5 strategies I am using to build my next brand.

No gatekeeping.

Hi, I’m Jess. Founder of skincare brand frank body and creative agency Willow & Blake. I’ve spent the last 15 years building $1billion worth of brands. Now I am getting back to my roots as a writer. MUSE MUSE is a place for me to document my thoughts on work, productivity, redefining success, abundance and building a life you love, with your values & purposes at the core of it.

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Building a brand from scratch is akin to the world’s longest, most expensive and frustrating baking session.

There’s flour in places you didn’t know flour could go.

The cookies are somehow raw on the inside and burnt on the outside.

The smoke alarm is going off.

You’ve used every conceivable object possible to hold, whisk and stir the batter only for half of it to end up on the floor.

It's a disaster. Then suddenly, you realise you left some mixture in a bowl, you freshen it up with some more butter and the secret ingredient: salt. You divide it up carefully and place it on the baking tray. You adjust the settings of the oven. You pop it in and 8-12 minutes later you have a totally different result based on a few small tweaks.

That’s exactly what it feels like to build a brand from scratch.

So what am I doing to avoid burnt cookies? I’m glad you asked.

Here are 5 ways I am building my next a brand with less cost, less fuss and in less time.