Your image is like your logo.

It’s your personal brand. It’s one of the things that makes you instantly identifiable and unique from those around you. Your image is the visual cue that others judge you on within approximately ten seconds of meeting you. People make all sorts of assumptions about your age, wealth, success, marital status, health, the car you drive, the job you do; all based on your physical appearance. And you do it too when you meet or see other people, don’t you? Come on admit it!

If you are in control over your image and how to present yourself this is a great tool to have, as you get to show other people the positive elements of you, making a great first impression. However if your reaction to the thought of others judging you on your appearance was hesitant or even one of horror, then you aren’t dressing to meet your potential, so keep reading!

You see what we actually say (the words or content) only actually accounts for 7% of our communication. It’s our image, voice tonality and body language that tells the story of what we are really saying, and most of the time this is the bit that people aren’t as conscious of.

Putting aside for a second how other people see or judge you, I have found that having control over your image and how you want to project yourself is vital when it comes to self-esteem. Women who feel in control of how they are ‘put together’ tend to have higher confidence, self-esteem and are more proactive in going after what they want.  Women who feel unsure about what to wear on a regular basis tend to question their own instincts more, hesitate to say yes more, and hold back in their life. Now this can include someone who is confident with no make up, walking out of the house in her pyjamas.  But if she feels confident and comfortable like that, then for sure, she can still shine through.

In my job I believe self-image and its’ close ally self-esteem, to be more vital to a happy life than what anyone else thinks of us. The regular building of self-esteem through liking more of what you see in the mirror, means that you care much less about what others think, because you are secure in who you are.

What we see in the mirror develops the way we see ourselves, or what’s called our body image. Our body image does not just relate to our physical characteristics but in modern society, how we look is inextricably linked with who we are. I’m not saying this is how it should be, but to a huge extent many women literally do keep defining themselves by how they look. If they feel like they are ‘falling short’ of their perception of how they ‘should’ look, all of their successes and good qualities can be momentarily forgotten, whilst looking in the mirror.

The journey I take my clients on, is one of self acceptance.  One of love for who they are.  Clothes are simply just a way of expressing who you are.  It’s only when we feel we are dressing in a way where we feel we aren’t showing our true self – our true potential – that we feel we don’t want to be seen.

What is a Personal Brand?

A brand is a way that a company can achieve a desired perception about their product or service. They associate values, and almost a personality to their brand, which helps to bond with customers, make them stand out from the competition and evoke emotion. If done well, branding helps people to buy from a company because they feel aligned with the brand’s values and confident to do with business with them.

Personal Brand is not a person. It’s a public awareness of certain aspects of you – it’s a perception that you wish to create in order to facilitate advancement and attract opportunities. It’s not everything you are. It’s everything you want to be seen as and associated with.

Why is it Important?

Personal Brand is super important in todays’ crowded marketplace. It simply isn’t enough anymore to have great ideas and work hard. You have to be SEEN, NOTICED and EVOKE THE DESIRED REACTION.

Every company that sells what you sell, can learn how to write evergreen landing pages, create a funnel, generate a reel or create a pretty Instagram grid.

What they can not do is BE YOU. The difference that the brand you represent has, is YOU.

• Who you are as a person
• How you think
• What you excel at
• What you are driven by
• What you believe in
• AND how this unique combination is packaged (Your Image)

Be More You

The goal that I have with every woman I work with is to help them to be more them. Whether that’s getting more in touch and discovering what’s truly important to them; working on showing up more, feeling more confident in their own skin (or clothes) and becoming more visible in their life and business as THEM. I amplify what’s there in a positive light.

People buy from people and YOU and when you look at all the USPs of your business or brand, YOU may be the one truly unique asset you have when looking at the competition.

Sure you can alter your prices, tweak your products, come up with a promotion or sell in a unique place, but your competitors can copy all of that. What they can’t steal, copy or imitate with any real success in the long term – is BEING YOU.

The Benefits of a Personal Brand.

The benefits of having a strong personal brand just keep on giving, because once someone buys in to your personal brand – you as a person – they will buy pretty much anything from you, or back you in any way.

Look at The Kardashians for example. Billion dollar empires all grown from clever personal branding. From lip kits to tequila to cars to fashion. It doesn’t matter what they launch – it sells.

A strong personal brand will help you to:-

• Stand Out from the competition
• Get Noticed in the noise
• Help establish a reputation that proceeds you
• Help people to trust you quicker and easier
• Associate you strongly with a particular niche (at first)
• Give you credibility
• Generate a higher perceived value

And all of these things (if they come from a place of authenticity) will lead to

• Greater opportunities presented to you
• More engagement in person and on social
• More clients booking you
• More potential partners approaching you
• Wider experiences becoming available
• Greater influence
• Making a difference in your chosen area

What Is Your Personal Brand Saying About You?

So if you have less than 10 seconds to make a great first impression (that matters), do you know what your Personal Brand is saying about you?

A strong personal brand means a feeling that when you leave a networking event, you’re pretty sure what people would say about you and more importantly, how your presence made them feel.

If you don’t feel confident in this area then some focused work around your personal brand and image will pay dividends when it comes to your marketing strategy and the shelf life of your career.

How to Define, Refine, Discover or Enhance Your Personal Brand?

IKIGAI

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that helps you to become clear on your reason for being – your purpose. Your why. It’s a whole approach to lifestyle that really helped me to gain clarity on my ‘best self’ but also really helped me to define my personal brand when it came to my career and business.

 Ikigai takes life back to basics with 10 fundamental rules: – Stay active. Don’t retire; Take it slow; Get in shape; Live in the moment; Reconnect with nature; Smile; Surround yourself with good friends; Give thanks; and Follow your Ikigai.

However it combines 4 key elements of yourself that I think are super helpful when defining your personal brand:-

• What you’re about / Passion
• What you’re good at / Profession
• What you get paid to do / Vocation
• What the world values / Mission

Where each of these areas cross over, you uncover your Ikigai – your reason for being. However the process itself can help you to get clear and define some core personality traits, values, motivations or beliefs that are an unmistakable part of BRAND YOU.

The Archetypes

Archetypes are a common tool used in coaching and therapy to help you to understand your motivations, behaviours and how you operate, and are often used in branding.

Look at the following Archetypes and see if you resonate with any.

• The Ruler – you want to be the best, and this inspires confidence in others and creates followers
• The Lover – You want deep connection, and this attracts people who desire the same in return
• The Rebel – You like to switch up the ‘rules’ and do things differently, and attract people who like to colour outside of the lines and be a bit different.
• The Sage – You are wise and smart, and you attract people who are looking for someone to give them more calm and certainty in their life
• The Magician – You make dreams come true, and attract people who need hope
• The Caregiver – You are nurturing and mothering and attract people who need to feel safe and cared for
• The Explorer – You are seeking adventure and attract people who are inspired by a feeling of freedom
• The Jester – You are fun and entertaining and help people to connect to the present moment, relax and have fun
• The Innocent – You are simplistic and content in your approach and attract people who are perhaps feeling overwhelmed, and want to feel calm and connected.
• The Hero – You are up for the challenge and draw people to you because you inspire!
• The Girl Next Door – you are relatable and approachable and make people feel ‘at home’ in your company very quickly
• The Creator – You are building something and align with people who may be interested in creating something themselves (whether the same thing, or something different of their own)

Did you relate to or resonate with any archetypes? Which ones?

The Focus Group

It can be really difficult to evaluate our own image when it comes to what people think of us. The term metaperception refers to how an individual interprets other people’s perception of them.

Thinking well of yourself is beneficial – as you view yourself more positively, have higher self esteem and therefore tend to show up more.

The beliefs you have about yourself influence that – so if you believe you are for example friendly and likeable, you are going to behave that way with others in all environments.

It’s ‘who you are’.

However on the flip side, if you feel negative about yourself in any way, and lacking in confidence, or overly concerned about what people may think of you, that also will affect your confidence and behaviour, and you may find yourself holding back.

So what to do?

Reach out to friends, clients, associates, your boss, and tell them you are doing an exercise in personal branding and would they mind assisting you. I actually do this review with my employees.

Everyone gets a review form but they review their colleagues (in a positive light)

Two questions that can really enlighten are:-

1. What does this person do really well?
2. One to three positive words / attributes to describe this person?

The feedback is always fascinating! Sometimes it’s exactly what you expect, and other times it’s a complete shock! It’s a brilliant way of seeing the different qualities and sides of someone and opening your perspective up

So if you want to know if you have an effective personal brand, ask people you trust who you have either just met, or have known a long time, to answer these two questions.

Then compare their answers to what came out in the exercises about Ikigai and Archetypes and see if they align. See if what you are putting across is what you WANT to come across.

If you don’t have to do this exercise to know that your personal brand is not as effective as it could be, or you feel lacking in confidence about showing up, then it’s an area you should take the time to invest in as part of your overall marketing strategy.

A strong personal brand can not only make you feel better about yourself and life in general, propel your career forward, but also open doors and present opportunities in other areas of interest later on in life that could awaken even more passion and purpose.

Interested in personal branding? Have a listen to my podcast on The Best Self Podcast about Personal Branding, or get in touch with me today to discuss if you’d like to work with me on defining, refining or achieving more visibility for your personal brand – email me today