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Which comes first – branding or content? Many people who are trying to get a new business rolling, struggle with what needs to get done first. Some will say that establishing branding is the most important step, with the name and tagline all flushed out. Others will lean towards figuring out the content. I hear this question a lot from clients who are getting started and I can tell you that the experts don’t necessarily agree. To be honest, the answer depends on whom you ask. If you ask the branding experts, they will be up in arms if you don’t nail down the name, feeling that branding should be the first order of business. But if you ask me, I am more of a contentgal and feel that it’s better to know what you are offering and get that all worked out as yourfirst priority. In my practice over the years, I find too many people get into perfection paralysisaround their business name, their tagline, their website, and so on.I’d rather see you get started now, rather than wait for the perfect branding. As an example,my company started out as Self-Employed Success, then it moved on to The Ideal Life and nextwas Rainmaker Coach . That lead me to where I am now withClientAttraction.com. Thebranding has evolved as my business and material has evolved, becoming more encompassingof everything I offer.If you can come up with something that’s good for now, that is what I’d go with. Just knowthat it will evolve along with your whole marketing message over time. And that is totally

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acceptable and to be expected. Focus on coming up with your proprietary system and yourcontent, which is how you will be earning your money.Don’t get me wrong, I do believe branding is important, just not at the expense of holding offon getting started. Spend some time with your branding, but after a while, decide onsomething and start using it. The more you work with your new business format and model, themore evident the name will be. And it will likely change and grow over time as the work does.Your Client Attraction AssignmentHave you allowed branding perfectionism to keep you from getting started with yourbusiness? Here’s my suggestion if this has happened to you. Work on your branding to come upwith one to three names that you like.Next, talk to people about them to help you narrow them down. Pay attention to see if thereare any patterns in the feedback. Sometimes you can get as many opinions as the people youask, which might not be that helpful. Other times a favorite name will emerge.Either way, don’t let too much time slip by before you select a name that works fornow. Then get started building your business. Being of service is what it’s all about and youcan’t do that if your progress is hindered by worrying about your branding.