Badass Your Brand: The Impatient Entrepreneur's Guide to Turning Expertise into Profit

BADASS YOUR BRAND by Pia SilvaAs you can tell by the title, this is not your average business book. That title is, however, exactly what the author intends. Refreshingly informal, but packed with insight, experience, and guidance, it is likely to cause some major re-thinking – and probably increased success - on the part of many small businesses.Small – even micro - businesses are what the book is about, aiming for the thousands of new and not-so-new businesses with less than a handful of employees or owners. This is what the author really knows, having developed her business based on work done by herself and her artist husband. Badass your Brand is very readable mixture of “what we did” – including mistakes made and corrected - and insights on “how we did it and you can too.” She includes examples of clients with whom she has worked on both branding and business practices, and for whom the “badass” approach has been highly successful.Each chapter is interspersed with guidance on steps that Silva recommends that her readers take. Obviously, this is encompassed by a new and perhaps very bold (or even “badass”) approach to branding, but it does not end there. In Silva’s view, to embolden the brand includes revamping the entire business strategy, and she demonstrates the process of paring down the work load, and increasing success and profits, while at the same time leaving clients both successful and well satisfied.The studied informality of Silva’s approach will be appealing, and probably very helpful, to most entrepreneurs. A few may have occasional issues with her writing style, but part of the purpose of the book is to shake up her readers’ thinking, and to encourage us to take a new look at our approach to business, and to this end some casual disregard of what is conventional serves well.I’d encourage any small business owner to take the time to read Badass your Brand. The approach will not work for everyone, but for many it will encourage the kind of revamp, not just of the brand but also of the thinking, that will refresh their approach to what must – and what need not – be done in the business of attracting and successfully serving their clients and customers.

I have heard of Pia Silva many times over the last few years and started listening to her podcast last winter. Being in the business for 20 years now things were starting to get stale and I knew I needed to reinvent myself and take a new modern approach to how I handled branding. I had learned a lot from just listening to the podcasts and reading the book was the logical next step.The book is well written and keeps the reader engaged and informed without a lot of fluff and other detractors. I was getting more and more inspired with every page and before I made it to the third chapter I knew I needed to join her mastery program and learn her program straight from her. I'm a few months into it now and I can honestly say in all my years in business this has made the biggest impact with me. I can not say enough good things. from the podcast, to the book, to the program my life and business have been forever changed!

Straightforward, no 'touchy feely' BS.Loved the directness of this book as well as the 'hard truths'.Perfect book to read as you begin planning the next phase of business growth.

I needed a book in my kindle that didn't have a boring cover. Also, the content happens to be stellar. Brains, looks, results--what's not to love about this gal? The book is based on a concept the author may or may not know: Porter's Generic Strategies. There's three of them. Differentiation is one of them. Badass brands are differentiated to high-quality, deep niched clients. That's the boring technical thesis. However, the writing is relatable and great to read.The outlier mentality is trending. Maybe it always has been since Apple made rebels look cool. "Bad" is good. Look at the cover: black, white, red. Opposites and then the outlier color that sticks out, red. Her expression is priceless, but does it match the title? Not really but it's emotive. It's all great marketing. Just being different by nature makes you stick out. In the textbook marketing mantra, you're off to the good start. "AIDA" - Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Tell me the cover and contents don't do that! Well done.Note the subtitle. Expertise. This strategy works well for consultants, coaches, designers, etc. However, some small local companies and big corporations might not be the ideal market. I'm sure you can make it work for any brand, but I think this is the perfect book for a solopreneur or coach to read. Try selling this concept to a local dentist!But when everybody is a rebel, badass, different . . . what then? Nike, the most sold shoe on the planet, is pretty unoriginal if you own them. Go to a high school (their main demographic). Everybody has them and their Converse counterparts of whom they own too. Nike still manages to lead the industry, make billions in a ridiculously competitive landscape, and make some pretty badass shoes. So I'm not sure if I buy the thesis, but it's an awesome POV to consider for the small business owner applying Porter's generic strategies. If it gets results, be badass.

This book spoke to me. It validated my feelings about how I should be running my business, gave me some fantastic ideas on how to pivot, and got me pumped and feeling more confident in my brand and my decisions. Highly recommended. Wish she had another book out, but I plan to devour her videos next.

With how "clickbaity" the title is, I was a bit skeptical, but this book has been invaluable for identifying all the blindspots that I had been missing when looking at my business. I've recommended this book to colleagues and they're loving it as well.

It is rare to find such a raw account of the ducking and diving involved in learning how to build a genuinely successful brand business. This book has changed my life and oxygenated my thinking. Thank you Pia, you rock!

This book taught me things that I had already experienced but I hadn't noticed and were affecting my workflow, I can't wait to practice what I have learned with Pia.

Pia's book was engaging from the very first PAGE. Each chapter gives you straightforward information that is useful and practical. I was able to implement her strategies as I went along and by the end of the book I felt confident that I could launch my business as an original! The case studies are relatable and even as a newbie I could still use all of the info in the book - I hope Pia has another one coming!!

A must have for all small businesses looking to create a unique space for themselves. Definitely a fan after reading this

Anyone working for themselves should read this book. Sooner rather than later. Such a powerful message that really gets you thinking outside the box. Now I’m off to implement what l learnt!