Foundr Magazine’s Nathan Chan Teaches Business Owners How to Create A Brand

Maintaining a positive brand and image helps build loyalty and increases client, customer, and follower confidence in your brand and product, which ultimately drives sales and growth to your audience.

Today, this is extremely important to consider, as entrepreneurship and entertainment have gone digital. With the prevalence of social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), it is important to understand how to maintain good "digital hygiene," ensuring that at all times, you are conveying yourself in the most positive light possible, regardless of the industry you are in.

Unfortunately, each and every one of us are judged by the materials out there- the content we post, how we post it, when we post it, and why we post it. However, asking yourself each time WHY you are posting something. WHY you are speaking out on something. WHY you are doing what you are doing-always helps keep you in check and cautious.

I spoke with Foundr Magazine’s Nathan Chan about the importance of brand management from an entrepreneurial and journalistic perspective.

“Right now, it’s become easier than ever to start a business, due to the power of the internet,” Chan explained. “I think the importance of brand management is everything nowadays, because the barriers of entry are becoming the easiest ever and are at the lowest they’ve ever been. You have to always ensure you are building and developing your brand.”

For Chan and I, reputation is everything.

“All you have in your life is your reputation,” I re-emphasized in my conversation with Chan. “Once that’s gone or compromised, it’s nearly impossible to rectify.”

In my brand management business, I encourage all my clients to "post with a purpose." If you don’t know why you are posting something, you probably shouldn’t be posting it, because what value are you providing to your audience?”

Chan added to my point of focusing in ‘on what your brand is and the value it provides’.

“Concentrating on your brand’s reputation—the product, service, value, and good will it provides to the market niche your brand serves, is essential. You need to ensure that you are building a respectable brand which compounds over time.”

Well, how do you do that? Aligning yourself with the right mentors and thought leaders.

“You must align yourself with thought leaders and the proper industry you’re willing to serve,” Chan emphasized.

“How do we at Foundr find some of the greatest entrepreneurs of our generation and get them to share their thoughts, experiences, insights? Knowing what it takes to grow and build a successful business and being able to showcase their thoughts and experiences is what will separate you. If you are able to do that, your brand will become powerful, to where you’re promoting these thought-leaders as brand ambassadors.”

Chan shared with us that he came up with the name ‘Foundr’ Magazine because of a trademark infringement lawsuit they were involved with in the early days.

“We were sued for infringement early on for using a very common term,” Chan shared, “and I thought to myself that if I was renaming the brand, what could I do to make it so difficult for us to get in trouble again? That’s why I eventually settled on the name ‘Foundr’ without the ‘e.’”

For Chan, he’s been able to use his outlet as both a medium of expression, as well as a respected brand by giving, and really giving back to the audience. “I get so excited when we create the coolest content to help people. I love great design, and I think a really great brand requires and deserves an incredible design.”

While Chan is a brand himself, he told us that he doesn’t really focus much on his personal brand, other than the idea of representing his company.

“In the sense that I put myself out there as a leader of Foundr, that’s what’s important to me,” Chan explained.

“What’s important is what we are trying to build here and our mission of helping and serving entrepreneurs while democratizing entrepreneurial education. I’m happy to put myself out there, as long as I am serving the tens of millions of people every week with our content.”