Internet Mogal

The book “Make a Name for Yourself” by Robin Fisher Roffer, changed my life. When I first read it back in 2004, it opened up my mind to thinking more of myself as a brand. This kind of thinking continues to help me, even now, when I’m working with a client or on a project. It’s revolutionized how I think about marketing everything I work on. The most important take-away from this book: Brand yourself before others brand you.

This may sound like common business sense, but you’d be surprised how few people take branding seriously. I will be the first to admit that I’ve lagged on this philosophy and can account first-hand how difficult it can be to recover and try to rebrand yourself. I learned the hard way that if you don’t invest early on in the process, then it will take more money, time and effort to change other people’s perceptions of you

is not to say that you want to go from inconsistent to reliable. Changing the quality and reputation you initially establish has more to do with how you treat people and how you handle yourself professionally. That’s a completely different discussion. I’m talking about how to get people to see you as a personal home care attendant and not a housekeeper.

Branding yourself can be rather simple if you believe in yourself as a brand. How do you believe in it? In your mind you are who you want to be and not who you think you should be. It may be part Secret + part confidence + part psychology. I hate to sound cliché but it really does start from within. Once you own that inner spirit that believes it, that energy will come out and you will exude the confidence that inspires others to believe it. When someone asks you “What do you do?“, there’s no hesitation or pause. You confidently answer and you are that person you want to be.

This is just one step to owning your brand.

Next, build a visible image with your brand. If you’re out networking, make some business cards with your brand. Don’t let others tell you who you are. If you’re networking and you’re branding yourself as a personal home care attendant, explain what that is. If someone says “Oh you’re a housekeeper or maid” simply remind them you’re more than that.

Explain how you help working families deal with their work/life balances and how you customize services according to needs. A personal home care attendant makes much more than a housekeeper because the perceived value is greater. The words you use to explain your brand and your body language all send messages to the person you’re talking to. You want these messages to support one another and assert your brand as how you want it to be perceived so that when you’re introduced to someone else they say “Oh this is Chloe. She’s a personal home care attendant.” If you want a brand to stick, others have to repeat it over and over again.

My dilemma: I started out doing graphic design and marketing services. I eventually started doing webdesign as well. But from the beginning I wanted to position myself as a marketing brand. It was a weak brand and I quickly caught up in doing a lot of work and balancing full-time employment that I didn’t give my “brand” the attention it deserved. As a result, I was branded as a web designer.

I’ve tried several times to rebrand myself as a marketing specialist, however it was hard to turn down easy money with doing a quick website or business card design here and there. It wasn’t until a year ago that I realized I needed to make some serious shifts in my thinking and in my approach if I wanted to position myself as a marketing specialist. I did less design work and turned down gigs. I wanted to show others that graphic and web design was merely a tool for marketing. I started doing more pro-bono marketing work and took full-time employment as a marketing consultant.

The result: It took some time but I’m now rebranded as a marketing strategist. I still do design work but only when cash flow is low or if it’s for a project I’m developing. My business cards no longer have the words “creative, artistic, designer, web or graphic” on them. I now focus primarily on Internet marketing.

What I learned: Rebranding myself was not impossible. I was able to use the challenge as an opportunity to meet new people within the marketing industry and learn new trade skills. With my skills in graphic and web design, I am also able to bring valuable knowledge to future clients and be able to not only explain why their site needs revisions but also make suggestions that will help them accomplish their goals.