Creating a luxury brand isn’t about working harder—it’s about thinking differently. Kathryn Porritt, founder of Iconic Empire, spent years building high-volume businesses before discovering what truly sets luxury brands apart. Her insights reveal why some entrepreneurs charge $100K+ while others struggle to break the five-figure mark.
Start With Brutal Honesty
The first barrier to luxury? Your own mindset. Most business owners chase trends or fill market gaps. Luxury brands do the opposite—they lead. Porritt calls this “the beacon test”: Does your brand guide your industry, or does it follow?
This requires uncomfortable self-awareness. You need to ask yourself what you genuinely want, not what seems profitable. Luxury positioning demands the confidence to stand alone at the top, even when it feels risky.
Mastery Isn’t Optional
Here’s what wannabe luxury brands miss: you can’t fake expertise at the top. High-net-worth clients can spot pretenders instantly. Porritt only works with people who’ve achieved true mastery in a specific area—backed by years of results and a proven track record.
The key word? Specific. You’re not “the best business coach.” You’re the person who helps tech founders scale to $50M without burning out. That level of hyper-specialization is what luxury clients pay for.
Flip the Traditional Model
Most businesses start cheap and scale up. Porritt recommends the opposite: launch with premium offers first. Begin with services priced at $100K or more for top-tier clients. This creates immediate financial stability, powerful testimonials, and social proof that opens every door after.
Once you’ve established yourself at the luxury level, you can expand downward if you choose. Your brand equity flows down naturally, making it easier to fill mid-tier offerings later.
Community Keeps You Sharp
Isolation kills luxury brands. The journey to the top is lonely if you do it alone. Porritt emphasizes surrounding yourself with peers who understand what you’re building. Her clients meet weekly to share challenges, celebrate wins, and hold each other accountable.
This isn’t networking—it’s survival. When you’re operating at a level few people reach, you need others who speak your language.
Certainty Closes Deals
When you’re asking someone to invest six or seven figures, hesitation is fatal. The entrepreneur with the most certainty wins. This means doing the deep work to eliminate any lingering imposter syndrome before you pitch.
Practice your offer until you can present it with absolute conviction. Tie your pricing directly to the tangible results you deliver. Your confidence becomes contagious.
Why Timing Matters
The market is polarizing. The middle is vanishing while the luxury segment expands. Wealthy clients are actively seeking novel expertise and transformative experiences. If you have genuine mastery, now is your moment to claim space at the top.
Visit iconicempire.com to explore frameworks for luxury positioning, or try iconicpricing.com to calculate your potential premium pricing based on your expertise and connections.
Building a luxury brand requires courage, mastery, and patience. But for those ready to lead rather than follow, the rewards extend far beyond money—you create a legacy.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
Comments