I have had so many conversations lately about brand identity and how we define ourselves personally, that it felt timely to write a blog about it. No matter who you are, what age or stage of life you are in, one of the most important things today is being able to articulate clearly who YOU are and what YOU do in a well-defined and easy to understand statement. This is also better known as your personal brand, your identity statement, or as so many people love to say, your thirty second elevator pitch. Just for interest sake, here is a great article telling the origin of the elevator pitch:

Where did the 'elevator pitch' get its name?

It should be easy, right? After all, you are speaking about yourself, and who knows you better than you? So why is it one of the hardest mountains to climb? Why is it one of the most difficult questions to answer?

The truth is, it’s a journey. Each identity is unique. It’s an opportunity for you to pave the way and stand out in the crowd. For some of us our identity grows and changes over time, for others it is clear and crisp early on. We are constantly evolving and learning about ourselves, uncovering hidden mysteries, as we experience life and its challenges. It is okay if your identity evolves and grows over time. A common fear that holds people back from creating their identity and sharing it is the idea that once you put something out into the world you can’t change it. Part of the process of sharing your identity is growing and evolving with your environment. Things will continually change as we all know and it’s important to not get lost in the shuffle.

We place such value and meaning on creating this identity statement that in many situations I see individuals end up putting it off for months. It becomes a bit stressful and a big undertaking. I would ask the question why? Most likely what you have is great and meaningful. It’s time to share it with the world. Here are a few quick questions you can ask yourself as you look to share your personal brand. I like to call this the Personal Brand checklist:

1. What do you believe in? What do you stand for?
2. What are your values?
3. Do people perceive you the way you perceive yourself? Have you done an audit on that? Is there a gap? If so, how do you close that?
4. Where are you today and where do you want to be? Is there a gap? What do you need to do to get there? Can you build a roadmap?

Once you have completed these four questions you are on your way to creating your identity statement. This could be a great goal to start thinking about as you begin the year… 2017 deserves to be your best year yet!

Here’s a great video from William Aruda “a personal branding guru” to help inspire and build ideas from the questions I’ve asked you to write about.

If you are looking to evolve your Personal Brand and want some support and coaching through the transition, feel free to reach out. My door is always open.

Until next time…