Changing your BRAND and succeeding...

Changing your brand and succeeding. Yes it is possible. Shaking off the comfort zone and hiking into new terrority. I wear two hats. I am a real estate agent in Loveland Colorado. I am also co-owner of a custom knife business. HELLO... I wake up confused myself. But I have alot of fun writing articles for BLADE MAGAZINE. One in particular was called" How a knife stencil can close one door and open another". The infamous knife stencil. It holds the key to the identity of the knifemaker. The branding of his or her product, the final touch with the logo, etching into their work of art that respected and well known - signature. Well - I thought about it and realized - this does not just apply to knife makers... I will incorporate that article into this blog if you don't mind.

Knifemakers as we know (and I am still learning) all have their own style and signature. From the various handle types to the length of the blade that they generally use. But one thing never changes from knife to knife is their signature. Well, almost never. Well, so do us agents. We incorporate our hobbies into our business card photos, joining organizations we ourselves like, adding catchy phrases to our cards, signs and logos. We brand ourselves by our personality and we become known by that. For alot of us, our brand in is our name. Sherilyn Cervantes.. Well, my brand was shaken when I got married. WOW.. how do I change the brand I have been known by throughout my real estate career? All my flyers for years, mailings, business cards passed out etc etc are Sherilyn Cervantes. I have two books I wrote with that BRANDED name, I had a whole life wherein I traveled and spoke under that name!! WOW - I was branded like a moo cow with a flaming CERVANTES branding iron.

Well I learned something from a particular knifemaker who stepped out from what was in his past to what the future had before him. That knifemaker would be my husband, John D. Dennehy. He has been known for many many years by the logo "the Wild Irish Rose, Wellington, Colorado" His knives all say it, his leather sheaths, belts, holsters etc all have it stamped on them. But he is making a bold move in the knifemaking world, changing his signature, his logo, his brand. He has moved on and his signature is going to reflect that. "the Wild Irish Rose" has been neatly tucked away as life goes down a different road. If he can go it, I can do it. But for me, I needed to be more gradual. Sherilyn Cervantes-Dennehy... That felt more safe...

So with the recent arrival of our new "JD Dennehy Loveland CO" leather stamp and knife stencil a new era is born. While "the Wild Irish Rose" had been well known, we believe that JD Dennehy Custom Leatherworks and Knives will be even better. Certainly appears that way by his first custom piece (Limited Edition Green Beret) using his NEW brand.. The orders are coming in... The "Wild Irish Rose" already becoming a distance memory.

So my thought was this... a brand is just a brand is just a brand. It only defines a portion of you but it does not DEFINE you. I was Sherilyn Cervantes, , then Cervantes-Dennehy and now with my license renewal - Sherilyn Dennehy. My personality is the same, my style is the same, my skill is the same - but my BRAND is different. Perhaps in the change some people from days gone by might not find me, but there is a whole future of those that I will meet that will know me by my new brand. As soon as that license shows up - my business card attached will be replaced with my new one... MOO !