💭The Business Founder's Guide to Impactful Personal Branding

The truth is:

• You don’t need to be famous to need a reason to manage your personal brand

• And having a business with its own unique branding doesn’t mean you as the founder don’t also have a personal brand.

Like it or not, personal branding influences our businesses, our careers, and even how often and where opportunities come to us from.

So let me ask you this, would you rather take control of your personal brand now and ensure your presence is authentic to who you actually are? Or would you rather let others decide it for you?

If you said yes, you want to take the first steps into leveling up your personal brand, you’ve come to the right place!

Today’s newsletter is tailored for business owners and founders like you who want to take the initial steps to get clear on their unique personal brands.

We’ll cover the exact questions you’ll need to get started and a few of my personal branding takeaways.

Let’s dive in!

In 10 minutes or less, you’ll learn:

✅ why personal branding helps grow businesses

✅ the exact questions you need to start clarifying your personal brand

✅ a few of my favorite personal branding takeaways from the last decade of my career

Why Personal Branding Matters as a Business Founder 💥 

#1: Whether or not you as a business founder choose to be the face of your business - customers, stakeholders, and employees will still look to you. People want to connect with, relate to, and work with other people who are like them, not faceless entities.

#2: It gives you the opportunity to share the best vocabulary to describe you, your business, and your purpose with others instead of leaving others to fill in the blanks.

#3: Personal branding allows you to also share what you’re currently doing and what you’re looking to do in a public setting which can help bring new aligned opportunities, collaborations, and connections into your life.

#4: Showing up with your authentic personal brand builds trust with customers, employees, and stakeholders and can grow your business.

#5: A strong personal brand helps you shine in a sea of sameness and in turn, helps your business shine.

How to Start Clarifying Your Personal Brand ✍️ 

Getting clear starts with internal reflection and answering questions that only you can answer. Grab a piece of paper and a pen or get your notes ready!

Once you have these answers, you can start to build out personal brand statements, update your website, write your founder story, and better show the world the amazing person behind the business!

What: 

• What do you do for your customers?/What’s in it for them?

• What makes your business offering unique?

• What problem do you solve?

• What makes you as a business founder unique? (Think of your experience, purpose, values, life lessons, etc.)

Who:

Take the time to be specific when answering these questions. Don’t be afraid to niche down. Niches will help carve out your unique positioning.

• Who do you offer value to?/Who is your ideal customer?

• Who is your ideal stakeholder?

• Who is your ideal employee?

Why:

Your purpose or your why identifies special values and traits about you as a business founder that helps your customers connect and relate.

• Why did you decide to do what you do now?

• Why did you start your business when you did?

A Few of My Favorite Personal Branding Takeaways 💌 

• Secure your website domain & social handles for your full name even if you don’t have immediate plans to use them.
  

• You’re never finished getting clear on your personal brand, it’s an on-going process and you will change throughout your life. The goal is to most accurately share what your personal brand is right now.
  

• In addition to thinking your way to clarity, you’ll need to take corresponding actions to see results.
  

• There will always be haters when you’re building a brand or a business - they aren’t thinking about you, they’re thinking about themselves. Ignore the noise.
  

• You don’t need to be a personal branding expert to start building your personal brand. Everyone has to start somewhere.
  

• Your founder story of how and why you started your brand is unique and 100% yours. Share it!
  

• Have a one minute and a thirty second version of your elevator pitch. You never know when opportunities could arise.
  

• Ask people close with you to give you a word or two that makes them think of you. Paste all of these words into a word cloud, see which ones are the most repeated.
  

• Do a personal brand audit - make a list of your credentials, achievements, clubs, and online social presence. Ask if these all best reflect who you are and what you do right now.

ABOUT VERSA STRATEGY

Chandler Kirkman is the driving force behind Versa Strategy. She’s on a mission to elevate businesses’ marketing and empower Creative Strategists to think big picture about the business landscape.

In the past decade, Chandler has consulted with over a hundred businesses of various specialities from Fortune 100 companies to local small businesses. By infusing branding, advertising, and marketing efforts with her signature blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and enthusiasm, she cultivates a dynamic and empathetic approach that helps business owners better connect with their customers.

LET’S CHAT! [email protected]

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