Dont Get Caught In the Trap The BIG Difference Between Personal and Business Branding
Dont Get Caught In the Trap The BIG Difference Between Personal and Business Branding
With hundreds of thousands of home-based businesses starting every year, and few ever flourishing, the topic of branding has become hot, hot, hot. And thanks to experts touting the need for a personal brand in sole proprietor businesses the confusion is growing. It’s no wonder. Business… personal… personal… business— what IS the big difference any way?
(more)
Last week, I was guiding a client (a service-based sole practioner) through the same step-by-step process that I take every company (sole practioner, entrepreneur or a business of any size) through to develop their brand and I noticed that as we got deeper and deeper into the process, she was having more and more trouble coming up with answers. The very answers that would separate her from other people engaged the same exact business and distinctly establish her brand.
In the middle of working on the most important step in the branding process— the brand statement—I asked her the simple question, “Why does she do business she does?” she burst into tears. Halfway into the box of Kleenex she finally, revealed the most amazing answer as to why she was in her chosen field in the first place. Honestly, I think she stunned herself. We both sat silent for over a minute in awe of the power she had tapped into with her discovery. (Don’t let anyone fool you…this is where the true power of branding comes from.)
Then doubt reared its ugly head and like a butterfly emerging from a new cocoon, a series of questions poured out of her: “Is this my business or is it me?” “Is why I do what I do really that important?” “Why is it so hard for me to stand in the power of my business and really make something of it?”
You get the picture? You may even be standing in a similar picture, even wrestling with the same questions yourself. Bless you if you’re not. Let’s look at the difference between ‘your business’ and ‘you the person’ and see if we can clear up this question once and for all.
A business: (be it Niketown or Bob’s Shoe Bonanza)
Delivers a product or service to fulfill a customer need.
You:
Deliver a product or service to fulfill a customer need.
A business:
Establishes a certain value that a customer can rely on from every contact with their product or service.
You:
Establish a certain value that a customer can rely on from every contact with your product or service. (If not, get on it immediately!)
A business:
Communicates consistently to reach the customers that have a need for their product or service.
You:
Communicate consistently to reach the customers that have a need for your product or service. (If not, what are you waiting for?)
A business:
Enjoys a financial reward equal to the amount of customers that it serves, AND a personal reward for the creator/C.E.O.
You:
Enjoy a financial reward equal to the amount of customers that you serve AND YOU get to experience the personal reward yourself.
If you look at just these four basic, bottom-line points, the difference between a business and you as a sole business owner is… nothing; unless you count the added bonus of you getting a financial AND personal reward.
At the start of every single business, throughout history, there has never been a separation between the person starting it and the business itself. If you asked any business figure-head today, Bill Gates of Microsoft, or Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, or if they took over a company like Meg Whitman for Ebay, or Carly Fiorina for Hewlett-Packard, they would tell you that there is no difference in who ‘they are’ and what ‘they bring’ to their business. Why? Because there’s no room for a difference. It’s the alignment that makes it possible to reach the highest of the heights.
It’s challenging enough to make any business succeed. It’s tough enough to make any business reside in the mind of a customer. Why would you remove the very power of ‘you’ in every shape and form from your business?! Why not every day do the thing that moves you the most? You are the only thing that sets your business apart— you just need a process of tapping into your power, connecting it to your business, and a systematic way of communicating it to your customers over and over and over again.
When developing your amazing business as a brand, throw the doors wide open. Create it as you would if you were reaching millions. You can always decide exactly how many millions later. Thinking of your brand as just a ‘personal’ one will do the opposite. Keep it small.
If you work for yourself, be it your own business, network marketing, or even an agent/broker condition under a corporate umbrella, you are the CEO of your business. Every CEO brings themselves personally to their business. The great ones bring every thing they are to their creation, every moment.
The majority of our lives are spent doing what we call work. As an entrepreneur or business owner, you have the wonderful opportunity to make it more. Make it your creation. Think of yourself as the Creator of an Entrepreneur Organization. When you wake up tomorrow, instead of saying to yourself, “I’m going to work” say “I’m going to create.” And the operative word is I’m. The true power of really making something in your business will come from investing in it the most valuable commodity you have— you.
There is no separation on the road to big business success: just because you’re personally on it. True big business success comes to those who know, it’s not just business— it’s personal too.
© Castle Montone, Limited
Dont Get Caught In the Trap The BIG Difference Between Personal and Business Branding - To learn more about this author, visit Kim Castle's Website.
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When you’re all alone in the privacy of your home office, surrounded by your computer, your phone and your business idea, have you ever asked yourself, “Where’s the line between me in my business and the business in me” ?
With hundreds of thousands of home-based businesses starting every year, and few ever flourishing, the topic of branding has become hot, hot, hot. And thanks to experts touting the need for a personal brand in sole proprietor businesses the confusion is growing. It’s no wonder. Business… personal… personal… business— what IS the big difference any way?
(more)
Last week, I was guiding a client (a service-based sole practioner) through the same step-by-step process that I take every company (sole practioner, entrepreneur or a business of any size) through to develop their brand and I noticed that as we got deeper and deeper into the process, she was having more and more trouble coming up with answers. The very answers that would separate her from other people engaged the same exact business and distinctly establish her brand.
In the middle of working on the most important step in the branding process— the brand statement—I asked her the simple question, “Why does she do business she does?” she burst into tears. Halfway into the box of Kleenex she finally, revealed the most amazing answer as to why she was in her chosen field in the first place. Honestly, I think she stunned herself. We both sat silent for over a minute in awe of the power she had tapped into with her discovery. (Don’t let anyone fool you…this is where the true power of branding comes from.)
Then doubt reared its ugly head and like a butterfly emerging from a new cocoon, a series of questions poured out of her: “Is this my business or is it me?” “Is why I do what I do really that important?” “Why is it so hard for me to stand in the power of my business and really make something of it?”
You get the picture? You may even be standing in a similar picture, even wrestling with the same questions yourself. Bless you if you’re not. Let’s look at the difference between ‘your business’ and ‘you the person’ and see if we can clear up this question once and for all.
A business: (be it Niketown or Bob’s Shoe Bonanza)
Delivers a product or service to fulfill a customer need.
You:
Deliver a product or service to fulfill a customer need.
A business:
Establishes a certain value that a customer can rely on from every contact with their product or service.
You:
Establish a certain value that a customer can rely on from every contact with your product or service. (If not, get on it immediately!)
A business:
Communicates consistently to reach the customers that have a need for their product or service.
You:
Communicate consistently to reach the customers that have a need for your product or service. (If not, what are you waiting for?)
A business:
Enjoys a financial reward equal to the amount of customers that it serves, AND a personal reward for the creator/C.E.O.
You:
Enjoy a financial reward equal to the amount of customers that you serve AND YOU get to experience the personal reward yourself.
If you look at just these four basic, bottom-line points, the difference between a business and you as a sole business owner is… nothing; unless you count the added bonus of you getting a financial AND personal reward.
At the start of every single business, throughout history, there has never been a separation between the person starting it and the business itself. If you asked any business figure-head today, Bill Gates of Microsoft, or Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, or if they took over a company like Meg Whitman for Ebay, or Carly Fiorina for Hewlett-Packard, they would tell you that there is no difference in who ‘they are’ and what ‘they bring’ to their business. Why? Because there’s no room for a difference. It’s the alignment that makes it possible to reach the highest of the heights.
It’s challenging enough to make any business succeed. It’s tough enough to make any business reside in the mind of a customer. Why would you remove the very power of ‘you’ in every shape and form from your business?! Why not every day do the thing that moves you the most? You are the only thing that sets your business apart— you just need a process of tapping into your power, connecting it to your business, and a systematic way of communicating it to your customers over and over and over again.
When developing your amazing business as a brand, throw the doors wide open. Create it as you would if you were reaching millions. You can always decide exactly how many millions later. Thinking of your brand as just a ‘personal’ one will do the opposite. Keep it small.
If you work for yourself, be it your own business, network marketing, or even an agent/broker condition under a corporate umbrella, you are the CEO of your business. Every CEO brings themselves personally to their business. The great ones bring every thing they are to their creation, every moment.
The majority of our lives are spent doing what we call work. As an entrepreneur or business owner, you have the wonderful opportunity to make it more. Make it your creation. Think of yourself as the Creator of an Entrepreneur Organization. When you wake up tomorrow, instead of saying to yourself, “I’m going to work” say “I’m going to create.” And the operative word is I’m. The true power of really making something in your business will come from investing in it the most valuable commodity you have— you.
There is no separation on the road to big business success: just because you’re personally on it. True big business success comes to those who know, it’s not just business— it’s personal too.
© Castle Montone, Limited
Dont Get Caught In the Trap The BIG Difference Between Personal and Business Branding - To learn more about this author, visit Kim Castle's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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