Saturday, September 21, 2013

7 Best Personal Branding Tips for Entrepreneurs



As an entrepreneur, your personal brand is just as important–if not more important–as your company’s brand.

When beginning a new business venture, it may be easy to focus on your company’s brand and completely forget your own. But the days of an invisible founder are long gone. We’ve now entered a time where a highly visible CEO is the norm, as well as a unique opportunity for growth and success.

When your sales leads, team members, and marketing materials are largely garnered from how people feel about you personally–it’s easy to see how your personal brand can make or break your business. Developing and maintaining your identity should be first priority, with your company’s brand following suit.

Here are seven tips to get on the right track to building an exceptional brand as an entrepreneur

1. Build your brand with a direction in mind. As an entrepreneur, your personal brand is tied directly to the business or businesses you’ve built. Developing a strong personal brand means positioning yourself in the direction you would–and your business–would like to go. When developing your brand, it’s important to highlight the key attributes and values which you hold close, but don’t forget to let your brand embrace those aspects you hope to attain in the future–like innovation or expert status.

2. Find your niche and dominate. Fitting in isn’t acceptable when it comes to your personal brand. Brand success is often related to the unique aspect which sets you apart from the rest. Defining and projecting what makes your personal brand different will help you stand out from the crowd. If you can’t find a category to stand out in, create your own and dominate it. Your business brand will soon follow.