Thursday, January 23, 2014

Your Intrinsic Brand

In reading a "how to" recently about all the steps we as entrepreneurs must take to brand ourselves, I quickly understood why so many of my clients felt extremely overwhelmed by their to-do lists. There were about 30 items on the recommended list. If I did all those things, I would never have time to serve my clients, let alone time to enjoy my life.

I firmly believe we ARE our brand. We radiate our values and beliefs in every conversation, every encounter, every project we take on. Here is an example everyone can relate to: remember last fall when it was local election time? Did the dozens of cardboard signs on any corner persuade you to think differently about a candidate? When you hear a candidate speak or watch them on a television ad, you intuitively know who is being genuine and who is trying to project an image to get your vote. There is an intangible something about each one of us that radiates to others. That is the origin of our brand.

I'm not suggesting that we don't use whatever avenues we choose to present our businesses in a favorable light, if that method appeals to us. I am saying that we don't have to make ourselves crazy trying to blog, tweet, use Facebook and other social media sites and the 25 other things the so-called experts recommend to get our businesses noticed. Choose the ones that appeal to you and consider that enough. Track your results for a period of time and see how they are, then tweak if necessary.

We are in charge of our own wellbeing. We literally cannot use every medium available to us. Take care of yourself by choosing one or two venues to connect with your audience and let the rest go without a backward glance. Give yourself a little freedom. Isn't that one of the reasons you went into business in the first place? Ah....relax.

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