Build the Brand Before the Brand Builds You: Why Visibility Is a Habit, Not a Hack

Toastmasters Series: My Reflection on a Speech by Grace Muchiri

Every time I spoke to Grace, one thing was clear: her desire to make a difference. Not in a loud, attention-seeking way, but in that quiet, grounded manner you notice over time. The kind that shows up in how someone listens, how they help when they don’t have to, and how they laugh at themselves without trying to impress you.

Grace always wears a warm smile, combined with a quirky, self-deprecating sense of humor. She stepped in to help more than once without feeling obligated, and over time, a friendship grew. You know the kind — not hurried, not transactional, just human.

Then, one day, she came to my club, Simba Toastmasters, and delivered a speech that deepened my understanding of her. In just a few minutes, she shared the story of a dream she had been quietly nurturing for years—and actively building in recent months. She had started a company in the safari experience industry. But not just “book a tour and see animals” safaris. She was creating emotion, memory, and anticipation.

And here’s what impressed me most: she didn’t sell us with hype. She sold us with clarity, logic, credibility, and a lasting impression that stayed long after she sat down. That speech wasn’t just a pitch. It was proof of habits compounding.

And that’s what this article is really about.

Not branding. Not marketing tricks. But habits — repeated, intentional behaviors — that slowly, almost quietly, build visibility, trust, and demand.

The Main Takeaway:  Strong brands are not built by a single big move. They are built by small, consistent habits done long enough for trust to form.

Grace’s story is a masterclass in this truth. Let's explore this through three habits that have prominently influenced her life over recent months. 

Habit One: Visibility Is a Daily Practice, Not a One-Time Push

When I started my own business, I knew one thing for sure: I had to build a recognizable brand. There’s a reason why, in the 80s, margarine was called Blue Band and washing detergent was Omo. These brands didn’t just sell products; they occupied mental space. They appeared so consistently that the product category itself became synonymous with the brand.

That’s what visibility does. But here’s where many people get it wrong, and especially service-based entrepreneurs. They assume that quality alone will help them. That if they’re good, people will somehow find them. Grace quickly learned that this isn’t how the world works.

When she started Wild Tribe Safaris, she had to visit hotels in person and, in many instances, beg for attention. Her idea wasn’t bad, but she was ignored because she wasn’t visible.

And when your brand isn’t visible, you lose control of the story.

Stories are not neutral. They evoke emotion, create associations, and plant desires. If you don’t intentionally guide how people feel when they encounter your brand, the world will do it for you — usually poorly.

Think about it. I’ve never been to Bali, Indonesia, yet I already associate it with tranquility, beauty, escape, and self-discovery. That didn’t happen by accident; it’s branding through repetition. Grace’s first habit shift was demanding but straightforward: show up consistently where her audience already was.

She started producing immersive safari content — not just stock photos, but genuine experiences. This involved traveling through Kenya, investing in professional photography and video, and capturing moments that evoke emotion: awe, calm, adventure, and belonging. This wasn’t glamorous. It was tiring. Expensive. Repetitive. But habits don’t care about glamour. They reward consistency.

Habit Two: Feedback Turns Effort Into Progress

Here’s where many people stop. They create content, post it online, and assume the job is done. That’s like printing a massive billboard and keeping it in a warehouse. Grace understood that visibility without feedback is guesswork. So, she took the next habit seriously: monitoring and adjusting.

She didn’t just post content — she paid strategically to ensure it actually reached people. The right people. Ads weren’t vanity projects; they were data tools. They told her what resonated, what didn’t, and where attention dropped off. But she asked an even more important question: once people are interested, where do they go?

That’s where her website came in — wildtribesafaris.com. Clean. Professional. Designed to reduce friction and built to convert curiosity into action quickly. This mattered because branding is a numbers game. Grace explained it beautifully.

Many people will see a billboard.
Fewer will walk into a store.
Even fewer will pick up the product.
And only a small percentage will actually buy.

That doesn’t mean the system is broken. It means the system needs patience. Through this process, Grace’s online presence grew to 1.9 million people. Not overnight. Not magically. But through repeated efforts, feedback, and adjustments. Monitoring platforms, spotting gaps, and refining messaging became a habit rather than an afterthought. Like adjusting a thermostat while watching a good nyama choma slowly cook, she learned when to turn the heat up and when to let things simmer.

Habit Three: Consistency Kills Assumptions and Builds Trust

This might be the most underrated habit of all. Consistency isn’t about doing the same thing blindly. It’s about showing up long enough to replace assumptions with evidence. Grace didn’t assume she knew her audience. She learned them. She didn’t assume one campaign would work forever. She tested. She didn’t assume success meant stopping. She doubled down.

Consistency allowed trust to form — not just credibility, but familiarity. You trust certain brands not because you’ve deeply analyzed them, but because they’ve been around. They look the same. They sound the same. They show up when expected. After months of consistent effort, something shifted.

Grace no longer had to call hotels and resorts.

They started calling her.

And suddenly, power changed hands. She could choose who to work with. How to work. On what terms?

That’s what habits do. They quietly reposition you.

The Habit Coach’s Lens: Why This Matters Beyond Branding

Grace summarized her lessons into three truths:

1. You must spend money to make money — because what you value, you fund.
2. You must monitor and adjust — because feedback beats assumptions.
3. You must stay consistent — because trust is built slowly, then suddenly.

From a habit perspective, this is gold. These are not marketing lessons. They are identity lessons. Grace stopped acting like someone hoping to be chosen and started behaving like someone building something worth choosing. And behavior shapes identity.

Final Thought: Build the Habit, and the Brand Will Follow

The world rewards visibility, but visibility first depends on consistency. So go out and build your brand — not through shortcuts, but through habits. Habits of showing up. Habits of learning. Habits of staying long enough for trust to form. Because in the end, brands don’t appear out of nowhere. They are built — one repeated, often boring, but deeply intentional habit at a time. And if Grace’s journey teaches us anything, it’s this:

The work works — if you stay with it.

Call to Action

Take a moment today and audit your habits. Not your goals. Not your dreams. Your daily behaviors. Ask yourself: What am I doing consistently enough for trust to form?

And if you need help designing habits that actually compound — that’s a conversation I’m always open to. Build the habit. The brand will follow.

 If this message stirred something in you, don’t let it fade.

1.       Join my LinkedIn Habit Coaching Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/habits-with-coach-edwin-7399067976420966400/

2.       Join my Habit WhatsApp Community at https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAmKkOBvvsWOuBx5g3L  

3.       Alternatively, sign up for my 6-month Personal Transformation Coaching Program by sending me a message on WhatsApp at +254-724328059.