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Build Your Brand

Written by: Andrea O'Neill

Article Overview: So you’ve read my points on the power of a Personal Brand (see "Live It Loud and Clear!" or "Be Your Own Adjective") and you're interested, but you don’t know where to start. That is the topic for this month’s message. To get to the heart of your own personal brand, the essential impression you make on the world, you have to strip away the details and get down to your bare-boned basics, your “constants”.

Build Your Brand

So you’ve read my points on the power of a Personal Brand (see "Live It Loud and Clear!" or "Be Your Own Adjective") and you're interested, but you don’t know where to start. That is the topic for this month’s message. To get to the heart of your own personal brand, the essential impression you make on the world, you have to strip away the details and get down to your bare-boned basics, your “constants”.
I use four key tests to determine base characteristics: the Environment Test, the Timeless Test, the Reflective Test, and the Resonance Test.
Sometimes the best way to define something is to clarify what it is not. Your brand does not consist of the part of you that surfaces only in certain circumstances. It is not the “you” that shows up at work but not at home. It is not the “you” that social acquaintances see, but not your family. I call this the Environment Test. Look for the elements of your style and personality that are constant in all circumstances. Are you diligently organized in everything you do at work, home and play? Are you full of caring and empathy in everything you do? What holds true for you consistently across the board? Make a list of your consistent traits that exist in all environments.
When you have a number of traits or attributes that pass the environment test, next look to the dimension of time. Your core brand is timeless. The parts of you that truly and uniquely stand for you have probably been there all your life. As for me, I am passionate, creative, strategic and determined. You can probably find someone who knew me from just about any stage of my life from childhood through present and they’d shake their head and laugh at how well those words fit me. Those traits make up my brand. They pass the test of time.
The next test is the Reflective Test. This test includes the feedback from those around us. Often we think we know what our strongest and most consistent traits are, but we are only seeing our own outward perspective. The true test is to see what bounces back reflectively from our friends, family, and associates. To compile this list we need to ask those around us what they perceive to be our most dominant traits. In this part of the process, don’t be afraid of traits that sound negative at first. In every person their greatest strengths are found right next to their greatest weakness. It all depends on how you apply them. (Check back next month for more on this topic.)
Next is the test of resonation. When you narrow your list of adjectives about yourself down to a small handful of words, the last test is to see how well they resonate with your heart. If a word on your list feels shallow or hollow, it is not part of your core brand. The traits that truly fit you have a weight about them when you think of them. They sit with presence in your chest. These are the words that have energy for you and drive you to action.
This is how you begin to define your brand. As you start this process you will uncover the secrets to what makes you “you”. In marketing terms, this helps define your USP, unique selling point. Understanding this about yourself can be the key to finding the right career, the right clients, the right partners (in business and in your personal life), and to maximizing your life.

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Re: Great start, but no finish - My advise is FOCUS on your business. Focusing is the main factor to succeed on business. If you have a great idea, then follow it only, don't look anywhere else. It is especially essential in an online business. Because there are a lot of mind blowing sales letters promising millions dolllars or overnight success, people find it difficult to concentrate on one business and they lose their energy. Concept is simple. 1- Have a good idea; 2- Build your business on it; 3- Monetize your business; 4- Promote it; 5- Build list of responsive customers; 6- Maintain You Business. Focusing and not fearing from competition (instead you can learn from competitiors) are main tips of billionaires ,BTW. Orxan
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How do you know if you have a good idea? - [quote="orxan":3118uboz]My advise is FOCUS on your business. Focusing is the main factor to succeed on business. If you have a great idea, then follow it only, don't look anywhere else. It is especially essential in an online business. Because there are a lot of mind blowing sales letters promising millions dolllars or overnight success, people find it difficult to concentrate on one business and they lose their energy. Concept is simple. 1- Have a good idea; 2- Build your business on it; 3- Monetize your business; 4- Promote it; 5- Build list of responsive customers; 6- Maintain You Business. Focusing and not fearing from competition (instead you can learn from competitiors) are main tips of billionaires ,BTW. Orxan[/quote:3118uboz] Thanks orxan! But how do you know if you truly have a good idea or not? If we ask ourselves, we may be suffering from tunnel vision. On the other hand, friends/family may try to discourage us from pursuing a small business because of their own fears, while others will simply give us an empty "you can do it!" line.
Starting A Business - go get a customer! you can have a great idea but if you don't have a customer you'll never be successful. Build a product / service around someone who will pay you for what you can offer! It's the best way to build a business.
Re: What exactly do you need to start a business - Momentum, that is what you need the most. Momentum moves you forward, regardless of what gets thrown at you. Build Momentum and things will start to happen.


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