Because most coatings businesses are small, the company brand is closely tied to the character of its leader or ownership. When you think of the company you get an image of the leader—the two can be somewhat inextricable. Here we briefly discuss the importance of the brand called YOU. After all, getting the business often depends upon people buying just that, YOU. It really doesn’t matter who you are, the owner, manager, business development guy or painter. It’s now time for you to take a lesson from the big brands (because they’ve spent billions on the subject), learn what it takes to stand out, and prosper in the new workplace. It’ll be good for you and your business.This topic was made for Material Insights: “Enhancing business and leadership mindset …” helping you understand [and adapt] to a rapidly changing business and marketing landscape. But this one could get personal. Then again, who else can tell you to stop and take a good look at yourself; change some habits or simply love yourself more. The upshot is you may not have to change anything at all. All of us possess a brand, it’s just that few of us use it to benefit effectively.
Consider this an eye opener. Did you know there are lots of books, even magazines, devoted to the disciplines of personal branding? All of it, I believe, takes the lead from companies who, collectively, spend the big money creating brands. Why? They want the benefit of an identity that customers feel secure choosing over the competition. Don’t you want the same for yourself? If I saw your resume or your LinkedIn page, or heard you make a pitch, would your personal brand be clear to me? Is it clear to you?
Like everything else, you have to give your personal brand some attention and nurturing because eventually we become products of our environments—sometime is’t not pretty. We get dated (which is a kind of brand that you don’t want) and we can lose touch with the rest of the world. How do you feel when you’re trying to do business with someone who is unnecessarily dirty and unkept? Or his clothing or haircut or his eyeglasses have not been changed since 1984. You brand them right then and there, and you associate that identity with one that doesn’t keep up or really care about you or anything else. Don’t expct people to respect themselves first? Next, you automatically transfer that love to the identity of his company. What you will remember is a company who has become blind to the world around them. You’re at a loss to find compelling reasons to give back your loyalty.
Needless to say, when you neglect your own personal brand, you neglect your relevance to business. So the closer YOU are tied to the identity of your company the more important your personal brand is to your overall success. Your personal brand is who you are, how you look, what you do for others, and why you’re special. You have to create it, claim it and then make sure everyone understands it. Decide that you’re worth it and your company will be better for it.
There are many parallels between personal brands and business brands. I hope that by making these ideas more evident, you can find purpose in working on both.
Here are just a few areas of personal focus to get you started:
- Define what sets you apart and express it in your actions
- Make yourself visible and offer value that’s relevant
- Help others become more successful than you
- Create a network, forget networking
- Build upon your differentiating core competencies
- Pursue character not attitude
- Share before looking for profit.
Remember, branding is a process, not an event so forget the tatoos. You don’t just decide to make changes and expect everyone to notice or care or even believe it is so. Changing some old habits or learning a new skill can begin at any point in life (or in the life cycle of a business brand). You are ultimately “branded” by the actions that you take as well as the actions you do not take. “It’s not what you say your brand is, it’s what they say it is.” This applies to you as well as your business brand. Be true to yourself.
As always, let me know what you think.