Why You Need to Start Working on Your Personal Brand TODAY
Too often we put the work aside of establishing who we are to others. And we force others to figure out who we are on their own. Stop doing that!
Whenever I tell someone that I am a Personal Brand coach and advisor they seem to think that this is something they should work on when they are already successful. That somehow personal branding is just for people who are already recognized as leaders, experts, or celebrities. Nothing could be farther than the truth. The people you see and admire today established themselves way before they had an audience of 10,000 followers.
Rome was not built in a day. It takes time to build an audience.
It really takes time to build an engaged audience. Sure you can buy followers through agencies that offer to build you an audience. But what you really want is to connect to people that can do something for your career or business. And that takes time. People need to know, like and trust you before they can consider recommending or giving you the project, role, or client that you want.
You want people to take notice of the amazing things you are doing right now.
Because it's going to take time to establish yourself, you want to be recognized for what you are doing right now. That will help showcase your expertise for others to recognize you for unique talents. (Hint: You need to know what you want to be known for first!) Right now, you are already making an impact at your job or with your clients. But if no one else knows except you and maybe a handful of people, then it's time to start working on your personal brand, TODAY.
Taking action on your brand now, will push your career forward faster.
It starts with the little things. First defining who you want to be known as ie THE Game App Expert or THE Fixer of Broken Widgets. Then communicating that message in a way that you can control the narrative of your career. Instead of waiting for others to FINALLY notice your work, take control of what people see, hear and experience when they work with you. See you career as a vehicle, be the driver and take your career as fast or as far as you want.
Don't miss opportunities simply because no one really knows what you represent.
The worst thing is finding out you missed an opportunity because the decision maker didn't know 1) that you wanted it or 2) that you are the shit when it comes to this type of work. When you establish what you want and what skills you want to be known for, it makes it really easy for others to see opportunities that would be perfect for you. They won't hesitate to contact you because you become the obvious choice.
Right now, make time to think about what you want to represent, what do you want people to say about you when you're not in the room, ask yourself how visible you want to be and how ambitious are your dreams. More importantly ask yourself what if?