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Why do you need a personal brand? Because a brand is constant and enables you to convey your 'business' self as separate from whoever else you are beyond the workplace. In a business environment, that kind of clarity equates to faith from customers and other professionals, so how do you get it?

#Know your values

We all know that values are important, and we all have a set of values. Values, in basic terms are what matters most in our lives. Values may change over time but it’s important that we know what they are as we take decisions based on them. 

Pick three words: A brand is a simple idea that's easy to convey for others, and that means it can't cover everything. In fact, a brand should be constructed to convey just three adjectives about how you want to be seen: 'rebellious', 'smart', 'safe', 'enduring', etc.   

Brainstorm all the things you want others to think about you and then start paring the words down. Where two words mean similar things, pick the one that's more compelling. Where two words create different pictures ('safe' and 'rebellious' don't work together) then eliminate the one that's less important. Don’t forget, they must be authentic to you as a person and your values.

You're telling a story that you want people to remember, and that means your brand needs to be compelling, cohesive, and simple.   At the same time, don't make your audience guess your three words - when someone reaches for a way to describe you, they need to find your own description right there waiting.

#Tell your story

It's not enough just to think up three words; you have to embrace them. Figure out what activities, choices, quotes, and occasions would attract someone defined by those three attributes, then make sure you're doing those activities and that you have evidence to (casually) share online.

#Have somewhere for people to go to discover more

Building your brand isn't that hard - social media means you can share all the evidence of your personal brand, and as long as you're producing something people want - blog posts, speaking engagements, or products - you've got their attention.  Just keep it going!

#Build long term relationships

What is one thing that takes a long time to build but can be destroyed in no time?  Trust!  As the foundation of solid relationships, there is no overnight solution for building strong relationships. It just takes a long time of sustained efforts where each party is building trust one-step-at-a-time.  Relationships will sustain only when there is mutual value, so a key question is what is the reciprocal value to the other party?

#Create a network

An important way to cement your brand is to create a network of other professionals who share similar values or interests. How you're seen isn't just about what you say, it's about the company you keep.

#Set high standards

Whatever you want to become known for, set higher standards than everyone else.  In order to have good results, we need to set the right expectations and exceed them consistently. However, if we want outstanding results, we need to operate at higher personal standards than what others expect of us.

#Help other people

It is interesting how many of us hoard information and knowledge. Knowledge used to provide competitive advantages, but not anymore!  People are happy when their problem is solved but they will be delighted when they learn how to solve it themselves.  You may think that if you share everything why would anyone come to you again?  However, with all the resources that are available these days, people can find the information by themselves. Next time, when people ask for help, see if you can provide enough information so that the person can solve the problem himself or herself. He or she will thank you for that and you will have the satisfaction of helping someone grow!

@ProwseBrowse

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