Here’s a common objection to personal brand building: “But Chris, I don’t want my brand to be all about ME! I don’t want that much attention!”
And here’s what I say to that: Nonsense. Plain and simple.
If you want to grow as a personal brand entrepreneur, you need to plant yourself center stage. Right now!
5 years ago, when I decided it was time to go all in on personal branding as a Youpreneur, I’ll admit I stared down some similar doubts. I hadn’t ever been so prominently and personally featured in my businesses before, and it was a little nerve-wracking to think that I was suddenly stepping into the limelight.
What would people think? What if they didn’t like me?
But something freaky happened when I embraced the center-stage aspect of Youpreneurship: my business, and my brand, EXPLODED.
And here’s why: people want to do business with other people.
Always have, always will.
If you’ve read this post about Bob the Baker, you’ll know that Bob is memorable—not because of what he sells, but because of WHO HE IS. He’s the celebrity of his own little bakery, and you go out of your way to buy his bread because you want to see HIM behind the counter every day. You’ll even pay for more it.
Bob didn’t go into the bakery business to become a celebrity—that’s not what I’m getting at here. He just cares so much about his product and his customer that he puts his own stamp on every single aspect of that business.
And it shows, doesn’t it? You love the way he twists the bread bag with his signature flourish. You love how he doesn’t wear a name tag because he prefers to personally introduce himself to every new customer. You love chit-chats you have with him each time you pop in to grab a loaf.
It’s time to become Bob the Baker in your own business.
Why it’s okay to be the Center of Attention
I’ve found that there are three mindset shifts that many Youpreneurs need to make if they want to succeed.
Right now, you might believe the OPPOSITE of these things, so let’s go through them one by one.
ONE: You actually DO know what you’re talking about!
Especially if you have any experience in business, you have something to share. You’ve learned some lessons, and you do have solutions for your audience. You have to believe it first if you expect others to! Bob the Baker knows bread, and more importantly, he loves bread. The knowledge and the love work together to make Bob absolutely unstoppable and irresistible to his customers.
Even if you’re brand new to business, your experiences so far are worth something to the people you want to serve. Showing up on stage as “the student” rather than “the expert” is actually a BRILLIANT personal brand strategy. It’s clearly worked like crazy for people like Pat Flynn and Derek Sivers.
TWO: People are paying attention regardless!
Let’s just put this out there: It’s an inverse kind of narcissism to think that no one is paying attention to you. However small your audience, you DO have one, and they ARE listening to you. They do care what you have to say and how you approach this ‘thing’ of Youpreneurship. Start a blog and an email list to gather that audience in one place, and find out what they’re struggling with that you can help with. And then, like a true entrepreneur, start solving problems! The more problems you solve, the stronger your personal brand grows as a person to turn to when your audience needs solutions.
THREE: It’s not all about you!
Youpreneurship is about you, yes, but that’s only part of the story! The other half is your audience, the people you want to serve. When you find an underserved market whose needs align with your expertise, you’ve literally just struck gold, and so has your audience. Finding each other could well be one of the best moments in BOTH of your lives! Those people are waiting for someone they can trust and rely on, and when you show up in service of their needs, the loyalty goes both ways. You will very quickly become their go-to source of information and their favourite expert. And they will multiply before your eyes, growing your audience as they tell everyone they know about you.
Before you know it, your platform will reflect EXACTLY what you want for your business!
Step into The Spotlight!
Fellow Youpreneurs, it’s okay to be the center of attention in business.
Let me rephrase that: you MUST become the center of attention if you want to be an authority in your space.
It might be the best move you make this year, to decide that your brand and expertise are worth people’s attention. Go out there and earn their trust through service and generosity.
I promise you’ll be stunned by how quickly people respond when you put more of YOU into your business.