Do you need a personal brand?

We all have a personal brand — it’s our reputation. It’s what people think and say about us when we aren’t in the room. But the real question today is: does everyone need to actively promote their personal brand? The answer is, no they don’t.

Personal branding is the act of intentionally developing the strategy and actions that guide how your brand is perceived.

Whether you need an active personal brand strategy depends entirely on your goals.

Example 1: I recently worked with my old boss from Harvard, who is going out on her own as a consultant. She hired me to take photos for a simple two-page website she was building. She’s already very well known in her field — she’s considered a go-to expert and has an extensive network. What she’s building is tied to the work she has dedicated her life to, so her goal is not brand awareness or thought leadership content. She doesn’t want or need a content strategy.

Her goal is simple: to have updated professional images and a website where people can easily learn about her work and contact her. She’s doing this on her own terms, as much or as little as she wants.

Example 2: Nancy Leeser, a client in YNCIF, had a very different goal.

Nancy wants to be known as more than a Cabi stylist. She wants to be known as a stylist who helps women step into their next chapter with confidence. She believes style is part of how we express who we are and how we show up in the world feeling more powerful. Cabi is one tool she uses, but it’s not the only tool in her toolbox.

She also wants to be known as a community builder and connector through her work with Vibrant & Visible. Her goal was to create a clear foundation around who she is, who she serves, what she values, and how she wants to show up. She needed clear messaging and visuals so she could begin showing up consistently with a cohesive message and image that supports her larger goal of becoming a go-to resource for women over 50.

For Nancy, an active visibility strategy makes sense. She wants to create content — especially on LinkedIn because that’s where her target audience is — that reinforces her message, values, and the transformation she helps create for clients.

The starting point is understanding your goal and then creating the right strategy to support it. Without the foundational work and plan you most likely are wasting your time.

To learn more about how we built Nancy’s personal brand and visibility plan, read her Case Study for our beta program Your Next Chapter in Focus here.