Personal brands have an impact. They are resonating with people all over the world in a way that corporate brands do not. Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, JK Rowlings. These people have built strong powerful brands that have enhanced their businesses, rather than the other way around.
Developing your personal brand can impact not only on your career but as mentioned above, your entire business or the company that you work for. It doesn’t matter if you are an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur, the impact of carefully creating and developing a personal brand is more prevalent in today’s society than ever before.
Actors, models, designers, artists, business coaches, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs – it really doesn’t matter what the industry, people around the world are realising that they can leverage off their personal brand which results in better recognition, exposure and sales for their businesses.
The person behind the brand can be just as powerful and effective as the brand itself – after all, people like to do business with people, and we love a good story where individuals conquer all.
5 tips on how to uncover your personal brand and build a rock solid reputation:
1. What do you stand for?
This is the first question you need to ask yourself. If you were to become famous for just one thing, what would that be? The answer lies in what you are good at or strongly believe in. What do you have an undeniable passion for? If this is something that you can live and breath then that’s a good sign. Remember you can’t be famous for everything, so you need to pick something you know a lot about and have a love for.
Margot Andersen spent 7 years in the United Kingdom and on her return to Australia found it incredibly challenging to resettle her career and her life. Due to her first-hand experience, she is particularly passionate about mobility and repatriation. Margot has set about building her personal brand off of the obsession of helping people create career and business momentum. To this extent, Margot is focused on linking capability, potential and ambition with commercial opportunity. It’s what she stands for, lives by each and every day and is becoming famous for, not just in Australia but worldwide!
2. Authenticity
Touted to be one of the most important elements a personal brand, you need to be completely transparent and authentic at all times. Gordon Ramsey is not known for his good manners in the kitchen. Does this make him any less of a celebrity chef? No. It simply makes him the potty mouth chef who gets away with this behaviour due to to the fact that he is authentic. Love him or hate him – he is who he is, and he’s not prepared to change that for anyone.
Our client and accountant Melissa Browne is a shining example of this. On her personal brand website (that we lovingly designed for her) in the first title, she admits to being an ‘introverted, socially awkward, shoe-loving accountant’. Anyone who knows Melissa also knows that her passion for numbers may on certain race days be outweighed by her passion or shoes. She loves fashion and many of her business number analogies revolve around the classic white shirt, Spanx and of course shoes. After all, every one of us needs ‘More Money for Shoes’, boats, cars, holidays… that’s why she wrote a book. The bottom line is that her authenticity in owning up to her obsessions and quirks is what makes her endearing to her customers, readers and associates.
3. Connection
Figure out how you best connect with people. Are good face to face like Tony Robbins where you can inspire thousands of people at a single conference, or are you better in front of a camera creating video content like Marie Forleo? Perhaps writing is your thing and you find that the best way to connect with your audience is through books like Brene Brown. Most people building their personal brand will need to look at a number of avenues in which to get their message out. The best option is to have a multi-media strategy, however, knowing how you best connect with your audience is key to delivering your knowledge authentically.
4. See yourself as a business
You have skills, ability and knowledge that you can be paid for. This makes you a money-making machine and as such you need to view yourself as a business. Everything that you do from now on will determine how your brand is perceived. If you have a ‘good girl’ brand, then you can’t post your drunken nights on the town all over social media. Being strategic about what is made available for the public is critical in helping develop your personal brand.
When Jeanette Cremor approached us to develop her personal brand, I had a strong talk to her about the power of a personal brand and that if Jeanette wanted to make it work, she would have to see herself as a business, step into the spotlight as a business and promote herself as a business. Jeanette was up for the challenge, and being a process driven person, bravely launched her new brand as a thought leader in the world of Project Management.
Everything Jeanette now does has her personal brand in mind. She is never scared to step up, demonstrate her expertise or share her experience. From her social media through to her emails. She is constantly seeing herself as a business, a money-making machine that will not only fulfil her own goals but also help others to achieve theirs too.
5. Thought leader
Now you need to speak, write, present and constantly share your topic each and every day with everyone around you. This consistency will position you as the go-to thought leader for your industry. I have recently launched my own DebbieO brand. When I looked at what I wanted to become famous for, the answer was clear. I want to be famous for creating brands with personality. Now I write prolifically for publications such as Mumbrella, B&T, Women In Focus and Franchise Business just to name a few. Since launching my personal brand, I am consulting, mentoring, presenting and training far more than I did before. This acts as a powerful funnel for my businesses resulting in us implementing more brand strategies for clients all over the world.
A personal brand is powerful. But it’s also a lot of hard work. If you’re up for the challenge and ready to become famous. Step into your light and let it shine! Of course, if you need help – give us a call on 4732 4766.
