We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Timothy Robertson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Timothy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

We believe the branding and marketing industry is experiencing a widespread crisis of identity. No one knows who they are anymore and brand identities are being corrupted by predatory marketing practices, bad ideas, fads, trends, and viral culture at the expense of long-term, sustainable growth and real, intrinsic value. As a result, most brands have become watered down, stepped-on facades that are more concerned about virtue signaling than virtue, itself.
The problem is that brands are willing to devalue themselves again and again in order to appeal to what they think modern consumers are looking for; they are willing to do anything, say anything, and be anything in order to fit a certain mold and garner attention in the form of clicks, views, impressions, etc. And what gets lost in this myopic fiasco is real, intrinsic value and connection that consumers can count on over time.

In 2018, we began developing our STATUS™ Branding Framework

The STATUS Framework is our trademarked brand strategy and innovation framework that guides premium brands to reach iconic STATUS.

Through our framework, we facilitate strategic brand innovation workshops between innovative brand owners and world-class creative talent to shorten the innovation curve and mold the next generation of industry leaders and pioneers.

Reaching iconic STATUS is defined by the organic, genuine trust and connection to loyal consumers.

Brands developed under our framework benefit in the following ways:
Sustainable long-term organic sales and revenue growth
Increased organic attention and press
Increased brand authority
Increased brand reputation and awareness
Iconic STATUS.

Timothy, 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?

Starting a business was never really a choice for me so if I am to answer this question genuinely, I must start from the beginning. Since I can remember, I have always had an innate entrepreneurial spirit and great passion for business. I remember being 12 years old and watching episodes of Shark Tank and taking notes on the brands and business plans that were attractive to the sharks. The show inspired me to enter and ultimately win a local competition in Baltimore City– NAACP’s ACTSO Competition– in which contestants were charged with creating the best business model and mine pertained to what today be called influencer marketing. At age 13, I created a retail cell phone and accessory business. I would purchase my inventory from ebay and sell them for a profit to students and teachers at my highschool.
I eventually went to Howard University to study business marketing but I found myself at an impasse halfway through my sophomore year. I didn’t have many options to financially support my schooling and I saw an opportunity to generate additional income by providing quality affordable hair cuts to my friends and classmates. This newfound trade helped me survive but I started to realize that the traditional education system was not built for people like me. I decided that my love for building client relationships and giving them quality service was a better virtue to pursue than a piece of paper to validate my business acumen.

I used the power of networking and social media to gain a clientele of over 400 individuals at an upscale barbershop in DC and I averaged 4-5 star rating online consistently. My early success in business funded my independent lifestyle and helped build close relationships with the businessmen in the Howard-Shaw corridor of DC. Many were intrigued by my personal journey and wanted to support my big dreams in and out of the barbershop.
One business lawyer, in particular, Sterling Ashby, Esq., asked me one simple, life changing question, which became the foundation of my next venture, STATUS™ Branding. Sterling asked, “What do you really want? Do you want to build a barber brand or do you want to get back to your original dream to build a marketing business?”

I chose the latter because it gave me the opportunity to connect with more people and companies that would like to replicate the same or similar success I found early on. With that said, I eventually fell in love with digital design and brand management. The thought of providing the ultimate value to clients with scrupulous attention to detail and purpose gave me inspiration and faith to continue my entrepreneurial journey and build a more established and bigger team of other passionate innovators, creators, and founders.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2021, we landed our first corporate deal, which was the largest web development deal we had landed to date. I put together an all star team of product managers, developers and designers to give this Fortune 500 client the highest quality work we could offer. This was my breakout project that would put STATUS on the map.
The project ran smoothly the first month and a half as we diligently worked to communicate project updates and work through all the roadblocks of a typical enterprise project this size. However, as we prepared for launch, the company’s leadership was in flux and began making sporadic, costly decisions that we were not prepared for. Deadlines were pushed up, additional scope was added, the features list became exhaustive and the pressure was mounting. In the end, the leadership team decided not to launch the platform and reserved the right to rescind the 6 figure maintenance contract that was in place. The loss of that contract greatly affected our projected revenue and cash flow for the year. We had plans to reinvest the profit of the maintenance contract for business development and capital expenditures.

Instead of breaking ties with the company, we decided to stay in contact with key stakeholders and maintain the relationship for future opportunities. We opted to forgo the larger project for a smaller innovations strategy consulting workshop with the leadership to get a clear picture of the future. This ultimately resulted in us rescoping and signing a new contract with a higher margin for STATUS™. It was difficult keeping the team motivated about the correct but the strategy sessions reignited the excitement in both our teams and the client.

They began to feel disconnected from the project as every day was a different set of problems from the client.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Age and lack of experience can make it difficult to find desirable work in the digital design and development industry. The older, more experienced business owners typically trust older, more experienced professionals–even if they don’t have the experience or capabilities specific to the project they were contracted to fulfill. This was at first hard to swallow, but I overcome the preconceived notions by becoming more knowledgeable than my older counterparts.t.

In a service-based industry, it is important to always expand and strengthen your skillset because professionals typically need a consultant more than they need a designer. You always want to always be in a position to answer prospective client questions on the fly, even if you aren’t doing the work.

My team and I were able to beat the odds by studying both how to make more attractive designs and how to perform exceptional client and project management services.

Now our initial client engagements begin by hosting a complimentary strategy session to evaluate the feasibility of a project before signing a contract. This allows a client to make confident decisions about the team they want to contract and the scope of work requirements without commitment.

Contact Info:

• Website: statusbranding.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tim.jrobertson/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyj-robertson/

Image Credits
Claire Louise https://www.clarecheyne.com/