For a business that is just starting out an entrepreneur who is determined to build a personal brand could do more damage than good for the venture. Here are 3 factors you need to focus on while building a personal brand…
What’s the Core of Your Business?
This is the first question you have to ask particularly if you are committed to building a personal brand. What is the core of your business or offering? Is it you?
Let me explain by telling you when you will be the core… if you are a designer, artist, hair dresser, photographer… basically if you are someone who has your own distinct style and possesses mastery over a particular skill then you could be the core offering.
But beware not every chef can be Gordon Ramsay and not every designer can be Karl Lagerfeld! Building a personal brand might not be the smartest thing to do if you don’t have signature style. How do you develop signature style? Well that’s the subject matter of another blog post.
Does your business revolve around you and your distinct ability? That is the crux of the matter.
What about SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a big factor you have to consider if you are building visibility for your business and yourself. If you want to build a personal brand then you might want to wait until people start using, preferring and talking about your product or service.
A friend who wanted to launch her own Hijab designs drew my attention towards SEO when she was looking for a name for her venture. Initially experimenting with pop up retail, she and her manager used the name “Mifrah and Anisa’s Hijabs and Jilbabs” however when she decided to launch her own venture she did away with this personal brand.
Her reasons… she was retailing online through her Facebook page and she was looking for a name that had the word hijab in it, so that people could find her venture online with ease. The logic was simple, people who were looking for hijab online would definitely chance upon Hijab Design Studio as the search would automatically throw it up!
Are “You” Eclipsing Your Product or Service?
In the beginning and in the end, your business is about your products and services and this is why going with a name that signifies what you sell many a time classifies as a great idea. For example, Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, a prominent food writer decided to launch a venture which allowed culinary enthusiasts to take a journey in to the heart of India albeit with a difference.
These journeys proposed to give people a taste of spices, food and preparations in kitchens and homes across the country. If Rushina, a brand in her own righ were to call her venture “Rushina’s Vactions” or “On The Spice Route With Rushina” she would have been able to bring her own brand value as a food writer and critic to the name.
In the process however, she would lose out on the magical effect that the name Masala Trails (the actual name of Rushna’s venture) has. The name itself is enough to conjure up images of all things magical and enchanting aptly connected with spicy Indian holidays off the beaten track for foodies.
Building a personal brand has its pros and cons. Do explore the perks and pitfalls of this move before you venture to build one: