If I say Verizon Wireless, you can immediately state a few attributes of that well-known brand. If I say (insert your name) to people who know you, they can do the same.
That’s your personal brand. It's what people think of you, when they think of you.
The only thing you ever own is your reputation and your relationships…everything else is transitory. Your personal brand (essentially combining your reputation with everyone who matters to you), stays with you 24 x 7. The question isn’t, “do I have a personal brand?” The only real question is, “how am I managing my personal brand?”
I was honored to give a keynote recently to 250 people at the KU Edwards Campus entitled, “Me, Myself and I: Building your Personal Brand." (The podcast and slides are located here…please download if you’d like to hear the 45-minute presentation).
Effective personal brand management is the key to achieving your personal, professional and financial goals. All of us are much better – and frankly, more comfortable – managing other brands, than focusing on ourselves. But just remember what Hillel said thousands of years ago: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?”
Everyone will benefit from applying proven marketing principles to the management of our personal brands.
Good luck; onward and upward.