Client Case Study: She Had Two Businesses. I Saw One Identity.

When I met Aimee Salmon, she was trying to manage two businesses at once. One sold Africana products. The other offered African-inspired fitness classes. They had separate identities, separate platforms and separate demands on her time.

Aimee knew something needed to change, but she was too close to everything she had built to see what the answer looked like.

I saw something different. The businesses weren’t as separate as they appeared.

Aimee Salmon

New logo for the newly merged business - Positively Africana

The connection was already there

Aimee was a fitness instructor who could wear and demonstrate the athleisure products she sold. Her Congolese heritage influenced both the products and the experience she wanted to create. Her personality, cultural pride, commitment to community and desire to support people in Africa ran through everything she was building.

Instead of treating those things as competing parts of her business, I saw them as evidence pointing toward the same identity.

At the time, I called this branding. Boss Diplomat’s work looked very different then, and Aimee went through my Brand Analysis and Brand Blueprint process. But looking back, the most important part of the engagement happened before the logo, website concepts or product names.

I listened to Aimee talk about what she had built and recognized a relationship between things she was treating as separate.

From two businesses to Positively Africana

We brought the businesses together under one identity: Positively Africana.

The new business could hold Aimee’s retail products and fitness work while giving her Congolese heritage and cultural mission a much more visible role. Rather than trying to maintain two businesses that competed for her attention, she had one place from which her different capabilities and interests could make sense together.

Her story mattered to that identity. Aimee had experienced poverty and political turmoil before moving to the United States, where she had to learn a new language and culture. She also wanted her work to celebrate Africa, bring people of different backgrounds together and support women entrepreneurs and artists in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya.

Those weren’t decorative details added to make the business more interesting. They helped explain the person behind it.

What Aimee saw differently

“One of the things I appreciated most about working with Talyn was her ability to remind me of my true potential. Prior to our collaboration, I hesitated to express myself and showcase my capabilities to the world fully. However, through the branding process, Talyn instilled in me the confidence to boldly share my unique qualities and contributions. I now have a clear vision of what my business represents and the value it brings to the table.”

— Aimee Salmon, Founder, Positively Africana

That reflection is one of the most important parts of this case study for me now. The work wasn’t simply about giving two businesses matching visuals. Aimee began to see capabilities and qualities in herself that she had previously hesitated to put forward.

As the new identity took shape, she was also able to give her website and marketing team a clearer direction and went on to secure a physical retail location at Thornes Marketplace in Northampton, Massachusetts.

The work underneath the branding

My work has evolved significantly since this project. Today I work in public identity and perception, and the tools and services I use are different.

But I can see the lineage clearly.

Aimee arrived with several pieces of herself that looked disconnected from where she was standing. From the outside, I could see the pattern connecting them.

That ability to recognize what someone is showing without necessarily realizing it—and reflect the pattern back to them—would eventually become central to the work I do today.

“Not only does Talyn possess an incredible work ethic and a passion for what she does, but she is also a fun and engaging person to collaborate with. Her cultural sensitivity and awareness are exceptional, making her an ideal partner for businesses operating in diverse environments.”

— Aimee Salmon, Founder, Positively Africana

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