Jess Diamond (00:02.855)
Welcome back to another episode of How to 20 something where today’s episode brings on a guest to help you with your personal brand. I think most people think of branding when it comes to companies like, you know, off the top of your head, Google’s branding or Apple’s or even your favorite grocery stores brand. But branding also has to do with you as an individual. And it is especially important to focus on your own personal brand.

in your 20s because it’ll help you stand out in a competitive job market. It’ll help you make connections with like-minded people and it’ll just help you with consistency across all areas of your life. For example, whether you know it or not, your Instagram is representing your brand. It’s your reputation. It’s what you like to do, who you like to be around, what interests you have and so on and so forth. So it’s not just a color scheme, a catchphrase, a logo. In fact, it goes

so much further into who you are and what sets you apart from other 20-somethings out in the world. Which is why I brought on Abby to further explain branding, why you need to develop your own brand and what that looks like for you. So I’m going to introduce her to the show and then we can dive into building your own brand. Abby is the founder and CEO of Social Mariposa.

a digital marketing agency dedicated to transforming business owners dreams into reality. With seven years of experience in social media management, Abby has worked with a diverse range of brands from ambitious startups and impactful nonprofits to multimillion dollar companies. Her passion lies in building purposeful brands that not only captivate audiences, but also align with meaningful goals. Known for her creative approach and results driven strategies, Abby empowers businesses to stand out while staying true to their unique vision.

Hi Abby, and welcome to How to 20 something.

Abbie (01:54.81)
Thank you for having me.

Jess Diamond (01:57.12)
Yeah, I’m glad you’re here. Excited to have you on. And I honestly want you to just start with further explaining what a personal brand is and why everyone should strive to create their own because this is kind of out of my wheelhouse. I did my best to explain but I want to hear from the expert which is you. So what is it?

Abbie (02:16.976)
Well, I think you did a great job. But to me, your personal brand is how you want people to see you. So it combines your reputation with intention is what I like to say. So everybody has a reputation, but you need to be intentional about your brand and how you want people to view you.

everyone should have one really as a way to stand out and express themselves as a collection of their interests, their values, and their mission. So for instance, thinking about what motivates you, what interests you, even further than just your simple likes and dislikes that people typically think when they describe themselves, you know.

Jess Diamond (03:08.438)
Okay, so if someone, let’s use a networking event for example, if someone walks into a networking event, how can they best represent their brand?

Abbie (03:19.588)
So one thing that I’m going to get into a little bit further into the episode is how to establish your personal brand. One of the big things for me is color. Everyone tends to gravitate towards a color and it really starts to represent them. So one thing that I always do when I’m at a networking event is I wear my brand color. And this helps you stick out.

to people that you meet and they start to associate you with that. Wearing other elements of your brand. So I wear butterfly jewelry all the time. Doing things that represent your core values and your mission. If it’s integrity, being a very integrist person. If it’s honesty, just…

being very honest, know, going into a networking event and being like, honestly, I’m really nervous right now. representing who you are as well as who your brand is, whether that’s with a larger corporation or your own brand, I think is always best when you’re going into a situation like that.

Jess Diamond (04:37.612)
Yeah. And we’re going to dive a little deeper into a professional brand versus you being self-employed and like how those relate and how they differ. Cause I know there’s people listening that want to build up their own businesses and there’s a brand that comes with that. And then there’s the people that want to be in the corporate world and that has its own branding. So we’ll get into that as our conversation develops, but

In layman’s terms, how can someone listening begin the process of building their own brand? You’ve already mentioned color, so color is definitely part of it. What else can they do if they’re like, I have no idea what this even means or how I can even get started?

Abbie (05:16.464)
Right. So like I said, determining what motivates you and what inspires you, what gets you energized to do something or to move towards your goals. Think about what skills and strengths that you have, even beyond the workplace. So maybe it’s a particular hobby that you have or a

just general interest, something that sparks a drive for you. And also what your mission is in life. So this one’s definitely a deeply rooted one and it takes a lot of time to figure that out. And it might be an ever-changing mission that you have in your life, but really take some time to reflect and get to know yourself. That’s my biggest thing.

with my clients and with anybody that asks me. I’m sure you deal with this a lot with your coaching. Really just getting to know yourself is such an important thing and it sounds so cliche, but there’s a reason that we have cliches and it’s because they’re true. yeah, getting to know yourself is the main thing to start understanding your brand.

Jess Diamond (06:43.256)
Can you walk us through how you can start, in a sense, marketing your brand so that it’s consistent across all platforms? So whether it’s LinkedIn, Instagram, in person, on a resume, just anything that you can think of that would help a 20-something listening.

Abbie (07:01.124)
Yeah, so something that I always start with is developing a unique selling proposition statement. So think about what sets you aside from everybody else in your career or your business or your expertise and really using that everywhere across all platforms. So even if it’s on your personal Instagram account,

Obviously, you’re not going to put a LinkedIn header on your personal Instagram account, but still embodying what that USP statement, that’s what we in the marketing world boil it down to. Embodying that USP statement and making sure that you keep that consistent across all platforms.

Jess Diamond (07:54.04)
What does USP stand for?

Abbie (07:56.268)
unique selling proposition.

Jess Diamond (07:59.135)
yeah, I would have been way off. Honestly, my brain was just going to UPS and I was like, that’s not it.

Abbie (08:00.794)
Yes.

Abbie (08:05.243)
Definitely not UPS.

Jess Diamond (08:07.918)
Okay, so this is starting to make sense for me. So hopefully it started to make sense for the listeners as well. And I just go to think of my own story. I’ve always been into health and fitness. That is something I’ve been passionate about for as long as I can remember. Like seventh grade, I started running, I was always in sports. It’s part of who I am is to be healthy and to be fit and to be active. And I remember the interview for my first full time job after college was

retail and restaurant design. And they asked me which I don’t like retail or restaurants. So I don’t know why I was interviewing there but I wanted a job. That’s besides the point. They asked me one very specific question that I remember to this day. And it is what is your favorite store? Like what it what brand and why so what about the branding? Why do you like that store? And my response was Nike.

And it’s like, it’s clean, like clean lines, simple. You’re able to recognize it, just all those things. that’s a part of a brand is people can relate something back to you because you have that identifiable marker that is setting you apart.

Jess Diamond (09:21.91)
anything you want to add.

Abbie (09:24.11)
Yeah, I definitely, I think that that’s what a USP statement kind of does for somebody is creates that identifiable marker, like you said, whether, so between the USP statement, between having a color and a particular element or object that you might be drawn to, you want those things to stick out to other people.

and remind them of you. So, you know, with Nike, you see the words, just do it. That could be anywhere. That could be in a book somewhere. And you’re immediately going to think of Nike because they have nailed that phrase into every single person’s head, whether you wear Nike, you purchase it or not.

Jess Diamond (10:16.11)
Yeah, and I’d say like my part of my brand is adulting just using the term adulting people think like, oh, I need to learn how to adult and making it into a verb is me like that’s my brand. I mean, I know I didn’t invent that but I’d like to think that when you’re listening, if you hear someone I need to learn how to adult you immediately think of me and it’s like, wait, I know someone that specializes in that that does that work. So it it does it I feel like it is

kind of difficult to differentiate between a brand as in a professional business brand like Nike or even a self-employed brand versus someone who’s just applying for jobs and not to minimize it, but someone who is not thinking about branding in terms of making a profit or running a business or being recognized for something outside of their applying for a job or they’re at a networking event.

trying to put their best foot forward, but haven’t fully connected the dots of how to consistently represent themselves. So can you break down the difference between a corporate 20 something building a brand and a self-employed 20 something building a brand?

Abbie (11:29.038)
Yes, so this is where I think it’s important for you to have that personal brand established ahead of time because what I would say for the 20-something going into the corporate world or even if it’s working for another small business but it’s not your own, you need to align your personal brand with their core values and mission.

So, you know, this is where they always tell you do your research before you go for a job interview. This is where you will do your research, but then figure out ways to connect that to the personal brand that you have already created for yourself. So let’s go back to that honesty example. If that’s one of their core values, that’s a perfect place for you to

embody that when you’re in the interview or in the workplace in general. Let’s be optimistic and say that you’re already hired. Continuously embodying that honesty even when it hurts a little bit. You know, like I said, admitting that you’re nervous or admitting a fault. That is where you can truly continue to refine your brand within your position and

continue to do so when you want to maybe get a promotion, look for what they’re looking for for that position. So leadership, for example, if it’s a management role that you’re looking for, start exemplifying qualities of leadership, but still remain true to yourself and your brand. So then as a self-employed person, it is a bit easier because

you have created that brand, most likely. So for instance, you’ve probably created your core values, your mission statement to already align with yourself. So it’s a bit easier to continue to remain true to that brand. And obviously you have to get creative with it as well sometimes. Like I said, when it’s your personal side,

Abbie (13:48.648)
of your life, finding creative ways to integrate your brand in. If it’s wearing a necklace or painting your nails a certain color or buying your glasses a certain color, finding creative ways to keep yourself top of mind for other people.

Jess Diamond (14:09.964)
I love that. I’m going to reiterate two things that you said because I think they’re so important. So I want anyone who is maybe zoned out for a second if you’re multitasking, because I know I multitask with podcasts and I’m like, wait, what are we talking about? So, but this is so important. So we’re just going to say it twice. The first one is to match your values with the company’s values and that having that be part of your brand. I love that you mentioned that because I think that also goes

in the same bucket as being self-employed is, I’m a self-employed person, my clients are gonna share the same values that I have. Like we’re going to be aligned on that. Think about anywhere you do business, anytime you’re swiping your car, do you agree with the company you are purchasing from? like you could start to break it down into everything that you do and who you interact with your life is part of your brand. And if you don’t like,

something that’s going on or something that you’re a part of, then that’s also a reflection on you and your brand and it’s on you to step away. So both of those things of matching your values to your brand and then also being self-employed and having that own branding and knowing who your clientele is are such key parts to this entire episode and I’m very, very glad you said that.

Abbie (15:31.076)
Definitely. that also helps. Another huge part of branding is your brand voice. That also helps you determine your voice is when you think of who your ideal client is trying to A, remain true to yourself, but B, speak to your ideal client or maybe the person in charge at a corporate job.

Finding that balance between those two will really help you find your voice as your brand as well.

Jess Diamond (16:06.072)
And I even think taking it a step further if you’re not happy at your current place of work, let’s say it’s like ask yourself why you’re not happy. Like what is happening within this company that you don’t like? Is it a management style? So that way you know what management style to make sure you don’t get into again with your next job so that you can up level yourself and continue to strive to that next version that you’re trying to be without taking.

pieces of happiness away from you is what I like to say.

Abbie (16:38.18)
Definitely, and that’s where all of that self-reflection always just comes back to that knowing truly who you are and what your wants, needs, desires are in life.

Jess Diamond (16:51.948)
Yeah, I didn’t realize how introspective building a personal brand in which is which sounds ironic because it’s a personal brand it is in the name like this episode title is you are your brand and it’s it does it requires that inner thinking of what do you like? Who do you want to be? Like what do you want to represent for yourself and embodying that as well? So it’s not just thinking about it. It’s becoming that

Abbie (17:20.196)
Definitely, and I think that that’s one of the biggest mistakes that people make when it comes to branding is that they lack that authenticity and they let trendiness take over. That’s something that I’ve seen a lot, especially in my industry with up and coming businesses is the way that they start out is so, so trendy.

that it’s almost impossible for them to continue to evolve with the trends. And I always say that trends are a thief of originality, so it’s important to find your brand first and find what’s true to you and then use trends as a template rather than, or a guideline rather than a template.

Jess Diamond (18:16.078)
Okay, so how will someone’s brand evolve with them? Can you think of an example off the top of your head of a brand that has evolved over time as someone has grown up or gone through different experiences?

Abbie (18:30.532)
Yeah, of course. of course rebrands are always an option. You want to stray away from doing it too often, but there’s sneaky ways to incorporate them as time moves on. Sometimes you can actually go on to a brand’s Instagram account and just keep scrolling and see how slowly they’ve changed elements over time, whether it’s just

font, even the shade of their color, an element in their logo has slightly changed. It’s become more realistic versus cartoon-like. So there’s ways to sneakily rebrand. You can do a hard rebrand or you can begin to change your tone for your brand if you’re trying to

change your target audience or maybe you’re moving into a different career path, finding the best way to connect those things together is really the key and not making such a goodbye to whatever I was doing and hello to this new thing because you’re going to lose some of that audience or maybe

that you had before.

Jess Diamond (19:55.638)
It just it makes me think of my own brand and how it’s evolved and I haven’t really made tons of effort to evolve it. It’s been more of that natural. It’s as I’ve grown, like I’ve realized my messaging has changed or my style, my colors have changed a little bit, like all those things that you’re saying. And I think when it comes to someone who is listening, who’s a young professional, like a working adult, it’s

how your resume wording is changing. As you mentioned, you gave the example of a career path is what do you need to change to fit what you’re working towards next without lying on your resume, but more so heightening or emphasizing the parts in your resume that are gonna fit that next role. And then within that next role is now you get to build on that and so on and so forth.

Abbie (20:44.878)
Right. Yeah, almost changing keywords. if you were a, for instance, I was an administrative assistant in my last position and I did eventually move into a marketing role. However, all of the things under my administrative assistant title didn’t really align with my marketing title. So highlighting the things under their

that fit in with marketing was what I ended up doing to continue in the marketing realm of things. But if I was looking for another admin assist job, then maybe I would go back and add those things back in.

Jess Diamond (21:30.572)
Yeah, I I went from being a health and life coach and helping any 20 something with like health and habits in life to more specifically, I at one point it was a transition coach is like, no, I help you with the different transitions that come through early adulthood. And then it was confidence coach, like I help you feel confident about who you are, what you’re doing, where you’re going. And then it was, maybe it’s career coaching, because that’s such a big part of your 20s. And then it kind of went back into

confidence coaching again. And now it’s honestly almost back to the original of I’m an adulting coach. Like I help you with all things adulting related, the adulting skills and getting you unstuck with where you’re at in your life. So it is a progression that happens and you might end up back to where you were at, but you’re never back to square one. It’s I’m there, but my messaging is so much stronger and so much more clear with who I work with. And I work with

A majority of people that are in their 20s, I say 18 to 35, but most of you guys are in your 20s. That’s why it’s how to 20 something who want more for their life and they just don’t know how or they’re too scared to try on their own. That’s what I do. like that’s being able to talk about that has gotten easier. The longer I’m in this business, the more people that I work with and that I help. It’s just trying to find the commonalities amongst all my clients that, but I realized everyone’s so different. So everyone has very different needs.

On that note, want to talk about go back to I want to go back to branding for people listening and not just about my business because that’s not what we’re here for. You’ve talked about values. And I think another part of branding that people get a little wary of is having to stand out because you mentioned that as well as what’s going to set you apart. What advice would you give someone who feels like they don’t have anything

quote unquote special to brand themselves around.

Abbie (23:31.13)
So my answer to that is that you do have something special and there’s always that person that’s like, no, like I don’t even have a favorite color. I don’t even have any hobbies. I just work. And that’s the classic response that you get from somebody that says that they don’t have anything special. And my answer always is you do.

And this is where that self-reflection comes into play. And I know I keep talking about it, but it’s so, so, so very important. You need to think about your life. You need to think about your wants, your needs, your likes, even what you do each day. Write down your daily routine, like to the micro habit. I wake up and I brush my teeth. I kiss my wife goodbye.

I drive to work, write down all of those things. Right there you can come up with something that’s important to you, your wife, you kissing her goodbye every single day, you value your family and your loved ones. So brain dump is always where I start with people like that. have them brain dump literally every single thing that they can think of that they like.

to colors, to animals, to things that they might have liked when they were a kid. And that’s a big one. If you can go back and think of what you liked when you were 12, 13, 16 years old, that’s probably where you’ll find a lot of truth in what’s special about you. And I think that a lot of people disconnect from that as they get older and more serious.

And that’s where my purple and butterflies actually kind of started from was that that was my childhood bedroom theme. And when I thought back to it, I was like, wow, I actually really do like that color purple. And I thought that I outgrew that and I thought that I outgrew the girly little butterflies and stuff. And that’s just a minor example. But that is truly how you can

Abbie (25:47.608)
Self-reflect even when you think that there’s nothing to reflect on.

Jess Diamond (25:52.686)
I that was a great example because now I’m thinking back and I was like, in high school, I redid my bedroom and the colors were teal and like lighter teal and those are my branding colors. Literally the exact color. had a dark wall and then lighter walls and it is that is my brand, which is so funny. I haven’t even put that together that that has carried with me over 10 years later. So that’s, that’s funny. As far as what you’re saying of that reflection.

and it’s a common theme because what we’re talking about is personal. Being personal requires that reflection. I wanna bring up something that you had mentioned, but it came into my head as it’s a reframe. And it’s not trying to stand out amongst everyone else or be special that sets you apart from all your other peers, but it’s what’s special to you, what stands out in your life.

And how do you carry through on a regular basis to make sure you are adhering to what you prioritize?

Abbie (26:56.516)
Definitely. And one of the things that I always say is if you can capitalize on one little thing that makes other people think about you when they think of that thing, and we kind of briefly touched on this before, that creates a standout characteristic for you because you basically create a bunch of little cheerleaders for you. So…

when somebody like you said thinks of adulting and they reference your name or even when it’s as simple as someone seeing the color teal and sending you a picture of it or something like that, you know that you have made it with your personal brand when stuff like that starts to happen. I get my phone flooded with pictures of

little butterfly trinkets and purple things that people see at stores or they tag me and stuff. And that’s great news to me because I know that I’m top of mind for those people when they think of those things and that I’ll be top of mind when they think of something marketing. Even if it’s, they don’t know exactly what I do. The first time someone hears something, I need a help with my marketing. I need help with the logo.

I’m getting a text message from that person because they’re my little cheerleader.

Jess Diamond (28:22.274)
Yeah, so it’s not thinking of all of the things that matter or that set you apart or that you can differentiate yourself from. It’s starting with one thing and you can always build off of that. But if you’re new to personal branding, like building up your own brand, start with one thing that you feel represents you the best. And it could be a color, it could be a phrase like adulting, don’t take mine. could…

be a butterfly like Abby’s it, it could just be something that means something to you. know something that’s unrelated, but I get complimented on all the time is my blue heart necklace that is always around my neck. People I’ve worn it around my neck for 10 years and I still get compliments on it and I feel like it is in a sense part of my brand, not necessarily my professional brand, not my how to 20 something life coaching business brand, but me.

Jess, my brand, who I am, and that is different than the business I’m building.

Abbie (29:25.412)
Yep, for sure. And like you said, something that’s meaningful to you, that should also be a part of your brain dump when you’re trying to get to know yourself. Anything that has meaning to you, if it’s for me, it’s when I see a butterfly and I think of a past loved one for other people. They see cardinals and they think of a past loved one.

There’s a million different symbolisms and everybody looks to them differently, so think of those as well when you’re trying to come up with something.

Jess Diamond (30:02.774)
I like it. Are there any specific questions you like to ask your clients when you’re at the beginning stages of creating their brand? I feel like we’ve talked a lot about beginning stages, but I want to know from like client to building business. So the work more specifically to the work you do, what do you ask them about themselves to help them create their brand?

Abbie (30:26.788)
Yeah, so when I have a brand consultation with a client, I really am truly trying to get to know them personally as well because there is an element of personality to every single brand. So I do start with all of those little questions like, what is your favorite color? What is something that means something to you? Is there a symbol that you are particularly drawn to?

Do you have a favorite animal or a favorite element of nature? And then obviously I get into their mission, their values. I ask them what their goals are in terms of one year, three years, and five years to get a broad general picture of where they are with their business right now, whether it’s ground zero or they’ve been in it for a year.

to what their wildest dreams are. And I tell them to really get creative with that five year because people like to cap themselves. And I think that five years is a really long time and you could do light years of work in five years if you really put your mind to it. So I like to get all of that. I like to ask them, this is a weird one, if they have a favorite emoji.

if there’s an emoji that they like to use a lot. And then I ask them if there’s anything that they feel drawn to in life. If it’s a particular hobby or if it’s a career path that they maybe wanted to do in the past but they don’t do it. For me, this is just a little fun fact. I always say that in another life I would be in the beauty industry.

So when I was creating my brand, I made it girly, I made it cute, and I made it aesthetically pleasing, maybe more to women, and I have attracted a lot of clients in the beauty industry. So getting that full broad picture of my client and of their business is what really truly helps me create a brand that reflects them.

Jess Diamond (32:50.786)
This is so great because it’s getting me to think and then I’m like, my God, all of this adds up because in another life, I would have been a meteorologist and the logo for this podcast has, it’s a thought bubble, but it is a cloud above my head. And I’m like, wow, that’s actually pretty on brand and I didn’t even realize I was doing it. So it’s so funny. And then I feel like the emoji one is an interesting topic. So it’s like,

I like the one where the hand is flicking the hair or whatever it is, the girl. That’s the one that I always like using. I’m like, my hand coming out to the side. But I don’t know how that really relates to my brand. I just know that it’s how it relates to me as a person. So could see why you would ask that so you get a feel for their personality without just saying, tell me about yourself. What’s your personality like?

Abbie (33:45.156)
Right. And to me, that emoji exuberates confidence. So I think that that does tie in with your brand. And that’s exactly why I ask my clients that because one of my favorite emojis, other than the butterfly emoji, obviously, is the party emoji where they have the little party hat and it’s purple. It has purple in it. I like to have that type of messaging with my brand, like fun and playful.

So I think that both of our emojis do accurately reflect our brains.

Jess Diamond (34:21.806)
good. I passed the test. I’m doing great so far. But this is this is fun to think about it like, oh, where are these things showing up in my life without even I didn’t even really think about it. It didn’t occur to me until now I’m going back in my head. I was like, wow, okay. I’m in alignment with my brand, which is great. That’s a great place you want to be in.

Abbie (34:45.188)
Definitely, and that’s like I said with trends, if you try to create your brand on too many trends, that’s when you end up not reflecting yourself in your brand. And based off of the way that I have seen your branding, it doesn’t look like you’re doing it to just follow along with the trends. And that’s not to say that you’re not trendy or you’re out of touch with…

the current trends, it’s just to say that it’s truly you and it’s truly unique. It’s not something that you saw on Pinterest and decided to recreate, you know.

Jess Diamond (35:24.312)
Can you give an example of some trends you’ve seen that people have tried to build their brands off of?

Abbie (35:32.11)
So it’s hard to describe this one without actually having a visual image, but there’s a particular, almost editorial style font and color combination that has been going on lately, I would say within the past year. And that’s the best way to describe it is editorial. It’s very beige, tan, brown, sometimes blush.

black, white, neutral. And I have seen a ton of brands, especially in the social media and marketing realm. Basically, that’s their entire brand. Their logo looks like that, their posts look like that. You don’t ever see pictures of them unless it’s a curated photo shoot picture. And while they’re gorgeous and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with

the way that they’re marketing themselves, it’s just very cookie cutter right now at this point in time. If that’s who you are, if you are a very regal, editorial, professional individual and that was what your interests were, it would be a little bit different than just doing it because it’s trendy right now. Because what’s going to happen is three…

maybe even two years from now, it’s going to look outdated and they’re probably not going to want it anymore. They’re not going to stick by it because it’s not them and they’ll have to do a full rebrand.

Jess Diamond (37:07.726)
Let’s go piggyback on what you just said of the brand is not them. So then they’ll have to redo it all. Where does authenticity fit in with building a brand? I feel like we’ve kind of spoken about it in different places throughout this podcast episode, but overall, how does someone make sure that they’re staying true to themselves and not getting distracted by the trendiness that happens on TikTok or at their…

favorite place to shop or just whatever they’re seeing online.

Abbie (37:39.77)
So I feel like a broken record when I say that the self-reflection is necessary. Knowing yourself and knowing those things that really speak to you and that you’re drawn to, but then standing with it and not being embarrassed by how it looks or not feeling a need to change it because of a trend, that’s where…

your authenticity really comes into play is when you’re able to stick by those things. I actually once had somebody say to me, aren’t you worried about attracting only female clients with your light purple and butterfly branding? And at first, it really did make me sit back and think and be like, shoot, like maybe I did limit myself, you know?

But I’ll tell you right now, 50 % of my clients are males within their 50s. So it really didn’t affect me at all. And I’m really glad that I stuck to it and I didn’t go change my brand to be something that is more agreeable to every person or it is important to appeal to your potential client, but more in your messaging and your values. But in terms of the visuals, especially sticking to what

is you and what you stand for.

Jess Diamond (39:10.542)
Yeah, and I think it can get hard with all the noise out there and noise, including your best friends saying, what are you doing? Like, why are you changing your style of clothing? Like, why are you putting your hair in that way now? And it can be hard. It can feel really difficult to step aside and show up as you rather than showing up as what you think people want from you. And I see this with a lot of people, again, going back to that noise.

in terms of actions and what they’re doing. if you’re seeing everyone’s meal prepping, everyone’s on the meal prepping chain and you come to me and you’re like, just I want to start meal prepping. It’s like, okay, we’re gonna break that down. One, I’m gonna ask you, what is your definition of meal prepping? I actually had this conversation with a client yesterday, like, why are we meal prepping? What is the reason? He’s like, well, my friends are doing it and I feel behind on that. And I, he’s 20. And I was like,

You’re a 20 year old who is interested in starting to meal prep. You are most certainly not behind on that bandwagon, which is a good bandwagon to be on, but it’s also understanding why. Why is that important for you to go do? Is it because all your friends and all your roommates are doing it that you feel you have to? Or is it because you want to take care of yourself and you feel this is the best way to do it so you don’t get distracted and go.

do Uber Eats or something because you know you have meals ready to go for you. And his was the latter. So we got to talk about what does this meal prepping consist of and how do we make sure that this becomes a regular part of your life. Again, because you want to do it, not because everyone else is doing it and you feel it’s something that you also need to do as a result.

Abbie (40:55.598)
Right. And it’s important to what they call de-influence yourself from some things. And I like that you break that down with your clients and ask them why they want to do that thing. I know that there’s a lot of hubbub in the social media world right now about TikTok and the ban and AI and what Metta is going to be doing with AI. And I’m

have clients or people at networking events come to me and they’re wanting to make jump reactions because of these things that are going on, but they don’t even have the reasoning yet. So they’ll say, well, I don’t want to get into Facebook and Instagram because Metta is going to be doing all kinds of AI stuff that scares me. And I’m like, okay, wait, let’s go back. What are they going to be doing?

Why are you scared of it? How is it going to affect you? How is it going to affect your business and your brand? And basically breaking that down to de-influence them from completely writing off a platform just because of a news article that they saw or something that their friend said, you know. So that can be applied in a professional, a personal setting, pretty much anywhere.

You need to be de-influenced sometimes and when you can crack the code to de-influencing yourself, that’s great. But sometimes you might need a friend that does that for you or coach that can help you out with that.

Jess Diamond (42:35.596)
Yes, I agree. I love those questions for your clients because I can so see that happening, especially not to just call out the clients you’ve mentioned, but the 50 somethings, the male 50 somethings are going to freak out because they see an article and there’s all this fear mongering of what’s going to happen is like, okay, let’s dial that back a little bit. You’re jumping right into a visceral reaction out of fear. And it’s fear of the unknown or fear of like

all these stories that you’re reading, but you’re not actually taking yourself to the present moment and thinking things through from a realistic standpoint, which is what you’re asking them to do by asking them those questions.

Abbie (43:16.919)
Exactly.

Jess Diamond (43:19.698)
What are three actionable steps that someone could take right now, today, within the next hour or two to start to improve their personal brand?

Abbie (43:31.962)
So number one, I would say the brain dump. I think that that is so important to do. I know we keep saying this self-reflection thing, but really the brain dump is the most important thing because you can get caught up in self-reflection. You can overcomplicate that term and think that you need prompts and journaling and meditation and all of these things.

They’re all great, but the brain dump, make it messy, make it crazy, write down literally every word that comes into your head, get the biggest piece of paper known to man and just start going at it. And then go in and circle the things that really actually mean something and then highlight the things that really, really mean something or that resonate with you. So that’s just number one is the brain dump.

Number two is to align it with your career or your brand. So from your brain dump, decide, okay, what works with my brand? What is aligning with the career that I want? What aligns with my goals and what I want for my life? And then make it known. That’s the biggest part is telling people, representing it.

carrying it along with you day to day. Be obnoxious about it. Change your whole Instagram. Change all the colors. Change all the fonts. Put your new little slogan in every single bio on Facebook. Change your LinkedIn header. Do all of the things. Make everybody know about your brand and…

People will think it’s silly or obnoxious at first, but then they’ll start to know you for it. And that’s when you’ve really made it with your

Jess Diamond (45:31.028)
I it. I love those three steps. I want to go back to the first one of getting a big blank sheet of paper because I know you guys by now. know my 20 somethings. even though we’ve been saying, Abby’s been dropping a lot of amazing golden nuggets throughout this episode, I can almost guarantee that you’re going to get this blank sheet of paper and your brain is going to match it. And you’re just going to go completely blank. So.

I want to give you guys a little exercise you could do to just help get the wheels turn in and then from there it can develop and it’s something I love to do with my clients and it’s asking them what their favorite childhood movie was and going from there and within that movie, who is your favorite character? And then you ask yourself, okay, what what do you like about that character? What qualities what characteristics? Why is that your favorite character? And it doesn’t have to be the main character in the movie. It could be

like a mom in where the main character is the kid, it does not matter. It’s who you who stands out to you and why. And then write all of those characteristics down, go back and circle the ones that you feel you also portray. And that’s how you can get started. Like, okay, my example would be the movie Matilda. Matilda happens to be my favorite character in the movie Matilda. And she’s

brilliant. She’s kind. She puts others before her. She always sees the good in people. It’s like she always wants to fix things to make everything right to right the wrongs. And those are all the things that I also see within myself. And then from there, I can expand is like, well, I also like to do this, or I also have this quality and so on and so forth. So you have your blank sheet of paper and your brain is just as blank. Start with your favorite movie.

and your favorite movie character and go from there.

Abbie (47:26.936)
Yeah, and also your bedroom as a child. What color was it? What elements did you have in it? Did you have a cute little character all over your walls? Jess knows this about me, but I love Care Bears. Care Bears were also in my childhood bedroom at my grandmother’s house. and now when anybody sees nostalgic things or

pastel colors like that, they immediately think of me. So put those on your brain dump too.

Jess Diamond (48:04.396)
Yes, love it. All right, last question. Is there any other tidbit or piece of advice that you want to say to wrap up this episode?

Abbie (48:15.684)
I would just like to reiterate that trends are a thief of originality and that you need to be true to you and as cliche as that is, it’s the truth.

Jess Diamond (48:31.148)
Love it. Amazing. Thank you so much, Abby, for being a guest on How to 20 something. Where can people find you if they want to get in touch, if they want to follow you and see your brand, if they even want to inquire about working with you and you can even share the work that you do. I know I said in the bio, but remind the audience again.

Abbie (48:51.172)
Yeah, so I am a marketing professional. I own The Social Mariposa and you can find me at thesocial.mariposa, spelled M-A-R-I-P-O-S-A on all social media platforms. My website is www.thesocialmariposa.com and

If you would like to work with me, I specialize not only in branding, but I do social media management, website design, ads management for social media, and pretty much anything else creative within the marketing realm. So if you need it, I probably do it. And I would love to chat with you. Your discovery call is free.

just send me a DM or a inquiry on my website and I would love to get in touch with you.

Jess Diamond (49:51.95)
Great. And her website and Instagram will be linked directly in the show notes. So you guys can access that right now. Otherwise, this does conclude another episode of how to 20 something. If you liked what you heard, if you learned something new or are inspired to build your own personal brand, then please let us know by posting it on social media and then tagging us when you do. You could even share this episode with a friend who would benefit from listening.

And as always, I can’t wait to be in your headphones again next week with another brand new episode.