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How 5 Inspiring Entrepreneurs View Branding
At times we all ought to be inspired. This is why we're sharing our five entrepreneurial stories so you may find inspiration within their mega-success and how they developed their companies and emphasized the significance of branding.

1. Richard Branson (Virgin)

Perhaps the most shining example of a business owner is Richard Branson who came from little and grew right into a motivating force. At just 16, he published the first issue of his student magazine, hoping that it might be a youth version of Rolling Stone, nonetheless it never did catch up to the iconic magazine. Rather than wallowing in defeat, Branson took it as a lesson and moved on to bigger and better things. We all know that he went on to create the Virgin Brand.

Branson on Branding: "Brands exist as a means of communicating what things to expect from a service or product." He goes on to talk about how his brand (as yours should) lets you know that using one Virgin product is similar to using any, "This can be a guarantee you will be treated well, get yourself a high-quality product that won't dent your bank balance, and obtain more fun out of your purchase than you expected." Branson can be their own brand, promoting himself under the Virgin name in all that he does. A good example of which is when he and his Virgin Atlantic Challenger II crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest ever recorded time. He continues such adventures regularly, never missing the opportunity to market the Virgin Brand.

2. Steve Jobs (Apple)

A man who created dreams, not products, Jobs had some great steps for success. First and foremost, his drive did not come from a need to be rich (as it can with many of us).

Cell Phone Signal Boosters was quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying, "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me... Going to bed during the night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me." Just what exactly can we do to be more like Steve Jobs?

Jobs on Branding: Steve told stories, he created products that "wowed" and he kept his marketing simple and clean. This formula worked for him, and perhaps with a good enough product and dream, it could work for you too!

3. Pete Cashmore (Mashable)

If you work in online marketing, you know Mashable; it's an award-winning site and one of the largest & most popular destinations for digital, social media, and technology news and information with more than 20 million unique visitors per month and is ranked as the utmost influential media outlet by Klout. You may not yet have heard about the company's CEO and Founder, Pete Cashmore. Pete started the business in 2005, and it has grown quickly into among the top 10 10 most profitable blogs on the globe. Pete was named one of Ad Age's 2011 influencers, a Time Magazine 100 in 2010 2010, and a Forbes magazine web celeb 25. Someone so involved in marketing must have all the branding tricks! Just how did Pete do it? Learning on the way, Pete took a hint from the London social media scene, and promoted his brand, not himself (Londoners consider self-promotion egotistical).

Cashmore on Branding: It had been not his only key to success, he also claims he could be "ridiculously persistent" and used his youth and energy to attain his success. The bottom line was, he had a product that was needed, but being offered by many, and his "ridiculous persistence" and lack of ego carried him to success.

4. Hunter Owens (Accelsor)

Hunter Owens is inspirational because of his success at 21 years old. He had been the Director of Marketing at Accelsor by 19 and at 16 he founded their own company, MyTechQuestion. He is also responsible for the forming of Millennial Generation Entrepreneurs, a coterie of Generation Y entrepreneurs who've collectively raised $21 million as founders at an average age of 18.

Hunter on Branding: Accelsor is the ultimate website creator, and helping developers develop a website within a minute. He recognized a distinct segment, a need and went for this. Starting with some testing, he to put it simply up a concept on a website and it caught fire. Hunter says, "That's what I love about marketing and the web, being able to interact with all those vast amounts of people over those wires, or wireless." Hunter's steps to success seem simple; test your market, and get yourself started in a small business with an established need.

5. Jessica Mah (Indinero)

We couldn't leave the ladies off the list! Young Jessica Mah is the founder of Indinero, which helps businesses track their money online. Indinero received over $1 million of funding as a startup and is still growing! Jessica is currently 17 and is the managing editor of Startupism.com and Jessicamah.com all while attending college.

Jessica on Branding: She says (in her blog) that she actually is trying to stay static in the shadows despite her accomplishments as she doesn't yet see herself as successful. That is why we find her inspiring! Always pushing for more, she's already done a lot more than most at 17 and doesn't yet feel accomplished. Perhaps this is actually the sort of business woman that will perpetually feel the need to take another revolution. Perhaps that ambition and mentality of always wanting more should be the driving instinct of more successful business woman!

Achieving YOUR PERSONAL Success

We can not all be millionaires, but we can make our very own success by following lead of inspirations such as these folks. From the life-long journey of fine-tuning the branding of a powerhouse like Virgin, or just getting started in the world of start-ups at 19, we all be capable of take a good product and make it a success! Take a hint from Jessica and shoot for more, follow in Steve's footsteps and dream big! Find your motivation and become sure to take time to brand yourself or your product using inspiration from business individuals like these.
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