We had the good fortune of connecting with Tequila Cousar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tequila, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
Most industry leaders and coaches teach that your product is the life line of your business, and I disagree. The most valuable asset of an entrepreneur, thought leader, or expert business is their personal brand.
If you build your personal brand the right way, your business will survive and thrive.

Your personal brand is simply how people perceive you, based off how you show up on and offline. Having a personal brand will allow you to pivot in your positioning if you decided to ditch your 9-5 for entrepreneurship or decided to take a higher level position in your company. For example, if a potential buyer recognizes you as someone who is hardworking, dedicated, and honest, that buyer also expects that your service and/or product will hold to what ever value you place on it.

What if one day you decided that you are no longer passionate about the product that you sell and have fallen in love with something else? By having built a personal brand, your fans which you have turned into friends, will follow you. Many coaches push selling, selling, selling. I understand that you have to sell the product in order to produce revenue, but wouldn’t you want people to be attracted to who you are, so that it makes selling easier, rather than salesy?

Building your personal brand creates the like, know, and trust factor amongst your audience.

Whether you are new to personal branding or rebranding yourself, here are 3 things you should stop doing that most coaches say you should be doing.

1. Don’t go out and get a logo or website without first knowing who you are.

If you are DIYer or getting someone to build it for you, your website needs to reflect your personality so that potential buyers understand who you are and why they should invest their money and time.

2. Stop selling your product to random folks.
Get clear on your ideal audience. When you understand who they are and what they need, you can create a brand message and a product that makes you the undeniable choice.

3. Starting low in your pricing, then going high.
If I knew better when I started, I would’ve started at a High ticket/High value offers and built a descending model to complement that in the backend. Your background, experiences, and accomplishments is a valuable piece of personal branding. The amount of intellectual property you currently have when it comes to your IT factor, can be packaged like a college curriculum! When people fall in love with you, they are going to fall in love with your products. Your goal is to create members, not just customers. So creating a high value product, first, will allow you to focus on the longevity of your customers, not just what they need for the moment. The longevity of a buyer is the life line of your business. The only way to keep them for life, is by continually showing up as your most authentic self.

A few months ago, I coached a young lady who had no clairty on what she was passionate about. Within 10 minutes of her call, we were able to pinpoint her passion, positioning and product. The amount of delight she felt as we did this was priceless, she lit up!!! By the end of our strategy session, she walked away with clarity on who she was and how she needed to show up in order to start attracting her ideal customer. She has since then created her own journal and is coaching a group of faith-based women!

I am in no way indicating that all coaches are wrong in their teachings and that what they’re teaching isn’t effective. If you do the work, it works! I do believe that if you invest in a Personal Branding Coach early on in your entrepreneur career, you have a shot at succeeding.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Every female entrepreneur wants to increase their confidence, credibility and continuity in the marketplace.

The problem is the industry seems oversaturated and they feel unseen, which leads to them not making money because they do not know how to differentiate themselves in order to stand out and attract their ideal clients.

As the CEO of Intoxicating Brands, LLC, I got tired of feeling unseen, unheard, broke and broken in the marketplace because I knew what I had to offer was valuable. Through an introspective process, I tap into the real you, your authentic self, to define your personal brand and help you project it online. I help amazing women with amazing missions, monetize their brands.

Understanding positioning was a hard but it was under my nose! I am a thought-provoking leader and it shows up in the way I project myself online. But it didn’t occur to me that this was my calling because I didn’t know I could make money for thoughts and how it relates to entrepreneurs, thought leaders and women experts until I hired the right coach that helped me.

I have many stories that collages who I have become but the greatest story, was overcoming many years of infertility. The pain and darkness that I projected on myself during this struggle, awakened and enlightened me to trusting the journey. It took a ton of personal development and mindset practices to become the person that I am today. The birth of my daughter, propelled me to become a full-time mom and entrepreneur. I am so grateful for the journey.

My brands mission is to inspire 500 high-level women to feel seen, aligned and valued in their calling within the next 5 years.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love the fact that I live in the Capital of Ohio!! There is so much to do in Columbus, Ohio. I would take my bestie shopping at Easton Mall and lunch at Pins. We will have dinner at Ena’s
Kitchen, they have the best tasting Jamaican food. We will end the day in the Short North at Lincoln Social, it has a view of downtown Columbus that is out of this world.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to shout out my business bestie! Her name is Diona Clark and she happens to be my sister! We both have built a strong personal brand around what we are passionate about. During the heart of the pandemic in 2020, we collaborated and started a joint venture, Sea Moss Sensations, and are helping others “sea” a better way of living all around the US.

Website: www.tequilacousar.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tequila_cousar/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tequilacousar/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tequilacousar

Tequila Cousar is a Personal Branding Coach and #1 International Best Selling Author, based in Columbus, Ohio. She is the CEO of Intoxicating Brands, LLC where she teaches amazing women with amazing missions to monetize their brands. Her superpower is clarity. She loves chipotle and her favorite drink is coffee! 

Free download of thirty journal prompts containing thought-provoking and soul-searching questions to to help you clarify and discover the essence of your personal brand is available on her website www.tequilacousar.com 

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutHTX is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.