What a roller coaster the last month has been! Since launching my personal brand, I have committed to blogging on a regular basis, my company has signed a contract with Real News PR (founded by none other than Jeff Crilley) for a podcast (look for it in August – We Are VIP!) and I have shared my personal brand with a multitude of clients and candidates as a way to educate them about me personally and my company.
WHEW!!
I had no idea what to expect when I launched my personal brand, however, the reward so far has been AAAA-MAZING. My main goal for creating this brand was to allow my audience an opportunity to get to know me a little better. What I have found is not only do they get a snapshot of what I have to offer, they instantly attribute a level of credibility to me because I took the time to invest in myself.
I will share an example….
If you know me at all (and hopefully you are starting to get an idea), you know I talk to EVERYONE. Rarely do I enter an establishment where I do not start a conversation with at least one stranger. However, in this example, I was at my usual nail salon (have picked up several candidates and clients here by talking to the person in the next chair!). I love this salon because they provide service beyond what I expect, they always make me feel I am the most important customer, and here’s the biggie…every single technician welcomes me by name when I walk through the door and says goodbye when I leave.
I was chatting with my regular technician and was asking her about school. She is almost done with pharmaceutical school and is pretty excited to be so close. Over the years she has learned what I do; lead a team, teach others how to build and lead a team, etc. She shared she was applying for a scholarship to attend a leadership conference and wanted to know if she could share the questions with me so she could get some pointers on how to answer. I was so excited to assist her and thrilled she was stepping out of her box to attend a leadership conference! I directed her to my personal website to get in touch with me, but also pointed her to a couple of relevant blogs I had posted recently. She went there immediately and the next thing I knew she was showing everyone in the salon my new site!
From this we began discussing our new podcast and she mentioned the salon would like to advertise for me in the shop. THEN she mentioned Cindy, the salon owner, might be a great guest. The more I thought about this, the more I liked the idea. The reason I am so loyal to the salon is because of the customer service and that comes from the top down. Cindy came over and had a brief conversation with me and I was blown away at her insight in customer service. She agreed on the spot to be a guest!
This all started by directing one person to my brand-new website. It’s simple, but it tells a story. It does all the bragging for me so I do not have to.
Most people think you have to be an entrepreneur or own your own business to have a personal branding website. FALSE! I have no intention of leaving my current company, however, it was important to set myself apart from everyone else who does what I do within a company. (Not just mine, but any competing executive search agency as well.)
I am building a brand within a brand.
I challenge you today to think about developing and embracing our own personal brand. This does not mean you have to create a website (although I highly recommend) or blog everyday. Think about what makes you unique, embrace, and share. If you need help getting started, I recommend reading the book and completing the companion workbook, Unique Ability 2.0. Through a series of exercises, it will help you focus on your Unique Ability.
My journey has not been easy, nor has it happened overnight. I will tell you it is a blast! Let me know if I can help you on your path to greatness!
Pinkie Luxe is a premier nail salon in North Dallas. Cindy has an amazing story of triumph and teaches her technicians the right way to do business. Check them out here.
