Personal Brands: Golden egg or sandpaper dildo?
Adam Jones
Wrote the book on getting clients from LinkedIn (literally) | 10-steps to LinkedIn Success | ￡1M+ generated through LinkedIn
There's a distinct difference in opinion when it comes to building a personal brand. Mainly in that do you need one?
On the one side, there's the thought that people have built businesses for years without a personal brand and then there are those who think it's vital to growing your business.
I get both sides tbf. Personal branding is a relativy new concept and it turns places like LinkedIn into somewhere that you can be known by a lot of your ideal clients relatively quickly. On the flip side, it can take a lot of time and your time may be better spent elsewhere.
Unsurprisingly, I sit in the camp of spending time building your personal brand.
Think of it like this: if you build your personal brand, it's like standing up in front of thousands of people and showcasing your knowledge, expertise and ability to solve problems.
Why would you not take advantage of that?
But what is a personal brand? Most people think it's how others view you and what you’re known for.
It’s how YOU want people to see you and what YOU want to be known for. You will always control the narative around your personal brand.
Take mine as the example. You could guess what people think of me. Some think I'm a genius, some think I'm a dickhead.
But all I do is show people that you can be this loud, extreme personality and attract the right people to you. Yes, the pool may be smaller, but they are out there. You can be exactly who you are and become known for exactly what you want to be and attract the right people to you.
So, the way to look at this is to split your personal brand into two:
This week I'm going to cover the first point.
Very few people will ever change their personality. It generally takes something catastrophic to fundamentally change who you are as a person.
That bit is easy. Ultimately, you're just being you. It's how you talk, your values, your sense of humour. It's your whole style.
But how well do you know yourself? I mean really know yourself? Have you been truly honest about who you are including all your flaws?
That's always the first thing I look at when working with someone. Because if they know themselves, they know what parts they are comfortable sharing online and what to keep hidden away.
This may sound like you're not being authentic to yourself, but you are. More so than that hustler bro who seems like he's got the world at his feet whilst sharing a bed with strangers in some hostel in Bali.
The version of you that you portray is still you. When a person meets you in person, you won't be different. Because one thing I've learnt is that when you put a persona out there that isn't who you are, the mask will slip. And you'll end up hating working with the people you've attracted to you.
Therefore, to start ask yourself:
Then choose what you want to showcase. Don't be afraid to show off some weaknesses and flaws- it helps create empathy and authenticity.
That's what people will be attracted to: you. Yes, people will think you're an idiot- but that's what the unfollow button is for. They aren't your people.
The more you're you, the more you'll find your people.
Then it's just a case of selling to them. But that's a whole different story ??
And there you have it.I've touched on how to start building a personal brand, and for me it's one of the most important things you can do. And done right, you'll make a lot of money from it. So think of it as a golden dildo rather than a sandpaper one.
Hit the right spot and it'll give you everything you've ever wanted.