It’s nine o clock on a Saturday. So begins one of the more famous mini-bios and personal branding examples.

If you are a fan of music from the 70s, you recognize that as the intro to Billy Joel’s iconic song, Piano Man. I was listening to the song recently and realized several personal branding lessons tucked into the verses.

The song is somewhat autobiographical. Billy Joel, who grew up on Long Island, signed a horrible record deal, so he moved out to LA to “hide for a while.”

Billy Joel says that he worked in a piano bar there for six months under the name Bill Martin because he needed to make some money. There he worked for union scale and tips.

Joel is a guy who went on to close down Shea Stadium and sell out a standing gig at Madison Square Garden. 

But we meet him in a piano bar. 

And in that piano bar, as the regular crowd shuffles in, we can learn how to use personal branding to make a good living.

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