The power of a personal brand
Time for me to come clean….when I first started marketing my own business I loathed the idea of me having to be the face of my brand. I’m an introvert at heart and just generally uncomfortable putting myself out there like that. Part of what held me back from putting myself in the forefront of the brand was a lack of confidence, but when I accepted that nobody is looking at me to have it all figured out and that they were more interested in the journey and being able to relate to that story, things started to fall into place.
Now with that said, practice makes perfect and over the past few years I’ve actually gotten more comfortable putting my face in front of the brand. It’s like I feel a bigger sense of pride in my work, wanting to share with the world what myself and my team have created is a wonderful accomplishment.
To answer the question that a lot of business owners have: Should you focus on your personal brand vs. business brand? The answer is, you’ve got to do both.
Some things to consider, especially as a small business owner or entrepreneur, are that the majority of business brands are going to fail within the first 10 years. We all know that stuff happens and some of it will be out of our control (looking at you COVID). But when we are considering a person’s average life expectancy we are looking at +75 years! Meaning that there is a greater chance, you as a person will out live any business brand you create.
The lesson here is that you should, IMHO, spend a larger amount of time and resources focusing on building your personal brand than your business brand. You can still do this through working on your business, but you have to show your brand story--meaning, show your audience your process, your character, behind the scenes, so that they get to know who you are through your work.
Brands are more than just products and services--they are the promise of more and trust. Show up authentically and do your best to follow through with your promises and your brand will shine through.
All the best!