By Jon Michail
Effective personal branding is the key to becoming a successful entrepreneur, right? What you mightn’t know is that there are two ways to do this – the right way and the wrong way.
It’s oh so easy for your personal branding efforts to become a blitz of self-promotion. Usually, this results in thousands of time-wasting superficial connections and not a lot else. And it’s so easy to do. Blogging, posting, tweeting, writing, emailing, connecting … you name it, you’ve probably done it.
But what if that energy was used for something a whole lot more meaningful? How can you make the real you more important than your manufactured image? It’s a fact that if you fall into the trap of letting online marketing become your full-time job, you end up wasting valuable time and creating nothing of value.
The perceptive entrepreneur knows that there’s a contradiction in trying to build a personal brand while at the same time believing that excellent work should speak for itself. So is it possible to build a platform where you can be an authentic and successful entrepreneur rather than a collector of ten thousand superficial followers?
The answer is YES. Spend time on building something real. Let your personal brand raise your standards and expectations, and power your drive ahead of the others. As Daniel Bliley of the parking app Passport says, “Branding today is as much about consistently delivering on your promise as it is about differentiation. You have to position yourself in unique ways in order to stand out from others. You have to meet all of the subconscious expectations and go beyond the mundane to truly impress.”
Artists Andy Warhol was one of the most successful and prolific personal brand builders in history. He once said, “We are the masters of our own destiny. It’s up to us to do everything humanely possible (without hurting anyone) to maximise our possibilities in this lifetime…Have a happy life!”
Artists and entrepreneurs have a lot in common. Think drive, passion, discipline, vision, self-confidence and motivation. The best thrive on problem-solving, taking risks and bending rules as far as they can go. And on top of all that, they’re resilient. They have to be. Their success springs from their own creations.Warhol also said, “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” He was a master at both, proving just how much of a correlation there is between success and personal branding.
“Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.”
Meaningful personal branding is key to your entrepreneurial success. Your personal development will become clearer and more focused. You’ll be able to concentrate on the things you are passionate about. You’ll also may establish yourself as a Thought Leader.
Isn’t that better than spending your valuable time writing instantly forgettable tweets?
He also said “I am a deeply superficial person”, now that’s what I call authentic.
Got Personal Branding Questions? Check Our Frequently Asked Questions Section.
Jon Michail is Group CEO of Image Group International, an award winning author and recognised as Australasia’s No 1 image coach. Image Group International supports executives, entrepreneurs and their organisations to become iconic and monetised leadership brands.
He is a regular commentator in international media organsations ABC, CNN, NBC, Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Success, The Financial Review and Vogue.
If you valued this post, please do share it and follow me on Twitter at @jon_michail and Subscribe to The ImageMaker Blog at www.imagegroup.com.au/the-imagemaker-blog/.
