Be the Best “You”
Personal branding statement sets stage for success
By Sheryl S. Jackson
A “brand” is defined as a name, sign, symbol, slogan or anything else that is designed to distinguish any product or organization. When created and promoted correctly, the sight or sound of a particular brand immediately makes an audience think of the product, business or service in a positive manner. According to Sheila P. Coates, creator of B.Y.O.B.-Be Your Own Brand, people should also identify and promote their own personal brand.
“Whether you like it or not, other people make assess and form an opinion of you within the first 30 seconds of meeting you,” points out Coates. Because the first impression is based upon appearance, it is important to make sure your appearance projects exactly who you want people to think you are, she says. “You are your own brand, so you should control what your brand says about you.”
There is no wrong age, gender, or profession when it comes to developing your brand, says Coates. “I’ve spoken to ninth graders and told them to start thinking about what makes them unique,” she says. Whether you are just finishing school and looking for your first job, seeking a promotion with your current employer, looking to make a career change, or trying to expand your professional network, becoming your own brand can do nothing but help you meet your goals, she adds.
Becoming your own brand is more than a simple makeover, explains Coates. “I don’t like makeovers,” she says. “Your hair, makeup and wardrobe are all done by a professional so you might look wonderful but it’s a look you can’t recreate every day by yourself,” she says. The reason you can’t capture the look every day is that the look doesn’t reflect who you are, she says. “The first step toward creating your brand is to identify your own unique attributes that you want to communicate.”
Coates uses a lengthy questionnaire to help her clients identify their message. “I ask clients to people to identify an attribute with one word,” explains Coates. Most people want to write an entire paragraph describing their attributes but by asking them to reduce the descriptions to one word, Coates forces people to think carefully and more closely examine the attributes they want people to see. “Some people take two days to come up with their attributes, others take two months,” she says. Examples of attributes that might be used include confident, bold, creative, thoughtful and caring.
The second step of the self-assessment process is to list the three words that come to peoples’ minds when they are meeting the client for the first time. “I ask if these impressions match the attributes that they want to communicate,” says Coates. It’s often not until after they have identified their attributes and compared them to actual impressions that her clients realize why they have not received the recognition they deserve, gotten the job opportunities they wanted, or conveyed the message about themselves, she adds.
The next step is to take the three or four attributes and develop a branding statement, says Coates. A statement such as “I am a confident, creative, bold woman with style” not only becomes a branding statement but also becomes an affirmation, she points out. “I ask people to live with their branding statement for a couple of weeks, repeating it to themselves, and making sure it is exactly who they are,” she says. “You have to believe in your own brand before anyone else will recognize it.”
When you believe your branding statement, you develop more confidence in yourself and your self-esteem increases, says Coates. “This confidence leads to the right choices for clothing, hair, and overall appearance,” she adds.
Finding a way to outwardly portray your brand is the next step. “First, know your audience,” says Coates. A person who wants to be perceived as creative or bold will do so in different ways for different settings. A female judge has to balance her creative and bold attributes with the conservative environment in which she works. “She could wear a simple black dress with a wide, boldly colored belt, or carry a burnt orange briefcase, and still convey her attributes,” she adds. As women climb the ladder of their careers, they often try to look like the men against whom they compete but it isn’t necessary to give up their unique attributes, she says. “You can wear the business suit and add a great ring or other piece of jewelry that shows you know your audience but you are still your own person.”
Although some people may initially think that maintaining your brand means costly shopping trips, becoming your own brand can actually save you money, says Coates. “When you go shopping with a clear vision of what is right for your image, you are less likely to purchase clothes that you’ll never wear or wear only one time,” she points out. “In today’s economy, this is another benefit of branding.”
It is important to realize that buying expensive clothing doesn’t always mean you are buying the right clothing, warns Coates. “You don’t have to be the best-dressed person in the room, you have to be the best you in the room,” she explains.
Another of Coates’ clients came to her because she was frustrated that she’d attend networking events and never really talk to or connect with people. “She wore expensive clothes,” says Coates. “She had on nice pants and a fuzzy, fashionable sweater, but her outfit said ‘comfort food’ to me,” she explains. After talking with the client, Coates discovered that she was very intelligent and very business savvy. Coates shared her initial impression that the woman looked “nice” but not “powerful” with the client. “When people attend a networking event, they want to meet other people who will be good business connections,” she says. “If you just look ‘nice,’ people will pass by you.”
One reason Coates wants clients to live with their branding statements before working on their appearance is the need to make sure the image is sustainable. If your brand truly represents you there will no problem maintaining the appearance, the actions and the confidence that present the image you want, Coates explains. This doesn’t mean that you should never change your brand, she adds. “You should constantly re-evaluate your branding statement because we all change,” she explains. “Do check-ins with yourself and spend $100 here and there to update your brand.”