Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Talyn Rahman-Figueroa. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Talyn, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Ugh, I’ve had “regular jobs” since I was 16 and I knew it was never for me. And regular for me, probably isn’t regular for everyone – I’m talking about working for the government, working alongside diplomats, being managed by someone else, and expected to come in at a certain time even if you have nothing to work on.

Honestly, it isn’t me for me- I was never considered a “team player” by my colleagues because I tend to overachieve in a team environment which didn’t make me very popular. I’d start off doing great, but then when you start to accidentally show up other (senior) members in your team, it didn’t reflect well on you and the environment usually ended up being toxic for me. That was my reality for a good decade or so. I knew working for someone else just wasn’t something that was suited to the way I liked to work, or my personality, so I started my own business – twice now.

Also, don’t get me started on the 9-5 hustle culture. I don’t think it’s right that anyone has to work 40+ hours per week. That’s more time to work than your life doing other things you actually want to do. So, when you become a business owner, you have to be mindful of how many hours you set aside for meetings, networking, and actual deep work. You don’t have to work 8 hours straight to make ends meet. And this is why branding is so important – with the right approach and brand identity, your product or service can be premium and you don’t have to work as hard.

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.

I’m a diplomat-turned personal brand consultant, specializing in turning solo entrepreneurs into the face and brand ambassador of their own business. I’m originally from London, UK, and moved to the United States shortly before the pandemic. I’ve lived in 4 continents and I’m so happy to be living in a country where the entrepreneurial spirit is so strong.

Living in Massachusetts, I was far from the government hub of the country. I had to find new work for myself that didn’t involve helping public figures with their personal brand. When I really opened my eyes to the people around me, I noticed how rich the solopreneur life is in America (the UK is mainly run by the government and corporations!), but I also noticed how poorly many of these solopreneur businesses presented themselves. For me, this was a BIG opportunity to help business owners upgrade their brand.

Many business owners are ghosts in their own companies who stay behind the business and expect other people (consultants or employees) to be more client-facing than them. However this leads to a lot of missed opportunities, brand misalignment and misunderstanding. If business owners were the face of their business and more involved
in speaking on behalf of their business like what a spokesperson or a brand ambassador would do, they would have a higher chance of connecting more deeply with their target audience.

That’s when I founded Boss Diplomat, which was the natural evolution of my first business, Grassroot Diplomat that I formed in the UK. I help solopreneurs be the face of their business which means blending their story into their business, and using that story to then introduce their product or service. If your brand doesn’t speak out to your ideal client, or if your brand is misaligned, it’ll be hard to find people who are truly willing to pay you what you are worth in your business. Your brand fixes all of that!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I came to America without an established network. I had to start from scratch and couldn’t rely on my former connections. When I first built Boss Diplomat, I knew how important it was for my brand to speak for me and establish me as an expert in the niche of personal branding. I consciously came up with the name “Boss Diplomat” because I wanted to honor my history in diplomacy, and I added the counterpart “BOSS” because those were the people I wanted to work with – individuals who worked for themselves and were truly their own boss.

But as a brand consultant, I knew I had to really walk the talk. My brand had to look polished, but it also had to scream “TALYN” because I was the face of my business in all of my business marketing (social media, website, how I showed up on my Zoom calls etc). When clients work with me, they usually hire me for my signature product called the “Brand Blueprint” which is the DNA….the foundation of your personal and business brand. It establishes your story, your mission, goals and vision, specifically who your primary target audience is, what exactly your services/products are written directly for your audience, and finally your visual brand. Whatever I do for my clients, I do for myself first because I’m a walking example of what a personal brand in business could look like.

Because I’ve been able to implement my own strategies into my business, I’m a good example of what a premium solopreneur brand could achieve. In my second year of business, I made six-figures – all working part-time and spending a big chunk of my afternoon having fun with my young daughter. If your brand can give you more money, more freedom, and more time with only the best clients…wouldn’t you want to work on that?

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Branding is all about consistency – from how often you post your content to how you show up with your clients. Every part of your business needs to honor your brand, including YOU, my friend! And showing up consistently has been a big part of my success. For example, as a brand consultant, I help my clients with their image because many solopreneurs are not consistent in how they put themselves together. I build structure around a solopreneur so that less time is spent on your business and more time on more important things. When something as simple as dressing yourself starts to take time and effort, that’s time wasted. Plus, when you show up in a hoody and the next day you’re in a suit, you send mixed signals to your clients, and that makes it harder for you to become a premium brand. This doesn’t mean you end up dressing up for the prom every day on Zoom – my goal is to make sure that your brand represents the most authentic version of your…this is how you start to build respect. Be real, be you, but just be consistent.

The other thing that made me successful in my business is having strict processes and boundaries. I schedule meetings only twice a day between Tuesday-Thursday and work on projects for 3-4 hours per day in the evenings. I never take meetings after 12pm and only check emails twice a day. Because of this strict boundary, my calendar gets booked up 3 months in advance and sometimes, I can’t start a project until 2-3 months later because of how busy I get with my timetable. But as a solopreneur, I’m in full control of my schedule and it doesn’t matter how urgent a client thinks their project is. If they want to jump the line, they can always hire me for an Intensive VIP Day but they also have to pay more than an average project. Always respect your time and set boundaries, and limit your networking days so you don’t spend too much time on admin tasks (like chasing people for meetings after an event).

My process is just as strict for my client projects. When I say something will be complete within a certain deadline, it absolutely CANNOT be missed. My average projects lasts 3 weeks and the revision period is usually within days of the next meeting. Set out your processes very clearly. When you do that, your clients know they are dealing with a pro who respects everyone’s time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bossdiplomat.com/mini-brand-session
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/bossdiplomat
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bossdiplomat

Image Credits
Photo credit: Amy Crosby Photography/ Loft Light Media