#589: A Real-Life Look At Making The Switch From A Personal Brand To A Company Brand With Clint Salter

Curious about making the switch? Here’s what you need to know about transitioning from a personal brand to a company brand (with Clint Salter)

Have you ever wondered what it would look like to make the switch from having a personal brand to a company brand?

I’m right there with you. There are so many great things about being the face of my business, but I’ll be honest -- I don’t really see myself doing Tik Toks and Instagram reels when I’m 90 years old. 

It would be so nice (at some point wayyyyy down the line) to transition from the personal brand I have today, to one where my name, face, and likeness is not associated with it. 

But how do you do that gracefully? And what does that look like in real life? That’s the topic I’m exploring today with my guest Clint Salter. 

Clint is an award-winning entrepreneur and best-selling author who’s on a mission to revolutionize the dance industry. Over the past 21 years, he’s created and sold five companies, from the dance studio he started at age 16 to the largest coaching membership for dance studio owners globally.

He’s a brilliant business owner, and also has firsthand experience going from a personal brand to a company brand. 

In this episode, Clint shares: 

• The 5 specific steps he took to switch from a personal to a company brand
• The biggest challenges he’s faced from the transition, plus lessons he learned
• How he seamlessly integrated coaching into his company brand
• The mindset he embraced that allowed him to build businesses bigger than him

This was such an insightful conversation, so if you’ve ever considered what it would be like to make the switch in your business like I have, be sure to tune in!

Here’s a glance at this episode...

• [06:10] Clint is the CEO and founder of the Dance Studio Owners Association. They help dance studio owners grow their businesses and get back their lives.
• [07:28] Clint created a company brand as opposed to using his own name. He was still doing everything, so it was a personal brand with a company name. 
• [08:09] A personal brand is a me brand, and a company brand is a we brand. Any company can shift into a company brand. Clint suggests making the shift after being 1 to 1.5 million dollars into the business.
• [09:36] The pros and cons of a personal brand versus a company brand. Personal brands evolve as you evolve. A company brand can continue to grow without you.
• [11:49] A personal brand is all about you, and there's nobody else to do the work. A company brand needs people to make things happen.
• [12:52] Five steps to transitioning from a personal brand to a company brand. The five A's. 1. Audit. Write down everything you do inside and outside of the business.
• [13:31] 2. Arrange. Put the tasks and responsibilities into categories such as marketing, client delivery, content creation, etc. This is an overview of all of the areas that you touch today.
• [13:50] 3. Assess. Rate each item on a scale from 1 to 5 of how important it is for you to continue doing this task.
• [15:08] 4. Assign. Assign dates on each item for how you are going to work through these and get out of things over the next two to three years. 
• [15:35] 5. Action. Start taking action on shifting your business from a me business to a we business. 
• [16:36] Challenges include personal resistance, team resistance, and customer resistance. Having systems and processes makes letting go easier.
• [19:02] With team resistance the most important thing is consistent, courageous, communication, or the three C's.
• [19:29] Customer resistance is about being open and honest with communication between your old customers and your new customers. 
• [20:34] Clint started introducing new faces into his business about five years ago. He brought in studio growth coaches, expert coaches, captains, and guest coaches.
• [26:50] Company businesses become bigger than us. We need to put people in the right seats and give them the flexibility to make decisions and mistakes. 
• [31:47] Business owners have to ask what they want when bringing on coaches. They also need to know that things will change over time. 
• [34:36] Clint has sold five companies. A business worth selling is a business worth keeping. It's easier to sell a company brand than a personal brand.
• [40:48] The 11-step enrollment process becomes the celebrity, not the person teaching it. Frameworks, models, and road maps become the celebrities, not the person teaching them. Write down what you want. 

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