Allied Health Branding: Building Confidence with Jasmine Bow | Healthy Business Lab

Craig Minter (00:00.871)
Hello everybody and welcome to the Healthy Business Lab podcast where we usually interview allied health and related business owners. And today, We’re definitely talking related business owners where at times who’ve had coaches, and connectors, and a few marketers on the call. And today, I’m super excited to have Jasmine Bow from JB Graphic Design on the episode today. Jasmine, welcome to the show.

Jasmine Bow (00:22.456)
Thank you, Craig. Thanks for having me, very excited to be here.

Craig Minter (00:25.543)
Yeah, and I’m super excited and I’d love for you to share a bit of your background, and we’ve got you on the call today because you do work with many allied health business owners in the space. But you’ve also, you know, know a bit about the industry yourself. So, I’d love for you to introduce yourself, share a bit of your back story as to how you ended up doing what you’re doing in business today.

Jasmine Bow (00:47.214)
Absolutely, I’d love to. And it is a bit of an interesting story. You’re right, there is a bit of background knowledge there. So, I started JB Graphic Design in 2019. We service different businesses from different industries, but we’ve really niched that down as of late, especially. We do a lot of branding work, websites, social media, so provide very much that holistic approach, to branding and everything like that. But, I think the interesting part for me and why my main niche is those in the NDIS and allied health businesses is I actually did two years of occupational therapy at uni before I got into graphic design. So, it was always a matter of, do I go down the health or do I go down the creative route? Tried the allied health route, didn’t end up being for me. So, went down the creative route and it just made sense that my client base was those in the allied health industry because I’ve got that background knowledge. So, here we are, they sort of meshed in together and worked out well in that regard.

Craig Minter (01:51.54)
That’s why I like when we had our first initial challenge, the best of both worlds in what you sharing of, you know, that wanting to care and help people. and the like. But then I was like, well, what’s the creative side of this? And, you know, we love to talk experiments here and actually an experiment in the first case, as you started, you know, your professional life, well, you did a bit of experiment and again, found what you wanted and how you wanted to go about it.

I’d like to sort of, even that transition going from even changing career or direction and the like, share How that kind of evolved for you from your sort of OT days into where you’ve ended up on the creative side.

Jasmine Bow (02:36.726)
It’s funny. I’m not sure that at the very beginning, I saw it evolving into anything. I think when I decided not to continue pursuing OT, it wasn’t something that I ever thought I’d bring into my profession now. And it sort of just ended up falling that way as the years went on. When I first started out, it was very much and I think it’s very much the same for other graphic designers too. guess you, You take what you can get and you get the type of clients that you get when you’re first starting out. Right. So, that was me. I had a very different client niche. I guess, I was taking on every industry because I didn’t know better at the time. And I was just happy to take on anything for the experience of it. And then I think as time went along, I started doing a few jobs for chiropractors, different allied health industries. ] I’ve gone, you know what? I actually know the ins and outs of that side of the industry. So, why don’t I dive deeper, and make that my niche, and make that my audience, and sector that I’m working in because I do have that background knowledge. So, I think once I got that taste of that I’ve gone, “You know what? I can really take that background experience that I’ve had from my previous studies and apply that in the creative world and in the graphic design world.” And it’s only been in the last recent couple of years that I’ve really honed in on that niche and found that that’s my market as I said because I do have that background knowledge so I feel that I can help in a different way other than just creating pretty graphics. I guess.

Craig Minter (04:09.777)
Yeah, cool. And how you found once you made that decision to sort of focus in on a niche. How did that help your business and how did it evolve your business as well?

Jasmine Bow (04:21.517)
I think It evolved my business in a couple of different ways, I think being able to also market myself in the expert in that field. and that side of thing as well. And, you know, if people sort of have that question of you know, “Why me?” “Why JB Graphic Design?” It’s because of having that background knowledge. I think, a lot of graphic designers that currently maybe work with allied health or NDIS industries may not necessarily have that inside knowledge and that inside background. But having that background and having that understanding as to what is needed from a branding perspective for allied health and NDIS business owners gives that opportunity for me to also still continue learning and educating myself in the sector. As you know, NDIS and stuff like that is changing every day and having that insider knowledge as to what that looks like going forward and how that shapes what we do in terms of branding as well and what that looks like as a successful outcome. So, I think It just helps me grow as a business owner and a person overall as well.

Craig Minter (05:24.539)
Yeah, I love that.  As you were talking there, it made me think of no doubt with the clients that you’re working in this space and being talking branding and design and things like that. Would I be right in saying you’re doing similar sort of things with an unpacking with your clients around “What are their niche?” “What are they going into the detail?” And sort of you end up sort of doing what you’ve learned yourself through that process of niching and understanding your business and what you’re unpacking. Is that kind of how your approach to helping your clients evolve as well?

Jasmine Bow (06:00.651)
Very much so. And as I said, I keep coming back to having that inside understanding, but I think a lot of the times, and not necessarily allied health or NDIS industry sector, but any clients that do come to me, a lot of the time they come to me in a space of overwhelm and knowing that they need branding and they need a logo that, but that’s probably as much as they know that they need. And then they sort of looking for someone to assist them in “Okay, this is what I know I need, but how do we put this together and what’s the right way to go about this?”

I think education is such an important thing from my standpoint and not just being that graphic designer that you’ve come to me, you’re wanting a logo and you know, here’s your logo and you’re on your way. Educating them, and unpacking, and really diving deeper into the business side of things for them, regardless of whether they’re a sole trader and they’re just starting out or they’ve been in business for many years.

If they’ve been in business for many years and they’re looking to rebrand, there’s likely a chance that something hasn’t been working for them. So, we dive deeper into the business strategy side of things. We unpack everything from “Who is your demographic?” “Who are you working with?” “Who is your audience?” “What are your audience value?” “What are your future business projections?” All those sorts of things. And then all your branding and design is born from that rather than creating the pretty picture and sending you on your way. So, definitely sitting there and unpacking and putting all those puzzle pieces together before we move into the actual design phase of things. That’s the most important. definitely.

Craig Minter (07:36.528)
Yeah, I love that building foundations. I’ve always found super, super, super key in any initial setup of anything, any system that we’re looking to set up. And I’d love to sort of go a little bit deeper on that as far as, you we love to talk experiments here. What have you seen well or what if how you even evolved that process for your clientele and for one of our boards, you’ve sort of tailoring it as well. How have you gone about that sort of test, measure, experiment, try things out with the different, cause you touched upon there, sort of the approach of sole traders and more established businesses and the overarching themes are same, but do find that your experiment a little bit different with the two different types of businesses?

Jasmine Bow (08:25.965)
Yes and no. I think for a more established business that’s looking to rebrand, they sort of already have that guide and idea and sometimes we’ll have their mission statements and their values and they’ll have that deeper understanding about their business and they’ll have that core and structure already done. But sometimes, and especially with a client that I’m working with at the moment, that may either not be complete or may have changed or evolved over time. And then there’s a reason as to why their current branding isn’t working. We need to strip that back and go back to their core of their business and still work on that strategy regardless of whether they have one or not, because there may be that one key missing component that may have been overlooked or evolved over time that we can hone into and see what we can do differently in their brand. I think for established business owners, that’s the way. And then I think for sole traders, it varies slightly, in the sense of, as I said, a lot of people come to you and overwhelm and they’re not sure what they need. And they haven’t really sat with themselves to understand what their business values are and what their audience values are. Really honing in on that strategy is the most important thing for them and building that from the ground up because once you have your logo and once you have those brand foundations that lays the foundation for the branding for the rest of your business and your business growth. So, having that central key part done up first, that’s what’s so important. yeah, I think same sort of process, but different approach for either.

Craig Minter (10:01.267)
Yeah, I like that. And even as you were talking, I’ll come to the established one in a moment, but there was the earlier stage business, the clearer, and more articulate you can get with that part of your story and your values and those sorts of things can really just be the grounding that then you can just build upon and you can feel confident that you’ve laid those foundations down. Seem to be using the word foundations a bit there, but how important that is. But I’d love to touch upon when you were talking about the established businesses, what I’d written down here was that idea around many businesses that may have not done that process in the first place, then they’re like, I kind of want to do this, but they’re still tied to whatever it is they’ve done. And it might be we’ve got these colors or we’ve got these XYZ that they’re so worried about changing that. And I can’t help but think for me, well, let’s experiment with this. If we actually do this other work, what will it show? And then, hey, this actually might fit better or be more aligned or what it is. How do you find that process? Probably for the ones that are a little bit more established or they’ve done the basic stuff on how I’ve been there in place, done the basic stuff. There’s the logo, there’s the brand, colors, but then afterwards, there’s more to this. That tipping point of potentially changing that, how do you go about or what do you recommend people think about getting comfortable with that idea?

Jasmine Bow (11:43.933)
Yeah, look, and I know it can be a lot and it can be overwhelming because I think especially for established businesses, they have more than just their logo, then they may have their cars wrapped, they may have uniforms, if they have an office space, they might have signage everywhere. So, it is a big investment and a big change. Some business owners do come to me and they are, I guess, attached to what they currently have because that’s all they’ve ever known and it has worked to them up and to a degree, but at the same time, they are also coming to me for a reason. And there is a change because something isn’t working or their branding is outdated and needs a refresh or whatever that may be. Coming from that strategy process, sometimes we’ll find that what they already have does work but there is something missing in the sense of, as I said, their branding might be outdated or might just need a simple refresh or colors that they have might be suitable, but just need to be tweaked slightly. Regardless of whether they’re looking for a complete rebrand and scrapping what they have and doing something completely fresh or keeping the core of what they have and just updating that all assets and everything that follows will have to be updated with that. regardless. Yes, it is an investment, but if you’re already coming to, you know, a graphic designer or a brand specialist, or something, you’re coming to them for a reason because something isn’t working and that will help you sit and go through that and see what’s missing and unpack, pack that with you and, and see, you know, how to put the right thing together where there it is, just a refresh of what you have or whether a complete strategy is for the best.

Craig Minter (13:24.411)
Yeah, it’s cool. You mentioned a couple of times there and it’s what I’d written down right when you started talking there, the idea of, you know, if people are coming or they’ve got the thought bubble, there’s a reason underneath that. Whatever it is, it changes though, it’s that feeling of not being aligned. There’s something there about the business that doesn’t align with where you’re at, which goes back to the piece that you talking at the start of the values and the mission and some of those sorts of things.

So that’s super cool. What I’m picking up my takeaway is to make sure you lean into that. Is that a fair comment that part of what you do is helping people really just get comfort with that and lean into that idea.

Jasmine Bow (14:05.804)
Very much so. And educating people a lot, think is the most important thing. You know, it is easy to go to a website and get a cheap logo done or go to, you know, AI and create your own logo and stuff like that, which may work for you in the beginning for a period of time, but more often than not, as you grow and evolve and go along, you realize that it’s so much more in depth than that. Educating clients that aren’t sure, “I don’t know the industry”, “I don’t know how that works.” And as I said, they think they may just need a logo, but when they see how much work is involved inside of putting that together and building that foundation so that they have something to go off of, they will also have that education for if they’re creating content themselves, such as posts for social media and stuff like that, they will have good education and a good guide as to what their brand values are, what their branding looks like and why and what they need to follow along so that becomes consistent across all platforms.

Craig Minter (15:06.567)
Yeah, cool. And with that in mind, I’m curious about as people then bed in something that is more aligned and they feel really good about, because you’ve been through this process of understanding themselves, and their business, and the strategy piece behind it. Do you find that they’re more willing to experiment and look at new ideas in their business around what they actually do and how they actually do it?

Jasmine Bow (15:32.992)
Yeah, it helps open different avenues and different avenues of marketing themselves and presenting themselves. You get that instant confidence from being consistent across all platforms and having your branding and your website and your social media and everything like that aligned and matched. And then you’re working from that place of confidence, you know exactly who you are. You know exactly who you’re working with. You know exactly who you’re targeting. Because all those foundations have been laid correctly from the beginning, it just opens avenues as to “Okay, what is something different that we can do and what sort of avenues can we use to market and promote your brand and present your business that stands out from your competitors in your industry?” and stuff like that. I do find that it opens those avenues.

Craig Minter (16:18.641)
Yeah, cool. I love that. Even as you were talking again, it was that idea of, You started to see that thought process of, we can try this, we can try that. Which again, lends it to itself the idea of, well, hey, let’s test, and measure, and experiment, see what works, see what doesn’t. Off the back of that initial piece of your work, I’d love to hear you know, what have you seen?

In your years of doing these these of the experiments, that, and it’s not even the ones that were amazing or whatever, but the learnings from the experiments. how have you seen those sort of fall out with sort of ongoing engagements with clients?

Jasmine Bow (16:59.827)
Yeah, it’s funny. I think certain clients, especially watching them come from sole traders and wanting to start something out and watching them grow and evolve. I’ve had particular clients where they were so hesitant, and so stressed out, and not knowing where to start or what to do and just helping them lay those foundations to the point where I’ve watched them grow and evolve over the years. And they’re out doing expos now and they’re out doing different things and meeting different people in different ways that they usually wouldn’t and having that confidence. And now, some who have started second businesses because of it, and they’re experimenting with what other services can we provide to clients? What other things can we do for our clients now to grow this business even more? And It’s so nice to see that you’ve had some sort of involvement in that process of that happening and watch that growth. And I think, for me, it’s very much wanting to be long-term invested into my clients’ business growth and future. And not just once you’ve gone through that branding and everything with me, it’s see you later and you’ll never hear from me again. A lot of the times I am following what you’re doing. I see the growth, and I see sometimes I will see gaps or have ideas myself and reach out and be like, “Hey, look, I’ve had this idea, I think this could work great for your business.” Or “I think you’re at a point now where we need to evolve the branding or whatever else we’re doing further.” And I see these opportunities for you. So, I like to be that long-term invested, I guess, business partner in a way, not just your graphic designer where I’m sending you on your way. Anything that I can help in the future of your growth, that’s what I’m here for.

Craig Minter (18:43.943)
I love the word partnership and the collaboration idea. that you’ve shared both on here and our previous call that we had because I think, you know, That idea of a lot of people in the allied health space, it’s that notion of, we do great work, we deliver great outcomes for people, but that idea of putting themselves out there gets tied to the idea of, you know, money or making ourselves look bigger that we kind of look, “Oh, they’re chasing the money” kind of idea, but to have a sustainable business and practice fit, which is what we always talk about. And I know you’re very aligned with that idea of you know, they need to not be the world’s best kept secret kind of idea. So, being able to be a part of that process, I’m imagining is amazingly rewarding.

Jasmine Bow (19:39.528)
It is, It really is. I think coming back, I don’t know, I’ve brought up strategy so much as well, but I think when working with clients, especially in the NDIS space, and we get to the point of the conversation where we’re talking about, you know, “What makes your business different?” “How do you want to grow your business?” or “What differentiates you from your competitors?” “What’s your unique selling point?” And I really urge clients to think about that so deeply because at the end of the day, everyone wants to be the best NDIS provider. Everyone wants to have the best services. Everyone wants to be the most caring and the most trusted. Of course, all those things can be true. But what is deeper? What is at the core? Because everybody likes to have that sort of same answer. How can we dive so much deeper into who you are and what makes you different other than I want to be the best at A, B and C? you know?

Just having that involvement, and that insight, and understanding those businesses at that core makes me feel like I’m part of their business as well. And I have that insight and knowledge into who they are at the core beyond just being the best at A, B, & C.

Craig Minter (20:51.249)
The word I love from that was just the uniqueness. It’s like, how do we get that really unique component which stands you out from a general crowd in a world where there are more and more providers coming in and we need more providers coming in to service you know, the ever-growing needs in the space. But how can we tell those stories of our specifics and what we do so that we do get the right clientele as well that will fit us and it’s gonna be the best outcomes both ways. So yeah, I love you touching upon that. We’ll sort of continue on with what you were talking about there before, I guess, of the transformations. We love to talk transformations here of the outcomes. And you’ve already sort of alluded to some of them of seeing sole traders become more established businesses. and the like. But I’d love for you to share again, you don’t need to give specifics of individual businesses or people or the like, but what are some of the transformations you’ve seen when somebody’s come to you with either nothing or a poorly aligned brand to then have something that they’ve got this strategy in place and they’ve actually started to roll that out into the world. What have you seen and what’s been the outcomes of that?

Jasmine Bow (22:08.42)
Yeah, look, I think I do have a favourite story that I like to tell about a particular client. I will keep names and everything out of it for confidentiality reasons, but but she came to me, she was an NDIS support worker and she wanted to go out on herself. She saw so many things I think, in the sector and the way some businesses ran that she just didn’t feel aligned with. She knew that she could do a much better job and how better to do that than go out on your own, you know? And I think she in particular was so stressed out about how do I make that happen? Am I good enough? Can I do this? Questioning herself and having that imposter syndrome. I guess, almost. And she came to me and I guess told me about all of these thoughts and fears and everything that she had. And I really helped hand hold her through the process of, okay, let’s see what you’re good at. Let’s see what you’re not good at. Let’s see what your personal strengths, your personal weaknesses are. All of those things are still brought into what we do at the core of the business strategy. So, we had a lot of long conversations and a lot of unpacking of the core of her business and what she was doing differently and what she wasn’t bringing over from the sector of what she didn’t like and how she was going to be different in order of that. We did everything. We did her logo. We did car branding. We did the website. We did social media. Everything that you can think of, we branded as she went along along, you know, and in saying that, I think, especially when starting out, it’s not necessarily something that you need to do all in one go, because again, it is an investment. So, we started off slow, we started off with the branding, the logo slowly built up as she grew along. And it’s amazing to see where she was as a sole trader to now being a company, she’s got multiple participants, she’s got multiple staff, she’s looking at opening a second business in relation to her current business. And I know her first year in business was over half a million dollars in revenue. Just being able to see that progression from someone so stressed and worried about how to even start this to now growing this amazing company in such a short period of time and thriving and looking to start a second company and how we can get involved in that. Watching that transformation and knowing that I’ve been there from the start and having been a part of that growth in one way or another, that’s the real success for me. Watching that happen, that’s what matters more than anything. So yeah, it’s just amazing to watch that transformation and know I had a hand in that somehow.

Craig Minter (24:45.361)
That’s so cool. You can hear that in your voice, the excitement and that proud feeling of being a part of that story and the evolution. I think for me, and as you know, working in the consulting space, as well, being able to jump on a call 12 months on and go, wow, look at you now.

Because I remember what their first call was like. You can still remember those first calls when people do turn up overwhelmed, stressed and the like. Being able to help with the confidence, to then you know, people do what they really do well and just be the support in the space, you know, to let people shine is absolutely amazing.

Jasmine Bow (25:30.751)
You almost feel like a proud parent in a way. It’s funny to say, but it’s just like, I’m so proud of watching this growth and watching how well they’ve done. yeah, definitely.

Craig Minter (25:39.378)
That’s why we love to share those stories as well in business. It’s not a solo business, even if you are a sole trader or a one person band, at the end of the day, you’re always tapping into supports and resources and why we also get people like yourself and coaches and marketers and like on these shows occasionally to be able to share those stories.

Because if I think of the later that you’re sharing there. The ripple effects of that of going from one person, getting some help from yourself, the ripple effect of working with a few clients here and there to then having multiple team members, multiple clients, potentially multiple businesses, the ripple effect that then goes out into the world and the community is why we want to share these stories because we want more of that happening in the allied health space. We want people building those sustainable businesses. And the reality is if people don’t share their story, their message with the world and leverage people like yourself to really refine that then it can make it, that’s either a slower process or it’s a process that potentially doesn’t get off the ground.

That’s super, super cool. So yeah, I think that’s covered me off. You’ve covered the full circle. was just sitting there going, there another little avenue to go down? But the only avenue to go down now, I think, is, you know, if people want to learn more and they want to look at their brand and have conversations around that with you, where’s the best place for people to find you?

Jasmine Bow (27:19.336)
Absolutely. So, all different avenues. You can find me through my website, send me an email, a phone call, make an appointment to visit me at my office. I’m very easily accessible. I’m very easygoing, happy to have a chat. Sometimes clients will call me up and just, they’re just having a day and they just need someone to debrief to and I’m their go-to. I’m happy to do that. So, get in touch with me, however you like. I’m more than happy to schedule in phone calls or face-to-face appointments and just have a chat. You know, I treat all new clients, old and new, like we’ve been friends forever. So, divulge anything you want onto me, let me know. I’ll help you throughout the process.

Craig Minter (27:56.871)
That’s awesome. I love you sharing that. again, We’ll obviously include, we’ll put in the show notes, all those areas where we can connect with you across the website, and socials, and the like, which is how we got connected. And I highly recommend you checking out Jasmine’s work and their approach to getting your brand set up and your positioning in the line of that strategy.

Craig Minter (28:22.567)
Thank you very much for being on the episode today, Jasmine. We really, really appreciate it.

Jasmine Bow (28:26.416)
No, Thank you, Craig, very much. Same back at you. And it’s been great. Thank you very much for having me as a guest.

Craig Minter (28:32.275)
So, that’s a wrap here from The Healthy Business Lab for another episode. As always, like, subscribe, do all those wonderful things on all the different channels, press the buttons, get the links to be able to hear more great stories, and insights, and learnings to help building these amazing, sustainable, impactful business. That’s over now for us. See you next time.