Читать книгу The Business of Being YOU - Fleur Brown - Страница 4

On another occasion, I was invited to work with another master of personal branding—Sir Richard Branson. Despite the fact that Branson leads a serious, business brand, he’s used his personal profile to lend support to his business ventures and social causes.

More recently, his efforts have been focused on making space travel accessible to everyday, well, wealthy everyday people. No doubt that is his long-held dream. Like many of his ventures, it ultimately has the power to change the lives of millions, if not billions of people.

Doesn’t everyone want to fulfil their dreams? Is there any one of us who does not secretly dream that they could impact the lives of millions of people? Is there any greater testament to the power of a personal brand?

Seeing Branson at work in person, I was struck by how much influence his personal brand had over the business fortunes of his own ventures as well as those of others. Business and brand fortunes rose and fell with a shake or nod of his head or thirty minutes of his time. Arguably, his personal brand must rival the value of his business brands in prominence, thus giving him the ultimate flexibility in where and how he applies his focus.

Over the course of a week working with his team, I observed him lend media support to several business interests and one non-profit cause he was connected with. No matter how aggressive the media conversation became, the media ultimately surrendered to his viewpoint and the fortunes of the entities he supported rose and fell accordingly.

On a separate occasion, I saw Paris and Branson greet each other in a restaurant, and witnessed a moment of mutual respect. Perhaps, in Paris Hilton, Richard Branson had met his personal brand equal!

Like them or loathe them, these two individuals are pioneers of modern personal branding.

The common factor for both of them is the intention with which they set out to create a personal brand, using it to serve their personal interests. In Branson’s case, it was to build his business empire and assist social causes. For Paris, it was allowing her to generate the lifestyle she desired. Perhaps, for both of them, there is an element of also doing it for the hell of it—just because they can. And thank goodness they did because they have stretched the paradigm of what is possible for everyone else in the process.

However, this book isn’t written for celebrities (although its principles equally apply). Instead, it is for everyday people who want or need to grow their profile.

While my aim is to show you that stepping out of the shadows and into the spotlight is simpler than you think, this is not for the fainthearted. You need to want to be seen. In the case of both Paris and Branson, they built their profile around a powerful desire to be both visible and influential, with a tenacious commitment to that cause. And despite the fact that in Branson’s case he has also built a colossal, corporate brand and business empire, neither of them hides behind or are reliant on a corporate brand to keep their personal brand alive.

Building an influential profile requires a degree of commitment to your own personal brand, despite what is happening more broadly in your career, and no matter how alluring the possibilities are with respect to the brand of the company you currently work for. By commitment, I am not just talking about time. Your attitude and perspective towards the task are the most critical factors in your success.