For business leaders, solopreneurs and consultants, building your personal brand isn’t optional. This foundational identity work is paramount to your professional success. 

Why you should build a personal brand

Your personal brand is the framework for how you show up in the world–online and in person. It’s how you’re perceived by others; and it’s what they say about you when you’re not in the room. If you don’t build this framework and nurture your brand, others will define it for you.

How you build a personal brand

Contrary to popular belief, brand building doesn’t start with a logo. Your visual brand identity is only one part of your brand. And because good design starts with strategy, it should not be the first step in your brand development.

These five questions will help you begin to build a personal brand that is consistent, tailored to your audience, and aligned with your values and goals.

1. What is your offering and its most important features? In other words, what problems do you solve better than anyone else and what pain points do you address? 
2. Why do your clients/colleagues trust you? Look past the obvious for this one. Most people see themselves as honest and hardworking. If you can reach beyond those easy first answers, you’ll find some gold that will form the basis of your brand values.
3. Who needs you? Now that you know what problems you solve, you need to figure out who needs those problems solved–and who will be willing to pay to solve them. 
4. What motivates you to do what you do? Think about what drew you to the work you’re doing and what inspires you to keep doing it. Dig deep for this one. The answer can’t be, “because it makes me a lot of money”. No one but you cares if you achieve financial success. You need to give people a reason to root for you.
5. What sets you apart from the competition? Look around you and figure out who else is doing what you do. Ask yourself, what do they do well, what are you best at, where is the overlap, and what are the differences? 

Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be well on your way to building a brand that feels authentic to you. But this is just the beginning, and the best way to get to the truest answers to these questions is to pressure test them with someone else.

If you need help building a brand that will help you grow, book a discovery call.