At the end of the day, it’s just you and your brand. You and your brand sleep in the same bed at night, whether it’s been a great day, a mediocre one, or a really, really bad one. You gotta take it home with you. In fact, you are your brand.

When you look in the mirror, you should see a reflection of your brand. The brand you create should be a direct extension of you and reflect your values and standards. If these aren't the case then you and your brand need to have a talk.


But my brand isn’t me, it’s just what I do, right?

Well, what you do is you. If you build a brand, even if it’s not your “personal brand,” it still is personal.    But, both brands should be personal to you. They are interconnected, whether you realize it or not.

In fact, as you build your business brand, you are also building your personal brand. In our social media-driven world, it's more important than ever for leaders of a brand to build their own personal brands to give a face to the business brands. People today demand more personality and humanity from brands. So, your own self reflects on your business and vice versa, even if you don't want it to.

Really, all a brand is at the end of it all is the idea that other people have of you in their minds. It’s what your business represents. So, you should be able to stand behind what you want your brand to be one hundred percent.

If you feel that you and your business brand are separate entities, you will find it slip away from you. That's true with your personal brand, too For some people, it's really one in the same, but both are still connected.

Even if you're building a business you later plan to sell, you need to stay connected and in tune with both your business and personal brand. Otherwise, one or both are going to get away from you and rebuilding either one the way you want it to be may become out of reach. If it’s a good one, someone will be happy to take it over for you.


So, should my brand and I have a sit-down and chat?

If you feel that you and your brand are out of sync, then you are out of sync yourself. No matter the reason, you do need to step back and refocus. What are you all about? How can your brand become an extension of what causes and ideas are near and dear to you?

By asking yourself these questions, you’ll build a much stronger brand. You'll also become a much better person, by staying true to what you are and letting your brand become a vehicle for those things. While staying true to yourself sounds cliche, people don’t really follow that advice.

It’s even more rare that a brand is truly used as a vehicle of self-expression and to further ideas and causes. Yes, it happens. A lot of those brands are wildly successful, because they are authentic. People like authenticity, and people love when you take that authenticity far as you can possibly take it.

Those who are willing to make major sacrifices for their brands are the true Brand Heroes. Doubters will eat their words when they see your success if you never stop moving and taking your brand with you. Your brands, no matter how many you have, are like your vehicle. Built, driven, and maintained correctly, they can reliably put you on cruise control to whatever your destination might be

Remember, you are your brand. Have that conversation with yourself. Know that you and your brand are one in the same. Never give up on your brand and never give up on yourself. Only then will you and your brand truly be in tune and become a force for good and whatever change you want to make in the world.

~ Phoenix <3


Want to become a Brand Hero? But, not sure where or how to start? Contact the branding experts at Brand Shamans and we’ll show you how!