I can’t believe it’s already 2010. Not only did we end another year, but we ended another decade. Ten years ago, I didn’t have an established personal brand. But now, in 2010, I’m excited about planning ahead for growing my brand over the next year—and decade.
Plan your work and work your plan
Everyone knows we make resolutions we can’t keep, mostly because they weren’t achievable in the first place or simply not measurable. So instead of resolutions for my personal brand, I’m making a detailed plan of what I’d like to accomplish by the end of the year—all of which you can do, too.
1. Secure at least one paid speaking engagement every month, or 12 total for the year.
I just love speaking to student groups—particularly when I receive notes from them afterward about how I inspired them to take action in their future careers. (I recently received an e-mail update from a student whose university I spoke at in October. He’s interning with the CIA this semester because of the tips I provided!)
I’m well on my way to achieving this, with two speaking engagements booked in February and a planned nationwide speaking tour with Lisa Orrell, The Generation Relations Expert.
2. Put my business in the black.
Although Come Recommended had an extremely successful launch in mid-May 2009, we didn’t turn a profit our first year. However, I’m nowhere near discouraged by this fact because we just launched a brand new service, GoodieRecruit, that we’re piloting in Washington, D.C. and has already received rave reviews in the area.
3. Finish my two paperback books and publish a new e-book every six (or so) weeks.
My first book, #ENTRYLEVELtweet: From Classroom to Cubicle, is going through the final stages of publishing and should be out in late-January or early-February. My other book, Come Recommended: From Freshman to Newbie, should be out by the time Spring graduation rolls around.
I just published the first e-book (my second one, actually, but the first in this new effort), Relocating for an Entry-Level Job: Why You Probably Have to & How to Do It. Now I just need to keep the momentum going! All these books are not about the money but rather the prestige that comes with being a published author.
4. Create an editorial calendar for all my writing commitments and guest blog more often.
I write for so many different outlets, and I’ve just added a new one. So, it’s about time I really manage all of my content so I can stay on track and on message. In terms of guest blogging, I know there are even more potential audience members I’m not yet reaching. To help alleviate that, I’ve made a list of bloggers with whom I already have relationships and ones I still need to get to know a little better in order to further my 2010 goals. Hopefully along the way I can return many, if not all, of the favors!
