Your Personal Brand Is Not Everything
What is your expertise? How do people recognize what you offer? Your personal brand is not everything to anyone.
In a general sense, we know what is on the menu at a McDonald’s or Burger King restaurant. Lasagna isn’t an option.
We can also be pretty sure that we won’t buy a new mattress at the Chevrolet car dealership. We won’t buy a new cell phone at a beauty salon, and we won’t get a freshly cooked rotisserie chicken at the office supplies store.
In the workplace, or for your career, recognizing that you can’t be everything to anyone doesn’t limit your value, it increases it.
Things that are available everywhere to anyone typically cost less.
In leisurely terms we often call these commodity products or services.
They cost less because the wide spread availability drives the price down. The economic guidelines of supply and demand prevail. Businesses selling commodity products or services largely compete on price.
Why Value Matters
What is the value add for a disposable pen? Probably not much.
What is the value if you can have your business name printed on it? Perhaps, a little more, but often this service is readily available.
Convenience stores gain some margin because of their location and of course, their convenience.
Convenience is a service, a value-add. Patrons pay a little more for the convenience.
Most married couples wouldn’t consider a convenience store for their ten-year wedding anniversary dinner. Most convenience stores wouldn’t try to offer this.
Your Personal Brand
Branding for each individual, in their job or their career, isn’t made up of being everything to anyone.
Certainly, lending a hand or helping out in a pinch is noteworthy, and sign of a positive workplace culture and caring. Great.
When your background and expertise is accounting, you may not also be in line to be the Chief Marketing Officer. If you are the CMO, you may not also be preparing for a CPA exam.
If this is not true and you cross paths of expertise often, what is your brand?
A lack of definition may make you nothing more than a disposable pen.
You can put your name on it, but is really doesn’t do much to change the value.
Build your brand.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
