branding - Cortney Sargent, Sr.

5 Mistakes to Avoid in Business and Personal Branding

November 29, 2017September 8, 2017 by Cortney Sargent

I started my first business about 8 years ago and it was hands down the best decision I could’ve ever made at that time. However, that doesn’t mean it was easy, and it certainly wasn’t glamorous. I struggled a lot my first few years at it. There were times I didn’t have money for bills, rent or gas for my car, but I believed in what I was doing, and that kept pushing me forward.

No matter if you’ve been in business for 10 years or 10 days, you will encounter some challenges that will make you second guess yourself. Believe me, I’ve been through. The key is to learn from those challenges and allow them to make you better. Today I want to share with you some of the mistakes I made starting out in hopes that you will avoid these pitfalls.

1. Don’t live in a shell

When I first got started in business, I stayed locked away in my home office for 12 hours a day doing my work. On one hand it was good that I was actually grinding getting work done, but on the other hand it created far worse effects of loneliness and shyness. It wasn’t until I started getting out, networking and building my personal brand (in person) that I experienced true success. You can’t stay to yourself. You must share your message to the world through video, social media and networking.

2. Don’t forget about the business side

This is where I believe most personal brands and businesses fail the most. Personal branding isn’t all about being in front of a camera, having nice photos, have a 10,000 IG followers and and being on stage. There is a business side to branding that most people neglect to address. If you are to succeed with your brand, there are business processes and systems you must have in place in order for the branding machine to work and actually make money. Things like lead captures, sales cycles, financial reporting and business operations. The rookie mistake is to ignore all the boring business-related stuff and go for the low-hanging fruit. Invest in your company, not just your persona.

3. Don’t focus all your attention on the outside

What I mean by that is: there’s more to being a brand that what is SEEN. Don’t be the 19 year old life coach. Don’t be the person who has NO EXPERIENCE in the very thing they call themselves an expert in. The harsh reality is not everyone should be a public figure. If you’re recently getting started in your field, don’t try to brand yourself. [ctt title=”Spend 3-5 years hustling, grinding, learning and gaining real life and business experience. ” tweet=”Spend 3-5 years hustling, grinding, learning and gaining real life and business experience. @cortneyssargent” coverup=”mf1Tn”]

That’s going DEEP. If a tree didn’t have roots several feet into the soil, it doesn’t matter how beautiful the branches are, it will soon fall to the ground and die. Don’t focus all your attention on the glamorous life of a public figure/personal brand. Go deep and BECOME the expert you say you are. If you already have the experience, great- keep honing your craft and becoming better.

4. Don’t be afraid of the small team

No matter how large a company may be today, it had a small start. No matter how big of a celebrity someone is, there was a time when they were considered a “nobody”. Your biggest mistake as an emerging entrepreneur and business professional is despising the days of small beginnings. If you have a team of 3, embrace it. Don’t feel the need to inflate things and make yourself or your business seem bigger or more than what it is. From my experience, the “little guys” come out on top more than you may expect. [ctt title=”It’s not about how big your team is, it’s about how well you can execute the mission. Quality over quantity.” tweet=”It’s not about how big your team is, it’s about how well you can execute the mission. Quality over quantity.” coverup=”dZG19″]

5. Don’t think you can do it all yourself

There was a time when I thought I didn’t need anyone’s help because I was superman, when in reality I was only Clark Kent, the nerdy guy with glasses. And, it was my downfall. I had a hard time relying on people until I got tired of hitting that brick wall. I started delegating and investing. It’s important to invest in your business because when you do, you’re investing in yourself. It takes time, money, people and sacrifices to become an well-established brand. Don’t sell yourself short by not investing.

Leave a comment and let me know which of these stood out to you and which of these do you need to work on?

Self-Awareness Is the Key to Personal Branding Success

November 29, 2017September 1, 2017 by Cortney Sargent

If you don’t know yourself, it’s impossible for you to operate in your fullest potential as an entrepreneur and personal brand. Therefore, self-awareness is the #1 key to success.

To be a successful personal brand, it’s imperative that you know your gifts, skills, strengths, weaknesses and abilities. And, to help you accomplish this, I have 3 self-awareness exercises I want you to do that will help you identity what makes you unique, identify your strengths and weaknesses that can be used as essential components of your personal brand.

For example, if you’re a strong communicator, perhaps you want to incorporate public speaking into your branding and marketing strategy. If your weakness is video production, a way to use that to your advantage is to partner with someone (perhaps a college student) who’s getting their start in video production and you can be a case study for them. These are just a couple of examples how you can use your strengths and weaknesses to your advantage.

Let’s jump into the three self-awareness exercises.

1. The Mirror Exercise

The Mirror Exercise, which is where you self-identify your gifts, strengths, weaknesses and skills. What do YOU believe about you? This is not going to be an easy exercise, but in order for it to work, you must be brutally honest with yourself.

2. The Peer Revelation Exercise

The Peer Revelation exercise is where you ask 3 of the closest people to you what they believe your gifts, strengths, weakness and skills are. Be sure to ask people who won’t sugar coat it and who will be honest with you. The worse thing you can have is someone who’s trying to be nice just to spare your feelings. This exercise isn’t about being nice–it’s about getting down to the nitty gritty of who you are as a person so that you can become better. If done correctly, after completing this exercise you will be very enlightened about what people think of you–it may not be what you expect.

3. The Reality Check Exercise

The final exercise is called Reality Check because it is the intersection of what you believe about you and what others believe about you. This is where you write down the commonalities from your and your peers’ answers to exercises 1 and 2. What are your takeaways here? What qualities (positive or negative) do you have that can be used to grow your brand? What weak spots do you may have that can hinder your growth if left unchecked?

The last thing I want you to do is write your Personal Vision Statement (your vision for your life), your Life Purpose Statement (reason for living) and your Why Statement (the reason you wake up and do what you do).

At the end of this lesson, you will have a deeper understanding about who you are as a person, which is far more important than anything else in business. Again, you are the brand, so having the ability to self-assess is vital to your continued success.

As best practice, go through this self-discovery process at least once per year. If you do all of these exercises with honesty, integrity and with an open mind, you will be on your way to becoming a better you and ultimately a better entrepreneur.

To make this self-discovery easier, I’ve created a mini-workbook that has spaces for you to complete these exercises. You can fill it out on the computer or print it. Good luck.

Build a Company Not Just a Brand

November 29, 2017August 29, 2017 by Cortney Sargent

What a lot of people really don’t know and where I believe most personal brands fail the most is the BUSINESS SIDE.

Personal branding is not all lights, camera, action and being in the forefront. Personal branding is 10% talent and 90% BUSINESS. Case-in-point, what’s the name of your company? Do you have an LLC? When was the last time you filed your annual report?

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you’ve already lost.

If you are to succeed with your brand, there are business processes and systems you must have in place in order for the branding machine to work and actually make you money. Things like a marketing funnel, sales cycles, lead captures, financial reporting, content editing, web design, website analytics, graphic design, hiring contractors, business logistics, operations, printing, calculating ROI, calendar software, project management… the list literally goes on and on.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you probably don’t have those things in place, therefore you’ve lost again.

My point is this: if you’re a public speaker, you need a speaker’s contract outlining the details of your speaking engagement. If you’re a graphic designer, you need a set price list and contract for all clients. If you’re an author, you need to know how to calculate your profit margin on books. If you’re a musician, you must learn how to independently distribute your music and build a fan base with social media. If you sell products on the Internet, you need lead magnets on your website. Should I continue or do you catch my drift?

PAY ATTENTION to the business and company side of things because it’s always the small foxes that destroy the vine. Don’t just build a public persona, build a business that can stand the test of time.

Don’t just be the FACE of the brand, be the CEO of the company.

How I Became a Personal Brand and What Your Brand Can Do For You

November 29, 2017August 15, 2017 by Cortney Sargent

My journey to being a personal brand

I first heard the term personal branding in 2010, and I had no idea what it was or what it could do for me. Little did I know, several years later I would be a 3-time award-winning graphic designer, CEO of a branding agency, President of a non-profit organization and beloved as “The People’s Entrepreneur”. And, I boldly say that God, personal branding and a determination to succeed has afforded me those opportunities and made me the man I am today.

I must be honest, though–I never wanted to be a brand because I didn’t want to people to think I was arrogant or prideful–that’s not my personality at all. Most folks are dog-lovers–I’m a people-lover, and I dedicate my life to serving others. Becoming a personal brand was the best career decision I’ve ever made because it allows me to be who I truly am, without apology. If you’ve thought about branding yourself, but have similar concerns, then you should do it. Here’s why:

[ctt title=”Your constant desire to be humble will keep you from being arrogant.” tweet=”Your constant desire to be humble will keep you from being arrogant. http://bit.ly/2w9MYI5 @cortneyssargent” coverup=”SEdWy”]

The fact that you don’t want to be prideful will keep you from being prideful. The same is true with success–I believe your fear of failure will keep you from failing and drive you to succeed. It’s all about having the right mindset and motives.

After I heard the term personal branding, I started researching and learning everything I could about it. Then, I started testing what I learned on myself and what do you know? It worked. Now, I spend my time helping others build their brand around who they are and what they love.

One thing I’ve discovered from branding myself is that if you don’t put yourself out there, you can’t expect anyone else to do it. If you don’t promote your own product or service, how can you expect other people to do it? You have to make yourself available for people to communicate and work with.

What is personal branding?

Simply put, personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. Essentially, you are the brand that represents your business, company or organization. As an entrepreneur or business professional, you are a walking billboard, and no one can represent your business as good as you. You are the most accurate representation of your business there is, and no one can explain your vision the way that you can.

Your brand is all the things that make you who you are. You have unique characteristics, gifts, skills, personality traits, passions and interests that make up your personal DNA. Personal branding is mixing all of those ingredients, and creating a product or service around your passion that can benefit others by solving problems, providing information, convenience and value. Personal branding is about packaging YOU and presenting/marketing yourself to your audience in such a way that adds value to their lives.

Why is personal branding important?

Personal branding is a vital part of your success because whether you like it or not, you are a brand. There’s no changing that; that’s just the way it is. The danger in not embracing your brand is the fact that your brand is talking about you to the world, without you leading the conversation. For example, I’m sure you know someone who’s always negative and never has anything positive to say. They see the glass as half empty instead of half full. That’s their brand, everyone knows it, and that’s what people tell other people about them. Branding is what people say about you when you’re not around. It’s your reputation with your audience.

My question to is this: what reputation is your personal brand creating for you? Personal branding is so important because when you’re purposeful about guiding and cultivating your brand, you can use it as an asset to your success.

[ctt title=”Your personal brand is the one thing you can\’t get rid of but have total control over. The worse thing you can do to your brand is ignore it.” tweet=”Your #personalbrand is the one thing you can’t get rid of but have total control over. http://bit.ly/2w9MYI5 @cortneysargent” coverup=”_Cvb4″]

So, what are you going to do to cultivate and build your personal brand? Will you continue to ignore it, or will you use it as a tool to help you reach your American Dream of peace, freedom, and happiness? If you don’t know where or how to get started, sign up for my free 3-part video series to jumpstart your brand in 30 days or less.

Peace unto my friend,

Leave a comment and tell me how your personal brand has helped you reach success.