The Soul of Your Brand -
Part 2
Your Brand Began at Conception. Now What?
By Brad Stauffer, CPPC, CDC - On The Mark Branding
What if you had the most compelling or life-changing product or service and no one knew about it?
Discovering and designing your personal brand gets you clear on many things including your unique target market. A consistent brand creates trust, which results in customer loyalty. A compelling personal brand statement creates curiosity and conversation. When your brand is clear, your message, your look and your services are more consistent. It's easier for you to communicate who you are and what you do, and it's easier for your clients to understand how you can serve them.
Also, on a personal level, having a personal brand provides an easy way for you to get grounded in an instant when your day goes crooked. It helps you know what to say "yes" to and what to say "no" to. But many people are still curious about their brand, and wonder how to get one.
Take Charge of Your Brand
To take charge of your personal brand and begin to leverage it to support your vision, it begins by examining three major areas of your life.
- Who You've Been
- Who You Are
- Who You'll Be
Notice the "being" theme in these time frames. Your brand eventually shows up in the world as a unique reputation and expertise. But in the beginning, on the personal experience front, it's more about who you are and what you bring to the party. Let's examine "Who You've Been."
Where Have You Been All This Time?
To take charge of your personal brand and begin to leverage it to support your vision, it begins by examining three major areas of your life.
From the day we were born, we started to have a reputation. Whether it was crying all the time, pooping non-stop or being extraordinarily quiet, someone had a perspective about who we were, and possibly who we were going to be. I have a 15-month-old granddaughter, and I'm beginning to see glimmers of her brand. She's going to be a strong independent woman that will get what she wants. She'll be sweet, loving and compassionate. I bet she'll be known for her frank communication, deep personal connections and amazing dependability.
Our personal brand begins in our DNA; gets stimulated in early childhood; begins shaping in pre-adolescence and starts to consciously be designed in our adolescence and early 20's. From being parented to bullied, from peers to playtime and from education to entertainment, we develop interests, strengths, talents, knowledge, expertise as well as communication, listening and relationship skills, which all feed into who we are: our brand. Whether we had the ideal childhood or a rocky one, it shaped us to be who we are, with all of our greatness, as well as our quirks and hurts. The good news is it can all be consciously designed to create a powerful personal brand.
So take some time to examine your whole life from birth to yesterday. What games did you play as a child? What do your parents, family or friends remember about you? What are some of your first memories of yourself? How did you spend your time? What were you really good at? What did you not enjoy? Examine your history up to your early 20s. Look for common strings and themes of who you were, that still shows up today in some way.
And don't worry, the good news is you get to keep what you like, and not keep what you don't want. Remember, your brand is a co-creation between your DNA and who you want to be.
In the next two parts, we'll look deep into who we are today, and then who we ultimately want to be. In the end, you'll have much more clarity and ownership of your soul-based personal brand.
About Our Expert
Brad Stauffer, CPCC, CDC, is a branding and publishing expert, certified coach, speaker, trainer and publisher. His company, On the Mark Branding provides personal branding, publishing and PR services for coaches, speakers and authors. He is co-founder of Inspired on Demand, a business development program for coaches, was also co-owner and publisher of choice Magazine and now serves as their business coach and publishing consultant. He is a certified coach through the Coaches Training Institute, and, is a Certified Dream Coach® through Dream University®. Brad has been a Toastmaster and speaking professionally for over eight years. He is Immediate Past President of the Western Publishing Association, a member of the International Coach Federation and Program Director for ICF-Los Angeles.
Visit: www.OnTheMarkBranding.com
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