Table of Contents

Introduction xi

What to Expect in This Book xv

Chapter 1 Our Brand Renegade Origin Story 1

The Brand Renegade Blueprint 5

Chapter 2 Harness the Power of Mentorship 13

What Is a Business Mentor? 16

Why You Should Get a Mentor 18

Your Job as a Mentee 22

How to Link Up with Mentors 23

Chapter 3 Understand what Makes a Partner Tick 25

A Cautionary Tale: Sean's Long Road to a Successful Partnership 26

Starring Fresh 34

Our Formula for a Successful Partnership 36

Chapter 4 It's Your Customer's Experience, Not Yours 39

Understand the Customer's Journey 41

Use the 4-R System: Recognize, Request, Respond, and Repeat 43

Keep Your Brand Messaging Consistent 45

Offer Consistent Customer Service 49

Chapter 5 From Small Business to Brand 53

Find Your Niche-Then Double Down 54

Let Go of Assumptions and Reset Your Brand Mindset 55

Discover and Define Your Target Audience 57

Leverage Your Brand by Appealing to Emotion 59

Appeal to Customer Values 61

Chapter 6 Marketing … White Do we Begin? 63

The Four Keys to Marketing Success 64

Determine Your Product or Service 65

Pinpoint Your Target Market 68

Understand Your Competition 69

Identify Your Niche 70

Online Reviews 73

Chapter 7 Keep It Up … It's Working 75

Encourage Brand Awareness 76

Build Brand Integrity 76

Be Dependable 81

Focus Your Brank Mareketing 82

Chapter 8 Cut the Excuses, Get Up, and Do Something! 85

Change Customer Perceptions, Change Your Future 86

Work Through the Fear and Jump into Action 87

Always Take the Meeting 90

Innovate to Elevate Your Brand 91

Chapter 9 Add "F*!%" To Your Brand Vocabulary 95

Plan for Failure 96

You Can't Re-Create the Wheel-But You Can Build a New One 97

Don't Let Fear Drive Your Emotions 98

Focus on the Result You Want-Not Your Fear of Failure 100

Sometimes Doing the Right Thing Can Still Mean Failure 101

Beware of Ulterior Motives 104

Chapter 10 Be Powerful Leaders, Not Bosses 105

Wanna Be a Leader? Put In the Work 107

Harness the Power of Your Passion 107

Lean into Your Curiosity 108

Find and Give Inspiration 108

Communicate with Your Team Early and Often 110

Delegate to Empower Your Team 111

Give Back in an Impactful Way 112

Chapter 11 Leave it Than You Found It 115

How to Create Value Within Your Brand 116

Add Value with Strategic Partnerships 119

Put Your Values and Mission in Writing 124

Chapter 12 It is Not About the Money 127

Going International 127

Let Innovation Lead You 131

Narrow Your Focus to Grow Your Global Brand 134

Chapter 13 What you Know can End Up Biting You 137

Location, Location, Location 140

If Something Doesn't Feel Right, It Usually Isn't 142

Difficult Negotiations Often Mean Rough Sailing Ahead 143

Some Problems Can Put You Underwater-Literally 143

Buyer Beware When It Comes to Fees 145

The Tax Man Always, Always Cometh 146

Put Your Trust in the Right People 147

Know When to Get Off Your Ass and Get Out 149

Chapter 14 F*!% It. Do It Anyway 153

First Impressions May Not Tell the Whole Story 154

Placing Our Bets on The LINQ 156

The Gamble Pays Off 158

Building Our Global Brand 159

Clicking with a Partner: The Best Kind of Magic 162

Back to the Strip 163

Chapter 15 When the Business World Stopped 167

March 2020: A Grinding Halt 167

Making Hard Decisions 168

Looking for a Life Raft 169

Getting in Line for PPP 169

Making Tough but Necessary Decisions 171

The Bills Don't Stop, Even When the World Does 172

Chapter 16 Create an Exit Strategy 175

A Good Exit Starts with a Strong Plan 177

Strong Partnership, Strong Strategy 178

Creating Healthy Boundaries 180

Considering the Legal and Financial "What Ifs" 181

Chapter 17 Now that we've Made it, what do we Do? 183

Good Intentions Aren't Always the Best Intentions 184

Don't Do It for the Glory, but Share It to Inspire Others 186

Get Your Staff Involved 187

Renegade Gratitude 188

Acknowledgements 193

About the Authors 195

Index 199