It’s important to build a personal brand because it’s the only thing you’re going to have. Your reputation online, and in the new business world is pretty much the game, so you’ve got to be a good person. You can’t hide anything, and more importantly, you’ve got to be out there at some level.
Kyle Pearce – Entrepreneur
Kardashians. Tim Ferriss. Sean Ogle. Barack Obama. What do they all have in common?Strong personal brands. You know who they are and what they stand for by their personal branding and even personal disruption.
Story: Tom Peters, the management guru of In Search of Excellence, knew a good thing when he saw one. He picked up on the theme we’ll be self-employed professionals and came up the expression: The Brand Called You™ almost 20 years ago. Great idea and great timing! Peters said it succinctly:
“We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for The Brand Called You.”(1)
COVID allowed many to work @ home. And, many are still working from home. Great opportunity to figure out who you are and what you really want to do. Personal disruption starts with introspection. You have to assess your work choices and decisions before you can reengineer your FOW career. Just as any business, you have to understand your core proficiencies, understand what’s valued in the marketplace, and if necessary tweak your existing competencies or even develop new ones.
Work Lesson Earned: Surveys say that 25% of Americans spend 10 hours or more a day on social media. Use social media to create the Brand You even a virtual persona. Caroline Calloway, one of Instagram’s first influencer brands, explains it this way:
“I don’t like thinking of ‘Caroline Calloway’ or ‘Caroline Calloway the Instagram Princess’ as ‘brands.’ However, as an artist and as a creative person, it’s both my responsibility and my right to support myself so that I can make the things I want to make. I acknowledge that in order to do that, it behooves me to understand and respond to the ways other people might see Caroline Calloway as a brand, and to act accordingly.
Even though I don’t see it in my heart this way, I understand why I must in order to be the best businesswoman that I can be. I need to support myself.”(2)
What do you need to do to start your Brand You Pivot? Intentionally Self-Manage effectively. Execute tasks. Finish projects on time, on budget, within scope with satisfied customers.
Design killer products or apps. Be resilient. Balance peaks in work activity. Make money.
(1) ‘The Brand Called You’, Fast Company, August, 1997.
(2) ‘Was Caroline Calloway Instagram’s First Influencer’, Man Repeller, June 20, 2018.