Personal Branding & You

by Susan Chritton - Author of Personal Branding for Dummies

What do people think of when they think about you? Are you thought of as intelligent, honest, and creative or do people associate you with poor quality work and someone who is doesn’t finish what they start? You have a personal brand whether you know it or not.

So what exactly is a personal brand? Very simply it is your reputation. Your personal brand is the way others remember you through your actions, your knowledge, and the emotional connections that you make. Your personal brand becomes the promise you make about who you are and what you do that is strengthened every time people connect with you. Personal branding is the strategic process of building a positive set of experiences for the people who need to know about you.

Personal branding is about expressing your authentic self by allowing you to be the person you are meant to be. Personal branding helps you connect with your unique promise of value and employ it in the world to act as a filter that helps you make decisions that are congruent with who you are and what you stand for. It identifies what makes you unique and clearly communicates your individuality to the people who need to know about you.

Having a personal brand sounds like a great idea, but how do you get one? If you’re serious about developing your personal brand, you will need a clear plan to get you there.

To begin the process, you need to spend time up front studying yourself and figuring out what you really want. Only with a strong sense of yourself can you undertake the steps to build a personal brand. You will need to define who you are and understand both your target audience and who your competitors are.

After you know your brand, your next challenge is to communicate it clearly, concisely, and consistently to the people who need to know about you. Finally, you’ll want to examine your brand ecosystem-those things that encompasses every element of your life, from your clothes to your professional colleagues, and influences how your target audience perceives you.

Personal branding supports and enhances your work. Your best success comes when you recognize your own gifts and are able to represent your personal brand in all that you do. Your personal brand helps you make the most of what you've got to offer by understanding who you are and what sets you apart from every other person. It helps you navigate the direction of your life. Your personal brand is your own success story waiting to be written.

Susan Chritton, M.Ed., PCC, NCCC, is an Executive Career Coach, Master Personal Brand Strategist, and author of Personal Branding for Dummies.
http://susanchritton.com,
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/susanchritton/, Twitter @susanchritton