Avoid inner-office stress by clearly communicating your values and why they matter.
January 26, 2021 4 min read
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Burnout has been recently classified by the World Health Organization as a globally recognized disease. Nearly half of all full-time employees have experienced burnout with an overwhelming number of millennials (84%) reporting that they experience this psychological health crisis in their current positions. Moreover, researchers reported in Harvard Business Review that “obsessive passion” in entrepreneurs was heavily correlated with burnout.
While a healthy level of stress can be necessary to keep you motivated, being constantly in a state of panic will actually contribute to the failure of your health and your business.
Building a brand is not only necessary, it can actually help you narrow your goals to the areas where you shine. Here are some actionable steps to recalibrate before it’s too late:
1. Refine your goals
As the founder of your business you need to take a step back and ask yourself: “Where do my passions lie the most?”. Even if you are a technical founder, you must identify why you came to the decision to launch a business. What is your ultimate business goal and how are you uniquely qualified to make it happen? Narrowing your goals to what is most valuable allows you to achieve them instead of feeling scattered and ineffectual.
Related: Social Media And the Woman Entrepreneur
2. Create a plan that centers you
A great idea requires a great plan. You should highlight you and your personal brand strategy as it pertains to your business. Your personal brand strategy needs to have actionable ways to increase your visibility across your platforms while remaining consistent.
Identify where you are engaging online and then focus your efforts on your platforms with the best engagement. In fact, McKinsey reports that having a CEO with a strong brand that aligns with the goals accounts for how companies make the leap to being top-performers.
3. Build a team that promotes your values
Qualtrics prioritizes shared values-based hiring above skills. Your brand needs to be inextricably linked to the business and the success of either buoys them both. Whether you are on-boarding employees, or hiring freelancers, always remind them of your values and encourage them to share them with their networks.
Related: Six Instances When Startups Became Infamous In 2020
4. Track your brand alongside your business
You should always be tracking your success back to your initial goal. Did you become the go-to person in your industry? Do investors better understand your value proposition? When you meet with clients do they get your business because they get you?
Authoritative content is now more important than SEO. Write blog posts, LinkedIn articles and Medium pieces to promote your expertise and then track how your content is performing.
5. Follow the money
The purpose of a personal brand is to make a profit. Standing out amongst competitors allows you to charge more for your offering. Your pricing can increase as the visibility of your company grows. Build your pricing around not only the service that you are offering but the Unique Value Proposition of you. In fact, defining your UVP will allow you to better refine which customers you are targeting and why.
Related: The 2 Types of Authority All Businesses Need for Marketing Success
A return on your investment beyond your business
Personal brands are uniquely scalable beyond your current business goals. In fact, it’s a key differentiator in most industries that is more important than ever in our economic climate.
Having a strategy on how to build a brand can provide some clarity for you and your business. Setting goals, expectations and milestones around your personal brand as it relates to your company will allow you to focus wisely to find better success.
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