What is a Personal Brand?

Your Brand is Your Value

People, just like companies, have a brand, and that brand is strong, it stands for something, and it has value (often your salary will be based on the perception of your brand). Companies spend millions, even billions of dollars every year on their brand. Making sure that the perception of their brand and the value it brings to consumers and shareholders is clear and positive. Most leaders however, rarely – if ever, give their own personal brand a second thought.

Why Don’t We Think About Our Personal Brand?

Good question. Actors and athletes all have managers that are obsessed about their clients’ brand. They treat their clients’ brand the same way an organization strategizes, builds and obsesses about their brand. In my world, other authors and speakers obsess about their brands as well, for all they know that the value of all their engagements – in terms of the price they can command – is based on the perception of value that customers have of their brand.

What does that tell you? You too should get to know and obsess about your personal brand.

What Makes Up Your Personal Brand?

Your personal brand is a collection of a bunch of things:

1. Your Value Set. Basically a list of things that guide you. These are the things that you will and will not do when no one is looking.
2. Your Purpose. This is what drives you. Your ‘Why’ in life. Why you get out of bed in the morning (other than the alarm clock and your cat pouncing on your chest). What motivates and inspires you? What you are committed to more than anything else in the world?
3. Your Strengths and Weaknesses. All of them.
4. Your Track Record. Which takes years to build and mere minutes to destroy… So be very careful about the things you do and say…
5. Your Self Perception. How you view yourself in the here and now, as well as in the future. Where you want to go, what you want to do, and how you want to experience it.
6. Others’ Perceptions of You. What other people know and trust you for.

Your personal brand is critical to what got you to where you are right now. And with the same level of care, attention, discipline and feeding, your brand will take you to places way beyond where you are right now.

Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based Business Strategy Consultant, #1 Best Selling Author, and International Keynote Speaker. For further advice, insight and inspiration on how to unlock your inner leader, follow Robert on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

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