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Join for freePosted: Tue 11th Aug 2026
You're good at what you do. But can you explain your value in a way that people instantly understand, remember and trust?
Many founders and business owners miss out on opportunities not because they lack expertise, but because they struggle to communicate it clearly.
Whether you're networking, pitching to investors, speaking to customers or updating your LinkedIn profile, the way you tell your story influences how others perceive your business.
In this practical Lunch and Learn, Tracy Ho shares simple yet powerful techniques to help you articulate your value with greater impact.
Leave with practical tools you can apply immediately to become more memorable, build credibility and create more business opportunities for yourself.
Why many capable businesses become the "best kept secret" – and how to avoid it
A practical framework to communicate your value more clearly in networking, sales and investor conversations
Simple actions to build greater visibility, credibility and trust without feeling overly self-promotional
Tracy is an experienced leadership influence adviser, executive presence coach and personal branding strategist, and the founder of Frame & Fame Personal Branding.
She helps founders, professionals and business leaders communicate their value more clearly, strengthen visibility and build the confidence and credibility needed to create opportunities.
Tracy has delivered workshops and coaching programmes for multinational organisations and business communities across the UK, MENA region and APAC, helping individuals become more influential communicators and trusted leaders.
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Lightly edited for clarity.
Beth: Hello, everyone, and welcome to today's Lunch and Learn. My name is Beth, and I'll be your host today.
For those of you attending a Lunch and Learn for the first time, Enterprise Nation is a vibrant community platform for start-ups and small businesses. I'm very pleased to introduce Tracy Ho, a personal branding strategist. In this session, Tracy will share simple yet powerful techniques to help you articulate your value with greater impact.
As always, if you have any questions throughout the webinar, please post them in the chat or the Q&A – we'll do our best to answer them at the end of the session. Today's session will be recorded, and we'll send follow-up resources and the recording later today.
So, over to you, Tracy.
Tracy Ho: Thank you so much, Beth, for the introduction. This is my first Lunch and Learn with Enterprise Nation.
Today isn't about me – it's about you, and how I can share my insights to help you communicate your value and be remembered.
I've prepared a Mentimeter link for you to share your input, so I can listen and gather your responses. I've put the link in the chat, and you can also scan the QR code on my right-hand side. Let me know if you can't access it – we have limited time today, so I'll get started.
First of all, I want to introduce myself. I've been doing communications for leaders, executives, and entrepreneurs for 10+ years. Before that, I worked in PR, communications, and journalism, so storytelling is in my blood.
But like I said, today isn't about me – it's about you. I hope to use my own communication experience to help you tell your story better.
You can join in at menti.com using the link in the chat, or by scanning the QR code if you're on a laptop and a smartphone. That way, we can work through this together – I'll hear your input and share my insights in response.
So far, only one person has joined, so I hope more of you can join in. Everything is anonymous, so hopefully we can get more input to help you.
Let's start with a warm-up question. I'm guessing you're mostly based in the UK, but let me know where you are – type it in the chat so we can see where everyone's joining from.
We've had responses from around the country, along with London, Bournemouth, and Norfolk – London has the biggest group so far. That's a great warm-up, so I know you're all set up and using the tool.
We have around 54 participants on this call and 12 responses so far, so hopefully we'll get some more input as we go. Today is mainly about helping you to be remembered.
Next question: Are you a start-up founder, a business owner, a corporate executive, a C-suite hopeful, or in a career transition? Let me know in the chat.
It looks like most of you here with Enterprise Nation are start-up founders or business owners, with a few in career transition. If you're in transition, communicating your values clearly will help you find the best opportunity for your next move.
Thank you for your responses. Do use the Mentimeter if you can, though typing in the chat works just as well – I can see plenty of you doing that already.
We've seen contributions from several of you, and most of you are founders and business owners. Welcome as well to Bonita, who's been in business for 20 years – we want to learn from you, too. Now tell me: why did you join this session? Would a stronger brand help you?
If a stronger brand would help, choose up to three reasons: finding a job, getting promoted or recognised, attracting more clients, or standing out in a crowded market. Many of the founders I work with tell me that now, with AI, everyone looks polished online, and it's harder to be remembered because we all start to look like one of thousands, whatever industry we're in.
Thank you, Michelle, for saying you want to attract clients and be more visible at networking. In the poll, attracting more clients and being more visible are the majority responses.
So today, we'll go through some quick tips on how to build more confidence when networking, stand out, and be remembered.
Quick question: I'm guessing most of you are on LinkedIn – if not, feel free to join later. Take a look at your CV, website, or LinkedIn profile, and ask yourself whether it still shows who you really are.
Often it doesn't, for all sorts of reasons: your career may have changed, your focus shifted, your client base evolved, or your product moved on. Sometimes it's simply that you haven't had time to update it.
Most of you agree that your current materials don't fully reflect who you are. Have a think about why – you can share your thoughts in the chat.
Next: tell me about yourself. Have you ever been asked this and thought, 'I don't even know how to answer that'? You might be able to describe your clients or colleagues easily, but when it comes to describing yourself, you're suddenly lost for words – does that sound familiar?
Bonita says her introduction could be worded better, and Michelle says she's currently rebranding. What triggered that, Michelle? Nowadays, we're asked who we are so often that you need a two-to-three-second pitch ready – otherwise, people forget you and the conversation moves on.
Some of you said your answer depends on who's asking, and others said it could simply be worded better. When it comes to rebranding, what triggers that thought? Perhaps you've noticed someone who entered the industry after you but somehow gets more clients, or a colleague who gets the promotion instead of you.
Have you ever watched someone with less experience get more clients, more promotions, more recognition, more awards, or more funding than you? Most of you say yes to that. Jill adds that she feels encouraged to talk about her own values.
Have you ever wondered why they get ahead of you? Visibility matters, and if you're less experienced but more visible, you can still get ahead of someone more established but less remembered. That's what I'd call a personal branding gap.
So why is personal branding important to you? Choose up to five: is it projecting confidence, communicating more clearly, looking consistent, showing your expertise, or your leadership role? Or perhaps you feel you need seniority or industry recognition to have a good brand.
So far, expertise and skills, clear communication, and projecting confidence are coming out as the most important to you.
In my own framework, I call this the three-tier approach: be seen, be heard, and be known. You want to be seen, heard, and known as the person you want to be – that's how I define personal branding.
If you're asking why you're not being remembered, or how you can deliver your value better, look at how others perceive you. Personal branding is an intentional exercise in how you deliver your values, so people can feel that in how they experience you.
If you feel your value isn't being remembered, ask yourself: Am I clear enough, consistent enough, and credible enough? Credibility comes from your profession, your accolades, and industry recognition, but ultimately, it's built on trust.
If you're clear and consistent, people start thinking of you. Branding is a process of being liked, loved, and followed – you want people to like you, so they remember you, refer others to you, and come back to buy from you.
If you've never worked on your personal branding, I'd suggest taking control of it now. Whether you like it or not, you have a brand – people experience you the moment you step outside, whether or not you're managing that consciously. So try to take charge of it intentionally.
Let me share my own experience with this. My business career started in Singapore, where I led the Southeast Asia office for a PR agency. I then moved back to Hong Kong to start my own business, spent some time in Dubai, and am now based in London, helping companies, executives, and business owners build their leadership influence.
Each time I moved country, my expertise didn't disappear – I was still myself, with the same team, skills, and experience. So if you think expertise is the single most important part of your value, I'd challenge that.
Whenever you go through a transition – a career change, a relocation, or a move into a new industry – your expertise doesn't disappear. You're still who you are, but unfortunately, your visibility does disappear. So the gap isn't about your capability, your location, or your industry – it's about your visibility.
So to be remembered, there are three gaps to bridge: capability, confidence, and visibility. Capability is your profession, which we'll skip today.
What I want to share today is how to project confidence and bridge the visibility gap. You might ask what I mean by a visibility gap – so let me ask: do you think you deliver great work every day?
Are you delivering excellent products and services, and do you believe in yourself? If so, the next question is: why don't more people come to you? Why do people forget to mention you, or refer fewer people than you'd like?
Great work doesn't always speak for itself – it needs help bridging that visibility gap.
Now that we've named the visibility gap, tell me what feels most challenging for you within it. Is it that you don't know your full strength or value, or that you know it but struggle to articulate it?
Type your answer in the chat or Mentimeter: Is it that you don't know how to communicate? That you have a website, social media, a marketing strategy, and an advertising plan, but still aren't visible enough? Or that you're established but want greater influence – to be seen as a thought leader, and have your team understand and follow you more?
So far, most of you feel you have great value but don't know how to communicate it. Richard says he wants greater influence, and Pauline chose option five, though the numbering seems to have shifted – Pauline, feel free to type it again in the chat.
So the common thread is: you know your value, but struggle to articulate it – which I think is why we're all here today. Tell me where you think that struggle sits: is it that you don't know what you do, an expertise problem?
We can agree that everyone wants to articulate better in order to be more visible. So step one is expertise: do you know your work – your product, your service, your approach, your USP – and do you have confidence in it?
Step two is visibility: beyond your knowledge, do people know you exist? That's why we're here today – once people know you exist, you can build trust, and more opportunities follow as you bridge that visibility gap.
One attendee, Dominica, says she tends to talk about what she does rather than how she actually helps, and struggles to narrow down the benefits her service brings to clients – we'll come back to that shortly.
Let me break this down into a few steps. As I mentioned, my three-tier approach – be seen, be heard, and be known – helps get your value into people's memory, and today we'll focus on the be known tier.
This is about building your reputation consistently, so you can nurture relationships and build trust. If that's something you want, type 'yes' in the chat.
This isn't rocket science. In the final 15 minutes of this Lunch and Learn, I'll break it down into three steps – starting with reflection. Complete this sentence, either in the chat or in the Mentimeter.
'People know me as...' – for example, an IT manager, a teacher, or 'creative'. One of you said 'people know me as a cake lady', which is a role in itself – though I'd ask, what sort of cake?
Other answers coming in: a vision leader, a sector geek, a doer, a jewellery designer, a trusted adviser. Steven, tell us more – what kind of advice do you give? We're also seeing a furniture painter, an AI trainer for SMEs from Simone, and a strategist from Richard.
We've also seen a business consultant who turns her hand to various things, and is seen as brave, positive, mysterious, and deep, knowledgeable, and quick to earn trust. That's excellent.
So that's how people currently see you. My next question asks you to think deeper: how do you want people to think about you? Give me three to five adjectives that describe how you want to be known.
Rather than just 'a teacher', 'a doer', or 'an accountant', try something like: 'I want to be known as an efficient, proficient, knowledgeable accountant who always meets deadlines.' Can anyone give that a try?
We're seeing answers like 'SME accounting and tech solutions', 'business adviser for micro and small business', and 'communication technology specialist' – but these are all facts. I want you to move away from facts, occupation, and industry.
Go for adjectives that describe how you want to be known. We're seeing 'expert in getting formally qualified professionals hired' – so you're placing people, and adjectives like courageous, ethical, effective, productive, and having high integrity, alongside 'international problem solver and solution provider'.
But what sort of solution are you providing? These are what I'd call buzzwords in branding and communication – statements so broad they can never be wrong, and if no one can disagree with you, you also won't be remembered. If you cover everything, you cover nothing.
So go niche. Take 'I am an accountant' – can an accountant be creative? Yes: most accountants describe themselves as efficient and accurate, but your creative solutions might help clients save more on tax, or you might offer seasonal advice – so even 'creative' can describe an accountant.
Take 'the go-to person for all things connected to business health' – that's better, but let's define business health. What kind of business health are you focused on?
Pauline offers trustworthy, effective, approachable, knowledgeable, and integrity. My question to all of you: would anyone say 'come and work with me, I have no integrity'? Of course not – everyone claims to have integrity, so that alone won't set you apart.
So the next step is to define what integrity, professionalism, or 'trusted adviser' actually means in your own language. Challenge yourself, or ask your business partner: could anyone read your statement and say you're doing something wrong? If not – for example, 'I'm a professional, trusted adviser' – you're not really saying anything specific, so try to be more precise.
We've had 'an integrated woman in her powerful leadership, building on life with heart and passion' – so my question is, what does 'integrated' mean here? And 'problem solver' is a good start, but what sort of problem do you want to be remembered for?
I often say: when your pipe gets stuck, you call a plumber straight away, because a plumber solves your piping problem – that's very specific. Think like a plumber: what's your version of the pipe, and what's the solution?
Joe asks about talking values instead – how you operate ethically, transparently, and care about your people. If that's the case, and someone chooses to work with you because you always care about your people and aim to reduce your environmental impact, then use that language too.
On the question of who you are: many people avoid saying 'me' or 'I' because it feels too self-focused. But if you rely too heavily on third-person or overly objective language, you miss the chance to be remembered – so use first-person language, and tell a story.
Let me share an example. As John Maxwell puts it, people buy into you, not just your vision, products, or service, because of who you are – and that's especially true when it comes to selling.
Whatever your business – an enterprise, a founder-led business, or a start-up – think about why people come to you. Even now, with AI dominating search, people still buy from people.
So how you stand out comes down to your positioning statement. In my personal brand statement framework, I'd suggest moving from what you do to what you're known for – as I said earlier, if you describe yourself only as a coach, designer, consultant, teacher, or accountant, you're missing an opportunity.
You can strengthen it immediately by saying you help your audience achieve their goal through your solutions. So instead of stating your occupation, try: 'I help my audience achieve their goal through my solutions.'
You can also stand out through your point of view – for example, 'I never miss a deadline.' Putting it together: 'I'm an accountant by profession, and I help small businesses who struggle with their numbers achieve tax-efficient bookkeeping, tax filing, and accounting systems, through accuracy, timely service, and compliance-related advice.'
Try to think about what you're doing from your audience's perspective, rather than listing your credentials – that immediately strengthens your positioning.
On social media, weave your personal brand statement into your posts intentionally, rather than posting randomly. Take a stance, and don't feel bad about it – as AI increasingly shapes our thinking, it's more important than ever to have and share your own point of view.
Here's my own example. If I simply say I'm a personal branding coach and consultant who helps with LinkedIn presence, communication, or coaching for interviews and investor pitching, that's all just facts – it's not a story, and it's too much about me.
If I turn it into a story about you instead, I help professionals, entrepreneurs, and business leaders communicate their value, so they build credibility, visibility, and influence. Specifically, I help people in a moment of growth, career transition, business transition, rebranding, or reinvention.
What makes me special is that I combine my experience across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to help people and companies communicate across multicultural, multi-geographical, and multigenerational perspectives. That's my story.
Here's one more example: Sharon, a CPA and former CFO, wanted to help women, so she started advising women going through divorce, helping them get on top of their numbers and finances during that transition.
She found it hard to articulate her value when she could describe herself as a CPA, a CFO, or a divorce counsellor – so which was she? We brought all of that together into a brand story: she helps people make confident financial decisions during uncertainty, whether that's business, divorce, or another transition.
Working with Sharon means you always have clarity and control over your finances – whatever audience she's working with, she now has one clear story to be remembered by.
Back to you: we have limited time, but if you'd like instant feedback, type your positioning statement in the chat or the Mentimeter, and I'll give you a quick response. Let's look at what's coming in.
Jen says: 'I support women with nervous system regulation with bodywork, energy, and sound healing.' Not bad at all – I'd suggest defining what kind of women, whether by age or background, and saying a bit more about what nervous system regulation means.
Sarah says: 'We take care of bookkeeping and accountancy for UK sole traders, landlords, and small businesses – let us handle the numbers, keep you ahead of every tax deadline, and help your business work smarter, not harder.' That's excellent, Sarah – I'd just tone down 'work smarter, not harder', as it's quite punchy marketing language.
To really connect with your audience, pick one specific pain point – for example, how much you could be losing by not knowing your numbers, or how much HMRC could fine you for late filing.
Colin says: 'I help SME leaders and senior professionals build higher-performing teams and take the next step – 30 years of commercial leadership, industry-agnostic, curious to learn and deliver.'
Colin, the first part is good, but I'd rewrite the second part to be less about you and more about your audience. Rather than how many years of commercial leadership you've had, focus on why your audience needs you, not just your experience.
Here's another: 'Ambitious women and men break unconscious identity patterns so they can lead with clarity, build meaningful businesses, and create success without sacrificing themselves in the process.' That's a lot of words, and while the buzzwords are good, try to avoid words with four or more syllables.
By default, our brains remember two-syllable words far better than three, four, or five. So if you want to be conversational, memorable, and not too abstract or self-serving, use adjectives with fewer syllables – it's simply easier to communicate.
'Helping individual leaders and organisations use how the mind really works to create extraordinary results, culturally, psychologically, and financially' – the culturally, psychologically, and financially part is great, but I'd challenge what exactly you mean by 'how the mind works' and 'extraordinary results'.
Try to name the common pain point for these leaders or organisations directly, so they can relate to you immediately. Joe says: 'I help SMEs identify and overcome growing pains, and build a business so they can work more smoothly and efficiently.'
That's lovely, Joe. For 'identify and overcome growing pains', you could name the biggest pain point you've dealt with, and how people can work with you, since 'I help make your business smooth and efficient' is something anyone could say, I'd suggest adding a bit of storytelling.
You could also explain through comparison examples, so people relate to it more. Someone else says they make websites and e-commerce systems feel calmer, clearer, and easier to manage – that's good, but who exactly is your audience?
Thank you for all the input so far. Joe adds that it's hard to convey his work quickly – people don't know what a graphic designer does, let alone what branding or literary design means. I understand that, being in the branding industry myself.
It can be hard to explain to clients why one designer charges more than another, because it's so subjective. Sometimes it helps to bring in a debatable point deliberately.
For example, you could say directly: 'Nowadays, design can seem pointless, since you can get it through ChatGPT. But how about a designer who can connect with your audience visually? People can tell the difference between AI-generated work and a genuinely experienced designer's work – and that's why I stand out.'
You don't always need to say only the positive – sometimes you can be remembered by naming industry practices you challenge, which can also help you stand out immediately.
I need to check in with Beth here – I'm mindful of the time, it's 12:33. Beth, is it okay if we take one more minute?
Beth: Yes, let's do one more minute – everyone's finding this really useful, so let's go ahead.
Tracy: Thank you so much, and thank you all for this amazing input. Jackie says: 'Dog guardians understand how the dogs perceive the world' – lovely, and body language tells them about intention and emotion. But then, what's next? If you understand your dog, what happens after that?
Push a little further on the 'why', to make it stronger. Someone offers: 'Use the mind to resolve previously intractable problems, resulting in shift solutions and increased productivity' – again, try to make that easier to say.
Words like 'productivity' and 'intractable solutions' are what I'd call book language – never wrong, but if something is never wrong, you also risk not being remembered.
So try shorter, plainer words instead – what I call layman language. Another example: 'Support people to accessorise themselves by introducing recycled fashion' – excellent, and you can make it even more specific.
That's still quite fact-based – what kind of people do you support? If you try to support everyone, you end up supporting no one, so be specific about who they are, and what 'accessorise' actually means.
Is it hats, clothing, or shoes? Everyday wear, or sportswear? Define it further.
And why is recycled fashion nicer or better – for the planet, for the skin, for health, against climate change, against fast fashion, or on price?
Try saying that out loud. Thank you so much for all this input – I love reading it, and while I can't get to all of it, I hope I've covered most. If not, feel free to contact me on LinkedIn.
We can keep the conversation going there – I believe Beth has also shared the details. To close today, I want to leave you with one line: you're all great.
You have great services and products, and your capability is always there – but don't be over-confident, and don't be self-serving either. Personal branding isn't about you – it's about how people experience you.
That's why you want your voice heard and your value remembered: be consistent, be clear, and build your credibility. I hope today's session gives you some key ways to shift your perspective, so people remember you more easily.
Instead of long, buzzword-heavy introductions, try to relate to your audience. Instead of stating your occupation, speak to their goals and pain points directly. I hope that all makes sense and helps.
If you'd like to connect, this is my LinkedIn. If you'd like a complimentary session to explore this further, you can also book through LinkedIn or join our seven-day, self-paced challenge.
Just email me and say 'I'm in', or message me on LinkedIn saying you attended today's session and would like the seven-day self-paced challenge – I'll send it over so you can go further.
I hope today has given you enough to go on. It's a full Lunch and Learn today – enjoy the sunshine out there, and I hope we can stay connected and meet again in the future.
Beth: Thanks so much, Tracy, and thanks, everyone, for joining. We'll send the recording and further resources today – that was brilliant, thank you, Tracy.
There are so many thank-yous in the chat, which is lovely to see. Enjoy the rest of your day, and we'll see you soon – goodbye, everyone!
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