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Building a business and growing it into a brand takes a level of focus and dedication that not everybody may be cut out for. We have a million restaurants, grocery stores, hardware stores, barbershops –you name it.

The question people often ask is, how do they do it? How do we start to build that buzz and turn our business into a brand?

Well, one of the things I love to do is find entrepreneurs who have found success in the digital age and learn about their strategies and the keys that have brought them to their current level of success.

I caught up with one of the most popular barbers in TT, the CEO of Krew Kutz, Anthony Claxton.

Claxton has recently hit the milestone of 200k followers on Instagram and his community has spread beyond the Caribbean, which has allowed him to tour the US and bring his skills to new markets.

I asked him to share with us five keys to his blossoming success, in order to give us some insights into what makes the Krew Kutz boss tick.

Here’s what he had to say:

1. Authenticity

2. Respect your brand

3. Stay consistent

4. Remain focused

5. Find your edge

Authenticity

The name of the game to find any success online is to remain authentic. People can smell a phony from a mile away.

Nobody is perfect, we don’t have perfect days, and we won't always get it right, but be sincere and genuine even during those times. People will always buy into those who are authentic.

Respect your brand

My favourite company is Apple. I use Apple as a bit of a blueprint. I love what they represent, how they craft their products, what they do for their people, their ideas and the fact that they take their time when creating anything before they put it out for the people. What you represent and how it aligns with your brand are important. Get people around you who can call you out and keep you honest. Take your time when creating your brand, your products, services, and give your brand the respect it deserves.

Stay consistent

You are building a relationship with your audience. You can’t expect that if you post today and come back weeks or months later, people (will) want to follow and engage with you. You aren’t building a good rapport with your audience if that’s what you are doing.

I focus on having a good frequency of posts, I experiment with the times I post and do my best to post when I believe they are online. I don’t post and ghost, I engage with people who comment on my stories, on my posts, I let them I know appreciate them and I do this consistently.

This is one of the key things that have helped me grow my community to 200k on my Instagram.

Remain focused

Jim Rohn once said that “it's better to have a short pencil than a long memory.”

You need to write your goals down and remain steadfast in their pursuit. I focus on my goals by writing them down and groupi