How I Built A Kick-Ass Personal Brand In My Spare Time
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How I Built A Kick-Ass Personal Brand In My Spare Time
I used to stink at dating.
If you stink at dating, you stink at personal branding.
I used to talk in circles about my career. How good I was at my job. The big deals I closed.
One question would trip me up: So what do you do outside of work?
Outside of work? Drink beer and watch sports with my friends I guess.
2 jobs and 3 girlfriends later, I understood why people ask that question.
What you do with your off time is your differentiator.
It is the vibe you give off.
It is YOUR personal brand.
It’s hilarious how dating experts and personal branding coaches preach the same thing. They’re like different doors all leading into the same house.
Matthew Hussey (relationship expert): 2nd Date = Competence + What Else You Bring to The Table
Jack Butcher (personal branding coach): Personal Brand = Competence + Curiosities + Character
Everyone has competence. Everyone has career goals, a college degree, and experiences.
How do you build a kick-ass personal brand? How do you become red within a blue ocean?
Do Cool Shit
Tom Kuegler teaches his students that cool writing comes from doing cool shit.
If you want to stand out on dates, do cool shit.
If you want a kick-ass personal brand, do cool shit.
Tom Keugler backpacked around the country before creating his first blog.
I started a newsletter to help twentysomethings grow in their professional lives.
A friend of mine wanted to improve his public speaking. He could have watched TED Talks and YouTube videos, but instead he joined Toastmasters.
Another friend loves to ski. She could just ski on the weekends with her friends, instead, she volunteers to teach skiing to kids.
I’m not saying you need to start a company, hike to Pacific crest trail, or run a marathon.
Doing cool shit simply means leaning into your curiosities.
Talk About Your Cool Shit
Things turned around for me when I started taking my free time seriously.
The quality of my dates improved. I got an awesome new job at a start-up.
Keep in mind, people care less about the cool shit you do, and more about why you’re doing them.
The philosophy comes from Simon Sinek’s “start with why”. People don’t buy what you do, but why you’re doing it.
Remember our fateful question from earlier? What do you do when you’re not at work? I got the chance to knock it out of the park the other day at an interview.
Here’s was my response:
“I’m a writer. I run an email newsletter called Yo Pro Library that empowers young professionals to build leadership skills and grow in their professional lives. I’m also training for a marathon because I wanted to try something new and push the limits of my willpower.”
People don’t buy what you do, but why you’re doing it.
How do you get your why out there?
You have a publicist, an agent who will distribute your thoughts, for free, to the entire world. It’s called LinkedIn, Instagram, and Substack.
Naval Ravikant wrote, “An army of robots is freely available—it’s just efficiently packed in data centers for heat and space. Use it!”
If you’re looking for a baptism by fire, sign up for Tom Kuegler’s 30 Day LinkedIn Sprint Challenge. Even if you’re new to writing online, the program will teach you how to create valuable content in less than 30 days.
How I Found My Personal Brand
Your personal brand is the culmination of what you do with your time, why you do it, and how you communicate that message.
Personal brand = competence + curiosities + character.
In many ways, your brand can be found by looking backwards.
Take this quote from Steve Jobs:
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only look backwards.”
“You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
“You have to trust something—your guy, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down.”
It takes time to figure out your curiosities and character because it takes time to connect the dots.
I didn’t have a clearly defined brand at 22 years old. Hell, I didn’t have one at 27 years old.
I followed these steps and a brand emerged.
1.) Consume a lot of information:
What you read, follow on Instagram, and watch on YouTube leave clues about your interests.
2.) Talk to people about your ideas:
Tom Kuegler gets his article ideas from conversations. Talking with people is the best way to get feedback and even build upon your ideas.
3.) Create:
Post your thoughts online. Put your identity front and center in your bio. Write down your elevator pitch. Click here if you need some examples from the best personal brands on the internet.
4.) Go back to the drawing board:
I’m constantly refining my brand. Social media allows you to receive immediate feedback. What a powerful tool! Post and take note of what resonates with people. If an idea falls flat, go back to the drawing board.
Above all, Work on your personal brand with intention.
Companies spend millions on their brand for a reason. It’s because people remember emotion not statistics. They remember how you made them feel. The why of the matter and not the what.
Sure, same goes with dating. LOL.