A Real Life Inspirational Example Of Authentic Personal Branding
Our guest author, Jim Karwisch makes lives better through Improvisation. He offers Leadership Skills Training as a Speaker and Coach. You can learn more about Jim and the powerful work he does at DuMoreImprov.com
As a freelancer, displaying your competency for the business as well as a mastery of your craft is vital.
How do we as freelancers stay consistent with our interactions and messaging in order to maintain the view we want others to have of us?
The answer is personal branding.
After leaving my job and heading into the world of freelancing, I had several key knowledge growth interactions with my new freelancing network. These linchpin moments left me face to face with the reality of make it or break it. When I did not show others what I needed them to see, they walked away from our conversation without clarity of of why I could be trusted and why they would refer others my way.
Many companies have a branding style guide they use to ensure what they put into the world matches how they intend to be perceived. I boiled it down to seven key factors that summed up my personality and expertise. These seven factors were married with a clarifying warning of what could happen if I took these factors too far. Here are my seven personal branding qualities.
The Personal Brand Of Jim Karwisch
- Engaging (without manipulation)
- Confident (without an ego)
- Kindness (without weakness)
- Knowledgeable (without superiority)
- Efficient (without carelessness)
- Good Listening (without disappearing)
- Accepting (without rolling over)
When I enter a group setting, it’s import for me to align with these seven values. All seven are true about me, but they are all subject to environmental influence.
When I step into a room with a group of accomplished and intelligent people, I could react by feeling inferior. Priming myself with a goal of showing confidence and knowledge without competing for superiority gives me a compelling goal to prevent an inauthentic presentation.
How we represent our personal brand in writing is also crucial. When we remove the dynamics that come with face-to-face interactions, our intentions can go awry because they are easily misinterpreted by the reader. When we send out perfectly crafted emails but our social media accounts show someone who is haphazard, careless or lacking empathy, our potential clients may believe that our emails are contrived and our social media is more indicative of our personality.
Another factor in my journey to success in freelancing was effectively communicating my odd set of provided services. It’s mandatory that I excel at explaining to people what I do in a way that is easily grasped and remembered. Because so much of my work is influencing individuals and teams using visuals and improvisational exercises, people can walk away from conversations not remembering me. Instead they find themselves attempting to process the new information they learned.
Having a preselected set of descriptors makes my work relatable while giving them an understanding of my methods. New and innovative is my primary goal.
So how about you? What are the elements of your personal brand? Does all of your messaging display the person you are at the core? Can you clearly state how you want others to perceive your offerings?
Take some time to craft these elements.
You will not regret it.
