Why All Startups Need a Brand Book with Mona Bijoor
\u201cVision and strategy require a lot of thinking about brand.\u201d Mona Bijoor would know. She spends a lot of her time thinking about and helping early-stage founders startup, scale, and grow their businesses, which, as she notes, involves more thinking about brand than most realize. She\u2019s also the author of the new book,\xa0Startups and Downs, The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs.\xa0We discussed all of this and more on this week\u2019s episode of the On Brand podcast.\nAbout Mona Bijoor\nMona Bijoor\xa0is a partner at King Circle Capital LLC, an investment and advisory firm, where she has holdings in real estate, franchises, start-ups, and online businesses. Mona is also the founder of JOOR, the premier online global B2B marketplace for wholesale buying that directly connects brands and retailers.\nA graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, Mona lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters. She is the Amazon best selling author of\xa0Startups and Downs, The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs\xa0and a frequent contributor to\xa0TechCrunch, Entrepreneur,\xa0and\xa0Thrive Global.\nEpisode Highlights\n\u201cAs a founder, you need to work backward,\u201d\xa0Mona notes. \u201cThis is a common challenge from mom and pops on up. Your brand isn\u2019t just your mark. It\u2019s what people say about you when you\u2019re not in the room.\u201d\nMona\u2019s startup story on brand.\xa0Early in the podcast, Mona shared a story about branding her first SAAS startup. \u201cWe over-indexed on customer service because we were so paranoid about what people were saying about our service when we weren\u2019t in the room.\u201d\nWhy all startup brands should create a brand book.\xa0Mona advises all startups she advises\u2014regardless of industry\u2014to make a brand book. This should include information on why your brand exists and the pain points in the market you address. It should also feature your mission, objectives, and a profile of your target market. In the end, the book serves as a kind of \u201cNorth Star\u201d for anyone at the company to use in their day-to-day work living the brand.\nTo learn more,\xa0check out Mona\u2019s new book\xa0Startups and Downs, The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs\xa0and\xa0connect with her on LinkedIn.\nAs We Wrap \u2026\nDid you hear something you liked on this episode or another?\xa0Do you have a question you\u2019d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.\nOn Brand is sponsored by my book\xa0Brand Now.\xa0Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world.\xa0Order now and get special digital extras.\xa0Learn more.\n\n\nSubscribe to the podcast\xa0\u2013 You can subscribe to the show via\xa0Apple Podcasts,\xa0Stitcher,\xa0Google Play,\xa0TuneIn, and\xa0RSS.\n\n\nRate and review the show\xa0\u2013 If you like what you\u2019re hearing, head over to\xa0Apple Podcasts\xa0and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast.\n\n\nOK. How do you rate and review a podcast?\xa0Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes?\xa0Check this out.\n\nUntil next week, I\u2019ll see you on the Internet!\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices