Stereotypes Can Derail Your Personal Branding
Some weeks ago, the mother of a childhood friend brought up politics to my mother during a run-in at the grocery store. “Oh, I know how you voted,” she said with a knowing smile and a wink. “You’re a good person.”
Keep in mind that despite being on friendly terms with this other woman for …
Personal Branding Adds New Angst to Getting Married
It’s that time of year again. Spring is in the air and the wedding invites are in the mailbox. And, I don’t know about you, but my friends are dropping like flies.
All this wedding mania has made me think though: how does getting married affect your personal brand.
Right now, there are a lot …
Personal Branding Tip: Get Your Bio Ready
Over the past week, I’ve been helping put together a teleseminar series with a bunch of experts. One of the things I’ve needed from them is a 70 word bio – and let’s just say that getting it has been a lot like herding cats.
The problem isn’t with them though. I’m just as guilty. …
It’s Not Enough to Just be a Better Mousetrap
There’s a saying by Ralph Waldo Emerson that many innovators like: “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.”
We love it because the saying implies an invention or fresh idea simply needs to be better than what’s already out there to be successful. All we need to do …
How Not to be a Walking Billboard
If you’ve been to a big city lately, there’s a good chance you’ve seen someone standing on a street corner wearing a sandwich board. Usually, they’re advertising a restaurant that is a little off the beaten path, or a sale, or even a place that sells gold… cheap!
And, if you’ve been to a networking …
Why Connecting with Important People Helps Your Brand
I’ll admit it. Last week, I sent an @ reply to MC Hammer on Twitter.It’s not what you think. I wasn’t looking for fashion tips, or trying to break into the music world. Far from it! Actually, I had just seen a video on YouTube of a horse race where the winner was owned by …
Unconscious Personal Branding
We talk a lot here on the Personal Branding Blog about how to project a personal brand effectively. But, what about the messages we unconsciously project? In the last couple years, I’ve lived in some very different environments – and it’s incredibly interesting to see how I needed to change simple automatic behaviors just to …
What does your handshake say about you?
There’s a lot that goes into forming how people perceive your personal brand. Google results, blog posts, what kind of photo you use, and even how you tweet. But, I bet there’s one part of your personal branding efforts you haven’t thought much about: how you shake hands.
My senior year of high school, I …
Personal Branding on Display
What if you were applying for a job and as part of the application, you have to write a post for the company’s blog?
There are no other requirements for the post and you can write about anything you want.
This is actually happening right now at an innovation consultancy in Richmond,
Virginia! The company, …
When You’re Not Up for Personal Branding
Last week, I spent the whole workweek in bed with an awful cold that not only kept me coughing, but fogged up my entire brain so badly I couldn’t write. It wasn’t just that I didn’t have the energy to write – I literally didn’t have the mental capacity to do so. I couldn’t think …