What will you achieve in business this year?

I love this time of year…..there’s an atmosphere of renewed energy, excitement and hope about what we’ll achieve in business and in our lives.

We feel unstoppable… invincible, even.

Bring on 2016, we say.

BUT…. Are we really going to achieve all that we want to in 2016?

In my experience, many businesses fail to achieve the extraordinary or even get remotely close to achieving any goals at all. Why?

Because they don’t know exactly where they’re going and how they’re going to get there.

So many business owners and entrepreneurs live from day to day or week to week in their businesses. Sadly, that’s why so many fail or constantly struggle.

Take a look at your business in 2016. Have you thought about the following?

Purpose: What are you doing for your clients and why?

Vision: What’s your longer term view of what you will achieve in your business?

Values: What values are important in your business?

Unique Value Proposition: How will you stand out from the crowd in your market? What’s your point of difference?

Market Niche: What market do you want to focus on? Dominate, even?

Company Promise: What’s your business’s promise to your customers? (NOTE: Please don’t say ‘excellent customer service’ as that’s a given for all businesses).

Strategy: What are your long-term and medium-term strategies in the areas of Marketing, Branding (company and personal), Sales, Financials, People/Team, Operations/Systems?

Key Actions: What needs to be done and when to achieve your long and medium term strategies for 2016?

Key Performance Indicators: How will you measure your performance and potential success? What KPIs (financial and other) should you be measuring in your business this year, and why?

Great work if you’ve started the year off with a hiss and a roar and have all the above written in a simple, useable and easy to read document.

Remember to review it each week and month end to ensure you are on track.

If you’re a bit stuck and not sure what to do to plan your business according to the items above, check out my great friend, Deri Llewellyn-Davies’ FREE e-book called Strategy on a Page.

Here’s your personal link to Strategy on a Page.

The world of business is changing so fast that it’s easy to get seduced by the ‘next shiny thing’ that comes along. While we all need to be nimble and evolve our business and the way in which we do business, we must still have a plan in place that directs us NOW. That’s what the items above do for you and your business. They give you goals to aim for with frameworks (strategies), tools and actions to support you in doing the work.

Yes, we may need to change our plan as time moves on… but if we don’t have a plan to start with… we’re doomed….and our business is driving us rather than us driving our business. I know which I’d prefer.

Make 2016 a big hitting year for you and your business. I’m certainly doing that in mine. But it all started with the planning. Let’s compare notes in December 2016.

ACTION: I’d love to know what ONE thing will be a game changer in your business in 2016. I’d be delighted if you left a comment below.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Grow Your Sales by Branding Yourself

“Quit or be exceptional. Average is for losers.” – Seth Godin

If you’re not convinced of the power of branding yourself, then take a look at the sales statistics below. They make for chilling reading on the one hand….and compelling on the other.

You see, if you don’t have a marketing strategy for generating leads, and a system for capturing them when they come into your business, then money is being left on the table.

In most businesses, it’s near to impossible for sales people to pick up the telephone to keep in contact with a prospect – to keep them warm and enthusiastic about you and your business so that if one day they need what you sell, that they’ll buy it from you.

As the business owner/entrepreneur, you’re a sales person… even if you don’t hold that title… and even if you have others ‘doing’ sales for you, you’re still the head of sales in your business. The buck stops with you!

If you have a savvy marketing strategy and system in place, one that’s consistently working to promote you as the expert in your niche or industry and your company as the leading player, then those activities do the work for you. Together they keep your prospects warm, hot even, and feeling connected with you – the expert, your business, and what you can do for them as your potential customer.

The daily, weekly, monthly actions in your marketing communications act as your regular contact points with your prospects.

And the likely upside is that your business won’t be a victim to the stats reported above. You’ll get the sales coming your way… your prospects will pick up the phone, email or go to your website to buy from you. Perhaps it’ll be after the fifth to twelfth contact. It doesn’t matter. They’ll become customers when they’re ready. Yippee!! Job done!! 🙂

Once you’ve decided on your marketing platforms, be ubiquitous – be everywhere… email marketing, business Facebook, networking, You Tube, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging… do what’s right for your personal brand and your business… to get seen. To get noticed! To be recognised as the expert!

In branding yourself, make sure your messages are compelling and instructional… not self promotional or ‘salesy’. Marketing is changing fast – it’s all about providing good quality content and occasional self promotion. Get the balance right. You don’t want to turn your prospects away.

You may have guessed by now that I’m a HUGE believer in the power personal branding. I spend a lot of my coaching/mentoring time with business owners and entrepreneurs, guiding them to create marketing strategies that enable them to stand out in their niche.

There’s nothing more exciting for me than when my clients tell me of the wins they’ve had through their personal branding successes… be it acquiring new clients… getting a speaking gig… getting a book deal… creating a new partnership/joint venture …or the myriad of other opportunities that come our way when we’re branded.

I wish the same success for you too. 🙂

ACTION: What’s the ONE platform you’ll start on now to begin the process of branding yourself? What might your marketing strategy on that platform look like? I’d love to know. How about sharing your thoughts in the comments below?

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to book a meeting. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

13 ways to market your personal brand

That personal branding ‘stuff’ is for the big wigs of business, celebs or sports stars, right?!

Not anymore.

Gulp! I know. It can be hard to accept that today we need to be our own personal brand.

Personal branding is critical for everyone in business if we want to stand head and shoulders above the crowd in our niche market… if we want to get noticed… if we want to achieve the vision we set for our business and lives.

But don’t worry, creating your own personal brand isn’t about getting out there and having everyone in town and across the world know about you. No.

Your market niche could be a small area of your local city. For instance, if you live in London, you might only want to be found in (say) the Borough of Bromley. Then again, you and your business might be able to serve customers across your city, county or state, and therefore, want to be found more widely. You might be able to serve your customers across the country in which you live… or the world.

What is it for you and your business? Who do you want to find you and where are they?

The question then is… HOW will they find you?

The key with personal branding is to promote YOU the owner of the business/the entrepreneur as the expert/authority in your market niche or industry.

It’s about creating a marketing strategy for BRAND YOU – THE ‘go to’ person in your niche!

The digital world has made getting noticed a level playing field. No longer are big advertising budgets required. All you need is marketing savvy, consistency, and time.

In developing your personal brand marketing strategy, you’ll have to work out what platforms you want to use.

Here are the 13 marketing platforms most in use today. Which suit you the best? Remember, a combination of on and offline strategies are important.

LinkedIn – a fully optimised profile is NOT NEGOTIABLE if you want to be ‘seen’ within the world’s largest business social marketing and sales platform. Get to know how to maximise LinkedIn, including writing blog posts on Pulse, doing advanced searches, participating in groups, creating your own group… and much more.
SEO/Keywords – a must for Google searches – what short and long tail keywords do you want to be found for on your website and other online media, and how will you be found? Will you use organic reach, pay-per-click, YouTube keyword optimisation so you’re found in Google?
Networking – always a must so long as you ‘do’ networking properly. What will you do with the business cards you collect from the networking events you go to? How can you give before you receive, and build credibility along the way?
Blogging – a fantastic option for many business people. It enables you to share your knowledge widely. Can you syndicate your blogs to leading blogs sites or online newspapers? How about guest blogging too?
Webinars – they’re all the rage at present and are a great way to teach your target audience what you know.
You Tube – videoing is the way of the future and a great way to ‘teach’ your knowledge too.
Social media – pick the platform(s) that suit you and your business best (Twitter?, Business Facebook?, Instagram?, Pinterest, Periscope?, Snapchat?, Google + etc).
Public speaking – get on the stage if it suits you and your niche. Public speaking presents a fabulous opportunity to get seen at local, national and international events. They’re especially good if you can video the event and then upload the footage to your website and YouTube using your keywords.
Podcasting – also all the rage at present as listeners can download your podcasts, and listen in while commuting.
Get published – write books, e-books, white papers. Anyone can write and self publish these days. Plus, if you’re good and you have a significant community following you, you may also seek out the traditional publishing companies to publish your book(s). They’re always on the look-out for the ‘next best seller’.
Traditional media – TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, PR – it’s there for all if you’re considered an authority in your field.
Advertising and sponsorships – there’s still a place for this traditional marketing activity, depending on the nature of your business.
Email marketing – a goodie and a must once your prospects enter your sales funnel.

Phew!!! … and so it goes on. Excited? 🙂

What might your personal branding marketing strategy look like for 2016?

A word of warning… don’t try and appear on all platforms, otherwise you’ll never get any work done. Select those most appropriate to your industry or niche.

And get help. Get help in creating your personal brand marketing strategy and outsource some of the ‘doing’ activity.

Do all that and I promise, after a while, you’ll get known as the ‘go to’ person in your market. Now, you’d have to agree, that would be exciting. 🙂

ACTION: Which of the marketing platforms suit you best as a place to build your personal brand in 2016? I’d love to know. How about sharing your thoughts in the comments below?

THE 3 Questions to Working Your Passion

“Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn.” – John Wesley

The phone doesn’t stop ringing. Emails are pouring in. Your bank balance is growing. More and more opportunities for business are coming your way. Why?

You’re living your passion, your dream. You’re getting noticed. You’re standing out.

Sound like a dream? Sadly for many it is. Too many business owners are wallowing in the sea of sameness – there’s nothing that stands them apart from their competitors. They’re one of many, rather than the one who stands tall and gets noticed.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Business doesn’t have to be hard, or worrying, or sleep depriving.

Business should be a joy – that thing that gets you out of bed in the morning with a skip in your step, a smile on your face… a ‘seize the day’ energy and motivation.

VIVA – Vision Internalised is Vision Actualised™

It’s VIVA that stands successful business owners out from those who aren’t successful. It’s VIVA that creates momentum, focus, excellence and results.

As Steve Jobs once said: ‘The only way to do great work is to love what you do.’ That’s passion.

Passion understood in 3 Questions

You might be asking: ‘So where do I start with this passion thing? How do I find my passion?’

Passion comes from 3 areas. Purpose. Vision. Values.

Answer these 3 key questions and you’ll find your passion.

Passion Question 1: What’s my Why? Why do I do what I do?

Unless you’re totally clear on Why you do what you do, you’ll just have a job that might bring in some money. Your Why is your purpose or your mission (to use 1980/90s language) – the key thing your business does.

What difference do you want to make in the lives of those you serve? That’s your Why!

To help you, my big Why is Success! I delight in guiding small business owners achieve business success which then leads them to create THEIR dream lives – however they define their dream and success.

Passion Question 2: What do you want to achieve in your business? What’s your vision?

Purpose is what drives us, and vision expresses that purpose. Vision is the big picture of what you aspire to achieve. Vision is the big dream for your business (and your life).

Passion Question 3: What are your values?

What are the foundation stones that support you to live your life? How do they translate into values that support you in business?

Some see values as those ‘waffly words’ that hang on the walls of corporate offices. Hmmm, sadly that can be true. But values as those core emotions that are key to us. Personally I’m highly value driven and I hope you can ‘feel’ my values as you connect in and get to know me.

Let’s get passionate

While answering the three passion questions can seem a bit daunting, don’t think you have to do it alone. Get help. I promise you, when you’ve gotten your purpose, vision and values nailed…. you’ll be swinging from the rafters and popping open the champagne, as something will have changed. You’ll feel alive, passionate and extraordinary, or at least invincible, as you start focusing on living your passion every day through your business and in your life.

Here’s the thing. When you’re living your passion, it oozes from you and people feel the vibe. They want to be around you and they want to work with you. That’s how you grow your business. By letting your passion shine brightly for all to see.

Here’s what one of my clients, Jenni, emailed me recently… ‘My sizzling continues! Thank you! And it is attracting opportunities.’ I wish that for you and your business too.

ACTION: What’s your ‘Why’? I’d love you to share in the comments below. Perhaps your Why might act as an inspiration to others.

THE 7 Pillars to Standing Tall in Business

Have you ever wondered why in business some people stand taller and stronger, and have more impact, influence and success than others?

I guarantee you’ve noticed those people. They capture their market, time after time. They get media exposure. They have a successful business. They have a big community following them. And they have people wanting to associate and do business with them too. Whatever they touch seems to turn to gold.

Their profile and success makes you feel green with envy. And, intuitively, you know their technical or business skills aren’t any better than yours.

These frustrations are realities in any business – traditional bricks and mortar businesses, shops, and services businesses as well as online businesses.

Some people seem to have the X factor and you can’t put your finger on why. You ask, ‘Why them and not me?’

Good news. You can have that success, those wins, that profile, height, and impact in business too. It’s available to all of us if we know what to do.

Once upon a time (that’s code for before the digital and social media age), it was much harder to have the public profile that many enjoy today. You had to pound the pavement, grease the right palms, have a convincing story and more… to get into the media, to get noticed.

That’s all changed. It’s now a level playing field. Anyone can stand tall and stand out.

It takes just seven steps…. Ready?

At its most simplistic, this is all that ‘those’ people are doing:

They’re clear about what they want to achieve.
They use their personality to endear themselves to others.
They have their ‘patter’ – their UVP or sales pitch – nailed.
They make a point of getting noticed where they want to be seen.
They offer products and services that people want.
They find people who want to do business with them, partnering with others.
They work hard.

Simple! Or is it? I can hear you say, ‘well I do all that too!’ We all do some of that. But do you have a full-on strategy or a system around all that?

The real winners – those who really get noticed and achieve the success that many of us aspire to achieve – have total clarity and commitment to what they’re doing and why they are doing it.

They embrace 7 pillars that support them to stand tall, stand out, and get noticed, being: Passion, Personalisation, Positioning, Platforms, Products, Partnerships, Performance.

The reality is those people who implement the 7 pillars become BRANDED.

The 7 Pillars to becoming BRANDED

People who stand out embrace the idea of being branded, and here’s how.

Blazing Passion – they live and breathe what they do in business and life. We can feel their passion for their work and life. They’re dreamers who are full of vision… they’re on a journey, a mission – they live with purpose… and we go with them.

Refreshing Personalisation – gone are the days where we show everyone what we want them to see of us. Now it’s about seeing the ‘real’ us. People connect with us in an intimate, human – person to person – way. That’s how communities are created, and why followers follow. We get to know them – warts and all! It’s become personal. 🙂

Accomplished Positioning – they know what their market is; they are niched and proud of that niche. They aren’t trying to be everything to everybody. They love the people who make up their market, and they know how to position themselves as experts or authorities in that market so people connect with them and their message.

Notable Platforms – this is the really exciting part. Regular people are achieving extraordinary success and getting noticed by putting their message out to their market by choosing the platforms that work for them. It might be a combination of networking, blogging, any or all of the social media channels, writing books, guest speaking, hosting webinars, running a podcast… the possibilities are endless. They are there and available for everyone, and branded people are using them.

Decent Products – they may not have the ‘best’ products or services on the market – that’s subjective anyway – but what they offer is good and they serve the market they’re focused on. The products they offer vary – free offers, lower entry offers, high priced/premium products, guarantees… we can all do this, regardless of our business type – it’s ‘out of the box thinking’ – seeing things differently.

Enabling Partnerships – people want to partner branded people as the relationship is mutually beneficial. It’s not a one way road. Branded people are connected to other ‘movers and shakers’ in their world, and they work together. Great things happen for all when partnerships are formed.

Dedicated Performance – success comes with discipline and work. Full stop.

That’s it. The 7 pillars to standing tall in business are there for the taking… for you and everyone you compete with in your market. Are you going to take the plunge and become your very own brand? I am. And I can’t wait…. watch out world… here I come!

ACTION: Who do you admire in business? What does their personal brand stand for? I’d love to hear your thoughts. As a starter, my favourite personal brand is….. Jamie Oliver. I just love everything Jamie stands for!

What’s Your Story?

“Purposeful storytelling isn’t show business. It’s good business.” – Peter Guber

What’s your story so far? How did you get to where you are today in business and life? What are the twists and turns you’ve encountered and conquered?

Stories have the ability to paint a picture with words, tapping into the imagination of the listener or reader and allowing you to connect with them.

In my experience, the best way to connect to people is to hear the stories of their lives and to tell our own. Nothing made up. Just the honest truth about who we are, and the journey we’ve had in life so far. That raw, honest truth and vulnerability is what connects us to others and them to us.

The simplest and perhaps the most powerful way to articulate your personal brand is through the art of storytelling.

How can you tell your story to great effect? To build rapport with the community you want to connect with and serve over time?

Your story isn’t your entire autobiography. It’s a snapshot that gives you the perfect illustration in a specific situation. For example, when I teach entrepreneurs how to maximise their profits it helps when I tell them about my own experiences (good and bad, easy and hard) growing businesses to have multi-million pound revenues and profits.

When you begin to articulate the personal stories behind why you do what you do, they add to your credibility, show that you are genuine and have personal experience of your subject. People connect with you, and like you, and they come to trust you.

3 Steps to Great Stories

1. Be purposeful with your personal brand stories
Make sure you share the stories according to the requirements of the opportunity you are pitching for. And make sure the stories are not just the glossy tail end of the story. We connect with the struggle. Connection and empathy from others comes from the journey you’ve been on, not just the destination you’ve arrived at. After all, they are probably on a similar journey to the one you’ve been on and they want to know they can travel on towards the end result you’ve reached ; the one they want too.

2. Use stories that have concrete evidence
If you have figures such as “improved response time by 15%”, then provide evidence that supports your story and what impact it has had. Make sure you always use both concrete data and stories. The combination of the two will provide you with a compelling case when it comes to someone employing you or being chosen in a business deal over your competitors.

3. Ensure your stories are authentic
Stories that are authentic and in need of no exaggeration or embellishment are the most impactful and memorable! In business, if you are being considered alongside other candidates who are all equally as well qualified, what will make you stand out? It’s the connection and impact you make with the experiences you share.

When we are authentic, we are at our most open. When we willing to show our vulnerability, we are seen as being real; being human. Being real gives you your best chance of making the right deals and landing your dream business opportunity. Presenting your own personal and relevant stories when pitching to potential clients to win work will endear you to them. You won’t always win the work but you will be held in high regard for your honesty and authenticity, rather than for delivering a ‘plastic fantastic’ pitch, as often occurs in some industries.

So, what’s your story? What will you share with your potential customers or community to build the beginnings of a long term relationship? How will your story augment the development of Brand You?

ACTION: I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic of sharing stories in support of building our personal brand. How about writing your comments below?

How to create “Brand You”

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”. – Aristotle

The concept of branding yourself has to do with first uncovering who you are as a person. Your brand isn’t an ad campaign or a tagline; it’s a combination of your beliefs, interests, talents, ethos, skills and values.

Personal branding is not an act or a display for others

It’s you being you and nothing more. But sometimes it isn’t immediately easy to know or say what being ‘me’ is. We can look at our friends or colleagues and see their strengths shining through, but often we feel less certain about our own.

So, what are the characteristics and qualities that combine to make you, you? ‘Who am I and what defines me?’

Ask yourself these three questions as they will help uncover these characteristics:

What are my values?
What are my strengths?
What am I passionate about?

Ask your family, friends, relatives or that special someone what words come to mind when they think of you. As scary as this exercise might sound, I’m quite sure everybody will have something to say about you, no matter what it is. Take notes. These will all be helpful insights into how people perceive you.

How about asking them two questions:

If you could describe me in just three words, what would they be?
What do you feel are my unique attributes?

Be aware that the answers may or may not match up with how you want to be perceived (or indeed, how you perceive yourself). But if you ask those close to you, or people you know to be perceptive, chances are they will have a good idea of the real you that shines from within.

Values – are they important?

Yes! You must infuse ‘Brand You’ with your values. This is how you get to do the work you love and love the work you do. It’s how you create a business that attracts customers with complementary values. It means you’ll be able to speak to them with your own, authentic voice, which in turn leads to trust and loyalty.

The specific words you use to describe your values won’t be set in stone as life is a journey and how we see ourselves will always be subject to change and growth, but the underlying principles are an intrinsic part of what makes you, you.

Focus on Strengths

It is tempting, especially in business, to want to be all things to all people. But when we think of the best brands, even the biggest brands, they always play to their strengths.

At school, we’re often conditioned to focus on improving our weaknesses rather than building on our strengths. I’m all for receiving a well-rounded education, but when it comes to business it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of spending all our energy on trying to fix what we’re not so good at instead of changing our business model to work with what we’re awesome at!

Which of your strengths do you most value above all others? How are you putting them to use in your life right now, and could you develop more ways to make the most use of them?

Passions

When you’re honest with yourself about your strengths then you’ll find your passions may automatically surface at the same time; after all, it makes sense that what we’re good at makes us feel good too!

What is it that really makes you come alive? When have you felt that spark of joy and feeling like you are on the right track?

Look back from your future

You’re looking back on your life and saying to yourself, ‘I did it!’ What does ‘it’ look like for you? What is your potential realised? What is your vision achieved?

Your vision is at the heart of your personal brand. It’s the best version of you and your life that you can think of; it’s you living and working with purpose and realising your potential.

Put it all together, and….

That’s where the magic is. When you combine your values, strengths, passions and vision, you’ve nailed who you are! You’ll know if you’ve got it right because you’ll be energised and excited by what’s come together. You’ll be itching to get out into the world and to spread the messages according to ‘Brand You’.

When you are working authentically within your personal brand, you develop impact and influence. People feel the real you and trust and connect with you.

That’s the power of personal branding.

ACTION: Who do you know who most authentically lives within their personal brand? I’d love to hear your thoughts. How about leaving a comment below?

Are You A Personal Brand?

“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room”- Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder, Amazon

Imagine your friends, family, colleagues and clients in a room together, and the main topic of conversation is you. How would they describe you to each other? Would they be able to describe what you do? Or what you stand for?

Simply put, branding has traditionally been the process involved in creating a unique name and image or perception for a product in the consumer’s mind. The Mac ‘apple’ immediately evokes a perception of style, creativity and efficiency. ‘Kellogg’s’ says breakfast. ‘Nike’ says fashionable fitness. Brands promote an emotional response and when successful they increase customer loyalty, awareness and perceived value.

As Kevin Roberts – Global Executive Chairman of Saatchi and Saatchi says, ‘brand loyalty is where the money is, it’s why your customers use you and choose you more often, you or your products are a part of their life, their own story. Apple isn’t irreplaceable, but it is irresistible, so that we become loyal to the brand even beyond reason.’

Stand out and get noticed

Branding on a personal level does much the same thing; why should a potential client select you and your business over someone else’s where the service offering is the same? Often it all comes down to perception and presence. It goes beyond reason. You might be a wonderfully talented person, but unless you project your personality, expertise and general awesomeness to the world (or at least the people who matter in your world), you might lose out because people don’t quite ‘get’ you.

Personal Brand = Personal Purpose

What do you want to be known for? What impact do you want to make on the world? Is this immediately apparent to others either when they meet you in person, or, more likely when they look you up before meeting you? Over 1 billion names are searched on Google every single day, and the information they find for you will in some way affect whether they decide to do business with you, promote you or simply get in touch with you. It will affect their perceived value of you and what you do, and more frequently our first impressions are formed at this virtual stage before we even meet people. So it’s crucial to cover all aspects of our personal branding and make sure they are aligned, both online and in person.

7 great reasons for creating and maintaining your personal brand:

1. Establish Your Credibility
When you take the time to really get to the heart of who you are and what you do, you begin to build a personal brand that others will trust because what you are promising is what you will deliver. When you provide value to others on a steady basis, you soon begin to establish your credibility and build that trust factor, which is one of your greatest promotional assets. Word of mouth travels fast, and often won’t cost you a penny.

2. Differentiate yourself
We live in an intensively competitive world and it’s only through personal branding that you can really identify what makes you different and use that to stand out amongst the crowd. Each one of us is a unique combination of skills, values and passions, so that we each have something unique to offer. Perhaps you have the advantage of a personal story that will really connect with your customers/audience, or you have identified a key problem you can offer a solution for that no one else in your field has addressed.

3. Focus on the Work that Matters
As you go through the personal branding process, your self awareness will increase, deepening your understanding of yourself and what makes you unique, powerful and valuable. This in turn will lead you to focusing more on work that utilises your unique qualities (and is therefore of more value to others) rather than trying to be all things to all people.

4. Increase Your Visibility
When you narrow your focus on your strengths and identify your target audience you will become much more visible to the people who really matter; your potential customers/clients, and also the people in your field who are considered the influencers, who will help to bring you more customers etc. Because you have taken the care to really think about your personal brand and what it is that you can offer, you will be appear as someone trustworthy and a go-to expert.

5. Build Your Network
Growing your network is crucial for business and career success; it opens doors to opportunities you would have never thought of. Your personal brand is similar to a magnet; it attracts likeminded people who can be very useful to your career or business.

6. Magnetize Opportunities
As a result of your growing network, not only are people more willing to help you, but they will actually provide you with more opportunities, which could be a new business idea, a joint venture, co-writing books or even customer referral. When you have a strong, authentic and memorable brand that always delivers, people will always be willing to recommend you to others and want to work with you in the future.

7. Build Your Value
It all comes down to what you can do for people who need what you can do. Once you begin to get a bigger view of who you are, your values and what you have to offer others, you begin to build your value. Other people will only start seeing you as valuable once you do.

Personal Branding leads to Business Success

Whether your business is big or small, thinking about your personal brand is a must if you want to stand out and get notices in our ever increasingly competitive business world.

ACTION: Personal branding is a passion of mine. I’d love to hear your thoughts on people in your world who have strong brands. How about sharing in the comments below who those people are and why they have made an impression on you?

Are you standing out in your niche? Be a Personal Brand!

Imagine this. You’re at a business networking event, and you say hello to someone and ask, ‘What do you do?’ And they reply, ‘I annoy burglars!’

Well, what are you going to say to that? Most likely, you’re going to ask another question. Perhaps you’ll ask, ‘Tell me more?’

And the other person may reply, ‘I’m a locksmith and security expert and my total focus for my clients is to ensure they, their families and their business premises are totally safe and secure at all times. At no time has a property that I manage ever been burgled or security compromised.’

Wow, what will you say next? More importantly, will you remember this person at some future time if you’re ever in the market for a security expert to assist you in your business or home? The chances are very high that you will, and if you’d swapped business cards at the networking event, you may well call and ask for their assistance. You might even recommend them to people in your world if the chance arises, just because they stood out when you met them all that time ago.

That’s the power of personal branding

Everybody’s heard of the word ‘brand’ and mostly we think about brands in relation to companies like McDonalds, Coke, Apple and Virgin. But think of those last two, Apple and Virgin, and the two people most associated with those companies; Steve Jobs and Sir Richard Branson. In his black jumper and steel-rimmed glasses, Steve Jobs never detracted from the Apple brand, he embodied it. The same is true of Richard Branson; he’s a walking entrepreneur, he never wears a tie, is awkward in interviews, and his whole being is on the pulse of what his customers want, need and never even imagined possible.

Okay, you may be thinking, but these are two of the most successful people on the planet in recent history. How is personal branding really going to make a difference to my life, career or business?

You must have a personal brand too

Regardless of whether you’re a small business owner, searching for a job, are an employee or even a student, it will benefit you to think about and own your personal brand. How would you answer that question right now, ‘What do you do?’ Because the reality is nowadays that when people ask that question, what they really mean is ‘Who are you?’ And it’s up to you whether your answer is a conversation starter or stopper.

When you pay attention to your personal brand, you create a vision for your future, and with your brand strategy a path of action with which to get there. The impression you make, the interactions you have, the products you create and whether you are truly authentic and consistent are all key ingredients of personal branding and hugely impact your success as a business owner or employee throughout your career.

It’s time to stand up, stand out and be counted

What do you want people to think of when they hear your name? Who are the people you want to know your name? What can you offer them that will make their lives better, easier or happier?
Reputation has always been a key to success and in today’s digital and social media age you have more opportunities than ever before to build your reputation through your style, presence, connections and expert content. And don’t think that content is only for ‘creative’ people. Whatever you do, in whichever field, people will always ‘Google you’ before they meet or employ you. What will they see?

With just a little knowledge and dedicated time and effort, you can begin to influence all of those impressions and build trust.

Excited? I hope so. Your future success in business depends on your personal brand. Go for it. Create a personal brand that people would walk over hot coals to work with.

Don’t leave your reputation to chance when you can easily be your very own brand guru.

Action: Do you have a personal brand? I’d love to hear what you have done to create your personal brand. Let’s get a conversation started. How about introducing yourself below, telling us about you?

What is Freedom?

I visited Gallipoli in Turkey recently with my father who’s from New Zealand. Gallipoli is a special place of remembrance for New Zealanders and Australians as so many of our young men (ANZACs) lost their lives there during WWI.

The beauty, tranquillity and peacefulness of the many cemeteries and memorial sites in and around Gallipoli belie the horrors of war over 100 years ago. Dad and I found the journey deeply moving and thought provoking.

And what were our young heroes fighting for? While that question could be answered in many ways depending on what side of the war you were on, it’s commonly agreed that they believed they were fighting for freedom. Our freedom!

Now on TV as we watch the war zones around the world, or observe the plight of the thousands upon thousands of migrants who are risking their lives to arrive in Europe, we know that relatively speaking, if we live in certain parts of the world, we live with freedom. But do we?

What is freedom?
What is freedom? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself for a while now.

For me, freedom is the ability to live as I choose. To act, think and do as I please. To be self-determining!

What does freedom mean for you?

Sadly, I meet people all the time who limit their personal freedom. They live small. Day to day, they live with little meaning or joy in their lives. They live in ‘victim mode’ or they live with regret. They live in a state of struggle at worst or simmer at best.

That’s not freedom, in my book. That’s like living in a prison.

Living BIG not small
Recently I felt I was living small too. I was struggling in some areas and simmering in others, rather than living a sizzling life as I usually do. I felt imprisoned, caged, and energy-less. I wasn’t sure why, as on the surface, there was so much going on in my life that was really exciting and I was happy. Yet, something was not right.

In times like that, I tend to ask myself better, deeper questions as I know the universe or my higher self is trying to teach and guide me. I look much more deeply at things in quiet reflection, often taking time out, walking and thinking, working things out.

When I make time to do this, the learning and discoveries are enormous.

True to form, my discoveries this time were no different. They were fundamental to me and the life I want to lead going forward.

I found I was imprisoning myself by my own small thinking, my own limiting beliefs and fears. My old nemesis, perfectionism, was also holding me back, as was the fear of failure and the fear of not being good or clever enough.

All those thoughts were holding me back from really owning and committing to the big vision that I’d partially created for the next phase of my business and personal life. It was as if I was telling myself that my vision was too big… and ‘little old me wouldn’t be able to do it’.

Talk about sucking the sizzle out of my own life! That’s the mind prison I was holding myself within. That’s why I wasn’t feeling a sense of freedom.

When I ‘got it’, I had a good old belly laugh at the irony of my situation, given I coach business owners, entrepreneurs and others to be high performing and to aim for the stars in their businesses and lives. Laughter is a great medicine. It puts things into perspective. 🙂

It was time to practice what I preach.

Back on the freedom trail
So, now that I’ve gotten out of my own way, my energy and excitement has returned. I’ve created some big plans to support the vision I’ve created. There’s loads of work to do as the plans unfold, and it feels really exhilarating and achievable.

Yes, the perfectionist in me will be challenged as I’m bound to make a load of mistakes. Yes, the fear of failure is ever present – hey I’m human. 🙂 I’ll just manage that going forward… I’m not going to let it overtake me.

I’ve always said that when I’m 101 years, sitting in my rocking chair reflecting back on life, I want to be able to smile and have no regrets, and to have loved the life that’s gone before me.

Today I feel free again. I feel self determining. And I remain very, very grateful to those young men who gave of their lives long ago so that we may live in peace and freedom.

‘Their name liveth for evermore’.

ACTION: What is freedom for you? Are you living a life of total freedom or holding yourself back? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so how about leaving a comment below?