We recently connected with Ciara Siegel and have shared our conversation below.

Ciara, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I spent over a decade working in big creative advertising agencies, building strategies for global brands like Pampers, TikTok, and Godiva. It was high-level, fast-paced work—and I learned so much. I gained a deep, strategic foundation and had the opportunity to work alongside some of the sharpest minds in the industry. But after 12+ years, I felt ready for something new. I had become a mom, and I was craving more flexibility, more impact, and more alignment with the life I wanted to build.

So I took a leap—without a fully baked plan. I started by helping a few friends who were running small businesses. I created a simple offer I thought could support them—and it did. What I heard again and again was: “You made brand and marketing strategy actually make sense to me.” These were smart, motivated entrepreneurs—but they weren’t marketers. And they had never considered getting strategic support—not because they didn’t value it, but because it had never felt like something for them.

Traditional agencies are incredible for the right type of client—but they’re built for execution at scale, and usually work with brands that already have big budgets and internal clarity. For small businesses, solopreneurs, and early-stage founders, strategy often feels like a luxury they can’t afford. But the truth is—it’s the piece they need most.

That’s where I come in. I don’t replace an agency—I offer something most agencies don’t: access to brand and marketing strategy at a level that’s actually achievable for entrepreneurs who are still building. I take everything I learned from working on big brands, and I translate that into frameworks, guidance, and strategic clarity designed for where they are now.

My mission is simple but powerful: Make brand and marketing strategy accessible and achievable for entrepreneurs who want to grow their business with clarity and confidence.

It’s more than a mission—it’s my North Star. It guides how I work, what I build, who I serve, and the partnerships I say yes to. And it’s the same kind of clarity I help other business owners uncover for themselves—because when you know what you stand for, every other decision gets easier.

Ciara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Ciara Siegel, a Brand and Marketing Strategy Consultant and the founder of CJC, with 15 years of experience helping businesses grow—from global giants like Pampers, TikTok, and Godiva to the solopreneurs and small business owners building something of their own.

I started my career in the world of big creative ad agencies, working on global campaigns that were fast-paced, high-stakes, and incredibly formative. That experience gave me a deep foundation in brand strategy and taught me how powerful clarity can be when it comes to building and scaling a business.

Today, I take the strategy and frameworks that billion-dollar brands rely on—and I strip away the bloated timelines, jargon, and 40-page decks. What’s left is brand clarity you can actually use: messaging that clicks, strategy that works, and language that resonates with your audience and feels aligned with you.

Some people call me a brand therapist—because when you’re stuck, scattered, or unsure how your brand should show up, I help you sort it, shape it, and confidently move forward with a plan that fits where you are right now.

My work typically falls into one of three buckets:
1. Brand Foundations
Whether you’ve been in business for a week or ten years, if you haven’t taken the time to define your brand foundations, that’s usually where we start. I help clients clarify their mission, values, brand personality, positioning, audience segments, and more—so everything else (from content to offers) has something strong to stand on.
2. Brand Audits
This is where I take a strategic look at your website, social channels, LinkedIn, newsletter—anywhere your brand is showing up—and give clear, honest feedback on what’s working and what’s not. It’s like seeing your brand through fresh eyes, with actionable recommendations to improve resonance and conversion.
3. Marketing Advisory
Sometimes clients come to me mid-challenge—leads are down, content isn’t landing, or they’re just overwhelmed. I help untangle the problem, revisit the foundation if needed, and provide strategic guidance to get things back on track.

To be clear, I’m not an agency. I don’t run ads, manage social channels, or design logos. But I collaborate with trusted creative partners when needed. My zone of genius is helping you get clear on your brand and your message—so you can show up more consistently, connect more deeply, and grow your business with intention.

What sets my work apart is how personal, practical, and immediately actionable it is. My clients don’t leave with generic templates—they leave with clarity they can actually use, messaging that feels like them, and a renewed sense of confidence in how they talk about what they do.

What I’m most proud of? The transformation I witness. When clients start showing up with more certainty, pitching with more power, and finally feeling like they have a brand they can grow into—that’s the magic. And that’s why I do what I do.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

One of the books that has had the greatest impact on how I think about brand building, marketing, and entrepreneurship is This is Marketing by Seth Godin.

It’s not a book for marketers—it’s a book for anyone who owns a business. Because whether you like it or not, if you run a business, marketing is part of your job. And this book completely reframes what that really means. It’s incredibly aligned with how I work and how I teach brand strategy to my clients.

There are three lessons from the book that have especially stayed with me:

1. Marketing isn’t selfish—it’s a generous act.
Godin writes that “marketers don’t use consumers to solve their company’s problem; they use marketing to solve other people’s problems.” When you start to think about marketing as a way of helping others become who they seek to become, it changes everything. Marketing becomes about offering real solutions, creating opportunities, and helping people move forward. Of course there are marketers who do it wrong—hype, pressure, scams—but that’s not what marketing has to be. Done right, it’s an act of service.

2. People don’t buy products—they buy how those products make them feel.
This idea isn’t new, but the way Godin articulates it is so clear and validating. People don’t want what you make—they want what it will do for them. The emotional benefit is everything. Whether it’s peace of mind, confidence, belonging, or control, people are making decisions based on feelings—even when they think they’re being logical. Yes, rational benefits matter, because we post-rationalize our decisions. But it’s the emotional truth that often drives the sale.

3. Consistency breeds trust.
Godin explains that humans trust what feels familiar—and we remember what we see and hear repeatedly. Business owners often get bored of their own messaging and want to change it prematurely. But the truth is, by the time you’re bored of your message, your audience is probably just starting to recognize it. He says: “Don’t change it when you’re bored. Change it when your accountant is bored.” That one really stuck with me. Consistency, frequency, and trust are the long game—and the long game works.

This book beautifully articulates things I had already come to believe in my own work, and gave me language I now pass on to every client I work with. It’s required reading in my world—and I recommend it to any entrepreneur who wants to market with clarity, empathy, and integrity.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I started my very first job in advertising, I remember sitting in meetings and feeling like everyone was speaking a completely different language. Acronyms, buzzwords, strategy speak—it was everywhere. I didn’t want to look unprepared, so I started a running list in the back of my notebook of every term I didn’t understand. I’d look them up later or quietly ask a peer what they meant. I did that for probably the first two years of my career.

At the time, I thought: This is just how it is. If I want to sound smart, I need to learn the lingo. And I did. I became fluent in it.

But when I went out on my own and started working with small business owners and solopreneurs, I realized how damaging that mindset can be. These clients weren’t marketers by trade—and they shouldn’t have to be. They didn’t need to be taught the “right” jargon—they needed someone to translate it out of jargon. To make strategy actually make sense.

So I had to unlearn the idea that industry-speak equals expertise. Now, I believe the real skill is in making complex ideas feel simple, clear, and usable.

One of the very first resources I created when I started my business was a free cheat sheet called Brand & Marketing Jargon: Decoded. Because no one should have to waste their time decoding acronyms to grow their brand. If I want my work to be truly accessible, that clarity has to start with how I communicate.

I still catch myself sometimes slipping into old habits—but I always come back to this: If I can’t explain it simply, I probably don’t understand it deeply enough yet.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.growwithcjc.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciarasiegel

Image Credits

Katie Ward