Build Your Brand, Own Your Voice.

Written By Kourtney .

Welcome to Build Your Brand, Own Your Voice, a warm yet powerful guide designed for young Black girls stepping into high school, college, or their early careers. This is not just about professional development; it’s about becoming the woman you want to be—with clarity, courage, and community.

This curriculum is self-paced, self-loving, and self-empowering. It includes reflective prompts, actionable steps, and creative activities to help you define your story, elevate your presence, and walk with purpose. Come as you are—let’s grow together.

Chapter 1: The Power of You — Self Discovery & Alignment

1.1 Who Are You Becoming?

  • Values Mapping: Identify your top 5 values using a worksheet or card-sorting activity.

  • Guided Journaling: Reflect on three major moments from your past, one thing you're proud of now, and three dreams for your future.

  • Impact Mapping: Draw a web showing how your identities (race, gender, culture, interests) inform how you lead and show up.

1.2 Knowing Your "Why"

  • Purpose vs. Passion vs. Goals: Create a venn diagram to understand the overlaps.

  • Personal Mission Statement: Draft 1-2 sentences that ground your brand in heart-centered intention.

1.3 The Soft Life & The Strategy

  • Softness Is Strength: Journal: "Where am I pushing when I should be flowing?"

  • Redefining Ambition: Define what success looks and feels like to you. Include joy, freedom, ease.

Chapter 2: Discipline that Meets Devotion — Systems that Support You

2.1 Romanticizing the Routine

  • Habit Tracker vs. Ritual Planner: Design your ideal morning/night/weekend flow.

  • Playlist Prompt: Create a "Power Me" playlist to energize your routines.

2.2 Time, Energy & Boundaries

  • Time-Blocking Workshop: Design a week that protects your energy and centers your priorities.

  • Scripts for Saying No: Practice ways to set boundaries kindly and firmly.

2.3 Showing Up For You

  • Accountability Circle: Find a peer or mentor to check in with weekly.

  • Self-Consistency Contract: Write a loving contract between you and your highest self.

Chapter 3: Personal Strategy — Positioning Yourself With Purpose

3.1 Crafting Your Vision & Mission

  • Brand Blueprint: Fill out a worksheet defining who you are, what you offer, and how you want to be seen.

  • Daily Habits Aligned to Vision: Make small actions add up to your big goals.

3.2 What’s Your Brand DNA?

  • Brand Words: Choose 5 words that describe your vibe.

  • Visual Identity: Pinterest moodboard + Canva color palette + font pairings.

3.3 Storytelling That Sticks

  • Origin Story Framework: Who you are, what you’ve overcome, what drives you.

  • Brag Without Cringe: Write 3 confident bios of different lengths (IG, LinkedIn, Speaker intro).

Chapter 4: Your Presence — Owning Your Space

4.1 Your Social Media Ecosystem

  • Platform Audit: What do you want each channel to do for you?

  • Content Calendar: Schedule value-driven posts and community engagement.

4.2 Your Website, Your Resumé, Your Receipts

  • Website in a Weekend: Use Notion, Canva, or Squarespace to start simple.

  • Digital Portfolio: Compile visuals, projects, and testimonials that tell your story.

4.3 Visibility Without Losing Yourself

  • Online Boundaries: List what you share publicly vs. privately.

  • Authenticity Check: Before you post, ask: Is this me, or who I think I need to be?

Chapter 5: Network Like a Real One — Building Intentional Relationships

5.1 Magnetic Networking

  • Relationship Map: Who do you know? Who do you want to know?

  • Follow-Up Scripts: Gentle, warm, and clear templates to maintain connections.

5.2 Mentorship & Sisterhood

  • Mentor Matrix: Fill in different types of mentorship you need (emotional, career, spiritual).

  • Power of the Ask: Draft a message asking for a 20-minute chat with someone you admire.

5.3 Collaboration Over Competition

  • Partner Up Activity: Pitch a collaboration idea to a peer.

  • Create a Referral List: Black women supporting Black women with receipts.

Chapter 6: Walk It Like You Talk It — The Brand in Action

6.1 Opportunities Find You When You're Clear

  • Pitch Deck: Create a one-pager of your brand, projects, and how you want to collaborate.

  • Know Your Rate: Research industry standards and make a pricing sheet.

6.2 Become a Thought Leader

  • Tiny Micro-Thoughts: Share your ideas online via threads, TikToks, or Reels.

  • Speaking Confidence Builder: Start with IG lives, panels, or school events.

6.3 Be a Girls' Girl

  • Be generous with your knowledge.

  • Compliment out loud.

  • Share opportunities.

  • Protect your friends in rooms they aren’t in.

  • Celebrate each other’s wins.

6.4 Rebranding is Not Failure

  • Brand Journal: Keep track of your evolving interests.

  • Permission Slip: Write yourself a note saying: "I allow myself to grow and shift."

Chapter 7: It’s All In You

  • Your Brand Story: Final reflection. Who are you now?

  • Vision Board: Use Canva or magazine cutouts to design one per quarter.

  • Polished Bio + Elevator Pitch: Practice your 30-second intro.

  • Digital Presence Strategy: Set goals for what you want to show up for online.

  • 6-12 Month Plan: Pick 3 brand goals, 3 personal goals, and 3 new habits to guide you.

You got this.

This guide is just a beginning. Your voice matters, your story is needed, and your presence is powerful. Keep showing up for yourself, and remember: you don’t need to shrink to be successful. You just need to be aligned.

With love and power,

Your Big Sis in Strategy & Softness

Kourt


Kourtney .
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Public Health & Pre-Med at Dartmouth