Member-only story
Be a Brand Name
I just love those holiday cups. Truly. They warm my cold, black heart like few other things. I was flummoxed a few years ago when the debate started to rise about Starbucks’ notable “red cup,” but I’m now accustomed to the variety that came about. It’s not actually about the red cup, you see. It’s that Siren. I see her and gravitate. Many of us do.
She is a brand.
She’s fictional, of course, but recognizable and desirable.
Just what I want to be in my job. If I could coin my own motto in that regard, I would dash up: “I want to be recognizable and desirable.”
On the path to being both, I recently submitted a proposal to an industry-centric conference (I am a technical writer by trade), but the talk wan’t about tech writing specifically. It was about building your brand in the field. I geared my talk toward women, although the principles are nearly universal.
We all want to, in our professional spheres, be “recognizable and desirable.” (Come to think of it, I believe we want that in our personal lives as well, but this is rated G, and so I’ll save that little piece of writing for another day.)
I reminded the attendees, mostly women but a couple of guys as well, that the “big thing” is showing others your worth. Building that brand is intentional. It doesn’t happen TO you, it happens BECAUSE of you. Your brand is what opens up opportunities for projects, promotions, and privileges. It brings you new opportunities. But you have to create it first.
The very process of mapping out your personal brand can uncover some goals and skills you have, but that you hadn’t given much thought to in your day-to-day work. There are some pretty simple steps you can take to begin, and if you get a little stuck — message me — I’m here to help.
Find your focus
Everyone needs a long-term mission, something that you can look to when things are in the weeds. How is it that you hope to make a difference? To the environment? To families? To the accounting practices at your firm? To the management structure in your company? Each of these examples is a mission and focus. You can get smaller or larger, but find the “thing.”
