What if everything you've been told about building your personal brand has been backwards? In this powerful episode, I reveal why most professionals are exhausted from "doing all the marketing things" yet still feel invisible—and I introduce a radically different approach to building a brand that actually attracts the right opportunities.

This episode challenges the conventional wisdom that branding and marketing are interchangeable. Instead, you'll discover:

• The hidden cost of not having a clear brand – and how it shows up in who you attract, the opportunities you miss, and the exhausting cycle of justification and over-delivery
• Why marketing is the megaphone, but branding is what you say into it – and why one without the other keeps you shouting into a void
• The Excavation Principle: The most powerful personal brands aren't created from scratch—they're uncovered from what you've been dismissing as "too obvious"
• How to build "personal brand insurance" – protection that no layoff, algorithm change, or industry shift can take away from you

Marketing vs. Branding: The Critical DifferenceI break down how marketing is how you distribute a message, while branding is the meaning people assign to you before you ever open your mouth. Marketing asks "How do I get seen?" while branding asks "What do I want to be known for when they're NOT looking?" Without a clear brand, every conversation becomes an uphill explanation.

The Excavation Over Creation PhilosophyI share why your brand isn't something you make up—it's something you dig up. The throughline already exists in:

• The expertise you've been apologizing for instead of owning
• The thing people always thank you for that you think is "just normal"
• The pattern in every job you've loved and hated

The Real Cost of ConfusionI explain what happens when you confuse branding with marketing—you:

• Optimize for visibility instead of resonance
• Measure success by followers instead of depth of trust
• Chase trends instead of anchoring into timelessness
• Miss the opportunities where your name should be the only one that comes to mind

1. The Excavation AuditI challenge you to record voice memo answers to these three questions:

• What do I do that feels so natural to me, I forget it's valuable to others?
• What do people always thank me for, even when I wasn't trying to help?
• If I could only be known for ONE thing when I leave a room, what would it be?

2. The Marketing DetoxI'm asking you to take seven days off from posting and content creation. Instead:

• Have three conversations with people who know you well and ask: "What's the thing I do that you wish you could bottle?"
• Revisit the last ten projects you loved—what's the throughline?
• Write down the belief you have about your industry that no one else is saying

If you've been doing "all the marketing things" and still feel like you're not getting the recognition, opportunities, or clients you deserve—this episode will fundamentally shift how you approach building your visibility and reputation. I'm showing you how to stop chasing opportunities and start positioning yourself so they chase you instead.

Are you on my email list? Get insights on building an authentic personal brand that positions you as the go-to expert in your field. Sign up at launchmybrandtoday.com

Ready to dig deeper? Grab The Brand Builder's Companion – the guided workbook that walks you through the exact excavation process I use with my clients to uncover your brand's throughline and build clarity around what you want to be known for. Available on Amazon