Navigating the complex world of branding can be challenging, especially for women in business who want to define and elevate their unique brand identities. Little Brand Book by Kalika Yap offers a comprehensive and insightful guide to help women discover and harness their brand personalities through the lens of 12 major archetypes.
By taking the Brand Boss personality test, readers can uncover their major and minor archetypes, leading to a deeper understanding of their strengths and how to leverage them effectively. Whether you’re a Maven, a Leader, or a Rebel, Yap’s book provides valuable tools and inspiration to confidently build and expand your brand.
Book Bite: The book is based on 12 major archetypes. Every brand fits within these archetypes. To benefit from the Little Brand Book you need to take the Brand Boss personality test to determine where you fall among the archetypes.
What is the Little Brand Book by Kalika Yap About?
I really enjoyed reading Little Brand Book by Kalika Yap and think that every woman in business should read it. So while reading this book, I only focused on the sections that are relevant to my situation. And for this specific book, you should do the same. The book is based on 12 major archetypes. Every brand fits within these archetypes. To benefit from the Little Brand Book
you need to take the Brand Boss personality test to determine where you fall among the archetypes.
I had a lot of fun doing the exercise and reading the relevant sections of Little Brand Book. Here’s an excerpt of the book description on Amazon.
“Take the Brand Boss personality test to reveal your specific archetype and how this acumen applies to your life, your relationships, your career and your company. Are you a Catalyst, Coach or Crusader? Optimist or a Woo-er? Maven or Mastermind? Poet or a Prodigy? Just like there are 12 Astrological Signs, we share the 12 Personality Archetypes and then help you drill down to unlock yours. We’ll also introduce you to female entrepreneurs who embody each particular archetype—an “InfluenceHER”—to personally share their kick-ass success stories and inspire you to unleash your talents, brains, and vision to confidently strike out on your own.”
The book also includes “In Real Life Influencers”, so you can read about these women in the book. There’s a woman representing each of the 12 archetypes.
- Lauren Messiah Founder, School of Style
- Cindy Eckert Founder, The Pink Ceiling
- Rozaliya Heinen Founder, Rozaliya Jewelry
- Toni Ko Founder, NYX Cosmetics
- Amy Eldon Cofounder, Creative Visions
- Lizanne Falsetto Founder, thinkThin
- Liz Arch, Founder, Primal Yoga
- Patty Jenkins Director & Screenwriter
- Ashley Merrill Founder & CEO, Lunya Co.
- Laurel Gallucci Founder, Sweet Laurel Bakery
- Kendra Scott Founder, Kendra Scott, LLC.
- Tamara Loehr Founder, Dollar Beauty Tribe
Little Brand Book: 12 Major Archetypes
There are four brand groupings with three major brand archetypes falling under each one.
Sages: Information-Oriented
- Maven – Teachers
- Brilliant – Intellectuals
- Original – Creatives
Seekers: Idea-Oriented
- Idealist – Eternal Optimists
- World Changer – Innovator
- Explorer – Journeywoman
Sparks: Action-Oriented
- Heroine – Rockstars
- Leader – Go-getters
- Rebel – Challengers
Soul Sisters: People-Oriented
- BFF – Trusted Allies
- Gem – Nurturers
- Charismatic – Fun Lover
After you take the Brand Boss personality test, you end up with a major and a minor archetype. This reveals your brand personality. Your Brand Boss Archetype is a combination of your major and minor archetypes. The goal of the test is to find out which groupings you have the most attributes in. When you identify your major and minor archetype, the auther tells you where to go in the book for the big reveal.
For me, my major brand archetype is leader and minor brand archetype is brilliant. That means I'm adept. I’m not being arrogant for one second, I’m just saying what the test revealed about me.
Leader:
Go-getters. They’re always chasing perfection and seeking to do their best, they feel at peace when they’re checking off items on their goals list. They lead as if the world depends on you because it really does. They’re get-it-done types. When I read this, I really didn’t like the sound of it. The following are words to describe the leader brand archetype.
- Powerful
- Ambitious
- Productive
- Driven
- Hardworking
- Self-motivated
Key Attributes of a Leader Brand Archetype
- Focused
- Self-Inspired
- Disciplined
- Accomplished
- Work Like a Boss
- Productive
Brilliant:
Intellectuals. You’re constantly observing and analyzing the world around you.
“As an intellectual, you’re a sponge for information, and you like to use that data to make informed and responsible decisions that work toward your goals. As a result, people know you as someone who fearlessly accomplishes their objectives.”
I think that it’s great that the author combined your major and minor brand archetypes to balance the person’s brand personality. For me it seemed to make a lot of sense.
Little Brand Book: Traits With Adept People (Major – leader, Minor – brilliant)
- Persistent
- Eager to learn
- Well-rounded
- One who likes to take action
- Responsible
Susan Sontag and Grace Hopper share the same major and minor brand archetypes. It’s interesting because I profiled Grace Hopper on this blog years ago. She invented the COBOL programming language, which I studied years ago.
Have you read?
Grace Hopper, Mathematician & Computer Programming Pioneer
I thought this statement in the book was very important and worth me paying attention to. The last sentence has a lot of merit.
“The ease with which you move through objectives could appear to others as hoity-toity. To be relatable, show your emotional side occasionally so others don’t think you’re a robot.”
Final Thoughts: Little Brand Book by Kalika Yap
The Brand Boss personality test is a fun exercise to do. And the results are very insightful. I recommend that you buy the Little Brand Book
to see the little treasures it has in store for you. Wouldn’t you like to learn what your brand personality is?
Next Steps
Wondering what to do next, you can do all or some of:
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Buy my new book, Leadership Reading: Spilling the Tea on How Top Leaders Read
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Join the workshop, Applied Knowledge is Power: Reading Strategically to Get Knowledge Faster
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Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
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Join the Art of Learning Membership Site
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Download Unlock Your Genius Power Reading Tips Sheet
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Buy me a cup of coffee!
If you want access to my Bookish Notes, please consider joining my membership site, the Art of Learning.
This post contains affiliate links and The Invisible Mentor® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support! Update: First published on May 21, 2020
