How to be the Starbucks of Personal Brands From invisible to in-demand by Dawn Nicole

Disclaimer: This article is only intended for Working Professionals or Business Owners who wish to be wildly successful in their careers and want to accelerate their growth. 

It is not however intended for the average, run of the mill, or the comfortably complacent.

Therefore, if you aren't interested in massive career advancement, this article is not for you.

Additionally, in this article, I will focus on two types of scenarios, those who live in constant fear of layoffs and stalled business growth, or those who are working rigorously in their respective fields yet aren't receiving the results to match their efforts.

As a Personal Branding Expert for the Global Market Place, consisting of both the Corporate and Entrepreneurial sectors, it is my mission to revolutionize how professionals use the power of their Personal Brands to achieve accelerated success in their careers.

To nail my point, from beginning to winning, regarding the power of Personal Branding, I decided to use the global coffee giant Starbucks, due to its mega-success, widespread recognition and easy to analyze parallels. 

Outside of obvious reasons, there is another reason I chose to conduct a brand analysis on Starbucks and compare it to the likes of Personal Brands of professionals. 

That reason is due to Starbucks being a shining example of what branding should be about, the coffee second and the experience first.

My friends, Personal Branding has never been about your product or service first, yet instead, it’s about your deeper mission, the experience you bring and how it’s delivered. 

See here, the Starbucks mission for yourself. “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”

Notice, the cup [of coffee] is secondary to the overarching brand mission. Much like Starbucks, the who and the why, behind your what, is MUCH more interesting than your title. Many others can do what you do, yet no one can be who you are. 

Now that I have your attention, let’s jump in.

What is Personal Branding? 

Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. While previous self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, the Personal-Branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging.

In my teachings, I use Martha Stewart, Les Brown and Robert Kiyosaki, as stellar examples of highly successful & epic Personal Brands.

These professionals started out as casual members of their respective professional communities.

? Stewart, as an everyday living coach who glamorized the art of life. (I.e. Chef inspired recipes, Home-decor, Homeware, etc.)

? Brown, a Motivational Speaker who gleaned from his own lessons learned and life stories to motivate others.

? And of course, Kiyosaki, a Financial Educator and Investor turned author-speaker-coach who also used his experiences to guide thousands to financial freedom.

So how did they do it? How did they go from everyday casual contributors to massive multimillion dollar successes, or what I refer to as "The Starbucks of Personal Brands?"

And, this question is exactly what I am passionate about answering for emerging, established and evolving business professionals across the nation, virtually and onsite.

What is meant by my reference, "The Starbucks of Personal Brands?" 

It’s the ability for professionals to be an "In-demand brand", as in the success and demand of Starbucks, which will forever be indoctrinated into world-culture.

I began by posing the early question, if an organization can be this epic force to be reckoned with, why not professionals? Why not you and me?

If a company can have a Secret Sauce, then why not the professionals who drive the organization? 

Newsflash: They do and they can; and in this article, I will offer you a perspective that will allow you to walk away and implement much of what I share.

I further define this as the ability to:

? Create raving fans of your brand - When’s the last time you saw a Starbucks commercial? Oh wait, you haven’t because Starbucks’ loyal fans sell the product for the company. No need to invest in commercial advertising if your fans are your biggest cheerleaders. 

o Could you imagine a world where your happy clients did the advertising for you? (Raving fans syndrome)

? Open-up more doors in less time – Starbucks is at a point where they don’t have to compete. If they want a specific piece of real estate in some fancy Suburb or trendy metro area, consider it done. Why? Because commercial developers know (based on historical data) the power of a Starbucks in a local area, means an immediate increase in the property values, residentially and commercially.

o There’s no reason this can’t be you. Doors that open-up simply because of your reputational value. (Open more doors in less time syndrome)

? Get paid what you are worth- Starbucks is such a staple in the global marketplace, they could virtually raise their prices, practically monthly, and patrons would still purchase that Grande-sized cup of Caramel Macchiato, without fail. This is because as the provider, you define the value and the consumer determines the worth. 

What this means is, as long as Starbucks continues to do an amazing job of establishing the value of their products, you as the consumer, will continue to deem it worthy, or not. Providers determine the value, consumers determine the worth. 

o Therefore, what are you doing on a constant basis to establish, quantify and present your value proposition to those of whom you want to see your worth and ultimately pay you what you are worth? (Get paid what you are worth syndrome)

Why should Personal Branding matter to you?

If this level of thought around your Personal Brand seems foreign, or like some exaggerated point to make my theories sound all the more relevant, I would like you to consider this fact. 

Today, there are 7.5 Billion people in the word and every last one of them wants to be seen, heard and matter to someone. This means, everyone is bidding for his or her piece of relevance and as a competitive industry professional, without a Secret Sauce or Personal Brand, you will get lost in the sauce of competition.

Therefore, to help you think through this more intentionally, I’ve listed below, 6 things needed to create a Starbucks like Personal Brand. 

I’ve taught and coached many professionals and entrepreneurs across the U.S. via these same concepts, and now, I take immense pleasure in sharing the same with our virtual audiences.

The makings of a Personal Brand (Top 6 Ingredients)

Assuming you understand your current career role/title, (i.e. Project Manager, Business Consultant, Attorney, Developer, etc.) below are many of the added ingredients needed to define your Personal Brand. Most of the teachings below have been abbreviated for this blog.

1. Secret Sauce- What’s that thing about you that can’t be bought taught or duplicated? Something that drives you perhaps at work and/or outside of work. What makes you thrive, laugh with your whole heart and keep you restlessly up at night? 

We call this your passion. Something you do effortlessly. 

? Defining this is the first key. Many professionals believe they are defined by their titles and degrees, however, I am here to advise, you are not defined by "your what", yet instead by "your who." Who are you and how is that different from everyone else?

2. Confidence & Value Proposition- A value proposition, is a promise of value to be delivered, communicated, and acknowledged. It is also a belief from the customer about how value (benefit) will be delivered, experienced and acquired.

Now that you have defined and included your Secret Sauce into your professional role, you should be immediately more confident that you have a differentiating trait about you which separates you from the common-folks in your role. (I.e. “I am a Project Manager whose secret sauce is cooking exotic dishes without using a recipe guide. I cook instinctively.”) 

We just need to establish how that trait can bring more value to your current role.

Let's do so by answering these questions below.

? How can you associate you being an instinctive cook of exotic dishes, to the art of being a Project Manager? 

? How can Project Management be like cooking? (This gives you a fresh new topic to write about.)

? What is the value of this unique trait and how can it be an added benefit to your professional role?

o Does your instinct in making the right decisions override your textbook guidelines?

o Are you agile and flexible in serving the needs of your clients?

o Does doing what’s right at the time feel more natural than waiting around to see what others tell you?

3. Competitive Advantage- Now that you know your value proposition, let’s talk about your competitive advantage. Competitive advantages provide an edge over rivals and an ability to generate greater value for a firm and its shareholders. 

? The more sustainable the competitive advantage, the more difficult it is for competitors to neutralize the advantage. 

? Therefore, you must turn your value proposition into your competitive advantage. The first key is by building awareness around what you believe to be your competitive advantage. 

? We teach this during our workshops and sessions, however, for now, I will share a brief Competitive Advantage Statement below.

? “Unlike many project managers, who lead by following strict by the book guidelines, I use innate agility and real-world critical thinking to pivot when needed providing our clients a more customized, human experience, that better meets their specific needs.”

4. Culture- How do people experience you? How do you relate to people around you, regardless of, if you have anything in common with them or not? It is important to remember that Starbucks serves over a million customers worldwide daily and strives to make every last one of them feel as if they had their own unique experience, every single time.

? What are you doing to create a one of a kind “personalized” experience with each member of our team?

5. Consistency- Starbucks is consistent. From here to Tokyo, a Caramel Macchiato tastes like a Caramel Macchiato no matter the day or time you order. To be consistent means, unchanging in achievement or effect over a period of time. This could relate to a person, behavior, or process.

? Are you showing up consistently? Is your Personal Brand consistent, from the topic content, quality of product and onto the experience?

? If you do have a unique systematic process that’s yielding favorable results consider trademarking and copyrighting it as a tool. 

? We teach many professionals every single year, how to create and market their winning systems and processes.

6. Credibility- One thing Starbucks has done exceptionally well, is they’ve mastered the art of having credibility richness. 

One day, just for fun, scroll down your social media timelines and count how many times people are mentioning Starbucks or taking photos of their experiences. 

You will see Starbucks dominates in this way. Credibility is defined as, the quality of being trusted and believed in:

? Do you have credibility? Think of all of the success stories you’ve had over the past year.

? Did your counterparts and colleagues have wonderful things to say about your products or work experience?

? Are you keeping a record?

? Do you have a 1-page capability statement (different from a resume) to record those on?

What’s next?

Now that you’ve created your potent ingredients for an “In-demand Personal Brand”, it’s time to think of how you deliver your Personal Brand to the world. 

? We realize there’s only so much we can offer through a blog; therefore, we’ve created a SlideShare exercise to help you get started. This will walk you through how to deliver and become, the Starbucks of Personal Brands! 

? Once your 1-page exercise is completed, we can offer you an optional 15-minute complimentary strategy session by phone to review, walk through your questions and goals.

? Our team also offers a popular signature workshop called “Be the Starbucks of Personal Brands?.” Request us to come to your city, company or organization by using this request link.

? If in the Charlotte area on October 28th, 2017, don’t miss our all-day “Be the Starbucks of Personal Brands?.” Workshop at LaMadelines Northlake. Register here.

About the Blog Author:

What’s Your Secret Sauce? ? Creator and Personal Branding Leader, Dawn Nicole, is a National Key-Note Speaker, Author, Coach and practicing Personal Branding Development Strategist with a hybrid background of Corporate Business Leadership garnished by Creative Arts Directing and Producer, spanning over 19 years! 

This ambitious force to be reckoned with, is a Springfield, Massachusetts native turned Charlotte transplant and in addition to Certified Trainer and Published Author, Dawn has recently added a new title to her portfolio, as Creator and Founder of the all-new “What's your Secret Sauce? ?” Tool! 

A new-age tool, designed for new-age thinking, in a new-era of relationship building and Personal Brand Marketing! Her creation uses a trademarked formula to produce easy to understand, simplified results, that can provide one’s Personal brand value in a matter of minutes!