Episode 37: Part 5 - Invest in yourself and your brand - who are you, like really?

Episode 37: Part 5 - Invest in yourself and your brand - who are you, like really?

Music: “Just A Blip” by Andy G. CohenFrom the Free Music ArchiveReleased under a Creative Commons Attribution International License

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/creating-and-growing-personal-brand-2295814

- Personal branding is the process of developing a "mark" that is created around your name or your career. You use this "mark" to express and communicate your skills, personality, and values.

- Why Personal Brands Are for Everyone. Personal brands should be important to everyone. Personal brands are not only for the entrepreneur that owns their own business. It is the secret sauce that can make you stand out of a stack of resumes.

"A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another."– Seth Godin

- A strong personal brand will impact your ability to get the right jobs, promotions, and increase your ability to attract talent and capital. So, let's look at these tips that can help you in creating your own personal brand:

- Build Your Platform. If you are going to have a personal brand, you will need a website to create your virtual platform. Your website should be your name. You will also need social media accounts that represent your brand. You will use these platforms to share your voice.

- Identify Your Uniqueness and Your Strengths. Think about the characteristics and strengths you've built in your career. If you are stuck, think about that "one thing" that everyone says you rock at. If you're still stuck, ask others.

- Own Your Space. Once you've identified your uniqueness and strengths, perfect them. Learn all that you can and become the expert in that area. You can never stop learning. Read, absorb, and teach.

"If you want to be truly successful, invest in yourself to get the knowledge you need to find your unique factor. When you find it and focus on it and persevere your success will blossom." -Sydney Madwed

- Share Your Knowledge. It's not enough to learn it; you have to teach it and share your knowledge by helping others. This is where you prove you know your stuff and gain exposure from doing so.

- Be Yourself. Find your own style. You don't have to do what everyone else is doing and just follow the crowd. Use your style and uniqueness to attract the jobs and clientele that you desire. Find your own style and create a new set of footprints for others to follow in.?

"Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time and energy needed to develop yourself." -Denis Waitley

- Identify Your Values and Set Your Priorities. It's important to have a clear picture of your personal and professional goals, both short and long-term. This will help you to not only identify the most important things to spend your time on but will also have something to align new projects with.

- Identifying your emotional appeal. What are your personality features? This can be as easy as saying you have a crazy sense of humor or that you are obsessively organized. Take a few moments, why do you think people are attracted to the brand of you?Describing yourself. When it comes to your brand who are you and why do people enjoy working with you?

"At the center of your being you have the answer: you know who you are and you know what you want. "– Lao Tzu

-Building a personal brand takes time and effort, but it's worth it. The need for a personal brand will continue to increase. It's the one thing that no one can take away from you, and it can follow you throughout your career. 

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do." - Henry Ford