Thought Leader Brand Building | Brian Smith

Building a thought leadership brand

An interview with Brian Smith on building the UGG brand, writing The Birth of a Brand, and speaking pre and post COVID-19.

Today’s guest is Brian Smith, the Founder of UGG, a company started on shores of Southern California that would become a globally recognized brand. He is the author of The Birth of a Brand, and one of the most sought after speakers and business leaders in the country.

Brian tells the tale of starting UGG and eventually selling it in the late 90s. Then, Brian talks about writing The Birth of a Brand during the recession from years of notes on building UGG. Afterwards, he explains how he became a keynote speaker using many of the themes from the book.

We discuss the speaking business as it existed prior to the global pandemic and how speakers are continuing to work without being able to travel.

If you are a speaker concerned about the future of your industry, this episode has great insights into speaking during COVID-19.  In addition, we delve into what the future of speaking might look like, and why being social will always be a key to successful speaking.

Three Key Takeaways from the Interview:

• How thought leaders can take one modality and use it in different formats.
• What stages a thought leader can expect their business go to through and how they compare to stages of life.
• What keynote speaking for thought leaders looks like now and might look like in the future.

If you are birthing a brand for your thought leadership and need help with a marketing strategy for your evergreen content, Thought Leadership Leverage can assist you in accomplishing your thought leader brand building.