Discover your personal brand so that your amazing story can attract the work – and the business – that you love.
Corporate branding does not happen overnight, and neither does your personal brand.
“There’s no real incubator for that kind of thing,” Greg Monaco explained during this episode of the Publio Podcast. “It takes months, even years, to build your personal brand.”
Jay Z got it exactly right: “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.”
In fact, your personal brand is your life’s work, and that’s what Monaco’s Fearless Brands is all about. Conversations about personal brands have gained momentum because people aren’t willing to put up with their jobs.
“In the Great Resignation,” Monaco observed, “people have learned that they can design their lives as they wish.”
Your personal brand is the nexus between your career dissatisfaction and the next phase of your life. It can also be your ticket to success and fulfillment within your job- or your own company. Tune in to the full episode on Spotify.
Your Personal Brand Defines Your Business, Man
Regardless of whether you work in a corporate structure, or you’re a solopreneur who is trying to build something, you have a personal brand. The question is whether that brand will allow you to achieve your goals.
If you work in a corporate structure and you want to keep your job, then you must determine what you want to be known for. You will ask – and answer – questions that you normally would not consider. Be clear about what it is you love to do and how to express that to the rest of the organization.
“You can actually get more juice out of that job and enjoy it more if people know you for the things that you really love about your work,” Monaco said.
Outside of the corporate structure, you have to create the relationships yourself, because you’re no longer in a ready-made incubator of people.
“You’ve gotta create that network. You gotta find the people who are going to hire you,” Monaco said.
The same process that you use to create your personal brand inside a corporate structure applies to branding yourself outside the organization. The only difference is the urgency. On your own, you have to find your next gig. Potential clients must understand your personal brand and the essential value that you offer.
Inside or outside a corporate organization, your personal brand will define how well you can earn a living.
The Personal Branding Process
Personal brands are built the same as company brands. The process of thinking, analyzing and defining your value does not vary. Just as a company’s brand will live for decades or centuries, your personal brand must grow and evolve. Your brand will follow you from employer to employer, or from one entrepreneurial gig to the next.
“I call it laying the runway because brands are aspirational by design,” Monaco pointed out.
“I help my clients define where they are going and what they want their futures to look like. It’s a mindset.”
His clients receive the tools, coaching, and guidance they need to define and build their personal brands. Because building a personal brand is a long-term journey, Monaco compares the process to hacking your way through the backcountry.
“You have to be foot forward if you want to be a leader,” Publio founder and CEO Keith Reynolds said. “You have to be willing to put yourself out there in an authentic way.”
And you can see this in Greg’s own social media, published content, and the technology platform he has developed to promote and grow his own business.
“Just remain focused and clear about who you are, and be fearless in how you express your personal brand,” Monaco emphasized.
Or, to finish Jay Z’s quote in Diamonds From Sierra Leone: “Let me handle my business, damn.”
Listen to the Publio Podcast
Jump in on the conversations and some serious real talk with executives and thought leaders on growing your business with digital media. Find us on Spotify, and follow your North Star.
We discuss innovation, marketing, business, events, books, successful must-see strategies, and anything that is positive and refreshing.
If you are responsible for your company’s success, pull up a chair, grab some coffee, tune in and connect with your customer audience.
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