Beyond the Logo: Building a Brand That Truly Connects

TL;DR

In crowded markets, your brand isn't just a logo—it's your promise. Serial entrepreneur Risa Saylor explains why consistency and focusing on the "why" are non-negotiable from day one. #Branding #Entrepreneurship #VentureStep

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever wondered why some brands fall flat while others seem to resonate on a deeper level? ¹ In industries where products and services can feel nearly identical, from fencing to physical therapy, creating a brand that stands out is one of the biggest challenges an entrepreneur can face. The difference between a memorable company and a forgettable one often comes down to a strategy that goes far beyond a simple logo or a competitive price point.

In this episode of Venture Step, we unlock the secrets to impactful branding with Risa Saylor, a serial entrepreneur who has successfully built, scaled, and sold multiple companies in hyper-competitive markets. ²²From construction to healthcare, Risa has mastered the art of differentiation by focusing on a family-first approach, impeccable customer service, and an unwavering commitment to quality. ³

Risa shares her expert playbook on how to build a brand that connects with customers emotionally. She explains why focusing on the "why" behind your service is more powerful than focusing on the "what," why brand consistency is a day-one priority, and how delivering on your promises creates a reputation that no amount of marketing can buy. 4444444

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Brand Your "Why," Not Just Your "What": Connect with customers by focusing on the problems you solve for them—like creating a safe yard for pets and kids—rather than just selling a product. ⁵⁵⁵
• Consistency Is Non-Negotiable From Day One: To build recognition and trust, your logo, color scheme, messaging, and quality of service must be perfectly aligned across every customer touchpoint. ⁶⁶⁶⁶⁶
• Differentiate Through Superior Service and Follow-Through: In commoditized markets, being the most reliable, professional, and honest company is a powerful competitive advantage that builds lasting customer relationships. ⁷⁷⁷⁷
• Founder-Led Marketing Builds Authentic Connections: When founders share their journey and become the face of the company, it taps into consumer emotions, creating a loyal following that wants to be part of the story. ⁸

FULL CONVERSATION

Meet Risa Saylor: A Serial Entrepreneur's Journey

Dalton: Have you ever wondered why some brands fall flat and others really resonate with you? ⁹Today, we're going to be unlocking some secrets with our first guest, Risa Saylor, a serial entrepreneur who has built not one, but many companies from the ground up. ¹⁰Risa is someone who has built a couple of companies and had some successful exits. ¹¹ Risa, we really appreciate you coming on and we can't wait to dive in.

Risa: Hey Dalton, thanks for having me today. I appreciate it. 12I'm excited to be here and look forward to jumping into branding and just talking about how that is super important for businesses. 13With the businesses that I've built, branding is key. 14

Dalton: So out of the companies that you have created, I know that there's the fencing one and then there's the insurance one. Is there any others that I'm not familiar with? 15

Risa: Yeah, I've also launched a physical therapy clinic in the healthcare sector. ¹⁶I've had two fence companies; our first company we sold for just under a million dollars after 10 years. ¹⁷ And then I have a claims company now. We mostly assist adjusters and appraisers on the insurance side with administrative assistance. ¹⁸

How to Brand a Business in a Hyper-Competitive Market

Dalton: For certain items like insurance claims or fencing where people are very price sensitive, how do you go about branding and providing more value? ¹⁹

Risa: With fencing specifically, it's super competitive. You have franchises, private companies, guys putting a fence out of the back of their truck, home improvement companies, landscapers. The competition is huge. 20Everybody wants to cut prices, and that's why having a brand is super important to get out there to the consumer as to why you're different. 21Why would they choose you over everybody else? 22Our companies are competitively priced, but we've never put ourselves out there to be the cheapest fence company. 23

"You want to kind of cater to why you're doing it, not just what you're doing." ²⁴

Selling the 'Why': Connecting Beyond Price

Risa: We basically sell our team, our family, our experience. ²⁵I focus on why we're putting up the fence—pets, kids, security, all of those things. ²⁶ A lot of companies are just focused on what they are doing. What really set us apart was that as owners, we oversaw every project. ²⁷ In fencing, a lot of the work is just subbed out. A sales guy comes out, makes a commission, and he doesn't care about the project. ²⁸ You'll probably never see them again. For us, it was just really building a relationship with our customers. ²⁹

Dalton: It seems like you could really cut through a lot of other companies just by having the right approach and then following through. ³⁰

Risa: You've got to separate yourself from everybody else and just find something of why you're different, why you're better, why you're the best choice. ^31313131

"It's really just about putting out why you're different and what value you're providing to them, I think. That's really what created our success." ³²

Finding Opportunity in a Bad Customer Experience

Dalton: I had no idea that the primary motivation for starting the fence company was that you were just like, this experience sucks and we could do it better. ³³

Risa: Yeah, we actually got into it because we needed a fence. ³⁴And these companies were just falling short. ³⁵ You call, you get an estimate, no one calls you back. We had an appointment and no one even showed up. ³⁶We just found that there was a huge need for what we could do. ³⁷People need reputable, reliable, honest companies out there. ³⁸

There's No Secret Sauce, Just Hard Work and Consistency

Dalton: When you've done this multiple times, you've got that level of confidence that a lot of people doing this for the first time don't have. How did you know you were on to something? ^39393939

Risa: It can be scary to go self-employed. ⁴⁰For us, it's just really knowing your competition and believing in what you're saying. ⁴¹There's no secret sauce, you know, it's just about hard work and consistency. ⁴² And if you just keep doing it. I think it's just sticking with it and staying up on the times, because things change quickly for all industries. ^43434343

"...there's no like secret secret sauce, you know, it's just, it's just about hard work and consistency." ⁴⁴

It's Not If a Problem Happens, It's When

Dalton: I've worked construction and I don't think I've ever been on a job site where everything goes right. ⁴⁵There's always something that goes wrong. ⁴⁶

Risa: Yeah, I mean, I used to tell our team it's not if there's an issue, it's more like when. ⁴⁷ There are just so many moving parts. Every project is different. For fencing, every yard's different, there's stuff underground, above ground. ⁴⁸There are all different things that can go wrong. ⁴⁹

Applying Branding Principles to Healthcare

Dalton: So that was fencing. Do you want to transition over to physical therapy or the claims? ⁵⁰

Risa: Yeah. So, I was a part of opening up a clinic in the Carolinas. 51The biggest thing for physical therapy, what really set our company apart, is we did one-on-one, one-hour physical therapy. 52Every therapist had their own individual room, which is a different setting than a lot of clinics where you're passed off to an assistant, you're in a big room with a bunch of other people, and you're on machines instead of getting manual therapy. 53If you can be with a physical therapist for an hour, your odds of getting better quicker are so much higher. 54Again, it's just separating yourself from everybody else. 55

Why Brand Consistency Matters From Day One

Dalton: Do you establish your brand on day one or further down the line? ⁵⁶

Risa: Day one. ⁵⁷You have to have your brand, your logo, what you're putting out there. ⁵⁸When we talk about building a brand, it's really just about being consistent and always making sure that your logo and what you're offering is the same every time. ⁵⁹You have a color scheme, down to the logo font. ⁶⁰When that fence crew shows up, everybody has the same colors on their shirts and logos. ⁶¹Everything has to be themed and it all has to be the same every time. ⁶²You have to do that from day one. ⁶³⁶³⁶³

Avoiding the 'Paper Cuts' That Erode Your Brand

Dalton: There's always these little things that add up, like maybe my company email has a different font than the website, or we're using slightly different colors. ⁶⁴And those things slowly add up, these paper cuts, to where you're bleeding. ⁶⁵It's a bad look because people notice those things. ⁶⁶

Risa: Yeah.

Dalton: They might not point it out to you, but they see it and wonder, are they legit? ⁶⁷ They're inconsistent. To be a company that's seen as legitimate, you have to be legitimate, and you need to have that stuff set up beforehand. ⁶⁸

Why Your First Hire Is a Reflection of Your Brand

Dalton: When you first start, your first hire is really important. That has to reflect you guys, the founders. ⁶⁹How do you go about evaluating your first hire? ⁷⁰

Risa: Your employees are a direct reflection of you. ⁷¹When you're trusting somebody to be an extension of your company and to project your culture and your values, it's huge. ⁷²I think it's just about being a good leader and conveying your brand and what your culture is going to be like. ⁷³It really starts with you to set the pace and set the stage for what's expected, your work ethic, and obviously do research and check references. ⁷⁴

The Biggest Branding Mistake to Avoid

Dalton: What about some bloopers, things that we should avoid doing as far as branding? ⁷⁵

Risa: I think the biggest thing that I see is where companies are just all over the place. ⁷⁶You have to really know your audience, know your target market, and make sure that everything you put out is consistent. ⁷⁷If you're just doing a bunch of different things, it's forgettable. ⁷⁸You want to do something that's really memorable, that stays in people's minds. ⁷⁹

"It's like Starbucks. I mean, when you pull up, it doesn't matter if you're in the US or if you're across the globe, you're expecting that your white chocolate mocha is the same taste, flavor. Everything is consistent, and that's really what it's about." ⁸⁰

The Rise of the Creator Founder and Emotional Marketing

Dalton: There's this trend of creator founders and founder marketing. We've seen it with larger companies like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman, where feature releases are getting pushed through by the founders, not a company announcement. ^81818181

Risa: I think that's good, because people relate to other people. ⁸²It's all about tapping into the consumer's emotions. ⁸³ When you get to know these founders, you want to use their products and services. You want to be a part of it. ⁸⁴ They kind of create a following. Personal branding is more so just tapping into people's emotions. ⁸⁵ Marketing is very emotional. It's an emotional connection, and it's important to tap into that for sure. ⁸⁶

"I think that owning your own business, it's more so about putting in the hard work and it's not really even just, it's not even motivation. It's just consistency, and doing the same thing and just grinding it." ⁸⁷

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Companies & Brands: Starbucks, Good Girl Snacks ^88888888
• People: Marcus Malone ⁸⁹
• Platforms: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Facebook, Google AdWords, Instagram ^{909090909090909090}

INDEX OF CONCEPTS

Risa Saylor, Dalton Anderson, Marcus Malone, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Venture Step, Law Center Cookbook, Starbucks, Good Girl Snacks, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Facebook, Google AdWords, Instagram, Branding, Entrepreneurship, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Virtual Assistants, Founder Marketing, Customer Service, Competitive Differentiation, Physical Therapy, Insurance Claims, Fencing, Construction