Mastering Brand Strategy: How Authenticity and Intentional Growth Build Impactful Brands with Dhariana Lozano

In this episode, we’re joined by branding powerhouse Dhariana Lozano, co-founder of Block & Ave. and one of Browser Media’s Buzzsumo Top 100 Digital Marketing Influencers. With over 15 years of experience, Dhariana shares her expert insights on crafting impactful brands that connect and convert.

Tune in to discover:

06:02 - What is Brand Strategy?

10:02 - Common Misconceptions About Branding

14:03 - The Power of Authenticity in Branding

18:23 - The Foundations of a Strong Brand

22:32 - Personal Branding vs. Business Branding

29:04 - Growing Intentionally vs. Growing Fast

32:15 - What Dhariana Wishes She Knew Earlier

If you’ve ever wondered how to stand out, grow with purpose, and build a brand that resonates, this is the episode for you. Grab your notebook—Dhariana’s actionable tips will leave you inspired and ready to take your brand to the next level!

About Dhariana: 

Dhariana Lozano helps CEO's, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and associations create and build impactful brands through brand strategy and social media.

Dhariana has 15 experience, contributes to HubSpot Academy, is featured in BlogHer, and has taught sessions for NJSB. She was also a Social Media Today Expert, as well as being named one of Browser Media’s Buzzsumo Top 100 Digital Marketing Influencers in 2020 and 2022. Dhariana is co-founder of Block & Ave., a brand strategy agency based in New York City.

Chapters

• 6:02 What is Brand Strategy?
• 10:02 Common Misconceptions About Branding
• 14:03 The Power of Authenticity in Branding
• 18:23 The Foundations of a Strong Brand
• 22:32 Personal Branding vs. Business Branding
• 29:04 Growing Intentionally vs. Growing Fast
• 32:15 What Dhariana Wishes She Knew Earlier

Transcript

[00:00:01.900] - Deanna Hinsz

Today's guest is an absolute rock star in the world of branding and social media. Dhariana Lozano has spent over 15 years helping CEOs, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and associations create brands that truly stand out. She's a HubSpot Academy contributor and has been featured in blog her and has taught sessions for organizations like NJASB. She's also a former Social Media Today expert and was named one of Browsers Media BuzzSumo top 100 digital marketing influencers, not once, but twice. Dhariana is the co founder of Block and Av, a brand strategy agency based in New York City where she works to craft strategies that drive authentic connections and lasting impact. She's here to break down the power of authenticity in branding, why growing intentionally can lead to long term success, and how building a strong personal brand can open doors you never even imagined. So get your cup of coffee, sit down, and let's get started. Welcome to She is Unstoppable, the podcast for ambitious women ready to break free from the 9: 00 to 5: 00 and build a life and business they love. I'm I'm your host, DeAnna Hinsz, digital marketing strategist, entrepreneur mentor, and a woman who took the leap from corporate life to full-time entrepreneurship and never looked back.

[00:01:40.620] - Deanna Hinsz

I've been where you are, and now I'm passionate about showing you how to build and scale a business that works for you. In each episode, we dive into actionable tips, inspiring stories, and real strategies to help you grow your business, boost your confidence, and create unstoppable momentum. Whether you're just starting out or ready to elevate to the next level, you're in the right place. Let's get started.

[00:02:10.640] - Deanna Hinsz

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another episode. Today, I have my dear friend, she has been on the show before, and I will keep having her on the show as much as she is willing to show up for me. Dhariana Lozano is amazing, in my opinion. We met on the stage, thinking at a conference. She has been my marketing BFF ever since.

[00:02:38.840] - Dhariana Lozano

Dhariana. Thank you. Thanks so much for coming back. I will keep coming back as long as you'll have me. Thank you so much. These are always so fun, and I feel like I always take something away that I learned from you, and I feel like there's always some- Well, I appreciate that. Yeah, there's always some fun tangents we go on, and it's just a good time. So Thank you for having me in.

[00:03:00.910] - Deanna Hinsz

I know. You know what? It really is. Every time we message each other or brainstorm together, for everybody listening, Dhariana and I will text each other, message each other, and come up with these really big ideas of things that we want to do. We have so many amazing ideas of things we can do and collaborate. We just can't figure out which one to execute.

[00:03:24.420] - Dhariana Lozano

That really is the problem. It's always like, Okay, but which one first? We promise we're We're working on it. We're narrowing it down. Okay. Something we will launch. We are in a pressure cooker and we need to get these things going. But yeah, it's always like, which there's just so many good ideas. And I'm sure a lot of people that listen to this podcast can probably relate to that being an entrepreneur. That's part of the thing, right? You have to come up with different solutions. And so sometimes it's hard to focus.

[00:03:55.190] - Deanna Hinsz

It really is. And that's where we're at right now with where do we want to focus on our collaboration project. But we are going to figure it out. Just like Dhariana said, we are going to figure it out, and it is going to be huge. So you're going to have to keep watching both of us to figure out what that is.

[00:04:13.370] - Dhariana Lozano

So anyhow- We're finally getting it together after six years, five years, I don't know how long it's been now.

[00:04:18.390] - Deanna Hinsz

I know. I'm not sure either, but it has been a while. But anyhow, Dhariana, for those of you who don't know who Dhariana is, can you introduce yourself and just share a little bit about Absolutely.

[00:04:31.930] - Dhariana Lozano

I am Dhariana Lozano. I am a brand strategy and social media strategy consultant. I have an agency based in New York City, and we have been in business for 10 years. I've been in the social media marketing world for 15 years, which is crazy to say, but here we are. And I've mostly helped. I've worked all over from B2B businesses to not sexy things like financial publications and With the agency, I worked a lot of small startups like Mom and Pop shops. And so I have a wide range of experience. And now I'm focusing on helping women in the C-suite, women entrepreneurs and associations with working on their brand strategy to establish impactful brands.

[00:05:19.960] - Deanna Hinsz

I love it. You know that's right in line with everything that I do with women entrepreneurs. But you're doing C-level, so it's a little bit different. But still, empowering women is so important, in my opinion.

[00:05:32.290] - Dhariana Lozano

My best clients have always been women. Really? Yeah, and I always just love helping other women. I know we deal with a lot, just being women in general as a baseline. So if there's anything I can teach people, and I like to teach people and empower them so that when they work with me, it's principles that they can adjust to any stage that they're at in their business. It's not just like, Oh, I'm just getting started. It's not like a one, two, three step plan. I know we'll talk about that in a little bit. So I'm excited to be and chat with you about brand strategy.

[00:06:02.310] - Deanna Hinsz

Yeah. Well, we are going to talk about brand strategy today. And you know what? I noticed lately, branding, brand strategy, they're starting to feel like buzzwords anymore.

[00:06:13.820] - Dhariana Lozano

They are.

[00:06:15.040] - Deanna Hinsz

Right? Okay. So I'm like, I feel like people throw it out. But it's like, do you even know what you're saying? You're just throwing it out there.

[00:06:23.910] - Dhariana Lozano

How does it feel to just call people out? I love it.

[00:06:29.580] - Deanna Hinsz

I I don't care about calling people out. I mean, I won't ever say the name, but if there's somebody who's doing it.

[00:06:35.400] - Dhariana Lozano

No, in general. Yeah, you're right. It's the same thing with social media consultants, managers. We hear a lot of BS out there, so we like to cut through all that noise.

[00:06:47.630] - Deanna Hinsz

Especially when you've been in it for 15 years doing this, and then you see somebody pop up and say, Oh, I'm a social media manager, and the only thing they manage is their own personal profile. You're like, People really believe you?

[00:07:00.940] - Dhariana Lozano

Or can you do it for a business? I mean, influencers, I always say this, I've lost business to influence, not lost business, but I've had the rebuttal, Oh, this person can do it for this much, and that's fine. They're usually influencers, and not taking anything away from them. They've built up their account, so they really know their audience, and I applaud that. But doing something for a business is completely different than for yourself.

[00:07:23.920] - Deanna Hinsz

I agree. I agree 100 %. So we're going to set everything What is brand strategy? What does it really mean?

[00:07:34.500] - Dhariana Lozano

So brand strategy is when you look at your brand, I like to say holistically, when you look at all the parts of it, so not just your products and what you sell, but actually dive deeper into your mission, what you really want to help people with, how you do that. It also includes, obviously, branding, which is your brand colors, the look and feel of your brand, fonts. So it's really just I like to look at the overall goals of a business and then work backwards from there and figuring out what we do. Because I've had businesses come to me and say, Okay, we're ready for social media. Let's do it. And then I'm like, Well, maybe you're a type of business doesn't need social media to this extent right now. It might be better for you to spend this budget on public relations or building an email list. So there's just so many different ways that you can use a budget. And I like to make sure that we're going step by step and we're actually encompassing all of the things that you want to accomplish and not skipping things.

[00:08:35.640] - Deanna Hinsz

I love that you share that because I think that so many times everybody thinks that you've got to start with social media. You got to be there. In fact, some small businesses who might be listening right now will start on social media and not even have a website. And so I love that you said you've got this budget and social media. It could be the best place to start, but it may not be necessarily. Everybody is really unique, and you have to look at what your business is to make that decision. So thank you for sharing that. I appreciate that.

[00:09:08.750] - Dhariana Lozano

Yeah, of course. And you mentioned small businesses. We work with a small business. They moved actually from New York City to a suburb. And the way we approach what we were doing in the city is very different than what we're doing where they are now, because it's a lot more of a community thing. When you're in the city, you can blast something on social media. People can hop on the subway and get there. This is a very different life where they are now. So it's more about engaging the community and how we do that. So that's why brand strategy is so important, because social media might not be where you need to be or where you need to spend money. And so it bothers me when businesses don't think about that.

[00:09:49.200] - Deanna Hinsz

Yeah. No, I think that's great advice. So what are some... Because that is one misconception is how I'm hearing it. But are there other misconceptions about building brand that you see?

[00:10:02.350] - Dhariana Lozano

Yeah. Well, a lot of people just hear brand and go straight to branding when we're talking about colors, logos, fonts. And I think that's super important because I always talk about how you have to visualize to truly establish who you are. But it's not just about that. And I think that's where people get confused like, oh, yeah, branding. I have that. But what's the actual plan behind getting your business in front of the people that you need to get it to? So for me, I think that's one of the biggest ones. People just automatically think it's logos and things like that. Very important. Not disagreeing. But is that the only piece?

[00:10:41.160] - Deanna Hinsz

Right. So they need to really understand what their goal is and who they're targeting, and that's part of that brand strategy.

[00:10:48.160] - Dhariana Lozano

Yeah, those are the two main things. It's who you're targeting, who you are, and then how you communicate that to the people that you want to reach. Those are the three main things for me when it comes to brand strategy. I Obviously, you need to stand up visually, but that goes into who you are. So there are so many different moving parts, and we had to take all of them and have them be a cog in the machine that makes everything go.

[00:11:13.020] - Deanna Hinsz

Do you find when you're working with clients on their brand strategy that sometimes you might encourage them to hear their brand voice and who they are, but they fall into this trap of what they think they should be based on everything that they've seen or heard up until that point. You do see that?

[00:11:36.200] - Dhariana Lozano

Absolutely. Yeah, because it happens to all of us. I think it's natural. You look for the blueprint. You look for that one, two, three solution, right? Do this. I use this as an example recently on my social media posts. It's like, I could tell you that if you post three times a week at one o'clock in the afternoon, and two of those posts are real, and one is a sell that in three months from now, your account is going to blow up. But I'm not a liar, so I'm not going to tell you to do that. And I think it's natural for us to look for a structure, which is fine. But I think the way businesses are nowadays, you set that for yourself. You have to be in competition with yourself and see what works for you. Because one thing I learned about in my career is that even if you have two businesses in the same niche, the things that work for one won't work for the other. And so we have to really personalize things and figure out what works. Another thing is that there's a lot of advice out there, right?

[00:12:44.280] - Dhariana Lozano

There's a lot of accounts telling you what to do. And you're like, well, I heard this and I heard that. And there's these generalities that get made. And I like to get to the soul of what the business is. And then, of course, there's just that feeling of them wanting to... It's your business, so it's very important to you. But what you feel is important is not always what your audience needs to hear in order for them to move to buy from you.

[00:13:16.280] - Deanna Hinsz

Say that one more time. Say that again. I feel like I process it, but I'm like, That sounds like it's a nugget.

[00:13:23.430] - Dhariana Lozano

So your business is super important to you. It's your world, right? This is your baby. You started your business. You believe in it. And And there are things that you think are important, but that's not necessarily how your audience sees it, and it's not necessarily what they need to hear in order to buy from you. And it happens a lot. It's happened to me. It happens to everybody. You're just too close And so that's why it's helpful to have someone like me come in and say, Hey, I know what you're trying to say, but that's not what's important to your audience. That's not the way to express that problem that they're dealing with, to make them aware and say, Oh, this is how this service or this product can help me.

[00:14:03.340] - Deanna Hinsz

I have fallen guilty to that, too. Of course. Which now I do this little thing, and I don't know if you do it, too. And I think we've actually talked about it, but I'll listen to what people are saying when they have a struggle in something that I do, and I'll copy and paste it and put into a spreadsheet and then evaluate those problems and repurpose their words.

[00:14:27.850] - Dhariana Lozano

I love that. That's genius. No, that's absolutely genius. And as business owners, we have to learn to listen more than what we want to say. You know it's important. I know it's important. What you're doing, you wouldn't be doing it and putting all your blood, sweat, and tears into this because it's not easy being a business owner unless you believe in this thing that you're doing. And I totally agree with that. I'm with you. I'm so glad. I'm with you there. But as the audience, you're not... I don't know who you are. Why does it matter? Why do you matter to me? Who cares? Unfortunately, but yes, who cares?

[00:15:04.620] - Deanna Hinsz

It's so true because a lot of times, and I've seen this and I've done it, and I'll share what I think is important. But Even though the concept might be the same, the words in the delivery are different. And they didn't hear it until I realized that and had to shift. Exactly. And you repurpose their own words, honestly.

[00:15:31.150] - Dhariana Lozano

That's so genius, though. That's so genius. Listen to your audience, write it down, and come back to it and look at it, and then tell them how they told you. That's really, really smart. That's a really smart thing to do. You can also even look at competitors. If you don't have any clients just yet, if you take a look at reviews for competitors or just take a look online, people are happy to share when they're not happy about things or how it can be improved. That's a place to start as well. But yeah, I think we just get caught up. We're too close. And that's all right.

[00:16:07.630] - Deanna Hinsz

Absolutely. It's okay. We've all been there.

[00:16:10.970] - Dhariana Lozano

We've all been there. A thousand, yes. Because you're like, This thing is great. Here's what I love about it. But.

[00:16:17.670] - Deanna Hinsz

It doesn't mean anything to me. Or you use lingo. You use your lingo that you hear all the time. And other people are like, I don't know what you're talking And I share this a lot, the story, which has nothing to do with marketing, but it was an example. I was designing a website, and I kept asking the client. I had their photos. I had all their other assets, the logo and color, all that. But I didn't have the copy that they wanted to use, and they were providing their own copy, which is the text that goes on to the website. But I kept asking them for copy. Can you give me copy? And they weren't responding. And then finally, they said, What is copy?

[00:16:58.380] - Dhariana Lozano

And I'm like, Oh, Okay.

[00:17:00.690] - Deanna Hinsz

It was a word that I use all the time.

[00:17:03.590] - Dhariana Lozano

Yeah, that's so... We use that all the time. That's a perfect example.

[00:17:06.840] - Deanna Hinsz

I was like, Oh, my gosh, they have no idea what I'm talking about. No wonder they're ignoring me. They don't know what I'm asking for. In my industry, it is a basic word. You say that, and I didn't even think about it or realize it. And that's a mistake that you could be making based on what you're saying. An easy one. That you're using your lingo and your ideal client has no idea what that word even means at that. Yes. Yes.

[00:17:30.540] - Dhariana Lozano

Yes. Exactly. You were here to tell them. I run across that a lot with saying strategy because then people don't know what that is. So I have to adjust what I'm saying or how I'm expressing it. That's a challenge that I've dealt with the whole time I've been working on how do you sell strategy. It's not just my issue, it's a big one across the board. I've spoken to a lot of experts who are like, yes, strategy. It's really hard to explain and sell because it's just a hard concept for anyone to grasp.

[00:18:00.360] - Deanna Hinsz

It is. Yeah, it definitely is. So when you're thinking of your brand and you're coming up with this brand strategy, share again, and maybe there's some more items other than what you mentioned, but that foundation emotional elements, those things that you absolutely need to establish before you even get into the strategy?

[00:18:23.690] - Dhariana Lozano

Yeah. So you want to, first of foremost, know yourself and what you stand for. So that's your point of view. I always say, think about the thing that you want to shout from the rooftops. What is that message that you want to get out there? What your mission is, and then how you express it. So It's like what we just talked about. How do you express? How do you express brand strategy? I have to take a step back and say, if I'm talking to someone who has no idea what brand strategy is, how do I do that? And so from there, I've broken it down into different pillars in my content that I talk about, whether that's how to get more clients or maybe your Instagram isn't performing how you want. And so that's the vehicle that I use to give you what you want. But then if you work with me, then I'm delivering what you actually need hidden in that concept. I know moms can probably relate. Your kid doesn't want to eat vegetables. You might cover them in cheese or something. I don't know. But first of all, you need to establish who you are and your goals and what you want to do, because that becomes your North Star.

[00:19:34.270] - Dhariana Lozano

That's the thing you're going to follow that keeps you from creating campaigns that don't make sense. Or maybe we, going viral shouldn't be a goal. But if you want to participate in trends, it's like, which ones do you participate in? Well, if you know who you are, what your voice is, if you are more buttoned up, or if you are more fun, it gives you more of a direction of what to participate and what not to participate in. Because obviously, if you participate in a trend that doesn't make sense. It just comes off like, what are they doing? That doesn't make sense. So you need to be really rooted in that and figure that part out. And then who you want to reach, not just knowing exactly who you want to reach. Nishing down is hard. I know. I've been there. It's hard to really focus. Sometimes we get pigeon holes, and that's okay. Sometimes you get led one way, but I think it's important to also establish who you want to go after, because that's going to help you with all your messaging and how you talk to people and what problems they have that you can solve, speaking their lingo, figuring out what that is.

[00:20:40.300] - Dhariana Lozano

So knowing who you want to go after is really important. And then within that, again, knowing who they are and how you can help them. So figuring out where they hang out, again, what their lingo is, what challenges they're facing, how you fit into that puzzle, because who your ideal client is It should lead you in your content and how you talk to people, not the other way around. We tend to try to lead that conversation, but you should take a hint from our audience. It's really important to know who they are. And that's where we create that crossroads of what you want to say and how you need to say it in order to reach them. And yeah, those are the two main ones. And then obviously, your goals feed into all that. But establishing those two, I think, are the most important. Because then those branch out into all the things we talk about when we talk about colors and what your messaging sounds like and who you are. So that's where I would... Those are the basics, your point of view. Yeah, and I love that.

[00:21:42.930] - Deanna Hinsz

There's a lot of content in all those things. I love that you shared, that comes first, even before the color, because I geek out on color psychology. If you listen to this podcast, you know that. So a lot of times people will pick just their favorite a different color for their company brand because they like that color. But it could work, but it also may send a totally different vibe, a different feeling and emotion. So I love that you shared that setting that up, you know who you're targeting, you know what your authentic voice is going to be, you're going to know if that color aligns with that branding goal. So thank you for sharing that. I didn't think about that, but I'm like, Gosh, that makes so much sense. That is how it should So let's talk a little bit. Go ahead.

[00:22:32.840] - Dhariana Lozano

No, I was going to say, once you know, once you figure out what your vibe is, then it makes everything else so much easier. I love creating moments of clarity and simplicity because it's like the one thing clicks, and then everything becomes so much easier after that.

[00:22:44.570] - Deanna Hinsz

Oh, my Gosh, yes, 100 %. It absolutely does. I want to talk a little bit about personal branding and company branding. And first off, it sounds really obvious, but just share, what's the difference between the two types branding?

[00:23:02.750] - Dhariana Lozano

So with a personal brand, I always find those... They align, right? Because even if you are a brand, there are certain things that your brand stands for and that you want to show people. So you have company culture or your way of working. And that can translate to a personal brand as well. I have split my business, my presence online into myself and my business. So my business more is for the B2B clients, associations. We would love to start working with B Corp, so that's a goal for us this year. Whereas with my personal brand and my coaching and things like that, that That's where I want to work one on one with women and women in the C-suite and have more of that personal touch. So personal branding is not much different. It's more thought leadership, I think, than doing things for a business, although the business also has thought leadership. So they're very similar. But I think with the personal brand, obviously, there's more personal touches. On my personal accounts, I talk about coffee or me having celiac and how I'm navigating that, or I talk about I can get more friendly, I think.

[00:24:21.090] - Dhariana Lozano

Whereas with the business, we don't talk about those things as much. We have a more buttoned up presence, or we will have, because I've been Since the rebrand, we've been quiet, but we're ramping that up again or getting ready to. They definitely look different. The elements are there. The elements are the same. And what we talk about are the same. The concepts are. But on my personal account, it's more for women and entrepreneurship and things like that, whereas my business accounts will be more how-tos, tips for organizations, things like that, if that makes sense in breakdown.

[00:25:01.150] - Deanna Hinsz

Well, it does because I also have two brands. I have a personal brand, and then I have a company brand, and they're different. And just recently on social, I've focused more on the personal brand.

[00:25:16.190] - Dhariana Lozano

Yes. I noticed you've been going through that transition.

[00:25:18.940] - Deanna Hinsz

Yes, I have been because I feel like I repeat myself on the company brand, and I feel like my website, it just has everything there. But my personal brand... Because my company is really me behind the brand anyhow. I've gone back and forth with this, right? Yeah. And maybe somebody listening can relate. It's like, okay, I've got a company, I have a personal brand. But I feel like the personal brand, everything I say on there aligns with the company brand because I do the same thing. So it's a very similar audience. I personally like the personal brand better because of what you said. I can share things in my life that I may not share on the company.

[00:26:01.970] - Dhariana Lozano

Right.

[00:26:02.710] - Deanna Hinsz

You think that that, doing that, and you're allowed to throw me under the bus, you're 100 % okay, but do you think doing that is beneficial or it ends up hurting you?

[00:26:14.650] - Dhariana Lozano

No, I don't think I don't think you're wrong either way. I have more fun on my personal account as well. And I'm going to say this, a personal brand, a human, a face, will always outperform a business. And so I think it is important for you to have both, especially in the world we're in today and as business owners, because I might choose to quit doing this tomorrow. I could be like, I'm done with marketing. I don't want to do this anymore. There's There have been days. There have been days. That's why I'm texting you like, oh, my gosh.

[00:26:53.300] - Deanna Hinsz

I know, exactly.

[00:26:53.950] - Dhariana Lozano

I could quit this tomorrow, but I still have my personal brand. That's where things feel lighter and more friendly, and I get to express myself a little bit more. Not that that's wrong to do. I've seen people do it brilliantly with their business accounts, but it's a lot of what you said, if it works when the person is the brand thing. Whereas sometimes you do need to separate both. I think in fashion, I think it's cool when it's mixed. But even there we see the designers have a brand, and then the actual fashion house has a brand, and it's separate. So I I think it depends a lot of what you want to do, and if your business is not... It's going to be aligned. But if your business is something different than what your personal goals are, that's okay to have it separate. But it's okay to mix them. Again, this is a case by case. I think for you, it totally made sense to streamline that, because also you're marketing yourself. It's you, and you're so inspirational. You've been through so many transformations and so So many pivots, and it's not a bad thing.

[00:28:02.030] - Dhariana Lozano

I think it's a great thing. But if you have your personal brand locked in, you can pivot wherever you need to, and hopefully your audience will follow you, that you're not starting from zero. And they're like your friends, right? Because we share personal things.

[00:28:14.220] - Deanna Hinsz

Yes. They really are. I mean, it's so funny because I remember there was a time where people said that the people you're connected with on social media really aren't friends. And I have met so many amazing people. And I think that was the mindset back then. They were I'm like, I'm imaginary friends because you couldn't go get coffee with them, right?

[00:28:34.150] - Dhariana Lozano

Right.

[00:28:34.620] - Deanna Hinsz

I'm like, I've been so many amazing men and women on social media that we've connected with and we've chatted, and they've been on the podcast, and they've inspired me. And I'm like, I don't know. Yeah, maybe they're not the friends that you go grab coffee with or you go go out to dinner with, but there's still that relationship there that you nurture. Absolutely. And it's neat. I can reach out to them and ask a question about something, and they're going to help or answer it.

[00:29:01.560] - Dhariana Lozano

And I think that's really cool. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I love that.

[00:29:04.360] - Deanna Hinsz

A lot of businesses want to grow their brand. They want to grow really, really fast. What are your thoughts with that?

[00:29:16.480] - Dhariana Lozano

If you want to grow fast?

[00:29:17.810] - Deanna Hinsz

Yeah, they want to grow really quickly.

[00:29:21.910] - Dhariana Lozano

Quick growth comes with money. You have to spend money. You're either going to spend time or money. So it's like, Quick growth. You can also do collaborations, which will take a little time to figure out who the right people to partner with are and what those partnerships can look like. It could just be a content partnership. It could be exchange of I'll promote you, you promote me, which obviously works really well. But finding the right people that have the same audience you do or an audience that you want to reach, I think is really important. I'm not going to go on, I don't know, a random podcast. I I want to make sure whatever I'm spending my time doing aligns with the people that I want to reach. But then the other option is to spend money, and I find nothing wrong with spending money in order to grow. I mean, it's all about visibility, right? So you might hate to have an ad, or maybe you can work just reaching out to people and making connections and getting on the news or something like that. But it's going to take fast growth equals money to me.

[00:30:30.590] - Dhariana Lozano

If you're like, I just want to grow fast. I'm like, okay, cool. What's the budget?

[00:30:34.530] - Deanna Hinsz

What's the budget?

[00:30:36.570] - Dhariana Lozano

Yes. Fast growth ads or really borrowing someone else's audience or getting in front of someone else's audience is the two fastest way to grow.

[00:30:45.110] - Deanna Hinsz

Right. And that's really great advice, because I think a lot of people overlook the collaborative piece of it. And I think people are sometimes afraid of competition. So you and I could be competitors. We are competitors in a sense, right? I've never looked at you as a competitor, but you are, and I am to you.

[00:31:06.420] - Dhariana Lozano

Yeah, we align in the same, but your audience is going to be different than mine. And I actually just put a video out about that. The way that I explain things might not land with people, which is fine, because then if they understand it from you, then okay, I'd rather you then go there. I want everybody to succeed. So if you're not for me, that's okay. There's somebody else that you will jive with. So I think that people are afraid of that. And also collaborations aren't always the easiest things to put together because it's like, what do we do?

[00:31:37.710] - Deanna Hinsz

Right. Well, that's where we're struggling, right? With our big ideas. Although we do collaborate in a lot of ways. We have the idea.

[00:31:43.500] - Dhariana Lozano

Yeah, we collaborate in a lot of ways. But sometimes you don't even have the idea. It's like, oh, how do we put these two things together in a way that's beneficial for both parties? So I think that's definitely the hesitation. But I think the competition piece is probably the biggest one.

[00:32:00.600] - Deanna Hinsz

Right. I think so, too. So, Dhariana, if you were starting over and you're early in your whole journey of branding, what is one piece of advice that you wish someone had given you when you started?

[00:32:15.290] - Dhariana Lozano

Oh, this is such a good question.

[00:32:17.940] - Deanna Hinsz

I know we both made a lot of mistakes along the way.

[00:32:21.600] - Dhariana Lozano

Yes, we have. It's okay, though. We learn, right? It's okay, right. We're learning opportunities, and then people can come up to us and ask questions, and that's why we're like, don't do that.

[00:32:29.730] - Deanna Hinsz

Yeah. Yeah, right? Trust me on this, you don't want to do that.

[00:32:34.230] - Dhariana Lozano

Yeah. Oh, what do I wish someone had told me? I wasn't ready for this one. This is a good one.

[00:32:38.700] - Deanna Hinsz

I'm sorry, I stumped you.

[00:32:39.990] - Dhariana Lozano

No, that's all right. It's a really good one. I I think... I wish someone had told me, and I vaguely did this, but I really wish someone had told me to sit down and think about what my future goal is. Yeah. Seriously, what do do I want? Because when I first started, it was just putting information out there, putting information out there. And I had built my audience up more influencing or something like that and had the social media piece for the marketing piece, teaching that part on, not on the side, it's still part of it. But if there were more balance there, I think I could be further along. The other thing is just to, and I learned this from my coach Sarah Dan, she mentioned that you need to put yourself first before your clients because you have to treat yourself basically as a client and do what's going to make you money, put money in your pocket first. When I heard that, it was like, oh, my God. That's good. It's true. Yeah, because I love helping people and helping my clients. And then that has always been the main focus. But if you If you can't get more clients or you haven't spent time working on what you want, then how do you expect to be able to help people or for people to know enough about you so that you are getting clients so that you can't...

[00:34:10.760] - Dhariana Lozano

It's like a whole circle.

[00:34:11.730] - Deanna Hinsz

That makes so much sense. That's like an aha right there. It was an awful idea. You don't think about it. Yeah. And I love Sarah Dan, by the way. Yeah, she's great. She's awesome. She's not my coach, but maybe one day she will.

[00:34:25.660] - Dhariana Lozano

I've taken her classes. Yeah, I've gotten her classes and they're really good. So from that standpoint, I think that mindset shift is good. But also, yeah, just knowing what I wanted to do, because that's what I do with my clients now. I'm like, this is the direction. I'm here to hold that big vision for clients because you get stuck in the day to day, right? You're like, oh, this is my business. I need to create the content, put the content out, make sure that my employees are paid, get payroll. There's so many things that you need to do that you can get caught up in the day to day and just making it through the day. But I like that I'm holding that big vision for people to say, no, is that really what we should be working on, where are the bottlenecks? Where can we make things easier for you? Because this is where you wanted to get. That's not her get, that in this day to day, the steps were to get to this big thing. And I wish I had paid attention to that sooner for myself. I always knew I wanted to help people.

[00:35:31.980] - Dhariana Lozano

And I feel like every day I come up with a new goal of how I can help people. But now I've had a big vision to work towards, and I think that makes it a lot easier to figure out the rest. I was doing it for other people. The things you do for other people, do them for yourself.

[00:35:51.080] - Deanna Hinsz

I don't know why we do that. I don't know. I don't know. I don't give that, too. And I'm listening to you. I'm like, yeah, I totally understand how when you set that big goal, and I've set that big goal, I'm like, okay, here's where I want to go, right? And then life does happen. The next thing you know, you have gone left or right, right? And you're way off base from your goal And it's like, no, you've got to stay focused. And actually staying focused makes it all easier. When you take the side road, it creates more confusion. I love that you said, you hold on to that big goal. I know you said it. It's almost like you hold on to it. I need to put a post-it on my computer screen. So it's like I see it. So every time I need to make a decision, it's like, does it align with my big goal?

[00:36:43.180] - Dhariana Lozano

Yes.

[00:36:43.930] - Deanna Hinsz

Cool. No, No, forget it.

[00:36:46.140] - Dhariana Lozano

Exactly. And I'm guilty of that for sure, because like I even mentioned it earlier, sometimes you get pigeonholed into certain things. And if you hold that big vision and you say no, I know it's hard to say no, but if you say no, then you keep yourself aligned, you keep yourself open to opportunities that will align with what you actually want to do. I don't know, maybe it's because we're women and we're used to taking care of everybody else. I think that plays into the business as well. You're like, oh, no, but I need to take care of my clients or this person asked for this. I can do that. You start not saying no to things, and that's how we get derailed. So, yeah, that's definitely something I wish that I had realized earlier on or somebody been like, really, you need to pay attention to what you want to do and what feels good.

[00:37:33.930] - Deanna Hinsz

Absolutely. There were a couple of years ago, I was in a season of yes because I had read something or heard something where it's like, say yes to everything because that's where all the opportunities are. And I did it. And there were a lot of opportunities, and I don't read any of that. Well, right now, I'm in my season of no. If it doesn't align, then it's a no. If it's not heading towards what my goal is, it's a no. And maybe next year it'll be a season of yes again. But right now I need this season of no for me.

[00:38:07.110] - Dhariana Lozano

Focus, yeah. No, and I think that's a great point. And I think things can change a thousand %. Pivot. Pivot when you need to. I think it's really smart to know when something's not working and being like, okay, I can't put any more energy towards this. So I think seasons of yes work. And then you can be like, oh, maybe that wasn't working how I wanted. And then you go into season to no, and then I think we're both aligned there.

[00:38:28.390] - Deanna Hinsz

Yeah, I think so. No, I think so. Well, Dhariana, thank you so much for coming on today. As always, it's a great conversation. I love talking to you. Whether we're on the podcast or we're sending voice messages back to each other for it.

[00:38:44.990] - Dhariana Lozano

I know. You're like my marketing support, no, in general, we're friends, too. Yeah, I love coming on the podcast. A lot of insights come out when we have these conversations. And thank you for having me. Like I said, I'll keep coming back as long as you'll have me. It's really fun.

[00:38:59.540] - Deanna Hinsz

I love I'm going to keep inviting you. So if everybody, if you guys want to reach out to Dhariana, I would highly encourage you to follow her and connect with her. All of her links are right in the show notes below. So just click on the link and connect with Dhariana. She is super cool. I promise you, she is so much information as well, and you won't regret it. All right, everybody, we will see you next week. Bye.

[00:39:23.640] - Deanna Hinsz

Thank you so much for tuning in to She is Unstoppable. I hope you're walking away today feeling inspired, empowered, and ready to take bold action in your business and life. Remember, the world needs your unique gifts and talents, so don't hold back. If you love today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who needs this message. And hey, let's keep the conversation going. Join me inside the She Is Collective, where Unstoppable Women like you come together to grow, connect, and thrive. Until next time, keep dreaming big, showing up boldly, and creating a business that fuels your freedom. You've got this because She Is Unstoppable.