photo credit: Jolante
We have all heard the timeless saying of “it’s not personal, it’s business” throughout our lives. Meaning that in business we need to look out for number one….us! While yes there is some level of personalibility even in business, that is in regards to being personal with your customers, your employees, etc, it should be kept to those aspects only.
There are some drawbacks to being personal in business, such as when you create a personal brand. When one opens up a business and it takes off, you receive great word of mouth advertising, people raving about you and your product. But if you ever want exceed past a certain point with your business you need to create a brand other then a personal brand recently suggested in an article on Duct Tape Marketing.
If a personal brand is created, then at some point when you choose to sell your business, it will be worth no more then your book of sales for that current month. There’s no value in your brand without you behind it.
Obviously, creating a business or a brand is not simply a matter of picking a good name and packaging it, but it does need to originate from the idea that a business is likely worthless unless it can operate without the owner or the personal brand of the founder.
What are your thoughts on personal branding?