All you need is an idea, a little grit, and an empty garage to launch a global brand. Right? That’s the story we’ve happily internalized for years. Perhaps it explains why ideas like Juicero and MoviePass not only saw the light of day but were generously funded before their spectacular demises. Or why, despite the endless void that is our current health and economic crisis, the rate of business applications in the U.S. has surged to a 13-year high, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Yes, the barriers to building a business are startlingly low, but the same doesn’t hold true for building a brand. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Brit, aren’t ‘brand’ and ‘business’ synonymous?” I don’t think so. Businesses sell you stuff; brands make you feel stuff. Businesses can be created overnight; brands must be built over time. Businesses are owned; brands are communal. True brands — the ones that get into our hearts — deliver inherent, intangible value.
