Why you can't afford to ignore your personal brand, no matter who employs you.....

I spend a lot of time talking about the power of personal branding. A lot of time. I talk about it with employees, freelancers, business owners through various different platforms - it is, after all, what I do for a living - I help people find their superpowers and put them to work in their career or businesses.

What's really interesting to me is how the business owners I work with engage with this so much more quickly than employees or freelance professionals. The business owners I work with see the value in developing a strong personal brand so that they stand out for the right reasons in their industry, and not the wrong ones. They see the value in taking the time and effort to define, develop & deliver a strong personal brand that makes the kind of impact they want for success. So they do it. They work with me on a 1-2-1 basis, allowing me to mentor them and keep them on the right path, or they come along to my workshops to learn & develop these skills on a continuous basis. Some of them do both. They are usually the ones who see the most success happen most quickly too.

But it is so much harder to get the buy in from freelance professionals like me, or from employees. Here's my take on why that happens and why you can't afford to let it happen if you are either:

Let's start with the employee. When I get asked to go into companies and talk about personal branding, the very first objection I nearly always get is 'this doesn't really apply to me as I already work here', or something similar.

That's bullshit.

The reason I get asked to go in and talk with employees about personal branding is because they have become invisible. They are complaining about being passed up for promotion, or for missing opportunities without realising that they simply don't stand out enough in the workplace. So I talk about how to change that by giving employees the tools they need to build the confidence to do just that - but in the right way. Making an impact needs to be positive for both employee and employer - and that starts by clearly communicating what you offer and how you offer it. So often the reason that employees are frustrated by what they see as lack of advancement is directly related to a lack of understanding of their personal brand. I help them work out what this is and how to implement it - once they get past that first hurdle of 'I don't need to'....

Sheena comes from a place of having to have done this for herself. It isn’t simply theory, it is advice which actually works outside the classroom, for those who choose to implement it. Stefan Thomas, The Networking Retreat”

Now let's look at the freelancer. Something I know a fair bit about, having been one for nearly 20 years (blimey, how did that happen?!). I am lucky enough to have a team freelancers affiliated to Lightning Training, and guess which ones I use the most? The ones that stand out. The ones who make an effort to establish a great personal brand that builds confidence in what they offer and how they offer it. The ones who recognise that this is an essential part of creating success for themselves and for their careers. Just like an employee.

But there are plenty who don't bother. Plenty who simply expect the opportunities to present themselves to them. Plenty who moan like a moany thing about not getting enough work. Plenty who complain that it's not their fault.

That's bullshit too.

Look at the similarities here. It simply doesn't matter if someone employs you or if you employ yourself - if you don't recognise the value of developing a strong personal brand that generates success for your career, you'll keep wondering why the 'other guy' is doing better than you. Why you don't get those opportunities you think you are entitled to.

Guess what? You're not. You're not 'entitled' to them. You have to create a reason for people to want to offer them to you.

And you need to start doing that by recognising you simply can't afford to ignore your personal brand. No matter who employs you.