#8: Building a personal brand from nothing

Building a personal brand from nothing is like building a house from the ground up.

First, you have to decide you want to buy. Then, you have to find the right location. After that, you should take care of the legal stuff.

Then, and only then, can you lay a foundation and build upward brick by brick. And, of course, once the house is built, there’s taxes and maintenance costs.

But, when it’s all said and done, you are living in a space that makes you feel comfortable, at ease, and secure.

As such, deciding to build a house is a huge but rewarding undertaking.

This is basically the same way you build a personal brand. Much like building a house, you can take steps along the way to prepare you and set you up for success.

On today’s #ThursdayThoughts episode, I answer a question about where to start with building a personal brand when you have nothing. I suggest a few strategic steps that will help even the brokest of the broke get started.

Check out my thoughts and answers below.

To summarize the episode, my basic advice is to start by:

Creating a vision,
Developing a message,
Creating content,
Posting your content on your own platform, and
Leveraging other people’s platforms.

Questions & Action: Create a vision

After you’ve had a chance to watch the video, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!

Please answer these questions:

Do you have a clear vision for what you want your personal brand to look like?
If you don’t, what’s one step you could take today to get clarity on where you want to go with your personal brand?
Are you creating enough content? What would this look like for you?

Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions. I’d be happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want. Most importantly, I know the other folks reading this can learn from your experiences! We are all in this together.

Finally, I always say that I’m on a mission to help people build the brands, businesses and lives that they love. We can learn from each other on this journey, particularly when we have accountability partners. This is why I am building a whole nation of side-hustlers, creatives and business owners who keep each other––and me––accountable.

You can join my support network–which I affectionately call the LVRG nation–online and via app. Check us out at programs.shontavia.com or via the Mighty Networks App.

To get the app:

First, download the Mighty Network app by clicking here. Second, once it downloads, click “Find a Mighty Network” and search for Shontavia Johnson. You’ll find content there that I may not share elsewhere.

Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience.

I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with wonderful people like you each day.

Let’s make it happen,