I Am My Brand

Born to loving parents, I was indeed a welcome addition. According to my late mother, after my brother was born, Dad wanted a daughter. You see marrying my mom was his first marriage. Mom had married, divorced, and already had three sons to add to the mix, by the time my dad was discharged from the military, after fighting in World War II. Their blessed union produced three more children. Dad was a loving and supportive husband to Mom, and father to all his children. I say all because he raised my brothers as if they were his very own. However, he wanted a daughter, me, Jeanne Adair Ingram. The first and only girl amongst four hard-headed brothers, and until my little brother was born, one and a half years later.

Discovering The Word Brand and Its Meaning

As children, we are indoctrinated on Saturday mornings by the commercials, between cartoons, and shows like Flicka, Fury, and Roy Rogers with Dale Evans, and Roy's horse, Trigger. It's funny how I can still remember these shows. This is where it started. Each series had its paid sponsors. Nabisco sponsored Sky King, and Huckleberry Hound was sponsored by Kellogg's.

We kids would get our Christmas list and summer break toys from the commercials targeted at us so we'd hound our parents until we got them. The Slinky, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, whirlybird, badminton sets, and shoes. PF Flyers, "Made you run faster and jump higher." We had so many races up and down our street to see who could run the fastest and win, wearing their new tennis shoes bought from these advertisements. I am positively sure this is how Kellogg's Frosted Flakes ended up on our shelf because we wanted Tony the Tiger to live with us, at least until the box was empty, then we'd eat the Cheerios. We can see the importance of branding and marketing products to the right demographic, but what about ourselves, are we marketable?

The Importance of Personal Branding

One of my many vacations to California during the beautiful time of summer saw me working on my book, Broken to Triumph. I attended online seminars and watched many live events featuring Lisa Nichols and Les Brown. I was entranced by their speaking ability and how comfortable they were in front of thousands, and, as if speaking one-on-one in their living rooms to friends. I began seeing a brand, their brand. They were marketing their profession as Motivational Speakers who were highly rated in the industry of public speaking, best-selling authors, and motivating others to buy books and share their stories because everybody has one. Their brand was cemented, and their passion for telling their life's journey in stories found shared empathy, compassion, and experiences, and they inspired people.

I began to doubt my ability to write a captivating story that could become a bestseller. My dream to write a book that would achieve great success was now fading. The cloud of doubt had smothered my desire to pursue writing any further. When one discovers what one thinks is the road to take, and begins to feel unsettled. These are the times to pivot and find a new path, a new direction.

DEFINE YOUR VALUE AND MAKE AN IMPACT ~ Harvard Business School Online.

"A strong personal brand can help you attract the right people, land a job or promotion, and make connections that lead to new opportunities.

With reflection and intentional actions, you can gain confidence in your value and project it in your life and career."

Upon returning home, the book idea laid dormant in the recesses of my mind. I still needed a way to earn an income. Living off my retirement and Social Security would not be my only option. I sat in silence for many days contemplating. What is my passion; that thing, I will truly love doing. How to develop it into a revenue-generating business? These were constantly on my mind and I must have taken these thoughts to bed with me. The idea of re-starting a skincare line appeared in a dream and was still quite vivid in my waking moment. While watching the news, the state of the economy had me feeling anxious. I flipped through FB, TikTok, and Instagram. There were so many online businesses. Entrepreneurs were making live connections and people were buying what they were selling. I remember thinking, she's asking what, for that? I would ask the price but the customer would get more and, assuming, a much better product. I thought about how I enjoyed making natural emollients from scratch and my customers loved them. I don't know how but soon; I began writing down recipes and subscribing to natural organic sites to gain current information about the natural cosmetics industry and buying books. I looked for my old recipes. However, due to moving from place to place so much, I had misplaced or discarded them to who knows where.

One day, I found myself in the kitchen making products. A lot of my beginning formulations were a disaster. The only customer worthy of them was the trash bin. After many more attempts, I started getting close to my envisioned product. achieving a smooth consistency for the lotions, creams, and body butter were not as oily, as in the beginning. I still had issues with oil and color separation. After visiting YouTube University, it came back to me. I began implementing the change that was present in my previous business.

One year and four months in; I am still striving to improve a good product. Because for me, the product I desire for my customers. Good isn't good enough.

*I AM MY BRAND

I am the representative of ShaNuWater Fountain of Youth LLC. It is who I am that will go the extra lengths, to make sure efficacy and accountability carry over into the brand. The mission is to empower 50-plus women and men to look and feel 30. To have healthy, ageless, and attractive skin.

Aging is a normal process in life. Yet, we can still look, feel, and be our very best cloaked in healthy, protected, soft, smooth, vibrant, and radiant skin that glows with obtainable youth.?I am a retired board-certified esthetician, and currently a certified skincare consultant, continuing my skincare education through Udemy online courses. I am a visionary, and an?advocate for natural skincare, and believe that living a healthy lifestyle begins on the inside. Health nutrition and staying away from harmful toxins, as much as possible give your skin a kick start. Getting enough water and daily stretching and exercise is a must. I want to know my customers as much as they want to know about me. This is the beginning. Ja'Nala Mamdu, Owner & COO.