Starting a new business: the courage of a “Seed”

Lets explore the critical role of brand strategy when starting a new business, using the metaphor of a seed requiring courage to grow. The piece emphasizes how proper brand positioning from the outset can be the difference between joining the 63% of New Zealand startups that fail within two years and building a thriving business..

If the word “strategy” makes your eyes roll, you’re not alone. Many of our clients first come to us feeling wary or downright dismissive of strategy because they’ve already been through an expensive (and often frustrating) “strategic session” with another agency—only to be left with a pretty deck of slides and a vague plan that never translated into real results.

You wouldn’t be the first to think, “We’ve done enough strategy. We know who we are and what we need.” But here’s the thing: real strategy isn’t about crossing off a checklist of standard exercises or generating fancy jargon you’ll promptly forget. Real strategy is about understanding you and your brand—your people, your passions, your goals—and translating that understanding into tangible actions that support real business growth.

The flood of “Strategy Sessions”

In today’s marketplace, nearly every agency calls itself “strategic.” So let’s address the elephant in the room: if every agency claims to be strategic, how do you know who’s actually adding value? And if you’ve already spent money on a strategic deliverable that felt worthless, why risk it again?

Here’s our answer: strategy only works when it’s rooted in real conversation, collaboration, and clarity of purpose. If it doesn’t begin by getting to the heart of what drives your business and the people behind it, then it’s just another fancy label with a big price tag.

Why we insist on strategy (done differently)

We believe strategy is critical to any major brand or business transformation. But we don’t see strategy as a single, step-by-step process you can apply to every client in the same way. We see it as a conversation—a discovery—where we draw on our experience as agency owners, brand-builders, and business strategists to unearth what makes you truly unique.

1. It’s about people, not just processes
   Our strategy sessions aren’t formulaic workshops designed to justify our fees. They’re interactive discussions that revolve around you and your team—your passions, challenges, and customer insights. We find that centering people in the conversation is the only way to build a foundation that truly reflects your brand’s identity and ensures long-term success.
2. Brand and business must align
   Strategy doesn’t stop at your logo, tagline, or brand visuals. It encompasses the bigger picture: How do you price your products or services? How do you speak to your customers? What makes your business model sustainable? We look beyond design elements and focus on how your brand can serve your overall business goals.
3. No fluff, no jargon
   Ever walked away from a strategy session with 100 slides and no idea how they’re going to make you money? We’d be exhausted too. Our approach is to simplify, distill, and give you real-world steps that guide your decisions and help you see results. Whether it’s attracting new clients, entering a new market, or redefining your brand’s position.

“But we’ve done this all before…”

We get it. Once you’ve had a bad experience with a strategy engagement that cost more than it was worth, it’s easy to doubt its value. Maybe you’re thinking:

• “We didn’t need all those complicated exercises.”
• “It was all talk, and they never really understood our business.”
• “We have an internal team that can do our own strategy.”

The question is: Did you really do “strategy,” or did you just purchase a templated product labelled as strategy? Our guess is that if you walked away feeling uncertain about how to move forward, there wasn’t enough focus on your specific brand challenges and too much emphasis on following a generic process.

The missing ingredient: perspective

Great strategy sessions create a shift in perspective. They bring insights you haven’t considered and clarify a direction you didn’t see before. When done well, a strategic engagement can spark new ideas, refine your brand’s purpose, and unveil opportunities to outpace your competition.

Our approach to strategy is personal and collaborative. We bring in our experience not just as agency owners but also as fellow entrepreneurs who understand the ebb and flow of running a business. We aren’t here to check off deliverables—we’re here to share an outside perspective that can spark a meaningful transformation in your brand.

What makes Whitelaw Mitchell different?

If every agency calls itself strategic, how do we stay unique? By focusing on results rather than process. We don’t want you to spend money on a big unveiling of a “brand strategy” that never sees the light of day. Instead, we want to help you rediscover what makes your company exceptional and channel that into real, measurable outcomes.

1. Empathy and clarity
   We listen… I mean really listen…to your challenges. This helps us tailor our strategic approach rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all roadmap.
2. Collaboration and alignment
   You and your team aren’t just spectators; you’re active contributors to the strategy. The best insights often come from the heart of your organisation.
3. Business-focused outcomes
   Our deliverables aren’t big statements of purpose that gather dust; they’re practical steps tied directly to your revenue, customer engagement, and growth.

Why now?

By leaning on our fresh perspective and proven methodology, you can turn strategy into a powerful tool that not only gets your team aligned on the next steps but also gives you the confidence to invest in the right areas for growth. That’s how you transform a brand: by making strategy a core part of your business evolution, not an optional exercise you do once and forget.

In closing: the difference is in the doing

Strategy might feel like a dirty word if you’ve been burned by a previous engagement, but that doesn’t mean you should throw out the concept entirely. The question isn’t “Do we really need strategy again?”—it’s “How can we make sure the next strategy we invest in is actually meaningful and effective?”

By focusing on the people, brand, and business dimensions all at once—and by cutting out the buzzwords and generic templates—we tailor our strategic sessions to what makes you distinct. We’re passionate about delivering genuine insights that fuel your brand’s growth, not just another set of bullet points to check off.

If you’re ready to see how strategy can actually help transform your brand (instead of bogging you down), let’s talk. We’d love to guide you through a process that feels more like a conversation than a lecture, and more like a brand evolution than a line item on your invoice.

Ready for an approach to strategy that finally makes sense?
Get in touch, and let’s start transforming your brand—together.

Key Takeaways

• Brand Strategy is Survival Insurance: With only 37% of New Zealand startups surviving past two years, having a clear brand strategy is what separates thriving businesses from those that falter.
• Outside Perspective is Essential: Even visionary leaders benefit from external brand strategists who can uncover problems and solutions that internal teams might miss due to proximity bias.
• Courage Drives Strategic Success: Developing effective brand strategy requires making difficult decisions and having the courage to commit to a specific position that deflects competition.
• Strategy Creates Operational Clarity: A well-defined brand strategy serves as a roadmap that makes marketing easier, selling more effective, and provides clear context for inspiring your target audience.