Jake Karls Used Stories to Build The Next Hershey’s. Here’s How:

Everyone tells you what not to do.

“Don’t sound corporate in your posts.”

“Don’t be boring”.

“Don’t be a sales-y.”

Every time I listen to these gurus, I wanna ask them:

“Then, what do I do?”

I can guarantee most “gurus” can’t give you the exact answer.

Then, who the hell has the solution to this?

Well, my friend Jake Karls does.

The Man Who Changed the Way You Build Your Personal Brand

Jake Karls.
Forbes 30 for 30.
Ernst and Young Finalist.
Founder of Mid-Day Squares.

And one of the CRAZIEST entrepreneurs I’ve known.

He’s the guy who has built his entire brand circling around one powerful, yet the most underused business strategy.

In this newsletter edition, we’ll discuss the strategy that has made him go from zero to 8 figures in 5 years alone.

Stop Selling Products Right Now

No one wants to follow a founder who always posts stuff like: “Hey, 15% discount, buy my product right now.”

And even worse, the people who put out hollow and empty content like “Today, I’m celebrating my 1st anniversary at XYZ Corporation.”

Oh please. Seriously?

Cut that out.

What do you need to do, then?

Let’s start by giving you some hints.

This is how Jake answers every time someone asks him about his success secrets:

1. “Once, the partners were having a fight.
   I was like: Hold on a second. Let me pull out a camera and shoot this right now.”

2. “One of our first hires was a videographer.”

3. “Build a personal brand so that people not only buy your products but also give you a shoutout.”

Get it?

If you still don’t understand, stay with me.

We’ll explore that right now.

With dreams of building the next Hershey’s in the chocolate space, Jake decided to follow this 3 step framework.

This framework alone will build you a brand that makes people feel something.

1. Document Everything

Create transparency and authenticity.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Record Daily Operations: Capture behind-the-scenes footage of your day-to-day activities, from team meetings to product development.

2. Share the Highs and Lows: Don’t shy away from showing challenges, failures, and conflicts. Authenticity builds trust.

3. Hire a Content Creator: Invest in a videographer or content creator to ensure high-quality documentation and storytelling.

When Jake Karls and his team faced internal conflicts, they didn’t hide it. Instead, they recorded and shared these moments, creating a narrative that their audience could relate to.

2. Build Emotional Connections

Forge a deep, emotional bond with your audience.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Tell Stories: Share personal stories and experiences that highlight your journey, values, and vision.

2. Engage with Your Audience: Reply to comments, messages, and feedback. Show that you care about their opinions and experiences.

3. Create Relatable Content: Post content that resonates with your audience's aspirations, struggles, and lifestyle.

Mid-Day Squares focuses on building a brand that means something to people. They share their journey to create the next Hershey’s and Reese’s, making their audience feel like they’re part of the adventure.

3. Sell the Journey, Not the Product

Shift focus from selling products to sharing your journey.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Highlight Milestones: I am not saying you shouldn’t celebrate milestones like anniversaries or product launches, but do it in a way that includes your audience in the celebration.

2. Involve Your Audience: Create interactive content such as polls, Q&A sessions, and live streams to make your audience feel like they’re a part of your journey.

3. Be Consistent: Regularly update your audience with new developments, insights, and stories to keep them engaged and invested in your journey.

Jake is one of the first entrepreneurs who decided to document quite literally everything!

Yes, everything.

• Hiring

• Firing

• Breakdowns

• Therapy

Who else has done this?

While Jake was the first one to document everything in the chocolate industry, we have other examples of great and crazy founders who have done this in the agency space.

They’ve branded themselves through business vlogs so much that they have become irreplaceable.

This is exactly what Shaan Puri said about Steven Barlett in a podcast:

“When he started doing agency, I was like, dude, he’s blowing money again.

He got one client, and he spent it all on getting a sick wardrobe and hiring this one guy to follow him around with a camera.

I was like: “What’re you doing?”

But he knew what he was doing.”

Documenting your journey will benefit you, no matter what your niche, product, service, or industry is.

So there we have it.

A complete breakdown of Jake Karl’s personal brand strategy.

I firmly believe that reverse engineering the top leaders of the industry can create magic for your personal branding journey.

And that’s what I promise to bring to your life. Magic.

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