Branding is the promise of an experience. Are you funny? Are you comforting? Are you serious? Are you eclectic? Are you negative? Are you a hot head? A lot of people like to talk about building a brand. From a business perspective, I get that. However, personally, you already have a brand - good, bad or indifferent. However people feel about you is your brand. Your personal brand is whatever you have that other people need, and they flock to you for that very reason. If right now you feel like your brand is undefined, there are several ways to fix that.
But first let's talk about why you would even want to enhance your brand. Why does it matter? Well, if no have no intention of getting ahead, growing, achieving or leaving a legacy, then it doesn't matter at all. If you enjoy being stuck, getting passed over for jobs at work and constantly feeling as though you're running on a hamster wheel, stop reading now. However, if you want to change careers, make more money, attract more clients in your business or anything remotely close to having more in life, then pay close attention to these three important steps to enhancing your brand.
Get personal. Describe yourself in your own 5-10 words. Now, being completely honest with yourself, write down 5-10 words that other people use to describe you. Do they measure up? If so, then you have a foundation for determining your current brand. If they are different, then someone is kidding someone.
Be consistent. If every time you turn around you're doing something different, that confuses people. Life for most people is confusing enough. You don't want to add to that madness. You want someone to be able to pinpoint exactly who you are so that you can be recognized for it. In case you didn't know. Who you are is what you do.
Start producing results. Experience is not based on years or how much you know, it's based on results. If you are tired of being looked over at your job, find out why that is happening. If the job description calls for someone with experience in a certain program in which you have no knowledge, learn it. Even if it doesn't get you the job right away, down the line it will help if that the type of work that you want to do. Preparation has never lost time.
So, what's your promise? What will you do to start enhancing your brand today?
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