Shape your personal brand

(and how to live an epic freelance life) | TS #106

Great post from Wes Kao, co-founder of Maven, on how we should forget ‘personal branding’ and focus on building ‘personal credibility’ at work.

It resonated with a lot of people – comments are still rolling in. 

I don’t like the word ‘personal brand’ or ‘thought leader’ – can we have a ‘personal brand’?? It feels icky and makes me think of hot iron branding, which is painful for animals. 

But as Natalia Jaszczuk, Head of Learning at Learnlight, said, “if we have an issue with the word brand, maybe it’s time for another. 

“I personally see brand as – ironically? – more straight talking. It’s how you are but also how you’re perceived. The package. There’s nothing wrong in wanting to focus on it, and certainly, it’s crucial to understand how your brand is perceived.” 

The two go hand-in-hand. You can’t have a personal brand without credibility. But I don’t think you need to build credibility – if you’ve been working and learning your craft for years, you already have it.

But you need to inves…