Personal Branding. The Brand You-Challenge.

“To change yourself, never forget to challenge yourself.”
Debasish Mridha

You know how reading can change ones life? 
Be prepared ‚cause I just found this book on Personal Branding. And it is not just about

• How you can build your personal brand

It is also about why Personal Branding is important. Even if you are not on Social Media to become the next best influencer. And as it is always helpful to walk a mile in someone elses shoes I thought „Well, let me try the advices of this book first and see where it leads me“.

Personal Branding for the non-fempreneur

Mostly when you read up on personal branding or creating your personal brand it appears like personal branding is just relevant for everyone who has to present themselves to an online audience.

Which is natural. We all spend so much time online and on social media that we sometimes forget that there is a different non-online-life too. And online is where we probably get in touch with a personal brand. Think about the last time you looked at a beautiful curated Instagram feed. Or when you have joined a fancy facebook group. Both are aspects of personal branding.

But there is something in personal branding and in the way it approaches competences and perception management that is also useful for you as a non-fempreneur. And essentially this is what the book I mentioned earlier is all about: Creating a brand that makes you fit for the job market out there.

A read to change your mind(set).

And know the big drumroll. Here comes the book. It goes by the name of „Brand You50“ and I was pretty surprised to realize, it is only available in English! Here are some quick facts:

• The author: Tom Peters
• Title: Brand You50 (from the „Reinventing Work“-series)
• 224 pages of pure fun
• And astonishingly it was written in 1999. It’s old. But even more relevant than ever.

Tom Peters writes witty, funny, down to the point and in a way that got me jumping up and down on my chair, shouting „I want the new work order“. But be aware, he is also very unconventional and for some this book might be too quick and forward. For all the others that start to see the new possibilities that our ever-changing workplace offers, grab a copy of his book.

So now you have a short overview what this book ist about. Let’s head over to the „What is in it for you“ and „Why am I testing it out?“-section.

Reasons to focus on your personal brand

Even as an employee personal branding comes in very handy for you. Sure, a good CV with lots of certificates and letters of recommendation are fine too. But stop here for a second. Think about the last time people inside your company were talking about a new hire. 

Did they rather say:

• „Hey, let’s search outside of the company and hire someone new and fresh.
• That we don’t know. And that we don’t trust yet.
• Let’s just do it and get some fresh ideas into our company.“

Or was it rather somewhere around these lines:

• „Hey, do you know John from the XY departement? He is really good at X and I would love to have him on my team.“
• „Do you know someone that is an expert on Y? I need someone like that for this vacancy I have.“
• „Everytime I have a problem with Z I ask Mary from the d-departement for help. She would be a really great fit for my unit.“

My guess here: You hear people talk more about experts they already know than they talk about experts they might get to know. And they are asking a trusted source for a recommendation.

What that has to do with you? Everything. Because this is pure personal branding. And it is outside of social media. And far away from any online presence. 

How to get from being „just“ employed to being „noticed“

To put it very simple: Personal branding within your corporate job is about getting noticed for a certain kind of expertise. 

I remember me starting out after my graduation from university and having absolutely no clue how people get to be considered as experts in one field. To be really honest: I was 21, making real money for the first time and I didn’t really care.

How did you approach your work-life so far? Did you think about becoming noticed for something or was it something that happened unintentionally? 

If it is the latter then Tom Peters book is definitely for you. He approaches the workplace with a different mindset and describes personal branding not just as a way to stand out or get noticed. When you read his books it sounds more like a way of life, a certain kind of mindset and a way to be seen as

• Committed
• Distinct and
• Passionate

Wether you are thinking of leaving your corporate job to be a successful freelancer or if you want to stay in your corporate job, this book is pure gold. Like the saying: Old but gold.

Personal branding as challenge

Why now approach personal branding as a challenge? Here are some of my reasons and maybe they apply to you too:

• The process of creating a personal brand can be overwhelming, with a challenge it is more fun and more structured
• Tom Peters book makes a challenge super easy. He has 50 chapters and each of them come with a clear topic to work on.
• Challenges help you monitor your process and growth. I try to work on one chapter each day and document it on Instagram. 50 chapters seem like a lot but if you document your progress you can always look back and see what you have already achieved.

What’s next?

So today I kick of the „Personal Branding challenge“ with the first chapter. Head over to my Instagram and follow my tries and errors on the way to a better personal brand. And don’t hesitate to comment and get in touch with me.

Or even better: Join in and create your own challenge to grow your personal brand in the next few month.