How to Define Your Brand Values as a Coach

Your brand values help guide you in your coaching business.

You’ve probably heard of brand values. But what exactly are they, and how do you determine your brand values? 

Your brand values, much like your business values, are the values you live by and want to be known for.

In this post, we’ll discuss what brand values are, why they’re important in your business, and how to define your brand values.

What are brand values?

If you’re a coach or have worked with one, you’ve probably done a values exercise to figure out what’s most important to you.

So what about your brand values? Your brand values are the foundational values or beliefs that drive your business. For the purposes of this post, I’ll use the terms brand values and business values interchangeably.

Your business or brand values are the guiding principles of your business. Just like your values drive you in life, these values drive you in your business decisions.

Whether it’s connection, freedom, security, accomplishment or fun, each value describes something that’s so important to you, you absolutely could not live without it.

When your life — and your business — is aligned with your values, you feel more happy and fulfilled.

Why determine your brand values

When you start a business to do what you love — and you want to do purpose-driven work — it’s important to determine your brand values.

Determining your brand values helps you set the overall mission and vision for your business, and gives you a compass from which to make business decisions.

Much like knowing your why, when you know your brand values, you are clear what is important in your business. When you run your business in alignment with these values, you have a compass to guide you in making decisions. You’ll also start to attract clients and opportunities who match your values.

Your brand values are part of the branding process

The branding process is the process of determining your brand. As you know, your brand is a lot more than fonts and colors. Your brand is the overall experience your clients have when working with you.

It’s important to define your coaching brand so that you can effectively communicate who you — and your business is — to an audience of potential clients, so that they can find and hire you!

What are some examples of brand values

Examples of brand values include:

• Transparency
• Authenticity
• Freedom
• Exploration
• Truth
• Creativity
• Integrity
• Inclusivity
• Self-trust
• Learning
• Intuition
• Fun
• Connection

When determining your brand values, the key is not to simply choose words you like, but to choose words that mean something you cannot live without.

Define what each brand value means for you

Secondly, you want to define what this term or value means to you, specifically. Because my definition of “learning” or “connection” could mean something totally different than yours!

If one of your brand values is creativity, what does that mean? What does that look like for you in your business? And what actions will you take to ensure you honor that value?

How to identify your brand values

As a business owner, and especially as a coach or healer, you want to take the time to define your brand values and understand what your brand stands for.

Here are some questions that can help you define your brand values:

1. What’s most important to you in your business?

2. What could you NOT live without?

3. What’s a personal value of yours that you want to ensure that you’re carrying through your business?

4. What are some shared values that you have, that your ideal clients may also have?

What to do once you’ve identified your brand values

It’s not enough just to know your brand values. Once you know them, you must infuse your brand values into everything you do — from your website to your mission to your message to your marketing.

In fact, knowing your brand values makes marketing your coaching business easier, because you can check to make sure that whatever you say and share ~ whether it’s on Instagram, on a podcast or on a blog ~ aligned with your brand values.

Why sharing your brand values is important

Sharing your brand values with your audience is a key part of both establishing your brand, showing your audience who you are, and connecting with others who have like-minded values.

Here’s what can happen when you are proactive about sharing your brand values:

• You feel more natural and confident with the topics you speak and share about because they are important to you. You feel less afraid of marketing and visibility. You’re sharing the real you.
• You attract people who value what you do. When you express your key values, you naturally attract others who appreciate and want the same thing. This can bring clients, partnerships, and all sorts of opportunities your way.
• You make decisions more easily, because you know what’s most important! You’ll know what project to prioritize, what opportunities to say “yes” to, and what to do in your free time.
• You stand out from the crowd.  The coaching marketplace is quite competitive.  Your brand values help you stand apart from other coaches who do similar work.

5 characteristics of strong brand values

Although brand values will look different for each business, strong brand values share these characteristics. They are:

• Important to you. Yes, many businesses may have a value of “integrity,” but what does that mean for you specifically? The meaning is what’s most important.
• Honest. This is a no-brainer, but don’t choose values that you feel you don’t currently embody or practice just because they sound good. Choose what’s most true for you.
• Communicable. If you say you value creativity, make sure you can communicate your creativity through your work.
• Lasting. Strong values are lasting over time, whether you change your services or your ideal client.
• Important. You can embody a lot of positive qualities in your business and as a brand, but what are the MOST important ones? That’s where to focus.

Of course, it’s not enough simply to declare your brand  values. You must embody them through all you do in your business.

Your brand values create a strong brand

When you take the time to carefully consider, choose, communicate, and embody your brand values, you set the stage for  creating a strong brand that reflects who you are and attracts your dream clients.