Why Building a Personal Brand Should be a Priority with AJ Vaden

Shannon is joined on the show by AJ Vaden to dive deep into the world of personal branding for entrepreneurs. As a business owner, your personal brand is crucial for your success, and we're here to show you how to cultivate the personal brand you want and stand out in your industry.

AJ Vaden, the founder of Brand Builders Group, a personal branding strategy firm for experts, shares her background and insights on personal branding and dispels the myth that personal branding is not important for certain professionals. With the help of national research studies on personal branding trends, we show you why now is the best time to invest in your personal brand and how it can help you grow your business.

Tune in to take your personal brand to the next level and gain the trust of your audience as an entrepreneur.

"It is the reps, it is the reach. It is having content that actually helps people. That was the transition piece from our former company to Brand Builders Group."

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. How two entrepreneurs built a successful business by making cold calls and leveraging relationships.
2. How personal branding is not a new concept, but a new terminology for something that has always been there.
3. The importance of trust for professions, and how personal branding can shift the entire sales process.

Here are some brief snippets from this episode:

[00:00:50]
When you think of building a personal brand, you might be thinking about social media influencers. This is not the episode about that. We're going to be talking about how you are known, what your reputation is, and how you can turn that into a revenue engine for your business.

[00:01:54]
AJ Vaden is the co-founder and CEO of Brand Builders Group. She's also the producer and co-host of the influential Personal Brand podcast. She challenges and inspires people to reinvent themselves as part of building and monetizing their personal brand.

[00:02:41]
AJ Vaden is the wife of an incredible husband who also happens to be his business partner. Together they own a company called Brand Builders Group. Vaden says personal branding is not new, but it's just new terminology.

[00:05:37]
How did you shift into Brand Builders Group? You wanted to help people get more reach around their reputation. What was the driving factor behind starting Brand Builders Group? Growing it and a few lessons you learned along the way.

[00:12:47]
Brand builders Group's first client was a gentleman named Lewis House. The company launched its business on his podcast less than two months later. The proof of what personal branding is and what it isn't are pretty websites and large social media followings.

[00:17:31]
Americans said the most important professions that need not want, that need a personal brand were doctors, lawyers, and employers. The higher the level of trust that is required, the more established your personal brand must become. Personal branding can really shift the entire sales process.

[00:22:09]
On the value of the personal brand, not a lot of people implement it effectively. What we tell people is you really need to decide on three things. The number one thing that prevents people from growing their businesses is distraction.

[00:26:38]
I want to be known as a trustworthy person or someone who can comfort them around the numbers. That's what I think I actually do well in the context of my profession or what I do for a living. And I want people to really unpack that one.

[00:27:31]
Don't talk about just your profession. What do you want to be known for? What feelings do people leave with when they interact with you? It's what you do versus who you are. Part is the real uniqueness that is the differentiator.

[00:31:55]
Can you be multi-passionate while building a personal brand? Most people struggle with distraction. Once you break through the wall and you become known for a thing, now it's looking to expand. Expect a long, tedious journey.

[00:36:48]
How do you know that you've built a successful personal brand? What are the signs that you're doing something right and that you should keep going? Success does truly look different to every person. But the one true sign of like, what you're doing is working is when people find you.

[00:37:12]
Only 7% of our leads, our clients, come from social media. We leverage reputations more than we leverage dollars with ads. People start finding you through podcasts, content, through networking meetings. It's got to be a really intentional, consistent effort.

[00:39:10]
No one asks me about sales anymore, even though I have crazy in-depth knowledge of sales. We can produce a lot of content on sales and recruiting, but we choose not to. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. It's back to distraction, and dilution.

[00:45:16]
Giving you hundreds of options does not make it easy. And that's why getting just so clear and defined on the who makes it like, you want hot dog and soda? Come to me. Didn't try to please everyone. You please nobody.

[00:46:19]
Can you tell us more about Brand Builders Group? Who is it for?

Related episodes:

179. How I Crank Out Content

170. How to Utilize Influencer Marketing Effectively with Ali Grant

29. Empowering Female Entrepreneurs and Building an Online Personal Brand with Genecia Alluora

Resources:

Check out AJ's website for more information on her services to see if it's the right fit for you! https://brandbuildersgroup.com/aj-vaden/

Find everything you need at www.keepwhatyouearn.com! https://www.keepwhatyouearn.com/

Questions about this episode? Text me!: https://my.community.com/shannonweinsteincpa

Chat about this episode in the Keep What You Earn Community – http://keepwhatyouearn.circle.so

Hire us: https://www.fitnancialsolutions.com/accounting

See how much you can save with an S Corp: https://www.keepwhatyouearn.com/keep-what-you-earn-s-corp-calculator

Find me on IG @shannonkweinstein

Meet me face-to-face on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMlIuZsrllp1Uc_MlhriLvQ

Featured in Yahoo Finance! Read more here: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-bookkeepers-accountants-watch-2021-113800161.html

The information contained in this podcast is intended for educational purposes only and is not individual tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional before implementing anything you learn.