3. Authenticity as a Competitive Advantage

We are living in a world where being your true self in all situations and environments is something that is rare. Instead of saying or doing what we really mean or feel, we may behave in a manner to fit in. This might make us uncomfortable but sometimes that is preferred to the “risk” of standing out by being authentic. This episode shows how authenticity is actually a competitive advantage. Tune in to hear how actress and influencer Tabitha Brown, in less than five years, has transformed her life, her business, and become a household name in part by being her “authentic,”  true self.

[ EPISODE 3 TRANSCRIPT IS NOW AVAILABLE ON MY WEBSITE ]

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Episode 3 Transcript: https://diamondbrands.media/brand-gems-episode-3-transcript/
   

Transcript

[0:00 - 0:34]

Hello, I'm Andrea Wade, the host of Brand Gems, the podcast where I highlight a person, brand or organization and discuss the key elements that contributed to their success. I'm a marketing strategist, brand architect and an MBA who likes a little fast company and Forbes mixed in with her Netflix Binges. I'm also a consultant who enjoys discovering those rare nuggets that make a business unique. Listen to Brand Gems for ideas to leverage in your personal and professional endeavors. Now let's begin the treasure hunt.

[0:35 - 0:54]

Hello and thank you for tuning into Brand Gems. In this episode, I'll be talking about authenticity as a competitive advantage. I have a case study I'll get into to illustrate this concept a bit more. But first let me give a little background as to why this topic is important, or at least why I think it's important.

[0:55 - 1:53]

Authenticity definitely seems to be the latest buzzword. You're hearing it everywhere. People are talking about it in the context of social media, in the context of all kinds of things. It's like being authentic is a strategy when in actuality it should be a guideline for life. So the first thing I want to clarify as far as authenticity, is that true authenticity starts from within. If you aren't true to yourself, how can you expect to be real or authentic with others? I realize this is very easy to say and just throw out there and perhaps a bit harder to practice on a consistent basis. But particularly as we get older, it's something to look at and to really just examine as to why we may or may not be doing certain things or making certain choices.

[1:54 - 2:47]

Is it really for us or is it for someone else? For other people's opinions? Sometimes we just make certain choices because it's easier. It is what we see around us and it just makes things simpler if we just go along to get along and we can just fit in because we're already standing out in so many other ways. When I say it starts from within, it means embracing your full self. It means understanding and accepting that whatever your choices are, are okay and that you don't have to explain them or justify them. But that's not so easy all the time, particularly when you are so different or it seems to be so different from so many others.

[2:48 - 3:34]

So that is the challenge. How do we embrace our full selves so that we can have that confidence that we don't have to fight with that imposter. We can truly be authentic because we know other way to be. So when we see someone who is really just true to who they are, seems to be very clear on living their life according to what's most important to them, it's something really admirable and it really stands out. It's almost like it encourages an appreciation, a sense of awe for those of us who were watching. And in certain contexts, the results or the potential is just phenomenal.

[3:35 - 4:14] 

So this week I want to get into a case study to further illustrate this example. And the case study happens to be a person, actually, I should say a brand who is a person. And that person is Tabitha Brown. Tabitha Brown is an actress, at least that's how she would initially describe herself. But she's also well known as an influencer. She's a vegan who cooks vegan food recipes she has created on social media. She also shares inspirational and motivational messages. And during the pandemic, her presence and influence were solidified.

[4:15 - 5:07]

So what makes her so special? Well, it starts with her just being her. Let me tell you a little bit about her. She's originally from a small town in North Carolina. She moved to Los Angeles with her husband and her young daughter over 20 years ago to pursue acting. She wanted to be it was very important for her to be what they were looking for when she was going on her auditions. They being those making the decisions, the casting directors, all of that. So she straightened her hair. She would lose her accent so she could not only look what she maybe thought they wanted, but she could sound like it too. She got roles here and there, but there was nothing substantial. After a couple of years, she got sick, and she was sick for about a year and a half, and the doctors couldn't figure out what it was, and she was getting really discouraged.

[5:08 - 5:54]

One day, her daughter comes home from school and talks about a film that they had watched called what the health? And she suggested that her mom watch it, which she did. And so watching this film led her to make the decision to become vegan. Well, first she decided to at least try being vegan. So she gave it 30 days. Her thinking was that maybe this plant based diet would help alleviate some of her issues. And so when after the first two weeks, she experienced substantial relief, she was hopeful. And at the end of the 30 days, she decided that this indeed would be her life going forward. And it was at this point, she made a lot of other changes too.

[5:55 - 6:39]

In addition to becoming vegan, she really decided just to be herself, her full self. She cut off her hair and started wearing it natural. She decided that she wasn't going to mask her accent anymore. So she was going on auditions. They were going to get the Tabitha with the accent, the southern accent, as well as Tabitha with her natural hair. The tipping point came for Tabitha in December, not even five years ago. She decided to do a video. Well, in between, of course, she was doing what she needed to do to make ends meet. I believe she had a job. She was working as an Uber driver at the time. So on one of her breaks, she popped into Whole Foods and decided to get something to eat.

[6:40 - 7:23]

She picks up one of their sandwiches at vegan bacon, tomato, lettuce, and avocado. And she does a video kind of giving a review of this sandwich. And her enthusiasm for this sandwich was just so genuine and so entertaining. It went viral. People really just enjoyed her. And again, here's that word. But she was so authentic in her praise of this sandwich. People just enjoyed it. And things really started to tip. From there, she continued to make videos. Her daughter encouraged her to get on to TikTok, and in a matter of a few weeks, she had a couple of million followers.

[7:24 - 8:24]

As I mentioned, that was late 2017, I believe. December 2017. She would keep doing her videos, and I might have heard her name, but I hadn't really seen anything. I think I discovered her, watched her first video in 2020, and that was the one that she did on carrot bacon. But clearly other people had discovered her and were loving everything that she was doing. And it was just, again, just true to who she was, who she is. Why was it so impactful? Now, let's just take all the elements. You have this black woman from the south, southern accent, wearing her hair natural. cooking vegan dishes, recreating favorites, being entertaining and inspirational along the way. She was just so unexpected, so refreshing. So, yes, authentic. But the real secret or the real strength was that she was just being her true self. And people felt that.

[8:25 - 9:08]

So, in the span of a few years, she has been able to expand her brand across many areas. Let me just give you an idea. She released a best selling book called Feeding the Soul. She released a seasoning with McCormick called Sunshine. All purpose seasoning. It's sold out. I think you can get it now, but I know it's sold out immediately. She created and stars in a children's show on YouTube called Tab Time. She actually named her hair. She affectionately calls her natural hair. Her Afro. She calls her Donna. So she launched a hair oil and hair vitamins called Donna's Recipe.

[9:09 - 10:08]

She partnered with Target for two collections. The first was a clothing line that sold out almost immediately. And then there's a home furnishing line that includes some stationery, some home goods, things like mugs and pillows, all just bright and colorful, just like her and her personality. She stars in a vegan cooking show on the Food Network called It's CompliPlated. She also starred in a few episodes of The Chi a drama on Showtime. She opened a vegan restaurant and she has numerous other projects in the works. In roughly five years, Tabitha Brown has become a force in multiple areas. She is fondly known as America's Mom, and she also has a son, a husband. She's very committed and close with her family. People describe her as being comforting and calming.

[10:09 - 11:10]

If someone set out to do what she has done, we probably wouldn't have even thought it was possible. This was her path again. She was just being her true self and doing the things. Making the decisions and doing things that were right from her. From making the decision to go vegan and following in that path. Following her love of cooking and sharing that with people as she explored cooking as a vegan. Sharing her love of storytelling through her social media and building engagement with her audience. And having millions of people who just are waiting for what she's going to give us next. And this all started from her decision to go vegan, because it was the best thing for her health and for her doing that video on that one day in December, talking about the sandwich that had just changed her life in that moment, to their credit, whole Foods recognized what they had in Tabitha and they entered into partnership with her.

[11:11 - 11:52]

Since then, in addition to a lot of her own initiatives, you'll see Tabitha on different commercials now. If you weren't familiar with Tabitha Brown before, I do hope that this has piqued your curiosity. Maybe you'll go Google her or check out one of her videos, be it on Instagram or on TikTok. But more importantly, I hope that this is a clear illustration for you of why authenticity is a competitive advantage. The key takeaway today's brand gem is being you is enough. Being you is your own special competitive advantage. So embrace it. Be your full self and claim your own rewards and riches.

[11:54 - 11:56]

Thank you for tuning in. I'll see you next time.

[11:58 - 12:06]

You just listened to another episode of Brand Gems. Be sure to follow so you don't miss future episodes. And please share with anyone you think will find the information useful.

[12:07 - 12:08]

Until next time.