2020 came and like every year, this was going to be “that year.” The year for body goals, dream jobs, love, travel, graduations, but "the Rona" came and said, “not this year.” No one expected that 2020 was going to be the year of lockdown. Media claimed cases would settle down by July - it’s August and cases seem to say otherwise. At this point, it’s unknown when things will go back to normal. This unexpected pandemic has led people to lose jobs, students completed the school year virtually, weddings are postponed, and celebrations are now drive-bys. When unfortunate times like this occur, so do the negative thoughts. We start to believe this pandemic is the end of the world, things will never go back; shutting ourselves with unpleasant thoughts and avoid seeing the light in dark times.
“Tell those little voices to be quiet,” said business owner BreAnn Robinson, who just launched her brand resource company Brand Resources by BreAnn Renae, earlier this month. 28-year-old BreAnn Robinson found her passion and created something she could call her own. She had used her skills with branding and public relations to build a solid career for herself and during this time she learned many businesses lacked in basic needs for a successful business. This realization led her to create Brand Resources by BreAnn Renae, a boutique agency that connects companies with talented individuals to produce professional imaging and more. Brand Resources by BreAnn Renae sets out to advise businesses to professionalism and benefit creatives to build their network. Robinson demonstrates that uncertain times should not stop your passion. As much negativity she received for launching a business at a terrible time, Robinson tunes them out and proved otherwise. There’s a positive in every negative and this optimistic personality will thrive her company to success.
What would you say is your inspiration behind brand resources?
My family and business owners; small business owners who are trying to make a difference in their own world or around them. My family has been my push because I would love to see them succeed. I'm the oldest of four and I want to set a good example for my siblings and have them look up to me.
What do you hope to accomplish with brand resources?
So, for a long time, I had been trying to start businesses. From the time I was able to at 18-years-old, I was always looking for a way to start a business. This is maybe my third business I've been trying to get off the ground. In everything that I wanted to do, I felt like I wanted to do it because it was my passion at the time, but it just didn't stick. this is the one business that did sick. In doing this, I want to just open up doors for other businesses; other people to be successful. My purpose is to be a conduit of success for those around me and for those that come in contact with me. Now that I found out what I was supposed to do, everything made sense. People can come to my business and get resources for their businesses to strengthen their brand. I think it just fits right in with purpose. It fits in with being a conduit of success, being adored, and for those to just be more successful in what they're doing.
What makes Brand Resources by BreAnn Renae different from other brand resource companies?
In meeting those business owners and figuring out what they were struggling with; I looked into different companies that might be a one-stop-shop for brands, but I couldn't find any. I didn't find anywhere something that people can go to for everything and I wanted to give that. That's where it started. When I kept hearing stories, I wanted to expand and make sure that I was able to give more, but the way I decided to do that was to make sure that I can meet different creatives. I already knew a lot of creatives; I knew photographers, web designers, and graphic designers, and I figured that I could create this one-stop-shop with my network. I feel like I'm different because I'm giving opportunities on both ends; I'm allowing freelancers to get work, and I'm allowing businesses to come in and get work done. Also, I just feel like there's a two-way benefit here. It's not only the creatives working for me, but it's also more about them expanding their profile and getting out there because a lot of them find it hard to push themselves or even hard to find work. That is what makes me different. That I'm for both sides; the client and who I work with.
Web design services can cost between $12,000- $150,000. How does Brand Resources by BreAnn Renae negotiate pricing?
So, what we do here is I contract different freelancers or different creatives. Whether they're graphic designers, web designers, photographers, I talk to them first. I want to make sure that I'm also letting the creatives charge their prices and make sure that they're getting paid. If someone comes to me and says, “Hey, I want a website,” I will talk to the client about what their needs are, what their pricing is if they want something basic, if they want something elaborate, and finding out their budget. I want clients to feel comfortable with the service; I want to make sure that they don't feel they were taken advantage of. After I talked to the clients, I go to whichever team members fit within that. I may have two graphic designers or two web designers on my team that I contract with, but one may be better for the job or one may be a little more expensive. I will talk to either one of them and choose which one fits the job best.
As the saying goes, “to learn to succeed, you must learn to fail.” How do you prepare for future challenges?
We live in an imperfect world. It happens. You can't avoid it. I'm no one special that won't come into roadblocks. Just because I know that is going to happen, I have to make sure that I stay focused on my goal. And in knowing that, when coming into those things, it won't stop me. It won't. It may be hard and understanding that is going to be hard, but I'm not fazed by it. It doesn't mean I won't cry, have my bad days, or get a little flustered, but as far as the overall journey I'm going to keep going.
During these uncertain times, it’s difficult for companies not to think negatively. How does Brand Resources by BreAnn Renae stay positive?
It's funny that you asked that because I've seen the market; I've seen people talk about what's going on in the market with businesses and how it's a terrible time to start a business. We've had our couple clients as a faithful that is keeping us above water and I'm getting requests now from people to work with me and that keeps me positive. What also keeps me positive is this is what I'm supposed to do. I know like I said before, getting into this wasn't going to be easy and I wasn't going to just have everything handed to me, but I know that this is what I'm supposed to do and because this is what I'm supposed to do the Coronavirus can't stop it.
What advice do you have for black women wanting to become business owners?
I know it's cliche to say stay positive, but that's really one of the keys. And not only to stay positive but also to stop caring what other people think. Make sure that you're grounded in what you believe. I think that's the most important because when the negativity comes, when the doubts come, even within yourself, like I said, I have a lot of self-doubts when those come, and because I'm grounded in what I want to do, and I know that this is what I'm supposed to do. I can't stop myself. There's another part of me that's going “No, this is your purpose.” “This is what you were called to do.” You have to shut that little voice that says you can't do it, or that you're not going to be successful. Tell those little voices to be quiet this my purpose. My purpose is the first thing that I'm going to listen to, not the doubt.
What's the plan with brand resources? Where do you see it in five years?
My plan is to continue to help brands and help businesses grow. What I mean by grow, we're not heavy in the marketing aspect, nor are we heading in the advertising space even though we know a lot about that and it's something that we may want to dive into deeper in the future, I want to continue to help brands be more. My website says more professional but for them to be basically more presentable. Pretty much, get that logo made and make sure the logo is marketable; make sure that when people go to their social media page that they can look at it and go, “Wow, they really know what they're doing.” That's what it is, to make sure that you're communicating with your audience, effectively.
What's the best advice someone told you?
Either someone told me this or I read it somewhere and it's with me forever. The saying is, “if you wait till your product is perfect before you release it, you've waited too late.” That stuck with me ever since I've heard it. I've been telling business owners and other people because what often holds us back is that we're trying to make sure everything is perfect before we release and in a way that can be self-sabotage. We're waiting for everything to be perfect when the reality is life isn't perfect. It might not ever be perfect before you release it. But what you can do is release it now and then make room for improvement. Release it now. No one's going to know. No one's going to know that you had another test or don't have that as a testimonial. Don't wait till it's perfect. Get it all together before you step out and on faith, the right time is now.
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