What is Your Personal Brand?
As a Positive Psychology Coach and Wellbeing Trainer, I get to meet lots of different people, from all walks of life. All these new faces and places make me think about how we conduct ourselves, build rapport and manage our personal brand. As a freelancer, getting my personal brand right is vital. How do I want people to think of me? What do I hope people say about me when ‘I am not in the room’ (which is how Jeff Bezos famously defined personal branding)? Tom Peters started the buzz about personal branding way back in 1997 with his article in Fast Company magazine “The Brand Called You”. His thinking remains timeless and relevant.
What is Your Personal Brand?
Your personal brand comprises many things that are specific to you. Your values, your authenticity, your skills and your experience.
I was asked recently what qualification route I had followed to get me where I am today. This simple question really made me take stock. You see, I haven’t really followed any defined path. To be completely truthful, I have followed what felt ‘right’; my gut instinct. That almost indescribable emotion when everything just fits together and you feel you are doing what energises you most and where you feel you genuinely add value. I also always try to challenge myself to step into the unknown and try new things. For an organiser and perfectionist that’s not always a comfortable experience!
It is clear that waffling on about my varied experience over the past 20 something years does not actually tell anyone what I can deliver for them or their business. Nor does it clarify why they might want to hire me, right here and right now. Instead, I need to distill my key messages around value added outcomes and try innovative ways of describing why a client or employer would benefit from engaging my services.
Try these tips to get started on your personal brand:
- Consider your values – what matters most to you in life and in work?
- What can others tell you about when you’ve performed brilliantly? Ask someone you trust!
- What do people come to you for? Identify your unique skills
- What is different about the way you deliver added value to your employer/client?
- What would you like people to say about you when you’re not in the room?
If you want to develop your personal brand, 1-2-1 coaching could help. With time and space to think about the points above you’ll be able to identify exactly what makes you, you! Get in touch to find out more.
