TomesiaIngram

As an entrepreneur, it can be easy to look at “personal branding” as a luxury and put it off until you have “extra” money. I have come to realize that not only is it a necessary but it’s also a “must have” investment.

As the CEO, you are the lead spokesperson for your company. Your employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders all look to you to personify your brand. Everywhere you go and everything you do says something about your company and its brand.

It’s not a question of whether or not you will be a brand, branding is your life and you are a brand. The question is will be a brand by design, or by default. Your personal brand is actually built from the inside out. It is the essence of who you are. It is your personal values and belief system and how you express them to others.

To make sure the essence of your brand is being communicated at all levels, ask others close to you to describe you with one word. Look for consistencies. This is what defines your personal brand and how others perceive you. Is it a reputation that would make someone feel inspired to work with you?

First impressions are critical to success, and your body language counts for a huge percentage of that first impression. In fact, first impressions are typically made within the first seven seconds of interacting with someone, and of that, body language counts for roughly 50%. Since we are hardwired as a survival mechanism, it’s not possible for you to stop people from instantly judging you. But, you should work towards understanding how the decisions others make of you can be used to work on your behalf. Obviously, this is important in the business community and when networking with new people!

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Adding value to your website, service, or product is one of the most over looked and under rated strategies for ensuring the success business.

The internet and all the new technology tools available makes it possible for anyone to offer a little something extra that nobody else does, and usually at little to no additional cost.

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How does your product or service fit into the lifestyle of your target market? Everyone is not your buyer. There may be a considerable amount of people that purchase your product, but that’s not everyone. Dig deep and research your audience. Find the answers to these questions: What are their spending habits? Values? Concerns? Needs?

By answering these direct questions you will begin to win over your ideal clients. The closer the focus the more connected the buyer will feel to your brand. You want them to think that you designed the brand specifically for them.

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We always hear the word “Expert” which gets thrown around in conversations, presentations and branding seminars. It’s hard to understand what that word Expert means to you and even more complicated on the word “Position”. Let’s take a closer look at the definitions. According to Webster’s dictionary, the word Expert means: having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience. The word Position means: relative place, situation, or standing <is now in a position to make decisions on his own> b: social or official rank or status.

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A well blended personal brand is like a personality in that they both contain
a unique blend of interesting yet beautiful components. All parts working together
bring harmony to the life of a personal brand. ~ Tomesia Ingram

Regardless of what blog or social media profile sites you visit in the area of marketing and business, personal branding is going to show up! That means it must be pretty important then right? Well, it is. Don’t get tired, sick or bored with seeing or hearing about it because it will absolutely make the difference in your success, both personal and business.

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In the history of entrepreneurship there has never been a time where “individualism” has been more celebrated. More and more companies are reaching out to individuals like never before in terms of surveying and assessing their relevance and the success of their corporate brands. The personal tastes of individual consumers has garnered so much attention that in 2006 TIME magazine printed 6,965,000 copies of their magazine with a reflective Mylar cover naming “YOU” as the person of the year for 2006. This signified that when a person looked at the cover to see who the “person of the year” was, they saw themselves. With the current market shift of placing attention on the “individual”, it only makes sense that you have a personal brand that will help you to stand out. You are unique! There is not another person exactly like you on the planet.

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In order to build awareness of your brand online it is mandatory that you hone in on the exact people that will be most interested in what you have to offer. You should also make sure they have the money to spend on your product or service. An awful amount of time and energy will be wasted in marketing to people that either aren’t interested or that are not financially positioned to purchase from you.

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As an entrepreneur it is essential that you have a strong belief system in order to successfully show up, serve and prosper. The reference point by which you judge things is the heart of your decision making process. Your own personal experiences have the most impact on your belief system. We tend to automatically block out things that are in contradiction to what we believe. Many successful gurus have reminded us over the years that having negative or limiting beliefs will close down possibilities and even put a lid on your progress.

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Establishing yourself as an expert in your field will help you gain both recognition and respect. Luckily, that recognition and respect transfers directly to your business. If people trust that you truly know what you are talking about, they will feel good about investing in your product or service.

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