Remember to Have Fun!

This Summer, Take a Little Time to Enjoy Your Branding Success

In most of my blog entries, I exhort my readers to dedicate themselves to creating, developing, strengthening, extending and promoting their personal brand so they can achieve maximum potential in business and in life. I do this for a simple reason – hard work is what works (and the ONLY thing that works) for those who seek success in any facet of life.

However, there is also some truth to the old maxim, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” After all, how much good will success really do you if you never step back and take a little time to enjoy it? As summer arrives and the warm weather (hopefully) comes along for the ride, it’s a good time to take a moment to reflect on the need for a little “me” time every now and then.

Now, don’t get me wrong here. Most of us would like to spend our days galloping in the pleasures of life. Be it attending a party where the conversation flows freely and the responsible beverage of your choice even more freely, be it going on a shopping spree every Saturday, volunteering at your favorite charity, be it taking a trip to Europe or basting in the Key West Sun for days on end. It is great to seek out the pleasure in life and we should have this on our “to do” list. But that “to do” list can get awfully crowded.

What you must not do is partake in pleasure at the expense of not achieving your aspiration, not acquiring the skills necessary to become a branded expert, not enhancing your brand, not broadening your network, not building your Branding Board of Advisors. You must be disciplined and deliberate in planning what pleasures and when to partake on your success journey.

Too much of a good thing, too much of the time, leads to too little personal and professional success. This also slows your progress and the speed in which you are able to realize success.

So be sure to have a little relaxing “me” time this summer. Or even better, have some “we” time – the pleasures that come with success are even more pleasurable when shared with family, friends or perhaps even strangers who need a helping hand. Just remember to keep your head on straight and avoid those types of false, short-term “pleasures” that ultimately bring pain. Even rock star Mick Jagger, not exactly known as a proponent of modest living, is famous for saying, “It’s all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back.” Have a great summer and give your brand a tan!

www.themichaeldbrown.com

Building a Brand, One Step at a Time

Life’s Biggest Journeys Start with a Single Step!

I spend a lot of time on this blog exhorting my readers to build, nourish and expand their personal brand. But it has occurred to me that not everyone may know exactly what I mean by “personal brand,” or how to initiate the process of building one.

There is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about if this describes you; most people already have a personal brand whether they realize it or not. The key is building and shaping that personal brand in such a way that it maximizes your potential for success in business and in life.

Put briefly, your personal brand is that solid and consistent impression that comes to mind when people think of you. The first step in creating a personal brand is identifying your target audience/market. Is it a company who can award you a job with six-figure potential, or is it a future employer who will appoint you to your dream role? Whatever the case, figure out who you are targeting.

Now find out what this person or organization’s needs and wants are and then quickly realize if you can meet the needs or wants that they have. After which, you will need to create reasons why people should believe you will deliver the results that your brand promises. Is it your trustworthiness? Work ethic? Professional training and/or experience? Do you have reliable references who can attest to your excellent work and dedication to complete customer satisfaction?

In short, figure out the pain (needs/wants) that exists with the person or organization and then show how you can solve their pain via the brand that you possess. Now here is the competitive part- figure out what makes you different from your competitors.

Especially in the current tight market for jobs and customers, you have to assume that many other people are attempting to solve the same pain of the same people and organizations you are targeting. When you create this personal brand identity, you will be sought after as the person who can meet the particular needs of a company.

Remember, YOU HAVE TO STAND OUT IN A POSITIVE AND MEMORABLE WAY. Otherwise, you will become the opposite of a personal brand – “generic.” And nobody goes out of their way to pay top dollar for a generic brand.

So now that you know what it means to build a personal brand, the time has come to step away from the computer and get to work. Trust me, your competitors aren’t waiting, and neither should you!

www.themichaeldbrown.com