Brand Matters: Adam Houlahan, Prominence Global

You might love your shiny new brand when it’s first launched…but how does branding affect your business over time?

At InnerVisions ID we know helping you get brand clarity and standing out will supercharge your business growth, but don’t just take our word for it.

In our new blog series, #BrandMatters, we talk to business owners about the impact investing their brand has had on their business.

First up, Adam Houlahan, founder of Prominence Global…

Adam Houlahan, founder of Prominence Global

Tell us a bit about yourself

Before the world went just a little bit crazy earlier this year, I spent a great deal of my time travelling around the world. I was speaking at events and teaching business leaders how to build personal brands that matter, and how to use LinkedIn effectively.

These days I’m still doing that, it’s just shifted to online events. That keeps me safely based in Queensland, Australia.

I’m also a passionate writer. I have three Amazon best-selling books on my bookshelf and tens of thousands of copies now roaming the world. Last year I released an updated version of my book The LinkedIn Playbook. I’m currently working on an update to Influencer which will be released in early 2021.

What led you to start your business?

I’ve been fortunate enough to have had a few careers since 1989 when I started my first business. I’ve always been drawn to own and operate my own organisations. I ran someone else’s company for 6 years, but when the joy started to wane, I knew it was time to get back into my own gig – hence Prominence Global was born.

Social media for business had become my passion. In fact, many people suggested it was an obsession.

I wanted to create a business in this space and help business leaders to use this tool effectively. I was convinced that the old-school concept of having an office somewhere and employing people in that city only, was a relic of the past for service-based businesses like ours.

We created a virtual business model whereby we could attract the best talent no matter where they lived. They become a part of a global team that delivers great outcomes for our clients. We often say we were practicing social distancing well before it became a thing!

I guess it turned out to be an inspired move. As the world scrambled to create similar new ways of doing business, we already had the team, the systems and the reputation in place. We will close out 2020 with a team double the size of 2019. The number of clients we serve around the world will have doubled too.

However, what really inspired me to create this new business model was our focus on social causes and aligning everything we do with creating positive impacts in the world. I’m just a little chuffed that we have now surpassed 3 million impacts globally. Our goal is to create 12 million impacts, you can see more about this journey here.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?

Funnily enough, it was well before social media existed and the world became as competitive as it is today. I was playing golf with a very successful, retired businessman who was in his late sixties (I was 24).

Knowing I was about to start my first business he suggested I travel to cities as far away from where my business was to be located. He suggested I go to the owners of similar businesses and ask for their advice based on their experience in the industry. He said, “you will be surprised how many business leaders will happily give you advice and share their hard-earned experience.”

I did exactly that. The intel I received saved me from making many mistakes that I would have made as a rookie. I still collaborate to this day, globally, with people many would consider competitors. This has lead to some amazing partnerships and friendships. It’s had very positive benefits for Prominence Global.

What brands inspire you – and why?

• Apple – I have always found their commitment to innovation refreshing and the back story fascinating.

Mostly though I’m inspired by brands who have a focus on social causes such as: Tom’s Shoes, Thank You Water, Ben & Jerry’s, B1G1 and Zambrero

A partnership with B1G1 is at the heart of Prominence Global’s impact programme

I’m really loving what B Corp is doing and the brands that are aligning with their mission. It’s on our radar to do in 2021.

What did creating or building a brand mean to you?

It was something we placed great importance on. We took quite a long time to find the right agency to engage for the job. (Read about the rebrand here). Our original brand, Web Traffic That Works, no longer served what we were about, so it was a much bigger task than building it from the start and we needed to rename the company, which we tasked InnerVisions ID to help us with.

We knew it was critical to the success of our future business model to ensure our brand clearly portrayed what we do, who we serve and our vision and values as an organisation.

Our new name, Prominence Global succinctly communicates our niched focus, helping people achieve a higher profile on LinkedIn, nomatter where they are in the world.

What IMPACT did your branding make to you/your team and your business?

For me personally, it was about being comfortable and proud of who we are. Considering what we do is help business leaders build their personal brands for attracting new clients, we needed to walk our own walk. We had achieved that on LinkedIn but not so much in our broader online presence.

For our team which was growing, it allowed them to get a better sense of who we were and what they were a part of. It certainly assisted us in attracting A-grade people to our team.

It was important for them to know they were joining a team that had such clarity of mission and values.

Prominence Global brand guidelines

For our business, it more clearly represented who we are. And therefore makes it very easy now for people to buy into what we do.

Fill in the blank…”My brand helps me…

…attract the right clients on a global scale.”

Job done, then!

Thank you Adam for sharing your brand story with us.

To increase your influence on LinkedIn, connect with Adam on LinkedIn here.

Sapna Pieroux’s award-winning book Let’s Get Visible! shows how you can get brand clarity, stand out in your industry and supercharge your business growth. Buy it here.

And if you want to create a brand your customers will truly connect with, book a free 30-minute Brand Clarity call with her and see what we can do…