We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dan Crask. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dan below.

Dan, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

My business’s original name was D&A Design. When spoken, it sounded like DNA Design, which seemed to resonate with people.

There were two big problems with that name: The only URL available had hyphens in it, and the spoken version of our name–DNA Design–quickly gained more equity in the minds of our customers than our actual name.

A new name was needed.

One day, I was out for lunch, thinking about my dog, Jake. He was a Border Collie, and after my first child’s birth, he showed why that breed is so special. He had a herd to protect, and he loved doing it.

I was thinking about the job of Border Collies, how they are shepherds of flocks, and the flocks are a whole, sure, but they are made of many individual pieces, all of which need to be shepherded.

As a generalist in the field of branding, my mind immediately thought of how my team and I are like shepherds of brands or a collective Brand Shepherd.

Brands are made of many moving parts, all needing to move in the same direction and have myriad needs.

Brand Shepherd.

I tested the name on a few longtime customers and trusted friends to 100% favorable reviews.

It stuck.

We’ve been Brand Shepherd since then.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Shepherding anything requires clarity of direction and purpose, which is my core operating philosophy for Brand Shepherd.

The shepherd of livestock must be clear about what the flock needs, its vulnerabilities, and how to grow it at a manageable rate.

The same is true of brands.

Starting and running a brand is one thing, but guiding it with the rare clarity of direction and purpose is a skill few possess. Brand Shepherd, with its expertise and experience, is here to provide that rare skill, giving you the confidence to grow your brand.

That’s where Brand Shepherd comes in and provides the kind of clarity thriving brands have.

Our roots are in the generalist agency model, where brands of various sizes, stages, and needs hire an agency to create and execute strategies to grow the business.

Brand strategy, go-to-market strategy, and brand consulting make up the core of what Brand Shepherd does.

We also developed a proprietary brand clarity framework called Vibe, Tribe, & Why®.

The Vibe, Tribe, & Why® brand clarity framework is a deep dive into the brand’s presence (vibe), specific best-fit people (tribe), and purpose (why).

Brands of all sizes and stages gain clarity from the Vibe, Tribe, & Why® framework they did not previously have.

We then used that clarity in their websites, brand identities/logos, software UI/UX, product packaging, and much more.

Any advice for managing a team?

Before starting Brand Shepherd, I had several high-quality mentors and bosses who left a big impression on me on creating and maintaining high team morale.

At the top of the list is never to micromanage.

Micromanagement is morale cancer every time it is used. Its allure is obvious and even logical, yet it leaves out the x-factor that makes it truly awful: It disregards the person, making them into an output machine.

My strategy at Brand Shepherd is to empower our competent professionals. I’ve hired them for their expertise and am eager for them to use their best thoughts and advice.

Micromanagement would stifle their potential and hinder our progress.

Next, I continue encouragement and praise. We are a team of creatives, and emotions fuel the bulk of the creative process for anything.

When creatives only hear criticisms and points of improvement, their sense of worth quickly deflates. Even if a client wasn’t impressed, and I was, I make sure everyone–including the client–knows that the work is great.

Last, I am stern but fair in points of criticism.

As Bauhaus co-founder Walter Gropius said, “Art is self-expression; Design is problem-solving.” We are solving problems via design rather than creating art. This isn’t self-expression. We’ve been hired to solve business goals, so we need to detach ourselves from the work that expresses the brand.

With this mindset, giving and receiving criticism is much easier and more productive because it does not criticize the person’s self-expression but the proposed solution.

By being candid in my feedback, the overall morale remains high.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Exceeding expectations directly leads to more referrals, which is Brand Shepherd’s #1 source of growth.

No amount of marketing has come close to what great work does.

Then, to stay top of mind with those we work with, sharing Brand Shepherd LinkedIn content via my personal LinkedIn profile is the key to relevancy.

It’s that simple.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brandshepherd.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandshepherdofficial
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandshepherd
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brand-shepherd/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@brandshepherd