When you think about the music industry, you always think about the one-hit wonders, and then you think about the legacy leaders, those legacy bands that have been around for decades, like the Rolling Stones.
And you never really hear about anyone in between. The same holds when it comes to, well, your business. Are you going to be that one-hit-wonder that people know and slowly forget, or will you be that legacy business that will be around forever and that people love and still go to decades later?
Because the truth is, in business, it is the long-term that is the goal. There's nothing else in between. Now, many of us think that being a is well, not a good thing because you only were successful once. But sometimes that's actually what you truly are wanting, and if that is your intent, then go for it.
Don't try to be the legacy brand when the truth is all you're wanting to do is to have that one success and move on to something else. But legacy brands aren't as easy as you would think because, again, most people are somewhere in between music and business-wise. But building a legacy brand is all about long-term. It's about consistency, and it's about truly understanding what it is you offer and sticking with that.
That's why most legacy brands are always built around a lifestyle. Whether we're talking music or business, the truth is the brands that stick around express a lifestyle. Rolling Stones express a lifestyle. Aerosmith expresses a lifestyle. The Beatles are, even though not still a band, their music is still awfully popular. It's because they express a lifestyle. They express a mindset to be.
Your brand can do the same thing, so if you are building a lifestyle brand, consider not being that one-hit wonder, and consider building long-term. The benefit of a legacy brand is that then you have clients, new and old, you're always growing, and you become in-threaded in the tapestry of society, so you're part of generations, and you're truly changing in the world.
Whatever you decide to do, choose it. No one wants to be the unknown band or business of the in-between. Choose to be the one-hit wonder or the legacy, but make sure you choose.