Building your personal brand to build your business’s brand

As a business owner, your personal brand is just as important as your business’s brand.  Your personal brand serves as the platform to open the door for your business brand.  This is why Sport Stars can successfully launch their own fitness line, or renowned Chefs can introduce an assortment of nutritional foods or methods of food preparation that are quickly adopted by legions of followers.  

Our world is replete with ordinary people who have successfully built their personal brands and then parlayed their names into a business empire… people like Oprah Winfrey, Steve Harvey or Martha Stewart are not just celebrities in their own rights, but big brands that boasts a sweet line of products that range from clothing to food and media to music. 

Now you may look at these names and become immediately intimidated by their celebrity and their worth, but take heart in the fact that they too started at the bottom, just like us; and brick by brick, we are building our empire.

Striking the balance between building your personal brand and the business brand will of course come with its challenges.  Particularly, if you are a startup business trying to get the process right, it can seem almost impossible.  Engaging in social media activities and networking can help in building your personal brand.  The following are some tips for you as you straddle the double task of building both your personal and business brands simultaneously:

1.       Take stock of who and where you are – Do a laundry list of your skills, qualifications and natural talents… include things about your personality and character traits as these will help to define you as well.  Once you have identified those strengths, use them to inform how you operate your business… if you see yourself as trustworthy; incorporate that into your business practices. Through your modus operandi, your stakeholders, i.e. customers, investors and partners should see this character trait translated in not only how you operate but also in product that you produce.

2.       Evaluate your online presence – How are you on social media? Are you inactive or non-existent?  In this digital age, inactivity or non-existence as a business owner will not help you to build a personal brand.  I’ve often said that your first set of customers will be your friends and family members and in the age of digital media, social media plays a pivotal role in how people communicate.  If you are not online, get there; and when you get there, engage, communicate, share and socialize.

3.       Become a Thought Leader – The term ‘thought leader’ has become so common these days, it is almost overused.  But the reality is, in order to build your brand; people must trust your word on your topic of expertise.  Incorporate blogging into your business to talk about your expertise, provide tips and strategies for growth within your industry.  Also, contribute articles to industry as well as generic publications.  You can also establish yourself as a virtue of knowledge on the specific subject area through networking and being a strong presence at industry events.

All the best!