Building your personal brand as an Entrepreneur

“Entrepreneurship is about turning what excites you in life into capital so that you can do more of it and move forward with it.”

A commonly observed behavior in entrepreneurs and business leaders is their low priority towards building and increasing the personal ‘brand’ valuation. Some have faith in their purpose and rely on their work to speak for itself. While this may ring true for professionals and the academically inclined, it’s not enough in enterprising circles.

Irrespective of internal or external stakeholders, the wisdom of market leaders drives elementary entrepreneurs to make essential business decisions. Employee retention, for example, is a major obstacle in the face of many human resources personnel. In such a scenario, a business leader with a trusted reputation for integrity and empathy attracts and retains talent effectively while unknown faces remain unsuccessful in establishing trust.

While the ‘first impression is the last impression’, is an essential ideal that all entrepreneurs must internalize, the first step in this process is to create a brand value, where your reputation precedes your presence. There are a few basic rules that one must follow to do so:

Additionally, there are six ways to reap the supple fruit of carefully cultivating a personal brand for business leaders:

1. Building stable client-vendor relationships:

The existence of mutually beneficial, client-vendor relationships is a necessity for both the enterprise as well as the entrepreneur for sustainable growth and development. A myriad of loyal customers and fundamental ideas are often built on the promise of tenacious relationships between the involved parties involved. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of entrepreneurs to nurture these connections through a combination of networking skills and public perception.

2. Attract and retain good talent:

One can never overlook the balance that exists between an efficient, hardworking employee base and the firm’s success. One need only closely inspect the success of the Mumbai-based movie production company, Dharma Productions, which has gained reputation as a successful launch pad for aspirational actors. It is primarily attributed to its elite shareholder base. Befitting talent often finds its way to a deserving company through its charismatic leaders.

3. Maintain a respectable standing in the industry:

A good leader plays a pivotal role in maintaining the image of the brand in the eyes of the public. Elon Musk, owing to his intensely charismatic stand among the masses, not only manages to garner appreciation for all his endeavors in perpetuity but also continues expanding his following along the way.

4. Effective management of business credibility:

The liberty accompanied by trusting the expertise of a firm that is backed by a respectable and established leader is unprecedented. If a company is unable to hold the market’s trust for an extended duration, the risks include losing its loyalty and earnestly hampering company growth.

5. Attract and maintain financial stability:

It would be unwise to undermine the impact of a powerful name on financial returns. Going beyond celebrity endorsements, we have seen how KavinBharti Mittal and his largely pre-established fame tremendously helped the messaging application, Hike, quickly gain impetus and attract large funds.

6. Minimise the impact of negative business outcomes or crisis:

Corporate leadership, if perceived to be credible, immensely contributes to mitigating reputational damage in public relations crisis. Baba Ramdev’s unprecedented success with Patanjali and their smooth sailing amidst FSSAI non-approval allegations is an excellent example.

Building a strong personal brand can also be beneficial to each person as it allows one to create, retain and grow to their full potential. It also offers a supportive circle of comrades who help you gain insights and enhance your entrepreneurship journey. Lastly, it offers strength and opportunity to make a difference – in your personal, professional, and community undertakings, where you can give back to the world.

By Agnelo rajesh Athaide, Serial & Social Entrepreneur, Co-founder and chief mentor of The Business opportunities club (BOC).