how to CREATE A Personal brand + turn your personal brand into cash 1 You the brand! Yeah YOU! You the brand! Yeah YOU! Everyone has and is a personal brand, whether you know it or not. When who people think you are and who you are match up you can capitalize on your personal brand. Don’t believe me? Think about your workplace. Isn’t there “Smelly Mouth Sam, Gossiping Gwen, Thankful Tim, Negative Nelly, Joyful Jenny, etc. I’m sure you’re saying well not those names but yes. See, in order for us as humans to remember things, we have to give it a category for our brains to save and process it, so we can learn from and pass on the experiences. It’s almost like when we create a folder on our computer to save great quotes, cute pictures, awesome recipes, etc. Anytime we come across one of those things we save it in that folder. When we need one of those to benefit us or share with a friend we go right to that folder. If we don’t save it in the folder… we can never find it! The same goes with the people we meet and the people we know. 2 Capitalizing on your personal brand! How exactly can you make money from your personal brand? Well let’s go back to the people at the office I mentioned earlier. Remember I said if who you are and who people think you are you man monetize on your personal brand. Watch this: Smelly Mouth Sam: Let’s say Sam acknowledges the problem he has. He makes it clear that he knows he breath is rancid. He let’s the group know he has an extreme case of halitosis. Sam then goes on to do tons of research on the topic and finds a solution… he freshens his breath. Sam then shares the solution to the problem. Let’s just say he invented a mint drop that reverses the odor. Sam then tells his co-workers where to buy it. Smelly Mouth Sam then becomes Sam the Man because now even though you don’t have halitosis you can use a convenient way to subtlely freshen your breath (ask Wrigley). Gossiping Gwen: If she begins to share that gossip with people that actually want it, and gossiped about people that thousands and millions of people care about she could make money by sharing that content where it is easily accessible to the people 3 that care about that stuff. Think People Magazine, TMZ.com, The Wendy Williams show, or any podcast, blog or website that does that. Advertisers pay good money to these people that talk about other people. Content is king! Thankful Tim: Well Tim can do the same thing Gossiping Gwen does but in the opposite way. He can share stories, quotes, memes, inspirational tee shirts and so many other things with people that want that content. Believe it or not this a what made Oprah a billionaire. Oprah understands that making people feel great about themselves pays dividends. She leaves the people she interviews and her audience (which is filled with the people that control the buying power globally) feeling great about themselves and the person she just interviewed. Like Tim could, The Big O, generates revenue from her TV Show (now her network)… Tim could do it with a Youtube Channel, magazine… Tim can do it with a blog. Oprah also makes other people rich and in turn makes her richer, think. Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, Rachel Ray and Tyler Perry. Tim can do this by gaining a following and then giving others the same platform he created to reach his audience and create their own. Tim can start immediately by publishing a book filled with quotes and inspirational items. He may even call it Ten Hundred Things to be Thankful for! Click to watch this video and learn how even Oprah struggled when Growing Her Brand, but was able to turn it around http://www.bloomberg.com/video/a-turnaround-for-theown-after-early-stumbles-K9cTEEyDTYaM0pWVlqowdw. html 4 Negative Nelly: She can follow the footsteps of Grumpy Cat, or the Angry Grandma. Negativity can be funny and some people love it. I’ve even heard of businesses, especially restaurants, whose whole theme is being rude. As silly as that may sound people pay money for experiences. And when you meet and surpass their expectation they come back and bring friends! I think you get the point with what I’m saying here. When what people think about you and what you are match it can be very lucrative. Like everything else it requires work and taking action but like Oprah, Harvey Levin, William Wrigley, Jr. and countless others, you can do it too! Don’t believe me, just ask that short funny guy who decided to embrace the fact that he’s the short funny guy (he’ll tell you every time, in every performance) Kevin Hart! Click to watch this interview Kevin Hart with Oprah (ironically) Why Kevin Hart Isn’t Afraid to Laugh at His Short Stature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AARlmX4Du7Q Like I said if they can you it, you can do it. Even if it’s not on their level, you can put some decent cash in your wallet and feed your family if you take control of your personal brand! 5 Personal Branding for Success! One important part of branding is the image you yourself portray. Developing a likeable personal brand is essential for succeeding. If you want to rise to the top of your particular arena (even if it’s at your job), you need to first be able to sell yourself to your potential customers and decision makers. Think about it. Would you rather do business with a person who smiles and comes across as friendly or with one who snarls and ignores you? The first impression a potential customer or decision maker receives is from you. Make it a good one. How can you accomplish this? One: Become an Expert at Something. Two: Become a great communicator. Research shows communication skills are the top determinant for upward social and professional mobility. Three: Draft a marketing plan for yourself annually, and review it quarterly. Include specific goals, strategies, action steps, and 6 a timetable. Four: Develop an ‘elevator speech.” Within the time that it takes an elevator to travel one floor - about 60-seconds - be able to deliver a succinct description of what you do, how you do it differently, and the benefit it provides. Five: Build your Rolodex. Make new business contacts and stay in touch with them. Most people with powerful brands have powerful friends. Six: Balance your individual style with clothing that will appeal to those you are trying to impress. Remember it’s about “matching”. Seven: Learn good business and social etiquette. Buy elegant personal stationery and send hand-written notes. Eight: Give something back. Giving your time, talent, and money to charitable causes is a brand-builder especially when it complements your brand strategy. Find a cause you are passionate about. Your personal brand is one of your greatest business assets. Put as much time and effort into it as you do in branding your product. In the end, if you can’t sell yourself, you’ll find it nearly impossible to sell your product. 7 BONUS!! #SUCCESSDONTLIE Here’s something you can start TODAY to begin building your personal cash machine... I mean brand! 1. Become an Expert at Something Establishing yourself as an expert in your field will help you gain both recognition and respect. Sweet thing is, that recognition and respect transfers directly to your company (even if the company is you!). If people trust that you truly know what you are talking about, they will feel good about investing in your product. A website is the best place to start. Build a professional looking site with sound and informative content and you’ll have a source of expert information to direct customers to. Remember that it is okay to give away some of your precious knowledge free of charge. Offer the customer something useful up front and they will label you as a legitimate source to go to for whatever your company may offer. Article marketing is an especially effective method to achieve that expert status because it gives you the ability to distribute a small number of articles to a huge number of content-rich sites. The more places your name pops up, the more people will be exposed to your site and product. 9 Another way to show your expertise is through online forums and blogs. This is a bit more casual than article writing. It allows you to remain in the first person and talk candidly with interested web surfers. The conversational tone used in such settings will put many potential customers at ease. Not only will they view you as an expert, they’ll also feel connected to you as a real human being. Also, such places give customers the opportunity to ask questions and give you the opportunity to back up your product in the face of criticism. Find the right places to gain recognition. Put yourself out there and command respect through that exposure. Highlight your achievements and successes. Branding yourself as an expert is NOT about an ego trip, but instead it’s all about getting other people to recognize you know something and you are both able and willing to show THEM how to get the result. To learn more on creating a personal brand that people know, like, trust and remember... Click the link below: www.LaunchandStandOut.com 10 When who people think you are and who you are match up, you can capitalize on your personal brand. - Mr. Stinky Cakes MYCHAL CONNOLLY aka Mr. Stinky Cakes who started as an immigrant dishwasher, was named one of America’s Top 100 Urban Entrepreneurs for his work as the cofounder of the online baby-gift company StinkyCakes.com. He has also been named one of the Top “40 Under 40” in Massachusetts by Business West magazine. He has been featured in the Boston Herald and in Black Enterprise and Inc. magazines. He speaks about the power of changing lives through entrepreneurship on NPR and CBS Radio, as well as affiliate ABC and NBC television stations. He is a contributing writer for entrepreneurial websites Under30Ceo.com and Virgin.com. Connolly currently serves as a board member and spokesperson for Junior Achievement Western Massachusetts. www.LaunchandStandOut.com Let’s Connect! LCFw @MrStinkyCakes 11
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