As I write articles on how an entrepreneur should brand themself, I’ve been receiving questions on WHY an entrepreneur should focus on personal branding. Here are some of the reasons why every entrepreneur should focus on personal branding:
Why brand yourself?
You are the face of your brand/company
As an entrepreneur, you are the main representative of your business. Being that you are the one with the most at stake to the success of the company, you have the most desire and passion to see it succeed. If you are working on your personal brand, you are in essence working on your business as well.
When you receive publicity, your company receives publicity
A strong personal brand will generally lead to more media appearances. Being that you probably do not have a PR firm, your company needs every type of publicity it can get. When you have a media appearance, you can normally get a plug or mention for your business – therefore ensuring that the more you work on your personal brand the more publicity the business will get.
It helps put things into perspective
When you work on your personal brand, it helps you realize your strengths and weaknesses. When you make this realization, it’ll help you determine what parts of the business you should focus more on and what parts you might need to seek outside help.
Your brand is directly tied into your business
The stronger your personal brand, the better it’ll be for your business. When people know they are doing work with your firm and learn about the strong qualities/traits of the person behind it, they will feel more comfortable. If you get one new sale or strong lead out of your personal branding, how could that not already be a success?
Author:
Ben Cathers is a young entrepreneur and author who successfully built three different internet startups before he was 19. Ben is the author of Conversations with Teen Entrepreneurs and was named in 2005 by CNN as a member of “America’s Bright Future.” Ben has been quoted/featured in the Wall Street Journal, FOX News, ABC News, CBS News, Yahoo! Internet Life, The London Sunday Times and in over 40 different publications. Today, Ben is working on his 4th startup (stealth mode – in the social media space), does web strategy consulting for small to medium companies, runs the social media group for Lightspeed Financial, maintains a blog on social media and entrepreneurship at BenCathers.com and is on the advisory boards of ZepFrog Corp and iGot2Know LLC.
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Good points Ben! I speak to entrepreneurs quite a bit and the ones who are seeking investment have really clocked on to the benefit of personal branding – the money is invested in the people behind a business when it’s a startup.
Well said Ben. I agree that it is imperative for all entrepreneurs – especially service-based entrepreneurs to be clear on their personal brands.
One of the things I often see with many service-based entrepreneurs who are unclear on their brands, is that they send out an inconsistent message in their marketing and communications. And, as we know, a confused prospect will say ‘no’ through not understanding the benefits and outcomes they will receive through investing in those services.
Being clear on your brand and what makes you unique will not only enable you to position your services in a powerful, benefit-driven and memorable way – it will also enable you to continue attracting your ideal clients, who connect with your message, and who can benefit from investing in you.
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