IAM2714 – Brand Expert Helps Developing Brands for Small Corporations and Individuals

Tiffiney Cornish 00:00

You will have that up and down, but you have to make sure that you stick with it. Believe in yourself and make sure that what you're doing fulfills you. Because if it's not, it's not a business worth having. And if it does fulfill you, you won't have a problem of continuing it.

Gresham Harkless 00:43

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I Am CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today at Tiffany Cornish of TC Creatives. Tiffany, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Tiffiney Cornish 00:53

Thank you for having me.

Gresham Harkless 00:54

No problem. Super excited to have you on. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Tiffany so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing and Tiffany Cornish is a brand expert with over 10 years of marketing and business development experience. She worked as an industrial engineer for Estee Lauder, helping to streamline production processes to increase revenue and accuracy of output projections. She also spent eight years in the fashion industry as a model and creative director. In 2014, she started TC Creatives branding and Design Studio, which focus focused on developing brands for small corporations and individuals. Tiffany, are you ready to speak to the IM CEO community?

Tiffiney Cornish 01:32

I am.

Gresham Harkless 01:33

Awesome. Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story and what led you to get started with your business.

Tiffiney Cornish 01:41

So like I said, I started as a model and after doing a number of photo shoots, I I don't know if it was promoted or demoted to creative director. I started doing more on the media production side for my clients. I started producing their videos and I started producing their campaigns for magazines and the like, retouching for their billboards. And while doing that, I started noticing some holes in their branding and I would just begin to offer suggestions which led to me starting to do this work for the clients. So now I was working with these businesses instead of being on the front end, in front of the camera or the back end to help them to drive their revenue. And as it continued to grow, we got out of the fashion industry and started to work with all types of industries, all the way from Hollywood directors to beauty to financial services. So it grew from seeing a need in the clients that I was working with and then having that background, that biomedical engineering background, that industrial engineering background, that has that business processes background. And then being both myself a business and a business owner, I just felt that I was able to accomplish these things for these businesses.

Gresham Harkless 02:55

Nice. I definitely appreciate that, especially having, you know, so much expertise to be able to kind of lean on. Because I think a lot of times, you know, sometimes you have people that are really, really creative and they have the ability to do that, but they're kind of lacking in kind of like the business processing and looking at the processes. But then you have somebody that's process driven and then it doesn't look quite as good, I'll be nice to say that. But it's great to be able to have that mix of everything that you're able to kind of provide to the clients. It sounds.

Tiffiney Cornish 03:20

Yeah, definitely agree and it works well. So I get to be able to do the hard part, which is those businesses processes, but then also make it look like a billboard. Because coming from the fashion industry, everything has to look like it's on like Fashion Week to me in my mind.

Gresham Harkless 03:37

There you go. And that's definitely a great bar to kind of, to kind of make sure that you know, everything is coming out too and you're reaching and achieving. So I wanted to hear a little bit more about TC Creatives. Can you take us through exactly what you're doing for your clients working with.

Tiffiney Cornish 03:51

Absolutely. TC Creatives is a full service branding and design studio. And by full service we mean we do everything to take it from the ideation phase to profit and beyond. So we do everything from the brand strategy, which is like the mission statement, the values, the target audience, the competitor strategy, the go to market strategies. We also do the naming of both the business if it's not already had a name, but also the products. If you're doing product extensions, we help with naming those. We do the logo design, color palettes, typefaces, the entire brand identity, web development, media production, so the commercials, campaigns, photography as well as we do brand management, which is that reputation management, monitoring dimensions. We do the social media, email management and a customer relationship so it is full service. And then we do the consulting phase to help determine, you know, new product offerings, how to readjust the revenue models to understanding those ABC analysis which is so important for our retail and e commerce businesses. So it's everything from the oh, I have an idea phase to hey, my company just made 3 million this year. We support businesses all the way through.

Gresham Harkless 05:06

Nice. I definitely appreciate that because I think a lot of times, you know, when you are in that, oh, I have an idea phase, you have no idea exactly where to go after that. And it sounds like, correct me if I'm wrong, does the, does the brand kind of come from that idea phase? And you start to figure out what that is and then it manifests itself in the logo and all those other pieces?

Tiffiney Cornish 05:28

Absolutely. So from that idea phase, we go in and we think about one. What do we want it to be? To understand the company's mission and purpose is first step before even deciding who the target audience is. Because you want to make sure that the customers you're targeting are also going to have the same similar mission and purpose for themselves. So you build that relationship and trust through them and build that community. And then from there, the logos are then to attract those certain types of target audience. Same thing. Colors and typefaces are going to work with that very particular niche market that you've defined based on defining the business itself first in terms of what it's standing for and what it's going to represent.

Gresham Harkless 06:12

Nice. Yeah, I definitely appreciate that. And I think that's how you have that consistent brand. Definitely. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think sometimes people have that idea. First thing they do is they go get the. They come up with a name, they get the. They get the domain. Then they come up and maybe have somebody do their logo. And they haven't even thought about what they want their, Their. Their company to stand for, what their mission and vision, personally is. So sometimes a lot of that stuff gets kind of convoluted, I guess, for lack of a better term, when you don't. Haven't done that work kind of systematically.

Tiffiney Cornish 06:40

Yeah. When you don't have a clear foundation, it's easy to just, you know, follow the shiny object. Right. You say, hey, this person wants to buy this. I could do this. Oh, this person wants this. But it's similar and it's not really what I offer, so I'm going to do it this way. And then you wind up diluting your brand and really just becoming a overall business that offers anything. And that's really not good, especially with things being so accessible. Now with Internet and social media, you want to make sure that everything is clear and defined and then you build that community. That's why businesses like Apple and Starbucks do so well, because it's a community and it caters to that community. And then people who are not in that community go to other places. So you want to have that. You want people to feel welcome with your brand and feel happy to be involved with your brand and others that are involved with it as well?

Gresham Harkless 07:27

Absolutely. Absolutely. I appreciate you for sharing that with us. So I wanted to ask you, you might have already touched on this for what I call your secret sauce. And it could be for you personally or. Or it could be for TC Creatives. Well, what do you feel kind of sets you apart or makes you unique?

Tiffiney Cornish 07:41

For me and TC Creatives, the fact that we've worked well, personally, I've worked with businesses from Estee Lauder to Wells Fargo, Honda Acura, City of Hope. So I've worked with Fortune 500 as a designer, as a model, as a consultant. So I've been able to understand. And an engineer. So I've been able to understand a lot of different things that you do. You don't get on the front end. When you're kind of speculative or even going to business school, you get to see things in motion. So being able to have backgrounds in multiple industries and then, like I said, being able to be both a business and run a business, those are two totally different things. Being a business entity in yourself versus controlling a staff and budgeting and human resources are two totally different things. So being able to have that full understanding, I think really gives back value to the customers that we or the clients that we work with because we are able to not just touch on, you know, what it looks like aesthetically and, you know, making that trust connection. We can also say, well, you know, your revenue model, your buying patterns are a little off and this is preventing your growth. And I think they appreciate that a lot more because we're able to offer more complete solutions.

Gresham Harkless 08:56

Yeah, absolutely. And I know a lot of people that are listening to this as well are very, you know, aspirational. They. They may not have the Starbucks or the. Or the Apples right now, but, you know, as you mentioned, it kind of seems like that's something you can kind of grow into. So it's great to kind of lean on somebody that has that expertise and that experience to know that you're able to build your business or follow, at least, at the very least, follow the same principles that they're following.

Tiffiney Cornish 09:19

Yeah, well, you want to define your own principles, and that's why companies like Nike do so well, because even though their principles may not be popular opinion, they stand by them firmly. And once you define what yours are as a business owner, you should stand by them firmly. And then those people that agree with you, that community will follow you and believe in you because they know that it's genuine and you really do care. You're not just being opportunistic.

Gresham Harkless 09:45

Absolutely. That makes perfect sense. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app, a book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Tiffiney Cornish 09:58

I have two for business book would be Never Split the Difference by Chris Foss. He's an ex FBI hostage negotiator and he teaches how to negotiate really with limited compromise and making sure when you are negotiating with customers or clients that you're coming from a sense of value more so than, you know, making compromises. Now personally, as a business owner, I think self care is very, very big and it's a really huge deal that some of us take for granted. But as a business owner, especially small business, if you're a sick, the business does not go on. So you have to make sure that you spend time taking care of yourself. And I do have a very, I like to think that it's not rigorous, but it is kind of extreme where I get up at 5 in the morning and I, you know, meditate and I read and I go to the gym and I do a number of things before the business opens at 9am just to make sure that time is there for me before I get consumed with, you know, making sure other people's businesses are running well.

Gresham Harkless 11:02

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And I haven't, I feel like I've heard the, the book never split the difference, but I don't think I read it yet, but I would definitely check that out. And I always say, you know, you know, when you get on the plane, they always talk about putting your oxygen mask on. And that was like my whole mantra for this year is making sure you put on your oxygen mask on. And that might be self care. That might be meditating or taking a nap or whatever you have to do to make sure you're best self. Because we as you know, business owners give so much that you want to make sure that you are taking care of yourself as well.

Tiffiney Cornish 11:33

Absolutely. Yeah. And if you're a solopreneur, you cannot run your business if you're, you know, have the flu. So I agree that you're doing the necessary steps to make sure that everything can go on as needed, but also that you are healthy and happy because that's the most important part of running a business.

Gresham Harkless 11:52

Absolutely. Absolutely. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Tiffiney Cornish 12:02

Don't give up. Business is hard. I say this all of the time. People see, you know, the Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs and they're like, oh my gosh, they were billionaires at 20. And, and it's hard. Is so hard. And they don't see, see, you know, the them crying in a corner by themselves and having a good month and not making money for six months and, you know, pawning off their family heirlooms to make sure the doors stay open. And a lot of business owners, you will have that up and down, but you have to make sure that you stick with it, believe in yourself and make sure that what you're doing fulfills you. Because if it's not, it's not a business worth having. And if it does fulfill you, you won't have a problem of continuing it.

Gresham Harkless 12:46

Yeah, absolutely. I definitely agree with that. And I think it's Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell kind of talked about Bill Gates actually was one of the people talked about how you don't realize how much time and effort they put into being who they are. And I think a lot of times, like you said, you see them on the COVID of Forbes or on the news channel and you're like, okay, well that's success. But you don't see all those behind the scenes things like you said, the pawning the, the jewelry and things like that that it took to get there and a lot of the sacrifices and things that they make. And sometimes you'll see somebody's finish line rather than them running throughout the race and you think that's exactly what success is. And that's all it is.

Tiffiney Cornish 13:28

Exactly.

Gresham Harkless 13:29

Nice. And so I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote unquote CEOs on the show. So, Tiffany, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Tiffiney Cornish 13:41

I think being a CEO means to me leading through example, being exemplary in your values and the goals of the company, making sure that you are fulfilling the needs of your clients, but with a smile and surpassing those. I don't like to say over delivering under promise because I feel like you should promise still, but even exceed your own expectations and do it from the heart and not just from, you know, the baseline or the dollar sign.

Gresham Harkless 14:15

Nice. I love that because I think if you, if you come from that, that mindset or that mentality, then it's hard to lose just because you are coming, you know, from that, from that, that, that part of your, your, your heart, so to speak. And then I think when you start thinking about the, the, the bottom line, you know, you kind of can get distracted about certain things. You can cut costs and things like that, but if you're thinking about genuinely, you know, providing the best service and product, then you can't really lose.

Tiffiney Cornish 14:42

Yeah. And you're happy doing it. Right. So when you do things that you're happy doing, you usually do them better than when you're doing something begrudgingly. So I think it's always great to do it from your heart. Give from the heart.

Gresham Harkless 14:55

Absolutely. And Tiffany, I truly appreciate you and I appreciate your time. What I wanted to do was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and then of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things you guys are working on.

Tiffiney Cornish 15:11

Absolutely. Thank you. So in terms of a business sense, we work with businesses that are small and medium sized business. So even if you're just starting out with not much of a budget, we do even do things as small as consultations just to help you understand the necessary things that you need to have a complete brand. As a full service agency, we worked with companies in guiding businesses into things like Teen Vogue, Hyper Crunch base, TechCrunch and things of that nature to be showcased. So we do like to work with people who are in our idea phase and if you are in our idea phase one, just be confident in yourselves and also look for people who can support you that have more background and generally try to do it with businesses that have a higher level of work. Companies that are used to managing businesses that can make $2 million or $5 million a year because you don't want to outgrow your mentors. And then for us, we can be reached at Info Info Creatives with an s.com and our website is similar. Tcreatives.com awesome.

Gresham Harkless 16:25

Thank you so much Tiffany again and we will have that information and those links in the show notes as well. But I appreciate you you for your time and all the awesome things you're doing and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Would you like me to help you draft a follow-up email to Tiffiney based on this conversation?