A personal brand by definition is a widely recognized and largely uniform perception or impression of an individual based on their experience, expertise, competencies, actions and/or achievements within a community, industry or the marketplace at large.
The reason why I feel so strongly about people having their own personal brands is because you are the only person in control. Having a personal brand has really afforded me so much freedom and so many opportunities that might not have come if my brand wasn’t operating and in place and this is only the beginning. Imagine what could happen in 3-5 years from now, heck 6 months from now. You are a force and whatever is you have to share, you need to provide yourself a foundation to foster that.
You are a lifestyle, you are your brand even if you aren’t attempting to inspire, guide or motivate. Naturally these things will begin to flow out of you and whether you like it or not, someone is going to gravitate toward you and be pushed by what you do and share. A personal brand is something worth having simply because it’s yours to control and operate. That said I’m sharing 3 reasons why you need a personal brand.
Ownership, You Own Your Personal Brand
The number one reason you should WANT a personal brand is to have ownership. Not everyone wants to be an influencer, blogger, podcaster, etc., and that is totally understandable, but whatever your dream is, you should be putting things in place to set it up so when you’re ready to launch you’re already steps ahead.
There are so many things that we do and use and the reality is we don’t own said things. It’s easy to fall into the wheelhouse of using tools and using social sites because they are essentially pre-made for us, but at what point do we decide that is time to build something of our own? If all you have is a website with a landing page for now, you are many many steps ahead in the ownership game.
A Personal Brand Can Be Used as Leverage for Future Opportunities
I have a full time job and I spend all day building other people’s dreams. I help them do what they need to do 5 days a week, 8 hours a day so people can do what they need to do to survive. Guess what though, even with a full time job, having a personal brand, coupled with God, has opened so many doors and opportunities for me.
In the 5 years of having my brand, I’ve done so much WHILE having a job that I know for a fact without my personal brand none of it would have even been possible. I mean sure, life would go on as normal without me having it, but what I’ve had the opportunity to do is way more exciting than just dreaming of better days while at my job.
How would my husband and I be available for couples photo shoots with hotels in the city, if I didn’t post our engagement photos or photos of us at all. How would I have met my mentor and business partner without Instagram. Her very comment to me was “I see you, I see the potential you have.” How would I have met most of you, made cool connections and gone to unique conferences? The answer is I wouldn’t have and life would have continued on like normal.
I’m glad I’ll never know what that normal life would have been like because I’ve lived everything but normal, since I started my personal brand in 2017 and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. My point is, whatever opportunity you go after, whatever thing you apply for, it’s always something additional to add to your repertoire.
A Brand Allows You to Tell Your Story Beyond a Resume
Listen, resumes have their place, but there is nothing I dislike more, than trying to squeeze all of who you are onto one piece of paper and hoping it works out. I’m tired of the resume and job hunt process; I literally have no desire to even do that anymore, but without my personal brand I would feel like that’s my only option.
Having my own personal brand has given me perspective and confidence to share the things that are on my heart and share the things that I know someone else may need or is struggling with. The freedom that comes with being in control of my narrative is everything. I’m my own PR, I’m my own hype-woman; I get to put my best self out and live my story out beyond the confines of a resume and hear me out, even if you enjoy the corporate work world, having a personal brand could elevate what you currently do and bring you new business. This definitely isn’t a job bashing thing, but the point is, people buy into people, everything else you bring is a bonus.
No matter what part of you’re journey you’re on, no matter how old you are, a personal brand is still something that could benefit you and put your name and face in front of a larger audience.
All I know is anyone that’s close to me could tell you they saw a transformation from the beginning up to now and I’m proud of that. I’m proud of what my personal brand has done for me and I know starting one for yourself could do the same.
Where do you stand right now? Do you have a personal brand? Thinking about starting one?
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I have my personal brand and I’m so glad I do. I launched my blog and started opening up more in January and it’s the best feeling. I truly feel like I’m walking in my purpose and it’s so exciting. A great part of it is you inspire people by just being you. I’m still growing and glowing but I love it here Great post!
Author
I absolutely love to hear this! I felt the same exact freedom and excitement when I started, it truly teaches and encourages to be who we are and that is the best part. Thank you so much for stopping by Lisa!
I love this post! I’ve been feeling off this week but this was reminder to keep building my brand
Thank you!
Author
You already know I was feeling off too girl; I really needed this too! So glad I shared it and just in case you didn’t realize you and your husband KILL IT on social. You are truly a gem and it’s so nice to be connected with you, I feel like we’ve been waiting on our sushi date forever now! We got this girl!