Building Your Personal Brand: How to Make the Transition to Entrepreneurship Easier

Building Your Personal Brand: How to Make the Transition to Entrepreneurship Easier


Scared to take the leap into entrepreneurship? You're not alone! Last month, I had a gentleman message me about what he should be doing now before he starts his business. Here is what I said, tip the odds in your favor by strategically developing your personal brand before the leap.

Prior to launching my digital marketing agency, Goaldy, I was building my personal brand online and in person. This effort paid off immensely, making the shift from company employee to business owner feel like a natural progression to my target audience. Through it, I began to establish a positive reputation and developed my credibility and professionalism via my networking efforts.

As the face of your business, entrepreneurs need to establish a personal brand because it is an asset that demonstrates your credibility, displays and improves your skill set, and expands your network, leading to better business opportunities.

A study by Weber Shandwick found that 49% of executives believe a strong CEO personal brand is critical to their company's overall reputation. In turn, 60% of a company’s market value is derived from its reputation. Building your personal brand accelerates the “like,” “know,” and “trust” factors. As a result, you will be able to make an impact on others faster and more effectively. It’s building your reputation and it’s a lifelong process.

How to build your personal brand

Personal branding is what you say about yourself based on your experience, expertise, core values, and key differentiators. Developing your personal brand helps you to be seen as an industry expert, grow and build your trust with your audience, grow your business, and ultimately make an impact as a mission-driven thought leader.

Allow me to share three key recommendations when it comes to personal branding.?

Be authentically you

My first tip when stepping out and building a personal brand is to push the fear you may feel to the side. Be yourself, because authenticity is the biggest component when it comes to building your personal brand. People desire to be around authentic, real people, and I like to say that imperfection is the new perfection. Have you ever known someone online and when you met them in person, you realized they were completely different? It can be surprising because you thought you knew them but then found out you don’t know them at all because their personal brand online was different from who they were in real life. As author, playwright, and poet Oscar Wilde has been quoted as saying, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

The “How can I serve you?” mentality

My second biggest tip when it comes to building your personal brand online is to use this mentality approach. When used, the social media content you create and what you talk about online will be less self-serving and more helpful for your community. Additionally, providing educational content about the underlying value of your business will both better connect with your audience and customers. It is important that what you share will be of value to them. Why do this? Because by being a resource for them and talking about what you specialize in with a customer-centric lens, others will start to learn from you. You will become a credible, go-to resource for all things related to your business niche. This can turn your audience into customers.

Stay consistent and focused

The last tip I share with you is that when building your personal brand online, it’s key to stay consistent and focused on what you are trying to master. As I like to say, “Stay horizontal.” It should be your goal for your company to be known in the space you operate in with a great reputation and its care for customers. Your consistency with your content and frequency of posting online will help you learn about your audience through their comments and questions. Then you can begin to connect with those who are interested in your content and speak to your target audience more as you develop better relationships with them.

Resources for aspiring entrepreneurs

You are the driver in your life and you must be the one who accelerates the vehicle, which is your business. The only limit is the one you set for yourself. For aspiring business owners: start proactively talking about and engaging in the industry you want to break into, this will help make launching your business easier when you’ve already been talking about it positioning yourself as a knowledgeable and passionate player.


Unlock a treasure trove of resources to fuel your entrepreneurial journey in my book, 'Ready, Mindset, Go!'— conveniently accessible on Amazon. Chapter 8 is your compass to master the art of personal branding. To turbocharge your progress, seize the opportunity to explore the 'Ready, Mindset, Go!' digital workbook—a comprehensive 51-page guide packed with exercises, thought-provoking prompts, and insightful questions.


As always, I’m cheering you on!

Thanks for sharing! Sure our listeners will find it insightful for sure ??

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Khola Nasir

Passionate Social Media Marketer ?????? | Creative Thinker ??

1 å¹´

Such an important step that many entrepreneurs may overlook ????

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Rachel L. Hallien, CPA

You can't be any geek off the street // Founder @The Accounting Initiative

1 å¹´

This is so key! Know who you are, what your focus is and who your ideal clients are BEFORE you put yourself out there. I love this!

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Bryan Kryder

Experienced Business Owner Specializing in Strategic Marketing Solutions for Mid-Market Companies

1 å¹´

Good tips! Your content is very helpful. I'd also add that when starting out, a little activity can go a long way. You won't build your brand overnight, so don't try to do everything on day one. Just engaging with content is a great first step.

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We see you Macy Troyer We might know of another podcast episode you’re a guest on that releases later this week

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