“Scaling must be done with scientific precision.” Sage advice from branding expert, Maureen Mwangi. She helps product-based companies become retail-ready with strategies rooted in data analytics and marketing research. In this episode, Maureen takes us on her journey from watching her parents build a strong brand in Kenya to her scaling products for Pepsi, Dove, and L’Oreal in the U.S. She also describes the processes for scaling commercial vs. microenterprise products.
140: How I Scale Unknown Brands into Million & Billion Dollar Household Names featuring Maureen Mwangi
Special Guest: Maureen Mwangi, Founder & CEO – Startward Consulting
Location: Dallas, TX USA
Air Date: March 14, 2021
Resources
- Product Entrepreneurs Who Scale: Maureen’s private Facebook group for female owners of product-based businesses looking to scale to 6- or 7-figures.
- The Product Profit Lab: part of Startward’s Elevate Series; this is a program for bold, visionary entrepreneurs “…who are looking to heighten sales and learn how to position their brand,” and want to scale to 6-figures.
- The Big Brand Academy: part of Startward’s Delve Series; this is a program is for “…transformative entrepreneurs who have outgrown their current brand,” and want to scale to 7-figures.
- Google Analytics: a free Google tool that tracks and reports website traffic.
- Google Trends: a free web-based tool by Google that analyzes the popularity of top search queries in their search engine across various regions and languages.
- How to Use Google Trends: 10 Mind-Blowing Tricks for Entrepreneurs: an article by Nicole Martins Ferreira for Oberlo.
- Ubersuggest: a web-based app that gives users insights into the SEO strategies working for players in your market so that you can adopt and modify to gain a competitve edge.
- Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential: a book by Greg Crabtree
- Simple Numbers 2.0 – Rules for Smart Scaling: A Play by Play Analysis for Pure Growth: another book by Greg Crabtree
- Why Analyzing Sales Data Is Important for Small Businesses: an article by Donna Fuscaldo for Business News Daily
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Credits
- Producer & Host: Alicia Butler Pierre
- Podcast Editor: Olanrewaju Adeyemo
- Sponsor: Equilibria, Inc.
Bios
More About Guest, Maureen Mwangi:
Maureen Mwangi grew up in Kenya where entrepreneurship was not the norm. In fact, her mom and dad were the only entrepreneurs she knew. Maureen quickly learned that the secret to her parents’ business success was the reputable, trustworthy product-based brand they created. Her curiosity for building breakout brands became the seed for what would become her voyage overseas in search of higher education in the U.S.
Years later, armed with a Master’s Degree in Marketing, Maureen quickly ascended to leadership and began to build some of America’s most beloved brands – from Lays to Chobani to L’Oreal to Dove. She mastered the billion-dollar brand building strategies that most entrepreneurs never have the resources to access, and in doing so, she discovered her zone of genius – the rare ability to connect with a market and turn real data into brand growth strategies that drive multimillion dollar growth.
Today, Maureen is one of the most sought after brand growth experts because of her unique track record for launching and scaling recognizable brands. She is the creator of Big Brand Academy, The Product Profit Lab, and Startward Consulting.This work fuels her passion-project: Taji Foundation – a non-profit organization she created to support boys in Kenya to get the education they need to lift their families out of poverty and build generational wealth.
More About Host, Alicia Butler Pierre:
Alicia Butler Pierre is the Founder & CEO of Equilibria, Inc.. Her career in operations began over 20 years ago while working in various chemical plants and oil refineries. She invented the Kasennu™ framework for business infrastructure and authored, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success. It is the world’s first published book on business infrastructure for small businesses. Alicia hosts the weekly Business Infrastructure podcast with a global audience across 38+ countries.
More About Sponsor, Equilibria:
Equilibria, Inc. is a 15-year-old boutique operations management consulting firm. We build the business infrastructure necessary for fast-growing businesses to scale with less pain. With a range of services and products, entrepreneurs can get the operational support and resources they need on-demand.