Personal Branding: The Secrets to Stand Out and Go Big in Your Career

Personal Branding: The Secrets to Stand Out and Go Big in Your Career

Introducing “Company Me, Inc., or LLC, or Brand You”
(hereinafter Company Me, Inc.)

What is a brand? Brands can be/mean many things. As a noun, it is “…a class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer.” Think of the most popular brand in the world - Coca-Cola. Everything about it is recognizable - the color, the logo, the catch phrase(s), the taste. If someone says Coke, you immediately know what they are talking about. In places like Florida, they even say Coke as a general term for soda!

What do people think about when they think or say ?
People are overwhelmed with all of the advertisements, marketing and news that bombards them through multiple mediums – especially now with the internet.

You are not a “product.” Or are you? Maybe instead of saying you’re a product, you should say you need to make your own “mark” in order to be recognizable and memorable to many.

How can you stand out from everyone else?
Create your own brand!

Why is it important? In this day and age, everyone needs to stand out - regardless of age, position, or business. Everyone deserves a chance to stand out. You have the opportunity to learn, improve and build you. It is not someone else's responsibility. Everyone has a chance to be a memorable “brand,” to make your “mark” - regardless of age, position, or business! Plus, it will help you be more successful.

Think of yourself as the CEO of Company Me, Inc. But how do you create your personal brand for Company Me, Inc? With The IMAGE System, of course!

Imagine, Manage, Act, Grow and Enjoy!
Imagine.

Ask yourself these questions. What is my style? What makes me different? Where do my passions lie? What sort of impression do I want to leave with my image on the world around me?

Your answers should be things that not only inspire you, but inspire others to remember and have confidence in you.

But do NOT define yourself as your job title! Your brand and image is your title. Hopefully part of Company Me, Inc. will have some similarities to the company you work for. However, you need to think of what is Company Me, Inc. and how can I make it positively memorable?

If you did come up with your Imagine, Enjoy and celebrate the first step in building Company Me, Inc. - or brand you.

So now what do you do with it? You have to market yourself in an easy and positive way.

Manage - How do you market Company Me, Inc?

1. There is no limit on how you market Company Me, Inc. It really comes down to networking (get the Ultimate Networking Guide) http://bit.ly/gcbnetwork, color and exposing your brand for others to see! Think of it as a personal visibility campaign. Just keep in mind that visibility is just that - everything about your image - your appearance, your behavior, and the way you communicate both online and off.

2. Be clear and consistent and repetitive with your brand. Remember, you need to make your brand memorable. Take a leadership role - you are the CEO of Company Me, Inc. after all!
Take on a new project that gets you more exposure.
Practice great business etiquette so people start to see your grace and consistency.
Make a list of places where you are online in which you can market Company Me, Inc. consistently. You want all of your online profiles to match brand you - Company Me, Inc.

3. And, pick a color or two that ties it all together. As mentioned above, Coca-Cola is red. McDonalds is yellow and red. Starbucks is green. ImageThat! is purple and green. Why do you want to do that? It is because the psychology of color is very powerful in creating a memorable image. McDonalds knows that yellow and red cause people to get hungry. As an image consultant, I knew that purple stands for royalty and green stands for money and transformation. I am all of these things, and work with people to - Stand Out and Go Big - to be royal, earn money and to to create their own personal brand. My colors are associated with ImageThat! And that is also me.

Pick a color that matches your personality. Put it on your business cards (yes, you can have your own - remember - you are building Company Me, Inc., which is not where you currently work).

BTW, creating good quality business cards does not break the bank. Use your colors and heavy stock cards. I get compliments on my cards by everyone.

So you Managed your Imagine. Time to Enjoy again!

But it is also time to take Action.
The hardest thing to creating your brand is actually taking action to do it. You must step into your own power and be confident that you have something others would like to see and be a part of. You should want to show the world! This is your time to Stand Out and Go Big - or be memorable and go for what you want that is you and your brand, or Company Me, Inc.!

You do not have to go all out right away. Take small action steps at first. You will have to go outside of your comfort zone to some degree. And enjoy. But as you implement, you will also learn and grow. Your imagine should not change, but how you manage and act on building your brand may. Grow and then enjoy some more!

Here's to building your personal brand!

In the next week, think of your Imagine for Company Me, Inc. If you do not come up with something that is authentically you, remember that you can get help.