Do you want to succeed in life? Personal branding is the key to success.
Personal branding is a very important component of success in your life. Are you employed by someone else or self-employed? Do you know yourself and how others perceive you in your workplace or in your business? Are you happy with the comments you get from others? I would like you to focus on how you can brand yourself to be successful in your endeavours.
What is a personal brand?
Before I can go any further, let’s understand what branding is. I know there are other definitions of the word “brand”. But in light of the ideas that I give you for living a successful life, let me say that a brand is a collection of all the perceptions in the minds of your customers.
Your clients are the employers who pay you a monthly salary for your services. Your customers are again the people who buy from you in your business. Your customers are also all the people who are associated with you in the day-to-day running of your business or in your workplace.
Now the question is: “How do they see you?” Do they see you as a loose person, a slow performer, a resourceless person who doesn’t own themselves or an underachiever? Whatever the case, you should know that in order to be successful in anything you do, you must be viewed positively. Thus personal branding is the process of building positive perceptions in the minds of consumers.
How can you brand yourself to improve your service delivery?
Anything you do to build positive perceptions in the minds of your customers is what I refer to as personal branding. There are a lot of things one can do but let me give you just 10 key points that you need to keep in mind.
1. Keep time
A large number of people in this century cannot keep time. But let me ask you, “How would you feel if someone you had an appointment with at 10 a.m. showed up at 2 p.m.?” Obviously, many things can happen to both parties. I don’t need answers now but one thing I think is true is that consequences are not good.
If you are only wasting time and doing nothing of your valuable resources, you will regret it and have nothing to be proud of in your old age. There is no time for Africans and for whites. We all have the same time. 99% of the time it is in your control. Wasted time is a missed opportunity and wasted fortune. People who don’t keep time are a very weak brand. Cut them through. They are disrespectful and can only let you down, fail your company or business, and make you miss out on great opportunities.
2. Be passionate
I’ve come across a lot of people who do things for a living. They complain about almost everything: co-workers, salary, workload,.. I just pity them. Never do something you’re not passionate about. Passion is the fuel, the motivator, the motivator and the key to success. If you are passionate about your job, your business, your family or everything you have, the chances of success are great.
People who are passionate about their work, do not get tired and are most of the time self-motivated. They can start and see things through to the end. They are enthusiastic and even in business, they always attract many customers. Do you see how good it is to love what you do?
3. Learn to present something unusual
Let me start with your question. What distinguishes you and attracts people to you? If you work or are someone’s employee, what is special about the way you do your work that will make your clients or employers consider you a person of value?
Do something extraordinary to improve your brand as the best marketer, doctor, teacher, entrepreneur, nurse, driver, administrator, etc… If you are just an ordinary person in everything you do, I assure you, you will live to be disappointed. If it is about promotion you will never get it and many other opportunities.
To offer something extraordinary, you must be reliable to your customers, follow what you do to the end, renew what you do and renew yourself. Do you see how it works?
4. Read to gain new knowledge, information and new skills. How often do you read?
Do you have time to read or are you like those who say they are too busy to read? Well, you can be busy but you need to know that effectiveness is what matters in life.
Read to gain knowledge and skills and apply them to improve your life and improve your service delivery. Improving service delivery is the key to a good brand. Over the years, there are quite a few things I’ve learned without getting any degree but that turned out to be the ones that won me over.
5. Understanding globalization and technology
This again is a very important issue. I know a large number of educated colleagues who lag far behind in this aspect. I would like to tell you that the life of a cube slave is over. In this age of information, one must be up-to-date. But what would it be like if you couldn’t use the Internet? What will it be like when you use the computer like just a typewriter? How will you do when you fear technology?
My simple advice is to learn to look at new technology and re-engineer yourself before it’s too late.
6. Market yourself as the best
Whatever you do, do it to the best of your knowledge and abilities. If you are an accountant, be the best accountant. Same with teachers, administrators, doctors, politicians, etc…
Position yourself as the best person to improve your brand. Don’t wait for your bosses, for your clients to take action. Remember that helplessness is a state of mind. You don’t mind others misinterpreting your motives when you are on the right track. Know how to market yourself, you will succeed in your endeavors.
7. Be credible
To classify yourself as a good businessman, a good worker, you must pass a credibility test. If you can’t pass the credibility test, you will never succeed in everything you do. Confidence protects you.
There are many people who think of making a living from fraudulent means. Sometimes they are deceived by unearned financial gains when they have accumulated a lot of money. But it is a matter of time. If you think you will reap from where you are not posted, you are not born yet. Learn the Harvest Law! be honest!
8. Become an independent contractor
As you work wherever you are, whether you are employed by someone else or self-employed, you need to understand the principle of the independent contractor. You need future references for being an independent contractor.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a boss or a junior employee, whether you are an employee or self-employed. Stop thinking of an employee but see yourself as an agent. What you do in job X will become a reference point for job Y. The builder is more likely to get more construction work if he is recommended as the best builder by his previous clients.
Let me put it this way, you don’t work for Company X but you work with that business as an independent contractor. If you choose to do something, do it right because it will be your future reference. Good references can lead you to success in your work, in your business, in your career.
9. He has a high level of moral authority
Personal branding requires a high level of moral authority. Moral authority belongs to those people who sacrifice themselves for the welfare of others. If you think you will only be to yourself, you are wrong.
10. Get organized
The future for those who are organized. More people are learning but few are organized. Take it from me, having good organizational skills is key to delivering good service and being successful in your business.
Learn how to organize your files, documents, furniture, office wall hangings, curtains, bulletin boards, etc… Learn to be organized at your work and at home. Learn to be organized with your money and expenses. Good organizational skills will help you save time and money, reduce work-related stress, be efficient, appear respectable, reduce your costs and maximize your profits. Do you see the benefits?
In conclusion, I urge you to develop positive perceptions in the eyes of others to poison yourself well