Entrepreneurship

What About Your Personal Brand?

This has nothing to do with being an influencer but everything with being honest with yourself and others. Let your audience follow you wherever you go.

Javier Feliú

Oct 15, 2022 — 4 min read

Somewhere along the road, I concluded that I wanted to keep my business social media interaction separated from my personal accounts and life. Maybe this is one of the things I wish I had done differently.

This does not apply as a general rule to all businesses. But especially in small businesses where clients interact with the founders and owners, it is a great thing to consider.

There is nothing wrong with keeping yourself private, as I did. You get the benefits of splitting your life in a way that protects you and yours from people who barely know you. But there is also so much you could gain, and among those are the possibilities of keeping your audience and growing your personal brand.

Not an influencer

I have never liked the "Influencer" kind of person, for the most part, I find them borderline fake. But some people have a real influence on others. Most small business owners who have done this for a while know that many people admire and get inspiration from their journey.

Think of the audience as the people that believe in you, your products, and your journey. They do not need to follow all three, but some will like to know the faces and journey behind the products they already support.

This has nothing to do with being an influencer but everything with being honest with yourself and others.

Your personal brand

After you invest so much of yourself developing a brand, it is worth keeping the connections you have made. That way, wherever you go, they also can follow you along the journey.

Think of some of the big names. Elon Musk will always have his faithful Twitter audience, and whatever business he does, they follow him. Same with Mark Cuban, Bill Gates, and the late Steve Jobs, etc. Part of believing in a business is believing in the founders behind them and their journey.

What about a local business near you? In my home country, Panama, people like Gabe Wong and Niki Walsh are both approachable local artists who embody their art. Julio Villasmil is a coffee and tea connoisseur and the owner of Infumas, a small local tea supplier; if you stop by almost any local specialty coffee shop, you most likely have drunk his teas.

People like these will sit with their clients, give them their time, and deliver on what they said, and you will want to follow their journey regardless of their business.

It is similar to an artist who does not share his work, he will never enjoy the good or bad criticism that is much-needed and will exclude others from enjoying his creations. There are legitimate reasons for this, but for the most part, art is to be shared and enjoyed. Artists embody who they are in all they do; the same should be with a business and a brand that comes from your dreams and efforts. Moreover, many artists will have their name as their brand, so it is impossible to separate the two.

The benefits

In the age of crowdfunding and social media, letting others join your journey has much proven potential to increase your credibility for future projects. Assuming you actually have delivered something valuable. What good is there if you invest a decade into a brand and then disassociate yourself from it?

Whatever side hustle or full-time you come up with, think of a way to involve yourself that will serve your future goals and give you some return on your investment. Maybe a future boss is a fan of your work, an investor is more ready to invest in you, or maybe you meet the love of your life.

It allows you to put some more skin in the game; it is your name and reputation, after all. Unless it is something you are not proud of. Then you should find a way for that investment to increase your personal brand footprint and let your audience know how best to support you.

Here are a few examples. I like how they have found a way to keep their brands and their business together, and I invite you to check them out and draw some ideas: