It Wasn’t About Identity, It Was About Positioning.
Ten months in, and I’m questioning Beyond & Co.’s identity.
Well – let me put that in context. I’m doing what any responsible founder does; I’m reviewing my strategy, my purpose and where I add the greatest value in what I love doing (and what I'm pretty good at too!).
What I’ve come to realise, after many conversations, opinions, and some pretty unsettled nights, is that it’s not about identity at all.
I know who I am.
I know what I do.
I know what I want people to feel when they work with me.
I know what I want to be known for.
My problem isn’t identity, it’s positioning.
And dare I say it, the most overused business C-word of the moment: Clarity.
Being unsure of how to position yourself - and therefore lacking clarity - as a brand builder is a pretty vulnerable place to be.
Let’s Take It Back to the Start
When I started Beyond & Co. at the beginning of 2025, I had just left a successful 20-year career in marketing and communications.
I’d worked for some of the world’s largest brands - brands run by the best of the best. Brands that had created such a depth of connection with their customers and clients that they became some of the most trusted and profitable businesses in the world.
In my corporate career, I was a brand, marketing, and communications generalist. A strategist. A connector.
And I probably don’t need to spell this out, but I’m also a lover of people.
Nothing gives me more joy than creating - and then supporting - opportunities for my clients to absolutely shine.
And so, Beyond & Co. was born. Specialists in Personal Branding.
Personal Branding Specialists… But What Does That Really Mean?
One of my favourite definitions is this one from Tom Peters, writing for The Harvard Business Review:
‘Personal Branding is the practice of managing and marketing yourself as a brand – deliberately shaping how others perceive your value, strengths and reputation.’
This kind of work doesn’t lend itself to quick wins. But it does underpin long-term commercial growth.
The Hard Truth
Around six months into starting my business, something else became clear.
Many of my prospects didn’t just want help defining their personal brand. They wanted a marketing strategist. They wanted a communications plan, and they wanted a partner who could help them turn strategy into momentum. Momentum into tangible results.
I’d done a pretty good job of tooting my personal branding horn.
So good, in fact, that I was now missing out on projects where I knew I could help my clients - and their businesses - truly shine.
That was frustrating.
Beyond & Co. was gaining visibility. Opportunities were coming in. And yet, the story I was telling no longer felt right.
I was asking myself; how do you keep moving forward when you know your existing manifesto isn’t quite true - and continuing to pitch it feels wrong?
That’s where the real soul-searching began.
Time for a Long Hard Think
I went back to what I know. I know, and the research consistently shows, that when brand, marketing and communications align, growth follows.
People know who you are, what you do and what you want to be known for - brand.
Your brand is introduced to new audiences and invited into their world - marketing.
People understand what they need to know, feel and trust - communications.
There aren’t many consultancies that genuinely operate across all three disciplines, and I believe that the future of all areas is people:
People buy from people.
People buy into people.
People move with people.
When people connect with people and their stories, that’s when the real magic - and commercial impact - happens.
And then it came to me:
Beyond & Co. partners with leaders to create visible commercial growth through people-led marketing.
That felt right.
The Strategic Bridge
Unlike a traditional brand agency, marketing agency or communications advisor, we don’t work in silos.
We build the strategic bridge - aligning leaders and founders with their brand, marketing and communications so that clarity leads to momentum, and momentum leads to growth.
That means creating the foundations, the plan and the execution required to drive sustained, commercial outcomes, and most importantly, with people as the most credible and effective channel.
And yes - I think that’s a pretty compelling proposition. Don’t you?
I’m going to use the C-word word.......Beyond & Co. now has clarity on its next chapter. I’m delighted (and a little relieved) to say that the soul-searching revealed that it wasn’t about identity. It was about positioning.
Beyond & Co. 1.1 - What That Looks Like in Practice
So, this wasn’t quite Beyond & Co. 2.0. More like Beyond & Co. 1.1.
What does Beyond & Co 1.1 look like in practice?
There are things we understand deeply and do really, really well:
Translating business vision into a market-ready brand strategy
Bringing the right people together at the right time
Aligning brand, marketing and communications across businesses
Partnering with sales and product teams to support commercial strategy
Taking complex messages and making them clear and simple
Creating marketing strategies that put you in front of the right people
Leadership narrative
Developing content that tells the story of your brand in an authentic and compelling way
Then there are the specialisms and channels our partners excel in (we like working with them):
Web design and production
SEO / AIO
Creative direction and graphic design
Public relations
Videography
Photography
Why Share This?
So why am I telling you all this? Surely it’s a bit risky, in the work that I do, to admit that I’ve been struggling to articulate it?
Yes. It is.
But a few things felt important:
I can’t talk about authenticity if I only ever share the good or exciting parts.
As Mark Twain said, “Write what you know” - and putting pen to paper has really helped me to articulate what Beyond & Co. is and what we want to be known for.
Marshall McLuhan said once; “It’s hard to read the label from inside the bottle.” I felt that. I’ve had to slow down. To pause. And to go back to first principles.
For me, personal brand has never been about self-promotion. It’s about value creation. So I hope what I’ve shared helps.
T x
Ps. This was article 1 of 2. Article 2 to follow later this month - It’s hard to read the label from inside the bottle.”
Teri’s top tips on articulating who you are, what you do, and why people should work with you.