Gold Rush for Personal Brands

There’s a gold rush going on all over the world right now and it’s not in the form of stocks or natural resources. Because of technology and the internet, we’ve changed the way we communicate and in doing so we’ve changed the way we affect the perception of others about us, our work ethic, and what we’re good at. Before people had to physically see you or talk to you so that they can asses your skills and competence. Now you can always put your best foot forward to everyone via social networking sites and other technology-enabled mediums. I’d like to quote a line from Seth Godin in his book Linchpin which I always refer to in my talks.

If you’re not doing too well, maybe the rules have changed and nobody told you.

The rules have indeed changed. Are you handling your career or your business as if it was still the 1990′s? Because if you are then you’re missing out! It’s already 2010. The technology available ushers in new possibilities and opportunities for those who are bold and disciplined enough to take advantage of it.

What are Personal Brands and what’s cool about it?

Everyone is a brand. You, me, mom, dad, boss… everyone. Each person has a set of attributes, benefits, or flaws that come to mind when you think about them. For example, there those in the workplace that come up with excellent ideas but aren’t too good with execution. There are also some freelancers out there who have carved names for themselves in different niches like finance, marketing, political causes, or physical training. Because of their personal brands they have access to multiple sources of work. In fact, they rarely go out to find jobs because the jobs will find them. Allow me to share some local case studies that you all might find very interesting.

Randell Tiongson has made a name for himself as a personal finance coach here in the Philippines. He started in the corporate world as a manager for an Insurance company. His brand improved a bit when he started to go out and give talks and seminars upon invitation of clients. Randell also was a regular columnist for a business paper as well as a finance magazine. Later on he signed up with the Registered Financial Planners and became the Director. He resigned from his full-time job, got into blogging, and started looking for more opportunities. Eventually traditional media picked up his story and began using him regularly as a resource person. The mileage he got from TV, radio, and print combined with his consistent insightful and value-based blogging led to a more powerful personal brand. This gave him influence to start giving paid seminars about finance and more professional speaker gigs.

Another perfect example of a personal brand is my ninang, Susan “Toots” Ople. She started her career as a journalist and eventually moved on to government service. Under the shadow of my grandfather, the late Foreign Affairs and Labor Secretary Blas F. Ople, Tita Toots gained valuable experience and credentials in handling OFW and labor related matters. When my grandfather passed away, she put up the Blas F. Ople Policy Training Institute which primarily cares for OFWs and labor cases. With the Institute as her foundation, she started becoming more public in speaking up for OFW and labor rights. She brought home several stranded, jailed, and abused works abroad. She blogged about “safe” job opportunities outside the country and she also had a column in Manila Bulletin’s Panorama. Just this year she ran for the Senate. She didn’t make it to the top 12 but she was definitely able to reinforce her personal brand as an advocate for OFW and labor. This is evident with all the opportunities she’s getting right now.

Sonnie Santos used to be an Human Resources Career Executive. He eventually left his job after building his brand through talks, seminars, and blogging. He now runs his own company which offers training and social web marketing services.

Randell, Tita Toots, and Sonnie found their niches, owned it, and never looked back ever since. Take note that they are the “real deal”. They are genuinely good at what they do. Tools like social and traditional media just amplified their expertise so that more people can know about them. They built venerable personal brands and this gave them a unique set of opportunities to make a living by doing things that they love to do everyday!

Scarcity increases the value of a brand

Personal branding is a gold rush because the value of brands increase with scarcity. If there were already 5000 personal finance coaches blogging, giving talks, etc. then Randell would have had a hard time “breaking in” to the scene. The same goes for Tita Toots and Sonnie. One of their biggest advantage is that they were all first-to-market, especially in using social media and the internet as a medium to reach out.

The challenge now is for people to build their personal brands using their real passions and strengths as foundation. Find your true north and then aggressively use all the tools available brought about by technology. There’s a gold rush for personal brands going on and I hope you’re able to ride the wave!