08 | How to Grow Your Product Based Business with Maureen Mwangi

Maureen Mwangi, Founder of Startward Consulting, grew up in Kenya where entrepreneurship was not the norm. In fact, her mom and dad were the only entrepreneurs she knew. As a little girl, Maureen listened with fascination as they discussed their product strategies around the dinner table almost every night. As she got older, she became acutely aware of the financial freedom business ownership afforded her family, along with access to more opportunities.

Maureen quickly learned that the secret to her parents’ business success was the reputable, trustworthy product-based brand they created. While others were taking shortcuts and selling commodities on the cheap, Maureen’s parents focused on developing a reputation that was unparalleled in their market. 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. She may not be a “shark” just yet but she’s the big fish her clients need to become market leaders in their category with real, data-driven brand growth strategies that stand the test of time.

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.

In today’s episode Maureen and Jen discuss: 

7:47 the two things you need to do to grow a brand successfully

8:08 the difference between how big brands think vs. small brands

9:52 how to create magnetic content

12:58 the area that small brands struggle the most

15:00 why what you think matters in terms of your sales

16:52 what your number one goal should be as a small business

19:05 the importance of having a vision

21:00 why a website isn’t as important as you might think it is

23:16 what it means to talk about your product without selling it

29:11 reasons why entrepreneurs avoid looking at their numbers

31:21 three common mistakes entrepreneurs make when growing a product line

If you loved this episode and want more from Maureen you can apply to be a part of the Product Profit Lab here. Make sure you follow Maureen on Instagram @maureenmwangiofficial

Ready to start your own podcast but not sure where to start? Download our free guide to help get you started (it’s everything Jen wish she knew when she started) at thevendorsdaughter.com/podcastguide. 

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