My personal brand – why me?
I recently left my business and started on my own again. I currently identify commercially as a personal brand: “Henry Shepherdson – Web developer. Consultant. IT trainer”. This is problematic and after some honest self-reflection, I realised why. I am about to restructure my commercial front.
More people are waking up to the fact that our lives are virtual-reality. The neediness driving consumerism means that every thought we have is geared towards getting more stuff and, in turn, keeping the economy turning. In his book, “Meta Human”, dr. Deepak Chopra says it best, “…Neediness is a state of awareness, and “I” will never loosen its grip until we find a higher state of awareness.”.
A perfect model for this is the concept of the personal brand. It is the construct we created to form the glistening industrial icon. The original hustler. Underneath the brand is the truth that my value is based on what I have and, more importantly, how many people love me.
What is a personal brand?
A personal brand is an identity, defined in an identity document. The defined entity is a physical person, rather than a business, community or movement.
A typical identity document defines a logo, typography, colours and the imagery associated with the brand to optimise brand recognition. Ideally, when the combination of logo, typography, colours and imagery are seen, the observer immediately thinks of the person.
The personal brand is a handle on a physical person. It is a way to build an identity using consistency and repetition.
We may create a personal brand in order to monetise products and services produced as a person rather than a business. A personal brand brings a person to the center of the offering as opposed to being a resource.
The limiting factor
A person is more than the work they do. Most often, when creating a personal brand, we do this to monetise ourselves. We get trapped in an egocentric goal. The ultimate embodiment of fame and fortune.
When we understand that this is an extreme exercise in affirmation-seeking, we can ask ourselves, “What would be better?”.
A person is mega-multifaceted and certainly cannot be defined in the restrictive way that a business can. This is the problem with personal branding as it currently exists in the economy.
What would be better?
Step one: Change the paradigm; By moving the personal brand to a purpose rather than a service is the first step to creating an authentic and meaningful personal brand.
Personal branding as a Service makes the definition of success mostly financial. Defined in a cash flow balance. As the famous entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) illustrated, if the sole purpose of the business is to make money then the business will die once it has made a lot of money (because it has fulfilled its purpose).
On the other hand, Personal branding as a Purpose is eternal. Even better, the purposeful brand, being organic, changes and evolves continuously. It is alive with spirit.
But how do we monetise?
Step two: Create businesses for the business; As an example, my personal brand’s purpose may be “Creating Communities”. As a person, this is what I am doing in the world at the moment. It is the energetic activity I am mostly engaged in. No one pays me in money to do this. I just love working with people. I love learning, connecting and engaging. And I love teaching. These are all immensely satisfying activities for me as a human being.
As an extension to my personal brand I may create one or more businesses which are the economic drivers. These businesses may or may not be linked to my personal brand.
The practical example of a paradigm shift:
Personal brand as a Service
“Henry Shepherdson – Web developer, IT Trainer, Consultant”.
Services:
- Web development
- Digital marketing
- IT Training
- Marketing & IT consulting
Personal brand as a Purpose
“Henry Shepherdson”
Purpose:
Creating Communities
Other businesses
“Erzo – App development”
Services:
Web and mobile application development
“Web Ink – Websites, Design and Marketing
Services:
- Digital marketing
- IT Training
- Marketing & IT consulting