Rising to the Challenge: How Emerging Brands Can Unlock Their Full Potential 

For emerging brands, the road to success is daunting and often littered with the unexpected. However, these brands have an incredible opportunity to shift their mindset and use their journey to break through the noise and position themselves at the forefront, ahead of their competition. Balancing rapid growth with resource management, resilience, forging a strong support team, and fostering a culture of opportunity, are all ways that emerging brands can rise to any challenge and unlock their full potential.

With a career full of startups and turnarounds under my belt, I’ve learned what foundational and actionable strategies work best to transform early-stage brands into category contenders. Below are the three keys to empowering emerging brands and setting them up for success:

Build resilience through strategic adaptability

The business landscape is constantly changing, so to thrive, business leaders must be able to pivot quickly without losing sight of long-term goals. Emerging brands face a specific set of obstacles – limited brand recognition, resource constraints, and market entry barriers, to name a few – so being able to recognize those obstacles early is the first step in overcoming setbacks.

As a leader, demonstrating the importance of awareness and foresight to potential obstacles sets the tone for how your team will turn challenges into business optimization opportunities. Integrate risk identification into regular leadership team meetings and constantly seek real-time feedback from both franchisees and customers, so that when problems do arise, your team will be prepared to talk through them and identify solutions. The result is a management team that is aligned on the goal, the solution, and an updated path to success.

Prioritize talent development

Having the right talent in the right role is critical to unlocking your company’s full potential, no matter how established your brand. Regardless of your brand’s purpose, we’re all in the people business first. Your people are your brand, so in an era of high employee turnover, your biggest investment of time and money should be in ensuring that the team you hire isn’t only qualified, but that they are the best fit for the brand you’re building. Take the extra time to evaluate new talent to ensure both alignment and passion for your brand, goals, and values, as well as compatibility with the aligned mindset on what it takes to build an emerging brand.

Once you’ve placed the right talent in the right role, the next challenge is keeping them motivated and inspired. In addition to recognizing personal and team accomplishments, it’s also important to ensure that continuous learning opportunities and development programs are in place for your team to grow professionally alongside your business. Your leadership team should meet regularly with franchisees and their teams individually and collectively to ensure they are on track for success and celebrate their wins. It’s all about creating a culture of achievements that delivers a culture of growth. Finally, give your team the tools and resources that they need to become independent in their roles, streamline processes, and run a sustainable business.

Create a culture that resonates with your team, customers, and market

Breaking through the noise of established competitors can be daunting, but it is achievable. Centering your brand around a strong culture that resonates with your community can be a key differentiator. Laying the foundation for this is the culture you demonstrate internally. Your team should “walk the walk,” setting the tone for what differentiates your brand. As a franchise leader, you need to set the tone for how your franchisees should model their business. Every interaction and every communication with your franchisees should be a reinforcement of the brand culture that separates you from the competition. Establishing a brand DNA that is unique to your brand is the most powerful strategy you can activate to emerge in a competitive market.

For emerging brands, it’s not only important to identify and establish your unique brand DNA, but it’s also important to collaborate with your internal teams, franchisees, and most valued business partners to ensure that everyone is aligned. From there, reinforcing your unique brand DNA points of difference as a cultural norm that is delivered consistently through all communications will predictably break through the establishment and set your brand apart.

Remember that every established brand started as an emerging brand at one time. Focusing on these foundational pillars positions emerging brands as standouts. Through anticipating obstacles, turning challenges into opportunities, recruiting strong talent, and never losing sight of your unique brand DNA, you’ll unlock your fullest potential. Embrace the early stages of your business and lean into what sets you apart from the establishment. It’s not easy, but that’s what will make your future success so satisfying.

Scott Snyder is the CEO of Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii.