This article was contributed by our exhibitor Liz Marie Strategy. Learn more about their business here!

If you’re running a business, your mental health is tested every day. Self-care is a serious priority. And so is your brand! Here are three reasons why branding is important–not just for your business, but for your own mental health.

1. Good branding gets you out of your own head.

If I asked you about your business and what it’s all about, you could go on for hours. You live and breathe this stuff. But try to capture all that goodness in a few quick words? Not so easy! Especially when you factor in what your competitors are doing or try to look at it through the eyes of your customers.

You know what you want to say, but don’t know how to say it.

Trust me, I get it. I’ve heard it hundreds of times. That’s where a branding expert comes in. The number one reaction I get after a project is “You connected all the dots within my head” or “You took what was in my head and made it sound perfect.”

Now, imagine how that would be. You don’t have to constantly worry (or obsess) about what the right message is. You don’t have to think about what colors to use for an Instagram post because you already know which ones are perfect for your brand.

Imagine what it would feel like to have total clarity about who your business is and what it stands for… down to the last word and picture.

Imagine how much time, energy, resources and MENTAL SPACE that would save you. It’s hundreds (maybe thousands!) of micro-decisions that are now just automatic, systematic and most importantly optimized for exactly where you want to go.

Phew.. I feel better already.

2. Good branding gives you focus.

Five years from now, what do you want your brand to be known for? Got it?

So… how are you going to get there?

If you are hearing crickets or a heightening sense of anxiety… relax. It will be okay.

Now, I’m not going to lie… without a plan, you may still end up there on your own. You’re smart, talented and tenacious. You can do it.

But it would probably be a lot easier, faster, cheaper, smarter and less stressful in the long run, to actually just invest in a strategy.

(Remember what I said about optimized?) That’s because a good brand strategy is reverse engineered from where you want to end up–whether that’s the Forbes 100, a spot on local TV or relative obscurity with plenty of financial security.

Look, this entrepreneurship thing is not easy (“Duh, Liz… preachin’ to the choir.”) There are so many factors, pieces, systems, processes, tasks, to dos, etc. etc. etc. So why wouldn’t you want to eliminate as many variables as possible on the road to success? I mean, c’mon… sign me up!

Branding gives you a plan of attack. And it also eliminates all of the other plans you’re not gonna use. So you can focus on what is actually gonna work.

Plus, when it’s “on brand”, the stuff you’re already doing (selling your product/service/self, building relationships, marketing, servicing customers, etc.) is doing double duty to inch you closer and closer to your goals.

So every day, you wake up with confidence in where you’re going and how you’re gonna get there. Which brings me to my next point…

3. Good branding gives you confidence.

Think about when you show up at your absolute best. When you’re shining from within and refusing to dim that light for anyone. We all have those moments. You feel totally at peace with who you are and what makes you special. That kind of confidence announces you before you even enter the room. It’s magnetic.

Now imagine if you could show up like that every day in your business? Do you think you’d be more successful? I sure do!

When you have a brand you feel really good about (I’m talking deep down in your soul), it gives you the confidence to go out there and shine.

It gives you “permission” to share your story and connect with people who will fall in love with it… because you’re not out there selling some BS to people who don’t want it.

You’re offering something truly valuable to the people who truly value it. You don’t have to beg for ears. You don’t have to drop your voice to a soft whisper or swallow the end of your sentence when someone asks what you do.

You’ll have no hesitation shouting it from the mountain tops, posting 100 IG videos, or “selling” yourself because you’ll know–deep down in the good stuff–that people need to hear what you have to say and want what you have to offer.

BOOM.

So what have we learned?

If you’re an entrepreneur trying to build your business, investing in your brand will get you out of your own head, help you focus on what matters most, and give you the confidence to show up as your very best, EVERYDAY.

Not to mention standing out from your competitors, attracting your ideal customers and making them fall in love with your brand, and all that other good stuff.

Sounds pretty good, right? IT IS GOOD!