How to Build a Personal Brand as an Entrepreneur
After having spoken to hundreds of entrepreneurs, founders and innovators on Inside Success TV, it’s undeniable. Your personal brand, as an entrepreneur, is one of the most valuable assets you can own.
One thing we keep hearing over and over on Inside Success TV, while interviewing some of the top entrepreneurs and business owners, is that the best build powerful companies off the back of a strong personal brand. And this isn’t about being famous or the pursuit of fame; rather, it’s about cultivating an identity you and your business will be remembered for, but in a positive way.
And the best part is, all this does not require faking who you are. A personal brand is about getting recognized for who you are and always giving people a reason to remember who they saw.
Build Your Personal Brand Around What You Stand For
Most of the successful and effective entrepreneurs know that they cannot impress everyone, the mass market. Instead, they will remain grounded in what matters to them, the problems they stand to solve, and their non-negotiables.
Before you think about content, marketing, or social media, ask yourself one simple question: What do I want people to know me for?
Your answer to that question will form the basis for every interview, every post, every presentation, and every conversation you will have.
Customers, clients, partners might not remember every product that you put out, but they will always remember how you made them feel, and what you stood for.
Turn Your Entrepreneurial Journey Into Your Greatest Asset
One thing we noticed through a lot of the discussions we’ve had with successful entrepreneurs on Inside Success TV, is we find that they don’t say “I’m defined by my biggest success.”
But no, most often they say “after failing a business or a product I thought was gonna work, at first I was really devastated but if not for that mistake or failure, I wouldn’t have the results of who I became today.”
That right there is what makes an entrepreneur relatable.
This is why as an entrepreneur you should share the not-so-perfect times as well. Share those lessons you had to learn, share the mistakes, the bumps in the road. Share those small wins that kept your business going.
When people see the real you behind your business, it will strengthen your personal brand.
Stay Consistent: It Builds Trust For Your Personal Brand
Personal branding is not a once off, this is something an entrepreneur will have to nurture on a daily basis.
Because anyone who looks you up online, looks at your LinkedIn profile, your Instagram, watches you being interviewed, meets you at a network event should always leave with the same view of who you are.
Consistency will lead to familiarity.
And familiarity?
Well, it leads to trust.
And if there’s one thing that defines an entrepreneur that sticks to being consistent from the ones who fade into the background?
Trust. This doesn’t necessarily mean uploading every day or aiming to be in a million different places – it just means consistency in showing up in who you say you are and in what you say you deliver.
Focus on Value
A lot of entrepreneurs fall into the trap of going after attention before they’ve built any credibility.
Most strong personal brands do the opposite: rather than asking, ‘How can I get noticed?,’ Instead they ask, ‘How can I serve more people?.’ You do that by:
- Teaching what you know
- Sharing your stories (make them relatable)
- Answering questions, and providing valuable lessons.
When your audience consistently walks away learning from your insights, attention and credibility will naturally come to you.
Your Reputation Is the Foundation of Your Personal Brand
At the end of the day, you’ll need to understand your personal brand is not your logo. It’s not your website or even your social media follower count.
It’s your reputation.
It’s who people talk about when you’re out of the room. It’s the trust someone is willing to place in recommending you to their friends or their colleagues and it’s what inspires them to do business with you in the first place.
We’ve seen it through hundreds of conversations on Inside Success TV and we know first hand, the entrepreneurs who make a real, lasting impact are not always the loudest. It’s those who just consistently show up, who adhere to their beliefs, and just let their work do the talking for them.
It’s not always easy or quick to build, but building your personal brand is easily one of the best investments any entrepreneur can make. Be authentic. Keep serving up value. Remember: before people become loyal customers of your business, they become loyal customers of you.
