Hi Reader,

I had the same conversation twice recently.

Once in a message…
and again with a college grad I spoke to last week.

Different people.
Different stages of life.

But the same underlying question:

“What does it actually mean to build a personal brand?”

Let's talk about it. But first...

Affirmation

Say it with me:

I don’t have to show up like everyone else to build a personal brand.

Because there isn’t one way to show up...and there never was.

Story Time

In both conversations, I noticed something ⬇️

There was this quiet pressure to “get it right.”

It, meaning building a personal brand

And to figure out:

• Does that mean I have to post on social media?
• What should I post?
• How should I show up?
• And is this even something I should do since I want to get and keep a job?

Almost like there’s a specific formula, and if you don’t follow it exactly, you’re doing it wrong.

But the more we talked, the clearer it became…

They weren’t confused.

They were just trying to fit themselves into someone else’s (and dare I say, social media's) idea of what a personal brand should look like.

And I had to pause for a second and say:

A personal brand is much simpler than that.

It’s not something you turn on when you log online.

It’s who you are outside of your job title.

Your perspective.
Your interests.
Your voice.
The things you naturally talk about, especially when you’re not trying to make sense to your biggest critic, or mimic what's popular online.

And how you express that?

That part is entirely up to you.

Reflection

Here’s what stood out to me after those conversations…

From the outside, it can look like everyone else knows what they’re doing.

Like there’s a right way to show up...and you just haven’t figured it out yet.

And this stems from a reason you've assumed in your head,

Like:

• Maybe because you don’t have 10K followers.
• Or you’re not getting invited to speak yet.
• Or LinkedIn didn’t land the opportunity you expected.

And the list goes on.

But what if that’s not actually true?

What if you’ve just been trying to approach this from someone else’s version of what a personal brand should look like?

Because the truth is...

Just because they post on LinkedIn and it works for them,
Doesn’t mean you need to do that if it fills you with dread.

Just because they have thousands of followers,
Doesn’t mean you have less influence.

Just because you don’t have the fanciest website or graphics,
Doesn’t mean people won’t book you.

And honestly…

Even if your personal brand is just in-person or local networking — that’s good.

You’re starting with what you do best and enjoy doing.

That's it.

The frustration and confusion start to build the more you try to shape this into something that feels “right” to everyone else.

Because the further you move away from yourself, the harder it becomes to recognize what was already there.

Something to Try:

This week, instead of asking:
​“What should my personal brand look like?”

Ask yourself:

What already feels natural for me to talk about...even when I’m not trying to create content?

Pay attention to what comes up in your everyday life—
in conversations,
with friends,
at work.

That’s your personal brand.

Start there.

See you in two Tuesdays!

I’ll share how I didn’t land a speaking opportunity, because I did the very thing I just talked about
...instead of leaning into what I do best.

And funny enough…
My friend landed it with a simple black-and-white doc.

Tamara Sykes