Welcome to the September edition of your “Year of Personal Branding“, where I’ve broken down key branding concepts as part of a month-by-month guide to help you with each step of growing (and implementing) your personal brand. As always, I invite you to use these monthly Year of Personal Branding posts as a map that will allow you to navigate all aspects of Personal Branding.
Even though our school days may be long gone, there’s something about September that evokes a back-to-school, start- all-over-again feeling. We’re going to harness this feeling to get “back-to-school”, so to speak, ourselves.
If you’ve been following the Year in Personal Branding posts month-by-month, you should have a good idea of where your personal branding is heading (if not, you can always visit previous posts for a little catch up!). Looking back to both the personal brand audit and the 360 degree exercise you did earlier in the year, are there specific areas of your personal brand that might benefit from some development through formal course? This doesn’t necessarily need to involve enrolling in a degree programme; it could also be something like an evening or online course, or even some professional training, such as presentation training (bonus if you can persuade your employer to pay for it!). Speaking of which, here are some great tips on presentations for anyone that needs a little help in that area.
Perhaps looking at core branding attributes such as passion, purpose and values might also point you in a specific direction for personal development. For example, is it time to embark on a new approach to your lifestyle? Perhaps a new yoga or mindfulness class or a consultation with a dietician will help your personal brand come across as fitter, stronger and healthier? Along these lines, be sure to take a look at my previous post on developing a healthy personal brand here.
With a little research, I’m sure you will find countless classes and programmes that will likely be suited to developing a certain aspect of your personal brand. So your personal brand challenge this month is to have a think about (and investigate!) opportunities to get “back to school” and develop your brand! September is a great time to take advantage of these opportunities, and let’s not forget all the side benefits of stimulation, making new friends and networking!
