Drawing the line between your personal & business branding​

By Madeline Pratt of Fearless In Training

There is a critical question that every entrepreneur faces when they embark on building their business:

What is my company’s brand and how will it stand out in the market?

In our age of social media & increased connectivity, there has been a lot of emphasis recently put on the importance of personal branding and promoting yourself and your story online. With more and more businesses being built solely on the individual personality & influence of people on online platforms, it leaves a lot of new business owners confused and pondering the question:

Is my personal branding the same as my business branding?

While there isn’t a single clear cut answer to either of these questions, there are several key things that you should understand and consider when evaluating how to define and build your brand. 

First, it’s important to know that great branding is all about storytelling and consistency. Brands that are memorable work hard to share consistent themes and messaging through their marketing and visuals over time.  As you build your business, it’s important that you take the time to address this question of “Am I my business brand?” so that you can define the distinction between your identity, and that of the brand you’re building so that you can deliver consistent marketing to your potential customers. 

The answer to the question between is going to depend entirely on two factors, the nature of yourself and the nature of your business. 

Let’s start by considering the latter of the two. First, you must start by getting really clear about what it is your business does or aspires to do in the future. For example, does your business offer products or services that other staff or team members deliver? If that’s the case, it probably does not make sense for the company’s branding to be all about you. However, if your company is selling a service that directly relates to your personal experience and expertise, such as consulting or coaching, it may make sense for your business branding to be designed in a way that promotes who you are and the knowledge you bring to the table. 

Another question to consider is whether or not you are particularly well known in your target market. For example, if you as an individual have a history, a following, or some form notoriety in the space you intend to work in, your brand may excel by putting your name and face on the marketing so that folks recognize the business as an extension of your work. However, if your goal is to sell the business one day, you may want to consider branding the business in a manner that is less about you and more about the services you offer so that a future potential buyer can see that the company can thrive on more than just your reputation once you exit the business.

The second element to consider when drawing the distinction between your branding and the branding of your business is your own identity and personality as a business owner. Are you someone that is introverted and uncomfortable in the limelight? Then you probably shouldn’t set yourself up to be the face of your brand, because it’s not going to align well with who you are. And that is okay! It’s your business, so you can choose to build a brand that isn’t built around you.

On the flip side, if you are someone with a big personality that likes all eyes on you, and you’re selling services or products that are aligned with your own expertise, it may make total sense to build your branding around yourself. The key is to make sure that your story and who you are aligns well with the customers you aim to attract. If these are in alignment, you’ve got some great branding building blocks to start playing around with.

In our world of social media, there has been such a hyper emphasis on personal branding that I often have to remind our clients: You don’t have to be your brand if you don’t want to be. After all, it’s your business, so the choice is up to you. The key thing to remember is that the purpose of your brand is to stand out in your space and attract ideal customers. 

So take the time to evaluate who you are as a person and what you aim to offer people, and use your answers to define what makes sense for the business and the brand you aim to build. Once you’ve got that understanding in place, you can define and amplify a brand identity that brings the right customers your way while also bringing the right proportion of your personality into the promotion of the company.

Madeline Pratt is the CEO & Founder of Fearless In Training, a creative consulting company that works directly with entrepreneurial women, progressive accountants, and technology innovators to offer them help in starting, growing, and scaling successful enterprises. Built on a foundation of expertise in the realms of technology, marketing, education & business development, the firm delivers collaborative consulting services & online courses to help clients achieve their wildest business dreams.