Growing up in a working-class family in southwest Sydney, Australia with no entrepreneurs in her family, Jo took the traditional and safe route and became an employee of somebody else’s company. She quickly rose to CEO but by age 32, was bored out of her mind. She quit and eventually started Job Capital, a payroll and migration services firm, and built it to more than $40 million in revenue. More startup companies followed and in 2012, she was named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Today, Jo still leads Job Capital and she’s also building her newest company, Rare Birds, into a global powerhouse to empower women entrepreneurs around the world.
In today’s podcast, Jo shares her inspiring story and the hard fought business lessons that have propelled her career.
1. Branding is a team activity. Your branding program must be built by a cross-functional team so you can get companywide buy in.
2. Be intentional about how you position your brand or your competition will do it for you. Claim your space in your prospect and clients' minds and if it's too crowded, create a new category.
3. If you can't state your brand essence in five words or less, start over. Clarity and emotional power are important components of your brand. Use as few words as possible to guide you in developing and living your brand.
A Chicago native, Ryan Rieches moved to SoCal in the 1980s and founded an advertising design studio. Later, he partnered with Ray Baird and built RiechesBaird into one of the nation's foremost B2B brand strategy firms. Under Ryan’s leadership, RiechesBaird received international recognition for its brand strategy work and was perennially ranked among the nation's top B2B firms by BtoB Magazine. An astute thought leader, Ryan is frequently tapped by companies, conference organizers and business schools at top universities to speak about corporate branding and business building. He also co-hosts a podcast interview series with marketers and other B2B experts.