Vicky Ayala, a Latina brand strategist and visual storyteller, believes one major component for building a brand is confidence. “When you are confident, your voice exudes strength and conviction which helps with conveying authority. These qualities help you build a strong brand that others will want to work with and invest in,” she shared with LatinasinBusiness.us.

Vicky Ayala, founder, Sacred Brand Mastery

With over fifteen years of experience in marketing, she shows multi-passionate entrepreneurs how to leverage their passions, talents and skills to cultivate their own profitable personal brand.

Vicky recently launched Sacred Brand Mastery where she utilizes her combined expertise in the social service sector, the startup world, and the entertainment industry to teach women how to harness the power of the internet to build online businesses and create financial freedom in their lives.

Brand strategist beginnings

Vicky began her career working for a non-profit organization post-college that provided vocational services for workers displaced by the 9/11 attacks. She worked her way up from counselor to director, leading the program’s employment outreach and professional development training. Though due to the difficult job market at the time, the program began to suffer and eventually Vicky herself became unemployed. It was during this time that she began exploring the option of entrepreneurship.

“This was my turning point which shifted the entire course of my entrepreneurial journey,” says Vicky. “I’ve been freelancing and running an online business ever since.”

Vicky Ayala, speaker at the 2018 Entrepreneur Empowerment Lunch

Vicky found her strength in storytelling. After years of honing her personal brand she found that she had a true talent for brand-building that she wished to share with others.

“As a brand strategist I am expert in developing and organizing a cohesive brand but the root of all personal and professional development is the ability to tell stories,” Vicky explains.

Vicky stresses the difference between “brand” and “business.”

“A brand is your mark on the world while a business is how you make money. Don’t confuse one for the other.”

One’s personal brand is what will represent them to the world and so it is important to build a strong brand that reflects one’s personality, passions, talents, and values in a cohesive way.

Overcoming self-confidence issues

Vicky understands and appreciates the importance of self-confidence now because it is something she struggled with early on in her entrepreneurial journey. She believes most of her early challenges stemmed from this issue of self-confidence. For her finding clients was never the problem, but as an introvert, putting herself out there for those potential clients was a massive hurdle.

She eventually overcame these obstacles by tapping into what she calls her “authentic self.” Looking inward and focusing on her goals and her passions brought her much clarity.

Vicky Ayala, presenter at the 2018 Entrepreneur Empowerment Lunch (Photo credit: Americano Newspaper)

“Once I was aligned with who I wanted to be, it was much easier to build a sustainable business around my passions,” says Vicky.

Now she works to help other women do the same so that they may harness their passions and build their own personal brand that stands out. She urges other Latina women to “take a leap of faith” for their passions.

“You don’t have to quit your day job,” she says, “but you have to decide that your passions are worth pursuing. In this day and age anything can be monetized so it’s not a matter of ‘if’ this will work out but rather ‘how’ will I get this to work out.”

Building a successful brand is a necessary and often over-looked component of entrepreneurship. By building a strong personal brand, one can ensure they will have a stronger business.