How I put the 'personal' into my branding

For so many years - I worked in an industry which 'needed' you to be suited & booted - tie & shiny shoes - to be taken seriously.

The sharper the suit - the shinier the shoes - the more credibility we were assumed to have.

This wasn't an industry thing though - this was a generational thing, a cultural thing - and don't get me wrong - I still love the odd chance to really 'suit up'!

So when I first ventured into Self Employment - I wanted to come away from that.

My thinking was that 'if we don't do business on OUR terms - we may as well be employed'.

I have spent my whole career being the best 'second in command' that I can be - so I am certainly not belittling employed work at all - but if we do break out - let's do it the way WE want to do it.

For me, it was my chance to live - and die - by my own sword - no safety net, no expenses paid, no business - so I got cracking on building a business that reflected me - the real me - not the spun, polished version!

Plus - as I was going full time as a Speaker on the Lived Experience of Mental Health - I couldn't deliver a piece on authenticity if I wasn't truly being me.

At that point I never had Forging People - or any business at all.

I started with my logo...as we all do...surely we need to start with customers - but hey ho!

I am a HUGE Country Music fan - my absolute favourite artist being Luke Combs - his style in terms of what I would wear usually - jeans/shirt/cap - was me anyway - so I looked at designing my logo to match his style...

This was really my vibe - so it meant that because my Personal Brand was becoming truly personal and very much 'me' - I could really get behind my mission to build a business, a mission and a legacy.

When I first started Speaking - I was kind of a hybrid of a 'Suit' and me...

...because part of me was still very much conditioned to think that if I don't dress or act a certain way I wouldn't be taken seriously.

Then I reached a point where my confidence and belief in myself and my mission overtook my concerns - and what happened?

Nothing.

I have never lost a booking due to the fact that I wear jeans/cap/shirt - EVER!

I have spoken at the world's leading Law Firms - one of the strongholds of the Suit empire - and it's actually proven a massively positive hook!

I have even had enquiries to check - 'you are the bearded guy with the cap & jeans that my colleague recommended?' - nuts!

So I finally stepped into my fully personal brand - unafraid & confident...

So when it came to building my business - Forging People (www.forgingpeople.com) - it was actually very easy. I started the whole process again!

Starting with the logo...

...and also with my conversational tone - I wanted to write as I would speak it - so I did!

Regardless of title - my usual greeting is 'hey' and my usual sign off is 'cheers'.

I mean - whoever said to someone in person 'kind regards, Nick'!?!

Forging People is a 'new breed of People Development' - human centred personal & professional growth - with my culture & ethos at the heart of it.

Which is why my events, coaching, mentoring & training sessions are all informal, relaxed, fun & fully immersive!

At this current time of uncertainty - if you choose or end up breaking out into Self Employment - build something that is YOU - do things on YOUR terms - this could be the only chance you get to build a business, mission - even maybe a legacy.

Whatever you do - never assume that people or businesses won't buy YOU because you do things YOUR way - but if they won't - then have the courage to accept & even say 'no' because they will not be a good fit for YOU & YOUR business!

If you have any questions - please do reach out - [email protected] or [email protected].

Cheers

Nick ??