really your visual identity. And so take some time and put some thought into what you would like your logo. to be.
Whitney Sewell: Yeah, I find that a logo can be a major sticking point or hold up. Yes. Oh, is it right? Should it be this? Oh, I don't really like it. All these things. But, you know, how, I guess, how stuck should we be on, you know, getting it just right? Or, you know, could we change it later?
Treva Graves: Well, I would probably caution you on changing it later. That would be something I would not recommend, because this, this kind of becomes a part of you, your brand, what you're known for. And if you're changing things down the road that might confuse your tribe, you know, your audience and will. you know, why would they do that? So, I mean, if you're starting a completely different business, then absolutely you would have to do that. But I think your logo is something that should stay with you and your business and don't overlook that. I mean, spend time on it and get it right the first time.
Whitney Sewell: All right, what's after the logo after we go through that hard process of figuring out what's next?
Treva Graves: Well, OK, so let's just touch on briefly on brand photography, because this is very important. So don't don't overlook this part of your brand as well. Again, this is all the visual part of you. So you always want to have a good headshot. You probably need a business headshot, but you also need a lifestyle headshot, something that's not in a suit. You know, I mean, the world today, we live less in suits than when I started my career all those years ago. But some kind of lifestyle shot where you're, maybe you're out in nature, maybe you're drinking a cup of coffee on a cozy couch, or, you know, something that's just not too businessy. Because if you do any type of speaking, or you need to submit your photo, you know, for an event or something like that, you know, kind of get the feel of, okay, what are they looking for? Is this a business type thing? Or is this something a little bit more casual and laid back, just so you have options. So those are two things that I would definitely recommend. And then other photography for your website or flyers or brochures or social media, this is where you want to be showcasing parts of you and your personality. You know, like one of the shots I think I had taken I was walking down the street with a client. I think I had my computer or something like that, but just getting some action shots kind of related. I think another one was I was having a cup of coffee with a friend or I was sitting and I was actually working with the client. So just different shots in different places showing you and what you do. And then also it could be other lifestyle shots. If you're talking about you in your bio or the About Me section on a website, you might want to have something a little bit more fun and relaxed versus you in something a little bit more formal. But yeah, just mixing it up and making sure this all ties to your brand and who you are. I might, you know, I also have a photo of me, you know, in a field of flowers, because that's a part of who I am. And I love flowers, and it's my logo. So it all ties together.
Whitney Sewell: That makes a lot of sense for your brand, right? I mean, like you said, it connects in a big way, but it does show a different side potentially than say you sitting in the office, you know, in a very formal attire and on the phone.
Treva Graves: Yes. Yes. What's going to remember, what's going to connect you to your audience isn't necessarily your business photo. you know, in a suit. It's, they want to see what does she do, you know, what is she like, what does she love. It's that emotional connection again, what grounds me and what connects me. The person out there, she might all, he or she might also love flowers, they might love coffee, they might love, whatever it is I'm talking about on social media. And I can talk a little bit more about that as well.
Whitney Sewell: But yeah, I think that's a great suggestion and not typically focused on enough are those photos like you're talking about. And so I just did another, I've done this a few times, but another photo shoot, you know, and I'll have this young lady come and spend the day with me almost, you know, that's a really good photographer. And I have a friend that, who ultimately follows me around and carries a bunch of shirts and jackets. And we just walk all over the place, you know, getting all kinds of photos. And, and, and, but, you know, I, I, you know, some of the points that you made, I can relate to, you know, we went downtown or on a number of places. We sat in a coffee shop, you know, I even went out and got a horse out and, and got on his back and rode him around while she's getting photos of that. And, but of me in the office as well, you know, so it's all kinds of things to show those, those different things that like you're talking about to build that connection in different ways. And, and that it's, you don't have to just be in that suit and tie, like I think used to be expected many years ago.
Treva Graves: Absolutely. And don't don't chintz on the photography. You know, this might be a little bit of an investment, but I wouldn't just be, you know, slapping up iPhone photos. I mean, you need a professional to take some nice, some nice photographs.
Whitney Sewell: Yeah, for sure. For sure. What's next?
Treva Graves: Well, let's just talk a little bit about social media and how important that is. Now, I actually sat in, I was doing a training session one time, this was with a group of real estate agents, and this lady raised her hand and said, I'm not doing any social media. And I said, well, why not? And she said, well, I just don't want my personal life on social media. And it's like, I get that, I get that. But if you are not on social media, sharing your uniqueness, you're gonna miss the boat big time. And it's not like you have to reveal these deep dark secrets about yourself, but you do have to have a presence on social media. I mean, it's just, you have to, you have to be there if you want to be, you know, successful in business today. And I had mentioned earlier, you know, having a Facebook business page. The other the other page that I think is important that some people tend to neglect is Google Business.
Whitney Sewell: So grateful for your time. And, you know, of course, and to meet you tell the listeners again how they can get in touch with you and learn more about you.
Treva Graves: Yes, yes. If you go to bloompersonalbranding.com, you will find all kinds of information about me, who I am, what I do. And if you are ready to work on your personal brand and need help and assistance, just go to my contact page, book a free call with me and I can help you get started.
Whitney Sewell: Thank you for being with us again today. I hope that you have learned a lot from the show. Don't forget to like and subscribe. I hope you're telling your friends about the Real Estate Syndication Show and how they can also build wealth in real estate. You can also go to lifebridgecapital.com and start investing today.