To attract kindred spirits to your community, it's important to know your brand. Earlier this year, BMW had a hefty poster-size insert in the Wall Street Journal, with photos of their cars and this text:

We do not make cars.

We are the creators of emotion.

We are the keepers of thrill.

We are the guardians of one three-letter word.

JOY. 

No one needs a BMW. But the excitement and thrill of owning one leads to joy. I can imagine they are attracting the people they want with this branding.

Now for something completely different, I was at the Salvation Army thrift store recently. It's one of my favorite places to shop. You can spend 10 bucks and feel like you got ten times your money's worth. When the woman put my purchases in the bright red bag, with a white ribbons for handles, I could have sworn I was shopping at Talbots. It was off-message for a place that I identified with being frugal. Inside, I was thinking, "What a waste. Who ordered those bags?"   Instead, I remarked to the cashier, "Those are awfully nice bags."  To which she replied, "Oh, we were supposed to get them in for Christmas, but instead we have them for Easter." 

Someone at the head office must have felt that better packaging was right in line with what their customers wanted.  Too bad they missed the point.  Most of their customers want a good deal, not a status bag.

What this means for wisdom entrepreneurs: Make sure you are providing a message that resonates with who you are trying to attract. Be who you are instead of who you think you need to be.