I love to discuss growing people’s personal brands with them and I speak with so many different people on this; somebody I connect with on LinkedIn, someone who’s seen my content and wants to know more, someone who’s heard about personal branding and has come to me for advice. Now that I’ve been doing this for a while, I’ve developed a good instinct for spotting those red flags when somebody isn’t the right kind of person to invest in their personal brand. Sometimes it’s about finances, sometimes it’s about time, sometimes it’s something else altogether.

When I first started out in this game, I very much thought that I should take every single potential customer who comes my way. But, actually, that’s really not the right thing to do at all. If someone isn’t the right kind of person for me, then I’m not the right person to serve them – working together, we just aren’t going to get the right results. It’s really important that you know if any of these reasons resonate with you, maybe setting up a personal brand isn’t for you.

You should not grow your personal brand if…

…you think personal branding is easy

If personal branding is your ‘easy strategy to get results’…then it’s not for you. From potential clients, I sometimes hear: “I need to sell some more of this, or I need to do this, so can you do this for me?”. The short answer? No. Personal branding is not business branding. I don’t do things for my clients; I do things with you. I’ll guide you along the journey, but this is you; this is your brand. It isn’t like outsourcing a logo or a bit of copywriting. This is your representation online – it’s you. And it’s not going to be easy. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it. There are a lot of people who’d love to have a strong personal brand because they know how their lives would look once they understand what personal branding is, but it’s not easy. So, if you think it’s going to be a nice, easy ride – please don’t bother starting this journey!

Nothing that’s worth having comes easy.

…you’ve always got an excuse

This is my second red flag. When people say to me “I haven’t got time” or “one day” or “this isn’t a priority”, my response is always: “Okay, cool. Everybody’s busy, everyone’s got things going on and everyone has the same amount of time in a day. If you prioritize something, then you will find the time”.

If you’re full of excuses from our first phone call or excuses are the first thing you think of when you watch a video of mine or read my content, don’t bother! Because, if you’re going to work with me or somebody else on your personal branding, you’re going to have to break through those excuses. Don’t waste your time with excuses!

…you think personal branding is a quick-fix

Personal branding is not super-fast. The methods I introduce my clients to and guide them through mean that we start to see results pretty quickly, but how long it takes depends on what those goals are.

You could have a really big impact within 30 to 90 days if you really commit and just skip the point number two-part (excuses!). You could start to see results within 30 days, if you’ve done everything right – if you’ve niched, you’ve got your message right and you’re creating quality content. But, to build a really strong, powerful brand that’s going to set you up for life, it takes at least six to nine months (it was six to twelve months for me).

If you’re looking for a really quick solution then, again, personal branding is not the right thing for you. Nothing good comes quickly or easily. It will not be super-fast. I am not here to guarantee that you’ll have a personal brand like Tony Robbins overnight!

…you want to start your personal branding journey for the wrong reasons

If you’re taking this path for ego-driven reasons or because someone in your industry has a great personal brand and now you think you should too, then that’s the wrong reason!

You need to really ask yourself why you want a personal brand.

…you want a personal brand but you’re not people-focused

If you’re not focused on serving and supporting others, on contributing and having an impact for a group of people (your tribe) – don’t bother. A personal brand is not about you – it’s actually about the people you serve. The quicker you can understand that, the quicker you’re going to be free of the fear of whatever’s holding you back in your head. You’ll also find it much easier to create content once you’re in that headspace. If you’re not focused on others, don’t bother!

A personal brand is all about the people you serve

I hope this has been helpful. There may have been some harsh truths here, but I wrote this blog because I’m hoping that some of the people I’ve spoken with recently might find it useful in either adjusting their mindset to personal branding or discovering where else they could put their energy.

Ask yourself these questions to see if building a personal brand is right for you.